The Best Wave Of The Vans Pipe Masters, Explained

Before the sun showed its face on the final day of the Vans Pipe Masters, Koa Smith had already racked up his moments —  brief sparks of brilliance, only to have the door slammed shut every time he tried to break free.

He’d dropped out of the top 4, buried deep in the muck, facing a mountain to climb. Then, his final heat started, and out of nowhere, the pieces of the puzzle dropped into his lap. When the final buzzer blared, Koa had pulled himself up to the top of the leaderboard, putting down a mind-bending perfect 30 — the best wave of the whole competition.

Nathan Fletcher described the wave as “one of the best Pipe waves I’ve seen in years.”

Luckily for us, Koa’s not one to hide from the camera. So, if you’re listening, he’s here to tell you how he did it, sparing no detail.

“Before I paddled out, my uncle hit me with: WIN. What’s Important Now. And that helped me remember to stay in the present, that nothing really matters, and it helped me tune into Pipeline,” Koa says to the camera. “Now, I’m gonna go play my mouth harp.”

*Cut to Koa Smith performing a breathtaking mouth harp solo.

Post 30-pointer, when quizzed on the sand about what was going through his head inside the tube, Koa shrugs. “When I was in the barrel, there wasn’t much thinking going on. It was just pure flow.”

You thought we’d spill all of his tricks here? Nah, you’ll have to watch the clip above to unlock the full formula. But here’s a taste: Dr. Joe Dispenza meditations, mindset shifts, and surrendering to the process of becoming his infinite self.

Might not be your religion, but you can’t deny the performance-enhancing benefits.