No One Rivals John Florence At Hooking Rockpile (Pros + Joes For Context)

Words by Jimmicane

I’ve been compiling timelines like this forever and doing nothing with them, besides maybe sharing with a few surfers who were out that day. I promise not to spam you with 3-foot Cardiff clips on the regular, but instead of hoarding the footage on Dropbox for eternity, I think it makes sense to put out some memorable sessions to the world, so people can enjoy.

This was shot on January 5th, 2022 during the (digital) Vans Triple Crown of Surfing waiting period. It went largely under the radar, but was easily one of the best non-barreling sessions of surfing I’ve ever witnessed. 

At the time, I thought for sure Parallel Sea would be using it. I sent over the timeline to John and Erik Knutson later that evening in case they wanted to have an extra angle. Two years later, I don’t recall seeing more than maybe a few clips here or there.

This footage is in chronological order, no editing aside from cutting out a few waves that weren’t worthy.  There were a few times I had to hold my composure after John did a carve, but seriously, inside I was freaking out watching this go down.

What I like most about this style of video is showing perspective. For how many world class surfers were out, there is one obvious standout. I think that has been somewhat lost in recent times outside of live competition. The surfers who are best at selecting and putting their clips out on social media get the maximum notoriety, but if you watch a session like this in person, the tape doesn’t lie. 

John is absolutely unreal.

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Mikey C’s predictions

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