Qualifying: Episode 1.

In “Qualifying”, we get an inside look at the lives of five different surfers — Nathan Hedge, Evan Geiselman, Damien Hobgood, Pat Gudauskas and Ezekiel Lau — as they confront the greatest challenge of their careers: qualifying for surfing’s World Championship Tour. Problem is, space on the holy tour is limited and there’s surely no shortage of amazing surfers fighting for those few spots. It’s a grind, through and through. In Part 1 of the Qualifying episode on the 2014 US Open of Surfing, our five protagonists prepare to do battle in Huntington Beach. Each one comes from different roots and have different things that motivate them. We learn about what birthed their passion for surfing and what fuels that fire now. It’s an amazingly diverse mix, ranging in everything from experience to family life to surf style, but the goal of qualifications is universal.