Jamie O’Brien has a special relationship with Pipeline. It’s his playground and the reason that his career exists, but it’s also a place that could hurt him. It has, in fact. Broken bones, torn skin, rattled brains — it’s all part of the risk/reward equation, and for the most part, Jamie’s getting a lot more of the rewarding bits that come from surfing one of the world’s most dangerous waves. That equation, however, means that the higher the risk, the better the reward, so when Pipeline gets big — like, really big — Jamie O’Brien is out there, hair straight back, hell for leather, consequences be damned.
But, since Pipeline is one of the most dangerous waves on earth and a lot of people have the same attitude as Jamie does, when it’s big, Pipeline is crowded. Even for Jamie O’Brien, it can be hard to get waves. That’s why he grabbed a big board, a 7’6″ shaped by none other than Mr. Pipeline himself, Gerry Lopez. “Going to be hard to get waves today,” Jamie said, right before he got more amazing waves at Pipeline in one session than most will get in a lifetime.
