John John Florence, stalefish onto the box, somewhere in Tahiti

John John is directing his photography team (Tahitian photographer Dom Mosquiera and his personal filmer Blake Vinnie Kueny) to a reef that nobody surfs. “John had scoured the reefs to find a little surf zone to surf by himself,” says Dom. “It’s a slab that comes out of nowhere. John was doing ridiculous airs onto dry reef.” As to the exact location, Dom ain’t saying. “It’s in the Teahupoo area, that’s as far as I can say. It’s not an obvious wave, you have to, like John did, really go and look for it. It’s definitely John’s secret zone”

The wave itself is either a heavy short slab at the top of the reef or a slab followed by a barrel that increases in brawn and girth down the line. Was Dom touched by the irony of a Hawaiian telling a local where to surf? “I was surprised! Ho! Where’s this thing been? It’s actually more of a bodyboarding wave, for sure. Most guys would go, no fricken way. But John has the ability to tuck in there and come out unscathed.” And this stalefish? “He landed it and then had to hop off onto dry reef. I was, like, ‘What are you doing?’”