Dave Hubbard and Guilherme Tâmega dropping out of the sky and into legend status. Photos: YouTube//Screenshot
Bodyboarders often get a bad rap. That’s because there are too many surfers who mistakenly think that bodyboarders are just kids flopping around in the white wash with a chunk of foam their parents got them at the ABC Store. But bodyboarders opened up so many possibilities for surfers.
“There is an entire contingent of lunatics on bodyboards getting almost zero credit and consistently doing shit that no one standing up would do,” we wrote a few years ago. “For years, they’ve been the unsung heroes of slabs – most of them were first discovered and ridden by bodyboarders. Think of them as a paving crew, of sorts, paving the way for surfers on surfboards, showing them that yes, this wave can be ridden. A paving crew full of some of the most insane people on any kind of board.”
When it comes to big Pipeline, there are a handful of bodyboarders who come to mind. Jeff Hubbard for one. Mike Stewart, for two. Guilherme Tâmega and Dave Hubbard as well, both of whom are featured in the clip you see below, shot on March 25.
“Guilherme Tâmega locks into a thick second-reef barrel in one of the standout rides of the session,” writes Scoobz’ Surfing and Bodyboarding Clips on YouTube, “while Dave Hubbard, the reigning Pipe champ, puts on a clinic in control and style.”
