Jordy Smith, somewhere in France

If you’re a competitor, getting waves to yourself during a WT event can be a tough gig. No matter where you go, you gotta expect that 33 of the world’s most frothing, committed wave-seekers are looking for the same thing. Especially when word spreads so fast: “As is typical in the very incestuous WT, word gets out quick about which banks look good and then everyone gravitates to those banks,” says photog Ryan Miller. “After a few days at the comp, surfing with 1000 other dudes in the lineup for freesurfs, sometimes you have to break away. Since we’re here for such a short window and all the good days are spent at the comp site, it’s pretty hard to go exploring on your own if you want to maximise time at a decent spot.” So when another lay-day for the Quiksilver Pro, France was called, Jordy Smith and Ryan had to think outside the beachies in a 2km radius. “We had to pull the rip-cord and get outta town,” says Ryan. “Driving out through the forest, it was quite a reprieve from the hustle of the event. We found a bank that wasn’t nearly as good as the one all the boys have been hitting lately but, shit, how fun is it to have a surf with barely five guys out?” For more of Ryan Miller’s awesome work, jump over to his site, here.