Kolohe Andino can do it; puts his back into it, J-Bay

The J-Bay Open launches in a few hours. World Tour surfers, much like students before a test, are partial to cramming in the days and hours leading up to the first heat. “The day before the comp had good waves and it poured rain the whole day,” says the gent who captured this brill sequence, Ryan Miller. “Then at the end of the day the sun popped out and heaven smiled down. Everyone was out for one last lap and going hard. What a treat it was.”

Thanks to the last two events, Kolohe Andino, pictured here dropping not only wallet but also entire suitcase, is having the Dream Tour year of his life. It’s the year he should’ve had as a rookie, but whether it was poor fortune or other factors, hasn’t been able to til now. And it suits him to do well. “Kolohe has been here for quite a while and looking comfortable,” says Miller. “This wave is super fast and really hard to time your turns. You see it all day long with guys cutting their turns short to not get stuck behind the section. Kolohe looks like he knows when to unload.”