Mason Barnes Is An Animal

First and foremost, Mason Barnes is an animal. 

Wilmington, North Carolina, widely regarded as the East Coast’s ankle-slapper capital, is an unlikely origin for a big-wave surfer. Fortunately for Mr. Barnes, who is undoubtedly talented burying a rail in small-wave slop, his family also owned a house on Oahu’s North Shore which he was to travel to frequently and cut his teeth riding some of surfing’s more consequential reef breaks in winter. 

At 27 years of age, Mason’s passion and commitment to surfing big waves have seen him become adopted by many of the who’s whos in the big wave scene including, 3x World Champ, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, and Garrett Mcnamara. In October 2020 for what is now known as the Epsilon Swell, Barnes rode one of the biggest waves of the day at Nazare, on what many considered one of the largest swells in recent history. 

In his latest clip, Barnes surfs dicey Pipe, Nazare, and Puerto with the skill of a seasoned skip. 

I cannot take anything away from Mason apart from his song choice which was the cause of much upset when Gabby Medina co-opted it from John John ahead of this year’s Olympic games, and then Barron Mamiya in his Snapt 4 part. Mason, now the fourth licensee of “Rejoice” by Steve Angello and T.D Jakes assured us it was the result of surfer and editor working largely in isolation from one another, and no foul play was intended. We’ll let JJF be the judge of that.

Watch Mason swoop under thick ledges, here.