This edit paints a perfect picture of why Clay Marzo is so damn fun to watch surf. He never needs pristine conditions in sizable surf to do something great. In fact, it’s the sloppy stuff that makes the creativity and spontaneity of his surfing stand out.
Call it a product of living on Maui, where high winds and crossed-up waves are a part of daily life and most of the island’s standouts develop the same ability to improvise. Still, there’s something about watching Marzo do it that is unmistakeable. It looks like he’s throwing caution to the wind with every big hack, backdoor takeoff, or punt. It’s like he has no plan to actually stick the landing or stay on his feet coming out of a turn. The moments when he does pull it off is where the magic seems to be.
The man is also a bona fide surf fiend. His girlfriend Leilani once told me the only two things he wants to do on any given day are to find waves — good or bad — and then come home and watch his Lakers. And it wasn’t too long ago that spotting a clip of the man, let alone a random three-minute edit, was like finding a needle in a haystack. But nowadays you’ll typically find Leilani on the beach with a camera and a zoom lens whenever Marzo is out in the water. Whether it’s at home around Maui or on their travels around the world the past couple of years, she’s taken on the task of documenting one of the most creative surfers of our time.
