Pipeline is the crown jewel of the world’s waves. For decades, it has been the center of the surfing world — the favorite child of a thousand parents, doodled a million times in a million notebooks, dreamt of on countless nights by countless people.
According to lore, the first time Pipeline was successfully surfed was way back in December of 1961. On a four-foot day at a then-unnamed wave, Phil Edwards stroked towards the horizon and into the history books. A west swell was rising, and by the next day, the nameless reef was churning out perfect 8-foot Pipeline waves. Bruce Brown of Endless Summer fame sat on the beach with a camera in hand and filmed Edwards surfing on a classic longboard, leashless with no one else in the lineup.
Since then, things have changed dramatically. Pipeline is the cornerstone of the proving grounds. The lineup is packed with hyper-talented surfers, all vying for a spot in the limelight and a wave they’ll likely remember forever. The Backyard, Volcom’s latest offering, provides 10 minutes of nothing but some of the best surfers in one of the most challenging lineups on earth. The real star, however, is the wave itself.
