When John John Florence first stepped on tour, there was a lot of hype around him. He’s been in surfing’s spotlight since he was just a little kid surfing in his backyard. Granted, his backyard was the North Shore and Pipeline was the swing set, but even with the best playground in the world, it takes a special person to master it. Pretty soon, he owned the swing set. Sure, he let some other kids mess around, but in the end, he was the playground ruler.
Then, of course, he qualified for the world stage. It was a big deal. “The next Kelly Slater!” everyone shouted. He was still young (still is, in fact), and his surfing, although it had glimmers of what was to come, was still unpolished and rough around the edges. Within a few years, though, he sorted that out. And sorted it out good. He didn’t fall to the pressure of a thousand people telling him he was going to be great. He just continued surfing, and continued to be great at it.
Right now, the title race is in a weird place. Going into Margaret River, Kelly Slater is looking down the barrel of a very un-Kelly start to the year. Imagine if he didn’t requalify? Imagine Kelly Slater back on the ‘QS, slogging his way back up the ranks? It would never happen, but imagine! Wilko is in first. Conner Coffin is in second. And although John John might not have quite figured out how to win a world title (just yet), even if it never happens, in my eyes, the torch was passed years ago: John John is the best surfer since Kelly Slater. It’s little things like this air-reverse that prove it.
