Tired

Going to the North Shore is like going to the moon. It’s a place so far removed from home, something almost out of reach… I remember back then, *Surf Session* magazine would release three or four consecutive winter issues dedicated to the North Shore. It was an annual ritual that blew my mind. Pipeline was the ultimate wave. And surfers like Dane Kealoha or Johnny “Boy” Gomes were heroes to me. I also loved the whole dynamic of the visiting surfer trying to earn a spot in the lineup. And the contrast is striking: going from the relentless winter storms of Brittany to a sunny winter in a world that revolves entirely around wave height—it was like a wonderland, a dream.

My first encounter with Pipeline in 2001 was epic! I walked the entire stretch of sand all the way from Sunset. When I arrived, I knew instantly I was looking at Pipe; it was exactly as I’d imagined—perfect. A wave of emotion washed over me; I was frozen, my legs trembling. All the videos, photos, and stories I’d seen and read came flooding back. I’d never felt anything like it. I spent that whole day sitting on the sand, just watching it. The next morning, I finally worked up the courage to paddle out. Catching my first Backdoor wave felt like blowing out the candles on my twenty years of surfing.

If you don’t prove yourself on the North Shore, you’ll never earn respect. Hawaii is the Mecca! It’s a place that can make or break a career—there’s no middle ground. Look at French surfing: before Didier Piter and Laurent Pujol, no one in the international surfing community—dominated at the time by Australians and Americans—viewed France as a bona fide surfing nation. Only a handful of people had heard of it or had surfed at Biarritz or La Gravière. The day those two started charging Pipeline just like the locals did, the community’s perception of the caliber of French surfers changed completely.

My favorite spot is Rocky Point. It’s where I go to surf every day—bright and early—whenever I’m on the North Shore. I love that place. It gives you the space to fully express your surfing potential. The barrel-over-shallow-reef aspect also reminds me of Brittany. Pipeline, of course, because it’s the ultimate wave! The way the drop zone is four meters high while the end section is just 80 centimeters—that always leaves me in awe. Plus, it possesses an unmatched beauty. Teahupo’o is almost *too* perfect—flawless. Pipeline, on the other hand, has an unpredictable side, which makes it my hands-down favorite. And then there’s Waimea Bay, for the potential for historic moments it embodies, and—of course—because it’s the home of Eddie Aikau.