Nic Von Rupp delivered on the promise of Nathan Nathan Fletcher’s board, and then some. Photo: Powerlines Productions // YouTube
Back in 2018, Nic Von Rupp went to Maverick’s on a mission. The big wave aficionado was going to backdoor a left, and boy did he do it. A new video from YouTube channel Powerlines Productions takes us back with a behind the scenes look at the leadup and aftermath of Von Rupp’s epic ride.
It all started with a board – the same one Nathan Fletcher famously rode at the break . The the 9’9″ safety yellow craft was shaped by cigar-chomping shaper Stretch Riedel, who characteristically didn’t mince words when he told Rupp, “This thing is made to knife a left.” With Nathan’s permission, Stretch lent the board for Von Rupp to do exactly that.
As Stretch joked to Nic beforehand, the pressure was on. Though he’s normally comfortable in all conditions, the weight of approaching such a consequential wave, while riding a piece of surfing history, no less, actually got to him a little bit. “I was nervous out there, you know?” said Von Rupp afterwards. “I’ve thinking about how to approach the left and all of a sudden it’s happening. All of a sudden, everyone’s going left and you really want to go but its such a scary place to go, at the same time.”
Unsurprisingly, Nic pulled through. He not only knifed the left, but got a barrel for the history books. Von Rupp summed it up best himself: “I got a sick one, man. I’m stoked.”
