It’s been a little over six months since we’ve seen John John Florence don a singlet. Recall, after a slow start to the year the formerly reigning world champion went out for a free surf in Bali. A botched alley-oop led to a crumpled knee, and ever since John’s been on the mend.
There was a glimmer of hope when John John’s name appeared in the heat draw for the Pipe Masters, but a few days before the wait period was set to kick off John withdrew from the final event of the 2018 Championship Tour. “I think I’m close to 100 percent, but I’m not there yet,” he wrote on Instagram.
But instead of sitting idly and watching Gabriel Medina match his world title count at his home break, John John apparently has chosen to fly to the other side of the world, presumably doing some early training for the 2019 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.
“JJF made his way to the Gold Coast Australia for a few days and surfed the best that was on offer with Australia’s Pyzel guru, Matt Aldridge,” explains Youtube user @surfonmars who captured the action. “Unfortunately, the waves weren’t great.”
If John’s presence on the Gold Coast several months ahead of schedule is any indication, he’s fired up and ready to mount a third world title campaign in 2019.
