Watch: A Masterclass In Takeoff Technique And Tubo-Masochism

Mason Ho has spent more time rolling around on rocks than a Japanese whiskey.

Fortunately for Mase (and his partner in limestone Sheldon Paishon), this time they’re armored head-to-toe. Five-four-three wetsuits, thicc boots and gloves, a nice rubber cap for their noggins. All for cold-immersion technically, but the protective qualities of neoprene can’t be overlooked when surfing waves of this ilk.

Which, by the way, is completely fucking bonkers (as confirmed by the water angle). If the wave itself wasn’t treacherous enough, consider the fact that there’s no escape from its gaping jowls. The wave runs along a fully exposed shelf until it can’t run anymore, quite literally collapsing onto the Lewisian Gneiss reef — which, at three billion years old — are some of the oldest rock formations on planet Earth.

Speaking of timelessness, 82 years’ worth of footage is uploaded to YouTube every single day. The website is now more akin to a Public Dump than a curated home-video-sharing platform. However, even in the cacophony of entrepreneurship gurus, AI-music playlists, and K-pop music videos, there are gems.

Caveheart II is a gem. Too good to be free, yet it is. Even in our tiny corner of the world, we still see so much surfing on our feeds every single day. Some good, some bad, mostly ehh. It’s increasingly difficult to contribute something new to the surfing conversation without real work and real risk.

Mason Ho is — alongside John and Nathan Florence — the best at it. Mason, despite making it look so easy, fun, and casual, consistently finds waves and approaches to surfing that we haven’t seen before.

Caveheart II, however unlikely for sequels, is better than the OG. Mason and Sheldon deserve top praises for taking the leap, crossing the Atlantic, and genuinely risking life and limb to contribute something new to surfing. They deserve all the flowers — but maybe the best praise is the fact that they’ve created a new way to be a professional surfer.

The proof is in the clicks.

As on YouTube commenter put it, “I just went out and bought a new Rip Curl wetsuit, new Lost blade, some Reef sandles, Sum Bum sunscreen, some new FCS FINS, and Drank a Kona Big Wave and ate a Banzai Bowl. Mase, Sheldon, Rory and Kalani, that was some of the best footage I have ever seen.”