Stab Magazine | Watch: Koa Rothman, life behind the foamball

'Vacation Presented By Monster Energy' Is Live Now

416 Views

Watch: Koa Rothman, life behind the foamball

Mr Rothman’s out of the water due to injury. “I’ve got a fractured rib,” he tells Stab. “I can’t surf right now. The only time I’ve surfed in the past month was the Eddie.” Koa, in the most prestigious big wave event on earth was a beautiful depiction of raw charging. The kid took some brutal beatings […]

cinema // Mar 10, 2016
Words by stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Mr Rothman’s out of the water due to injury. “I’ve got a fractured rib,” he tells Stab. “I can’t surf right now. The only time I’ve surfed in the past month was the Eddie.” Koa, in the most prestigious big wave event on earth was a beautiful depiction of raw charging. The kid took some brutal beatings and with a fractured rib, Waimea’s wrath to him had to have been more palpable than most. “My first heat I had so much adrenaline that I didn’t really feel it. My second heat, I was pretty sore. I had to do something though. I was so psyched to get into the Eddie, I’ve been wanting to be in that contest forever. It was up there with the biggest Waimea I’ve ever seen surfed, for sure. Surfing it with just my friends instead of 300 guys out was something I’ll never forget. It’s like Snapper out there!” Koa laughs. “Well… maybe not that bad.”

Pipeline in seasick colour. Photo: Keo

In his downtime, he decided to whip up this fast paced, deep tunnel oriented edit. It seems the kid lives behind the foamball, constantly getting spit out by a Birmingham 1963 fire hose, without the racial tension. “I put the edit together myself,” Koa continues. “I couldn’t get my friend to do it and I’ve got time on my hands since I’m injured, so I just figured it out and did it. This is the first edit I’ve ever made myself. I used Final Cut, it wasn’t as hard as I imagined it would be. I got the clips and put them down. With the song I felt like it didn’t really matter how it was edited. I don’t like edits that are overdone, anyway. I just like good clips and a nuts song that gets me psyched to surf.” And, Koa didn’t miss the mark. This clip’s electric, filled with elevator drops, huge pits and unfathomable stoke.

Kegging. Photo: Heff

“There’s one Jaws clip, and a bunch of Pipe waves,” he says. “Everything in there is from this year, except two waves at Pipe. It’s been an amazing winter. Swell-wise, it’s the most consistent I’ve ever seen it. There hasn’t been a Pipe swell in the last two weeks, it’s just too big!”

“I’m really stoked on that last water shot,” Mr Rothman wraps up. “With Kala (Alexander) behind me, but the Jetski the guy was shooting on had to speed up to get out of there. Right where I cut it, it goes all shaky. I wish I had the whole clip of that wave from the water, that’s my favourite clip in the edit.”

Koa navigates the beast, while Kala gets devoured. Photo: Noyle

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

24:37

Watch: ‘Vacation’ Presented By Monster Energy

Stab Highway winners visit Kandui Resort.

Mar 30, 2023

The Stab Interview: Shaun Manners

On signing with Former, landing the cover of Surfing World and TSJ, his Cult of…

Mar 30, 2023

6:59

Why You Should Never Not Paddle Out

How an impromptu 30 minute session made a Jamaican surfer $1,000 richer.

Mar 30, 2023

9:38

“I’ve Had Two Concussions Surfing Here”

Chronicles of a Newport shore-hound.

Mar 29, 2023

Rio Waida Has Been Surfing Onshore, Oversized Bells Alone

...and he might not go home all year.

Mar 29, 2023

18:19

John Florence Releases Long-Form Piece On The 243km Great Ocean Squiggle

Tourism Victoria going, ‘he just did our job for us’.

Mar 29, 2023

7:01

Japanese Rice Farmer Enjoys Frightening Sumatran West Bowls

Kaito Ohashi is on his best behavior.

Mar 28, 2023

Watch: When People Like This Speak, We Listen

Raw, extended conversations with Clyde Aikau and Eddie Aikau winner Luke Shepardson.

Mar 28, 2023

6:20

Diamond Tail = Diamond Hands?

We'll explain everything in the Rusty D-Min Joyride.

Mar 27, 2023

Behold Australia’s Nine & NZ’s Two Challenger Series Qualifiers*

May the Southern Cross smile upon you at Snapper.

Mar 27, 2023

An Unordinary Life Structured Around A Tidal Bore

Long Read: The life and times of Pete Beachy.

Mar 26, 2023

17:08

Watch: ‘Haiku’

Scenes From a Remote Reality, by Vans & Karina Rozunko

Mar 25, 2023

Sun Room: The Overnight Success Of A Young Surf Band

What's it like touring the world and living off of McDonald's?

Mar 25, 2023

How Surfers Get Paid, Episode 6

An instructional manual for the modern professional surfer

Mar 23, 2023

7:03

Caity Simmers — Extreme Competitive Surf Vlogger

Cool is chemical.

Mar 23, 2023

Globe Pulls Out Of The Apparel Game

…and, Taj Burrow and Dion Agius are now looking for new main sponsors.

Mar 22, 2023

Owen Wright Announces Retirement From Competitive And Heavy-Water Surfing

But will surf final CT event at Bells.

Mar 22, 2023

29:05

Fancy An Ale, Some Good Music, And A Bunch Of Tubes?

Ballet's minimalist full-length will satiate your needs.

Mar 22, 2023
Advertisement