Photo: Koa Rothman // YouTube
Just a few days ago, we saw Jamie O’Brien herald the opening of the Pipeline winter season. However, he was far from the only North Shore surfer who showed up to Pipe’s opening day. Recently, Koa Rothman posted a video of his perspective of the proceedings.
However, before he could get to Pipeline, Koa had to pay the piper in the form of a contest entry. It was a rare occurrence for someone who is almost exclusively a freesurfer, outside of a few specialty events. “I’m not the biggest fan of contests,” said Rothman as he waxed up a board. “I don’t really know why I do them, but my dad kind of just talks me into entering every time. I never do too well.”
His words ended up being prophetic. ”I’ve been having a rough week, rough day at the contest.” said Rothman afterwards. “I had fun with Makua [but] I clearly lost that heat. Kind of not meant for these contests. I’m having that realization at 30 years old. But you know what’s here for me? Pipeline.”
And boy did Pipeline show up for him. Along with a host of fellow North Shore pros that included Jamie O’Brien, Eli Olson and Balaram Stack, Rothman was there for a characteristically dramatic opening day that was sure to leave the Sunset Pro far in the rearview.
