Watch: Leo, Kanoa, And Robbo’s First Surf Trip Together in 16 Years

One of surfing’s most endearing tropes is watching your buddy get tubed on the final wave of the day, post-sunset, while sipping beers on a Mentawai dinghy.

Need an iconic example? Watch this.

Maybe it’s so compelling because it’s the apotheosis of a surfing life, the end goal we all work towards.

We witness that trope here —in Red Bull’s One More— to great effect.

We are, by now, accustomed to Red Bull deploying its bottomless CapEx to do improbable things. But getting three of the highest-profile professional surfers on Earth to one of the most remote surfing locales, in the middle of their CT season, at the peak of their powers, is scratching the impossible. And yet, they did it.

Jack Robinson, Leo Fioravanti, and Kanoa Igarashi were all born within two months of each other. Kanoa just recently turned 29; Leo and Kanoa are 28. We, as surf fans, have been watching these three for nearly two decades already — since YouTube was fresh enough to call something a “webisode”.

And, however unlikely, all three of them have fulfilled their potential as professional surfers and CT winners. How difficult is that really? Let’s look at the data:

Based on an estimated 23 million surfers worldwide, only .004% end up on the QS, .0008% end up on the Challenger Series, and .0002% make the CT. Of that .0002%, if we assume roughly 35% of all CT surfers (based on current CT athletes) win an event, bringing the final probability to 0.00007%. Using very simple observation skills, one can also state that these percentages are perpetually shrinking — courtesy of a growing surf population and a contracting Championship Tour.

But while all three of them have won CT events, are Olympians, and command steady, stable sponsorship deals, one achievement has eluded them: a world title. That fact is the center of the video you see above.

On that note, let’s look at some stats:

Currently, Leo holds court, sitting at 4th in the world compared to Kanoa’s 8th and Jack’s 12th.

However if we’re talking big picture, despite qualifying five years after Kanoa and four years after Leo, Jack has dominated the trio in terms of overall tour performance.

Jack has nine CT wins to Leo and Kanoa’s one; has the best end-of-season ranking (3rd); and has an average of 40,500 points per season compared to Kanoa’s 31,300 and Leo’s 19,500.

Jack has also beaten both Kanoa and Leo in CT finals, the only of the three to directly beat the other two in a final. And, if we’re really getting particular with numbers, Jack is the only one who’s reproduced. Put some respect on this guy’s name.

No matter what comparisons get made — whoever wins the Title first will render the other stats mere footnotes.

Who would you put your cash on?