The Fine Art Of Sibling Diplomacy: The Pipeline Edition

’Tis the season. Spines shattered, comps won and squandered, dreams seized, champions minted. A judging scandal. A bootleg broadcast, equal parts genius and gibberish. Retirements. And Caity Simmers, grinning, untouchable.

Yes, that’s right, it’s winter in Abu Dhabi.

Ahem… Sorry. Of course, it’s winter on the North Shore.

We’ve seen many things over the past few months, but today, we’ve been handed the most delectable nugget of brotherly truth, all thanks to the oracle Nathan Florence and his delightful YouTube channel.

John John Florence has always been a study in understatement. Peaceful, unshakable, impervious to the noise that swirls around him — his calm a sharp contrast to the tempest elsewhere. A world champion, a millionaire, a rare prophet who has done what few ever could — he’s reached the pinnacle, fulfilled his potential, and stood there without flinching.

But some laws of nature are absolute — gravity, tides, and the unshakable urge to one-up your brother.

In the video above, we see John and Nate enter the lineup together, a field of solid but not quite reaper-grade Pipe and Backdoor laid out before them. John strokes first. Normally, Nate would yield — big bro tax — but something sparks, a split-second rebellion, and he digs in, sneaking under John for a square Backdoor runner. Moments later, he’s back in position and slots himself into a proper Pipe bomb.

John, still waveless, is livid.

The delicate art of sibling diplomacy, as performed at Pipeline:

Nate: “After I got those waves, John was so mad at me. He wouldn’t even look at me. After I got the left, he lost it. He said, ‘You just took that wave from me. I’m taking every wave for the rest of the swell.’”

“What made it worse was that it was an hour and a half wait for the next wave to come, so we just sat there in silence.” 

“Finally, some waves came through, and John decided he’d had enough. But he took off on a terrible left. He came back out — still fuming. Then he took two more lefts, right in front of me.

“We paddled out at the same time, so I figured there was no priority yet.”

John: “I always have priority over you. Forever. I was surfing Pipe 10 years before you.”

Nate: “Dude, we’re only two years apart.” 

Did they kiss and make up? Watch above to find out.