2007 Monster Energy Pipeline Pro

Jamie O’Brien Hana Hou
As a North West swell arrives at Hale’iwa, surfers from around the world fly to O’ahu in anticipation of the 2007 Pipeline Pro, returning the energy to Pipeline once again.
The Pipeline Pro started in 1984, first sponsored by Hawaiian Island Creations. It began as a one star event, grew to a two-star event, and has since blossomed to a four-out-of-five-star event. “The prestige of this event has really grown,” said contest announcer, confirmed by the media attention and excited crowd lining the shore.
The Pipeline Pro is held at Pipeline on North Shore, Oahu, named one of the heaviest waves in the world. There’s $75,000 up for grabs in this competition, as well as $4,000 of prizes provided by sponsors.
The Pipeline Pro offers surfers to qualify for the WCT circuit, as well as claim a spot in the Pipe Masters for the following December. North Shore local Jamie O’Brien took the title in 2003, as goofy-foot Rob Machado won the Pipeline Pro in 2006
Machado admits there’s pressure to perform well the following year, but he tries to have fun and “just roll with it.”
Curling tubes under cloudy skies set the stage for the final day of competition for the Monster Energy Pro presented by Billabong. Conditions changed hourly throughout the holding period of the contest, causing surfers to cross their fingers for optimum conditions during their heats this year.
This year 162 surfers participated in the event from eleven different nations. Surfers compete in four-man heats lasting twenty minutes, while judges rate them on a ten-point-scale combining their top three wave scores. Judges base their score on several aspects of surfing,
§ Size of wave
§ Drop into wave
§ Degree of difficulty
§ Position in barrel
§ Length of barrel
Overall, the most important aspect judges are looking at in this competition is “tube rides” Rob Machado says.
Twenty-five boards broke during the Pipeline Pro this year, a true testament as to how strong this wave is. Powerful sets came crashing through, forcing surfers to think fast and try to position themselves away from the breaking waves and powerful white wash. Waves rolled in from the northwest, so powerful even the third reef began breaking, as could be seen on the horizon. Water raced further onto the beach, chasing startled spectators away from the shoreline, stealing slippers, towels, anything that was not held on to.
Water patrol on jet skies idle alongside surfers in the line up, trained and prepared to assist competitors if caught in a dangerous position. “I’d like to thank the water patrol program and lifeguards for keeping it safe out there” announces commentator McNamara enjoying Wahoo’s tacos and Monster energy drinks provided by Pipeline Pro sponsors.
Conditions improve as the sun comes out around noon. Ricky Witlock, Rob Machado, Myles Pedaca, and Danny Fuller sit in the lineup of heat five of round five. Fuller shows his determination, dropping in deep, not quite pulling out of the closeout tube. California native, Rob Machado, pulls into a tube as Pedaca drops in backdoor. Machado, gets spit out, gaining a score of 6.25, moving him into first place. Spectators, awed by Machado’s persistent grace and display of talent forecast another successful competition for the style-master.
“Rob’s skills as a waterman and surfer will make him victorious just as it did last year” predicts John McDermott, north shore resident.
Jamie O’Brien, Wiggolly Dantas, Damon Harvey, and Naohisa Ogawa follow in an international heat. O’Brien wins the heat by .25 points with 55 seconds left in the heat. This north shore local confirms mastery of pipe, dropping into heavy waves late, all the while making it look easy with his confidence and smooth style.
Mark Mathews, Gavin Gilette, Rob Machado and Jamie O’Brien advance to the finals. Jet skis escort them to the lineup while a huge wave breaks, the horn is sounded, and the thirty minute heat begins.
Surfers charge hard, attempting any wave with scoring potential. Jamie O’Brien awakens the crowd, catching three waves with a high of 8.0 and low of 7.25, putting him in the first place spot. With 11:50 minutes remaining in the heat cheering and whistling projects from the Volcom house balcony.
Ten minutes are left on the clock as Machado gets hit by the lip and breaks his board. Groms race to the beach to retrieve the board as Machado’s caddie rushes to get him a new board. Paddling hard against the strong Pipeline current, Machado reaches the lineup in an astounding two minutes, but can’t catch the wave score needed to win, and the Pipeline Pro finishes with Hawai’ian surfer Jamie O’Brien on top once again.
Final Results:
1st: Jamie O’Brien $10,000
2nd: Mark Mathews $5,000
3rd: Rob Machado $3,000
4th: Gavin Gillett: $2,400
Complete coverage of the event can be found at: www.monsterenergypro.com www.billabongpro.com

Unfortunately this year the Pipeline Pro will not take place on O'ahu's north shore. Contest holders could not obtain a permit from the city and county of Honolulu to hold the event at the infamous Bonzai Pipeline break. Locals protest the traffic and populated beach that continuously runs throughout the winter season.
Bad for Monster, good for others. The denied permit allows another, smaller, contest to charge the break.

