John John Florence consistently does the impossible at giant Teahupo’o. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
John John Florence was raised with the world’s best playground on his doorstep. The North Shore of Oahu breeds a certain type of surfer; one who voraciously feeds on that famous Hawaiian juice. A surfer who learns from a very early age how to use all that energy that’s detonating on the shores of the Seven Mile Miracle. And there is no one who exemplifies that better than John John.
At 31 years old, Florence is sitting on two world titles, a Pipe Masters, and a Triple Crown. No one leaves him out of the conversation of who the best in the world is. When it comes to big, hollow, heavy lefts, John’s approach is unparalleled. Having Pipeline as your swing set growing up likely played a big part in that, and with the Olympics right around the corner — held at Teahupo’o, a big, hollow, heavy left — the World Surf League thought it would be a good idea to release a bit of archival footage from him surfing at Chopes.
“With the Gold Medal on the line at one of his favorite waves in the world, John John Florence is not to be missed at Teahupo’o this month,” the WSL wrote.
Now, one does not become a surfer like John became alone. Despite the fact that surfing is inherently a solo activity, John’s upbringing and the people in it positioned him to become who he did.
“The oldest of three brothers, John, Ivan and Nathan’s mother Alexandra didn’t have your standard single-mother lifestyle,” the WSL continued, “with John and the boys being taken under wing by the world’s best surfer and looked out for by the entire North Shore community.”
