for the past 3 days, i took 3 different gentlemen and 1 lady to the peak of their limits. challenging each and every one to something they wouldn’t even imagine. this morning, it was Iwasaki-san’s turn. when i picked him up, he said “the waves are big yeah?” i said “no, the waves are huge!” haha. i could tell he was nervous because today was going to be the biggest challenge of his life.

i keep on telling Iwasaki-san, “timing is everything. you might make it out, you might not. either way, we are going to make one way or another. so get ready to throw your board and dive under mountains of foam.” luckily, he made it over this wall of water. but that wasn’t always the case. haha.

i also told Iwasaki-san “you will catch the biggest wave of your life today.” this is the proof! i bet his friends would never believe it, but now they have to. haha. imagine surfing for so many years of your life and you finally get to ride the biggest wave ever. i think that’s amazing.

this is how i learned to surf big waves. learning by experience. you have to feel it, to understand it. Iwasaki-san understood every pound of water crashing down on his head.

i think he caught 8-10 waves and made every single drop. absolutely perfect big wave surfing.

our last ride in. super stoked to survive. haha.

great job surfer dude!

then went to eat some healthy food for lunch. as we were driving home, i told Iwasaki-san, “you are going to sleep tonight with a big smile on your face.” he replied “yes i am.”

i ate pho 3x this week so i tried the lemon grass chicken today. it was excellent.

then went to wash everything down with a cool shave ice from Waiola.

then went to pick up Kaori-san for an amazing afternoon session. another surfer that rode the biggest wave in her life. more beautiful photos tomorrow. going to sleep because have another huge day tomorrow. can’t wait for the morning! goodnight.

Surfed for 5 hours today. Perfect waves all day!
So happy! And so sunburnt!
I need a vacation! Haha.

i get asked over and over “where is your favorite surf spot in the world?” my answer is always, indonesia, samoa, south africa, philippines, and most of all, japan. i’ve probably surfed the best waves in my life all around japan. so many secret spots that i was taken too all these years, all secrets that i will keep secrets forever. BUT, for consistency, weather, water, and aloha, no place in the world tops hawaii. and the more time i spend here, the more i realize it.

i use to leave hawaii each and every summer because i thought the waves were junky on the south shore. but recently, our summers have been incredible. so incredible that i don’t want to go anywhere! look at this beautiful wave yesterday morning. i was about to duck dive this wave and thought to myself “wow, this is amazing!”

and my afternoon session even more amazing. i pay thousands of dollars and travel half way around the world to surf waves like this. what was i thinking? yesterday was another mentawai day right here in ala moana.

and to see my friends in the lineup and surf with them is awesome. Matty Liu, Uncle Scotty, and Nick Mita sharing barrels after barrels. lots of aloha in these incredible surfers.

after taking these photos yesterday, i thought about upgrading my professional camera gear. made me want to get back in the water and take fisheye shots again. i use to do this everyday and always loved the results. now i’ll just have to save $10,000 for the equipment and maybe start all over again.

i’m a fish. without the ocean, i would dry up physically and mentally. that’s scary.

trying some new angles. just love how the water flows off the swallow tail. i tell everybody that the back foot is your gas pedal. push on it hard and your board will go into turbo mode. and stop pushing off your front foot because that is your brake.

and when you push the gas, you will throw some serious spray. try it and i’m sure you will like it!

ok, get ready for another week of waves and waves. and also more photos and photos. i’m so excited to surf and shoot again. and so excited to do some exploring this week!