I went bodyboarding there and got pummelled, nearly drowned. But the couple of waves I caught are forever etched in memory. The next day I saw the pros competing and they don’t nearly drown at all, and have this place dialed.

North Shore is pretty territorial. I was bodyboarding at Waimea when I was a skinny kid and a big local came up and took my grippy gloves away, I never saw him again. The surf was great so I handled it. There wasn’t much to be said, you can’t say no to a demand like that.