i think every surfer on the island is freaking on how good the waves have been. some of the top professional surfers who came in december and january to the north shore said it was the worst winter season ever. well, i got some bad news for those guys, and for all the photographers who left early. north shore finally awoke! yeah, it’s already april but none of the local boys are complaining. pipeline/backdoor has seen the best waves ever this past week. perfect swell direction, perfect winds, and perfect weather.

2nd reef pipe at 12′ this evening. and guess what? there is another swell rolling our way.

the weather pattern in the world is weird. this has to be the best april on the north shore in the history of surfing. and the month just started. OMG! lucky you live in hawaii.

check out this photo i took yesterday when i was surfing with my friends. i was on the side yelling “stand up! look forward! bend your knees!” imagine there is a girl right on the bottom of where this board is coming down. it was a super dangerous situation but luckily nobody got hurt.
the waves continue in hawaii as my journey goes as planned. tomorrow, hopefully i will get on a flight leaving this beautiful paradise island and heading to another one very far away. my life on the road continues…

Pipeline now @ 5:44pm. OMG!

Australian owned Billabong is one of the biggest surf clothing companies in the world. they own other companies such as Von Zipper, Element, Honolua Surf Company, Kustom, DaKine, RVCA, and Sector 9. i’ve been watching them business wise for the past 2 years. why? because it’s companies like Billabong and Quiksilver that lead the surf industry and every move they make will dictate the future of surfing. Quiksilver just fired 95% of their professional surf team a few weeks ago, and now Billabong is trying to sell.
here are some numbers to think about. in 2007, Billabong was worth A$3.8 billion ($3,983,920,000USD or 372,576,195,419 yen). then last year 2012, TPG Inc. offered to buy Billabong for A$841.8 million ($882,543,120USD or 82,535,431,922 yen). Billabong said NO. fast forward to today, April 2013. two U.S. companies are trying to buy Billabong for A$527 million ($549,000,000USD or 51,342,479,589 yen). and now those 2 companies are saying that is even too high. Billabong shares are worth A$0.73 today. OMG!
so here’s my personal opinion. if i invested money in Billabong in 2007, i would be homeless today. i didn’t so i’m lucky. what happens next? this is what i would do if i were Billabong. i wouldn’t sell now. i would hire me as president, then buy a huge amount of shares, then i would completely gut out the company from inside out. close stores that aren’t profiting, cut surfers that aren’t producing, and invest in the future fashion and trends. i would have a tight surf family and tight company that will build the future together. then i would sell when the stock goes up past $2.50/share, make my millions, buy a house on the beach in hawaii, and live out the rest of my dream life. haha.
but seriously, Billabong is surf culture. Billabong is strong. Billabong will survive. it’s actually not a bad time to buy stocks. you could make millions, or you could lose millions. that’s the risks in life and that’s what makes life so interesting. i’ll be following this story closely and keep you posted. Go-Billabong!