Meet The Youngest Pipe Masters Competitor, Sir Finn McGill

On a questionable but necessary kick off to the Pipe Masters, a grom took the dub. 16-year-old Finn McGill, other than having an incredible name, is a standard face out at Pipe. He put up an 8.60 in the final and owned the heat. He also dropped a 9.5 in the semis. Although Pipe was rather unimpressive today, the kid still put up two of the highest scoring waves of the day – a feat in itself. After listening to how psyched (understandably) Flinn was in his post heat interview, Occy grabbed hold of the boy and sat him down for an Occ-Cast one-on-one. Wanting a piece of his enthusiastic pie, we too had a short conversation with him to get a better feel for the personality behind the youngest Pipe competitor. A lot of times interviews with the 18U crown are dull and uninspired; Mr McGill evades this category with aplomb!

Stab: At 16, your one of the youngest guys to compete in the Pipe Masters how does that feel?
Finn: I’m super stoked. But I think John John’s the youngest; he got the wildcard when he was like 13 or something.

Going into the event did you think it would lead to the big dance?
No, I didn’t at all I woke up this morning and I didn’t think they were gonna run. I just wanted to make my first heat and have fun before the comp ended because it’s only three guys out at Pipe. That never happens.

What were you riding out there?
A 6’3”x 18”1/2 x 2” 3/8.

Is this your first event at Pipeline?
We have a junior pro but it’s a bad time of year, so it’s never that good. Although it wasn’t very good today either, but there were a few.

What was the first thing you did after winning?
I just went to my parents and hugged them and talked to bunch of people for a while I just got back to my house 30 minutes ago.

Where are you from?
I was born in Newport Beach, California but I moved here when I was three.

What’s your favourite spot to surf on the North Shore?
Backdoor and Off the Wall.

Favourite spot away from home?
My favourite wave outside of Hawaii is Teahupoo; that wave is just perfect. The biggest I’ve surfed it was six-eight foot Hawaiian it wasn’t slabbing out super hard; we were still paddling.

Finn peaks out of his favourite wave on his way to the biggest event of his life.

Best place to eat on the North Shore?
My favourite spot to eat is this little hidden Mexican food truck in Haleiwa that no one really knows about. It’s a good hidden spot. I have no clue what it’s called [laughs]. Then Cholos and Banzai Bowls.

Who’s your favourite surfer?
Definitely Conner Coffin he’s so good. I like how his style is raw and old school; he just surfs differently than anyone else.

If you could surf like a mix of three guys who would they be?
John John, Mason Ho and Conner Coffin.

Are you intimidated to surf your first CT event?
I’m not intimidated at all. I’m in it to have fun. I just hope I get a couple heats in and surf against a few good guys. I’m just stoked to be in a CT comp.

What girl on tour would you make out with if you had the chance?
Oh gosh, that’s a hard one! Probably Laura [Enever], that pink hair raises and her a few notches too. And she charged Jaws; that was psycho.

If you had a million dollars?
I’d probably just go to a casino and have one good night. Nah, just kidding… actually keep that in there.

When you’re not surfing?
I’m probably skating at Banzai skatepark. I live like five minutes away.

What scares you the most in the water?
Other people, and bees that fall into the water and just sit there. I get stung more in the water than anywhere else.