#My5Lineups: Ryan Moss

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Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii. Pictured here is Mark Healey. Pipeline was the wave I grew up dreaming about bodyboarding and it wasn’t until my freshman year at the University of Hawaii Manoa that I got to live my dreams. I honestly spent more time, bodyboarding, dreaming about riding, training and tracking swells than I did in the classroom, studying and doing homework and somehow I still pulled off decent grades that year. It’s a wave for a long time that I measured all other waves by. The beauty, power and complexity of the line-up and understanding all of that makes me appreciate the wave even more. Where else in the world can the average human walk up and watch surfers throw themselves over the ledge and in life threatening situations? World titles have been won and lost here and there is so much history within this small stretch of reef located on the 7 Mile Miracle. As much as it can make or break a surfer’s career, it can do the same for a surf photographer. I was just starting my career as guys like Aichner and his generation of photographer were really starting to leave. It was in ways a changing of the guard. Guys like Zak Noyle and Brent Bielman were up and coming and making their mark. I never wanted to be the guy who sat on the beach with a big lens and a beer gut. I wanted to be out in the water experiencing the energy and capturing those moments. Anyone can stand on the beach and shoot, guys who I really looked up to were out in the water putting themselves in the most critical situations capturing moments that you dream of as a kid. So proving myself at Pipeline was high on my priority list. I had a few pretty successful winters out there. I remember the first time I met Mikala Jones I was working for Reef for the first time back in 2012. I asked Mikala if I should swim out on a really average day at 6ft off the wall and film him. He told me “No.” Thinking I couldn’t swim or something like that. The next morning backdoor was doing it’s thing and it was pretty solid. I remember linking up with Mikala and being directly under him and the lip as be passed right by me on a pretty solid wave. After he saw that clip he laughed and never doubted my swimming abilities again. Still to this day we laugh about that wave. Photo: Ryan Moss

The Right, Indonesia. This photo was taken by Mikala Jones ( @mikalajones) on our second trip within two weeks to this wave. The thing is the scariest, craziest, out of control wave I have ever experienced. It’s remote, scary, incredibly dangerous, and as beautiful as they come. You can see my waterhousing in the bottom right hand corner of the photo. Swimming here pushed me to my ultimate limits mentally and physically. I don’t really want or need to say much, I’ll let the photo do all the talking. Photo: Ryan Moss

P-Pass, Micronesia. The simple fact that this wave is a logistical nightmare to get to makes me appreciate the two trips I have ever taken to this magical place. It’s hands down one of the most expensive surf trips of your life. That being said, it’s worth every penny you will spend. I remember the first time I traveled here it was with Dave Nelson, Dusty Payne, Eric Geiselman and Gavin Beschen. Nelly invited me to come on the trip to film for Transworld’s new movie they were going to release later that year. The trip also doubled for Volcom’s web series they were releasing at the time. I almost didn’t go because we couldn’t figure out who was going to pay for my ticket and cost of travel. Everything worked out and it is still one of the most memorable trips of my life. Funny enough 3 years later a very similar situation happened with Luke Davis. I just came back traveling from Peru to spend a few days with my family before I had to fly back out to Oahu, for a Nikon Project. I got home at 830pm and was passed out by 930pm. I woke up to a text message a few hours later from Luke asking me if I wanted to go to P-Pass. After a lot of back and forth texting and figuring out flights, prices, and logistics at 4:30 am we booked our tickets and by 630 I was flying out of San Francisco to head to Micronesia. We scored really fun flawless waves for 4 days straight. No one was there either, it was pretty dreamy and amazing. But looking back on both trips, those trips are pretty much for me what it means to be a surfer and surf photographer. Chasing swells, dropping everything at a moments notice and living the dream. Photo: Ryan Moss

Tahiti. I’m not going to say where this wave is but this wave pictured is hands down the wave out of the list that I hold closest to my heart. My younger brother passed away a month ago and our first real and last trip together was to Tahiti. I had a break from my busy shooting schedule and booked a trip to Tahiti. My brother ended up joining me and we spent days on end bodyboarding this wave by ourselves with just a small group of friends. He wasn’t a very good bodyboarder or surfer but he was the biggest fan of the sport of surfing that I know. My friend Kaiwa coached him into a handful of gems and he didn’t make one of them. But, somehow when I decided to take a break and chill on the boat in the channel he got a clean but pretty small wave. He made the crop high lined it and made the barrel. I remember just laughing so hard as he kicked out and then pointed to me and our friend Mika making sure that we got the photo of him getting barreled and making the wave. I had gotten the wave of my life out there a week prior and watching him get his was pretty awesome and every time I see that photo it brings the biggest smile to my face and tears to my eyes. The people of Tahiti are some of the nicest people in the world. I love Tahiti and it’s hands down my favorite place in the world that I have ever traveled to. Photo: Ryan Moss

The Lane, Santa Cruz, California. I grew up as a bodyboarder and at a young age my dad would always take me to Santa Cruz to push me into waves. I would spend countless hours just playing in the beach breaks. It wasn’t until after college that I decided to take shooting photos. making surf films and taking ti seriously and making it my career. I can not begin to tell you how important the surfing community in Santa Cruz was in helping me a long the way in my career goals. Kyle Buthman, Matt Myers, Austin Smith-Ford, Dave Nelson, Ryan Craig, Bud Frietas, Jesse Colombo, Josh Mulcoy are all people I am extremely grateful to call friends. It really wasn’t though until that I met this blond hair kid by the name of Nat Young that things really started taking off for me. I was already doing trips and pretty much working staff for Fox, but when Nat and I teamed up to make his first Innersection part things just took off for me. My network within the surfing community grew and I was doing a lot more trips that I personally wanted to be on. Nat and I are still really close and I consider him still to this day as one of my best friends. I can not even begin to count the amount of hours I have spent filming Nat at the Lane. But yeah, because of all the history I have with Santa Cruz and the Lane being that towns most iconic wave, that is why it’s my most important wave on the list. Photo: Ryan Moss

As a self-educated visual artist, I draw inspiration from the surf, mountains, people, and travel. It plays such an important role in my life. When I’m not traveling, I can be found in California or Hawai’i, chugging an almond milk dark chocolate latte while scanning the horizons for my next adventure.

See more of Ryan’s photography by visiting his website and following him on Instagram.

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#My5Lineups: Ryan Moss’ 5 Incredible Images from Around the Globe

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