John Florence, Before He Was A Pipe Master

Just ’cause you’re a 2x World Champion doesn’t mean you’re entirely absolved of dealing with surf-related annoyances.

With the comp off and Pipe providing some incredibly good waves in the lead-up to John’s inaugural event win, there was plenty of time to warm up. While John is a perennial threat, giving him a week to get the blood flowing at his home break meant this event was all but tied up before it even started. If you were a betting man, you haven’t seen a more surefire lock since Filipe Toledo in Rio circa 2018/19.

Regardless of his accolades, there are two things Mr. Florence will never be able to escape: his brothers and spongers. The video opens with Nate and John talking about Nate going surfing and not giving John the call… a mortal sin amongst friends/family that we’ve all dealt with in the past. 

Then this. 

Imagine being John fucking Florence and still getting burned on a 2 ft wave by a drop-knee boog. Whether John’s burning holes in the back this guy’s head or merely doing some product research on colors for his next run of hooded rashies, no amount of drop-ins was stopping him from winning Pipe in 2020.

Click in above for all the clips John stacked in the lead-up. It’s, like, really good.