Bringing it to the Bay

Bob’s love of surfing creates new possibilities for Northern Californians

Every surfer has their own unique story of how they got turned on to surfing and catching their first wave. Just as every wave rolling into the shore is slightly different, so is every surfer, their reason for surfing, and how surfing affects their lives.
Bob resides in Bodega Bay, California. The waves rolling into these shores may not grace the pages of Surfer Magazine, but where there’s water and there’s wind, there are waves, and where there are waves there are surfers braving the cold bay waters and shark infested breaks.
Bob grew up in Sebastopol, roughly forty-five minutes north of the Golden Gate in beautiful Sonoma County, California. When Bob and his older brother were growing up, the surfing culture was yet to reach much of Northern California, no Surfline to check swells and nowhere to buy a stick of wax. The first board Bob saw was his older brother’s, who received his longboard via mail when Bob was twelve years old.
With extremely limited knowledge of surfing, the boys curiously studied the foreign polyurethane foam board and leash that arrived with it.
“I think you tie the leash through that hole at the end” Bob suggested to his brother.
“What do you know squirt?” his proud brother fired back. Bob turned out to be right, and smiled at the thought that he might know more about surfing than his older brother.
“I decided I wanted to be a surfer, even if it killed me” he says.
Bob felt an immediate attachment to the surf. He enjoyed both the challenge and the peaceful aspects of surfing. “I knew I was heading for ‘surfism’” he says.
“I surf because it makes me feel good, and there’s a lot of things in life that are the opposite” he says. “I feel it’s a rejuvenation of the soul. Surfing just feels good. Everyday I paddle out, I duck dive and it just washes away all the crap”.
Bob turned his passion for surfing into a way to make a living and spread surfing in the bay. Bob opened up the first surf shop in Bodega Bay alongside sharky surf breaks at Doran Beach, Bodega Head and Salmon Creek.
The Surf Shack sits among quaint beach house shops in classic Bodega Bay form. The two story shop is packed with goodies for surfers, skaters and ocean lovers.
“If I packed up the surf shop and moved to Idaho because the real estate is cheaper, then came back to a surf shop fifteen years later and said, ‘yeah, I used to surf’ that’s when I would feel like I sold out. Owning a surf shop doesn’t make me fell like a sell out”
he explains.
Now, twenty years later, Bob still happily owns and operates the Surf Shack alongside wife and surfer, Laurie.

Boarding Bettys

Women’s skateboarding is stronger than ever.

The snow had melted in Tahoe after many tank top and sun glasses sessions and memorable long weekends in the mountains. After living out of my Honda Civic and crashing on couches for a few months, my relationship with my long time boyfriend came to a close and I needed a distraction. Still amped from the winter season, I was itching to continue board riding through the spring and summer.
Back in town, I saw a few hippie guys crusin on long boards around campus and decided it looked easy enough. Recovering from nearly losing my job after too many “sick days,” I bought a $60 long board from a sporting goods store. The design was so whacked out, it looked more like a wood shop project than a skateboard but I didn’t know better and was stoked on the jagg long board.
After coasting through a couple of parks, learning to turn, I decided it was time to bomb some hills. Living in the rolling hills of Northern California, I drove to the top of Hidden Valley, a neighborhood of perfectly smooth pavement curling around lawns and trees.
Lindsay, my partner in crime and a skateboarding virgin accompanied me on this mission. We picked a hill and I was amped to tackle it.
Standing at the top, I kicked off on the board and started rolling down on my trusty three feet of plywood. Slowly, I picked up speed…a little more…a little more….a lot more…crap, I was flying! Terrified as the speed wobbles kicked in, I did the only thing I could: stand there. Once I safely rolled to a stop I, was stoked.
Hanging around board shops and watching other skaters I began to learn what the action sport was all about. Skateboarding is not as main-stream as other sports like football. There aren’t jerseys or minivan moms handing out orange slices and juice boxes at the park. Skateboarding is more individual, driven by passion. Skateboarding is challenging as well as artistic. The city paves our playground letting us live our daydreams of kick flips and board slides. Pedestrians pass by, often shooting irritated looks in the direction of skaters as they kick their boards in the air, slam them down on the pavement, disturbing the peace. Both physically and mentally challenging, skateboarding stimulates endorphins, strengthens muscles and teaches patience and precision. Skaters have a unique perception of urban life, appreciation of the potential of a simple hand rail, or a freshly paved hill. Yes, skaters love seeing their tax dollars going to good use.
Without a coach or friends to teach me, I attempted to build a skateboard deck on my own. Backwards, forwards, the trucks looked the same and I had no idea how to pop the bearings into the wheels. My first attempt looked outstanding. After thirty minutes of toying with these parts on my lunch break, the board looked ready to go. Exciteditly I ran out the backdoor to my work’s parking lot. I set the board down, put one foot on the deck to stabilize, kicked off, and bam. Fell straight on my ass. A worker from next door pointed out one of the trucks was on backwards (of course, right?) I retreated to the back room, fixed the problem and felt somewhat satisfied from my dissection and building of a skateboard.
I had always snowboarded, but soon discovered what mountains are to snowboarding, street is to skateboarding, and everyone you know happens to share your concrete mountain.
If I ate shit during my afternoon sesh/ going to grab a bite to eat, that hot guy at the burrito shop, my co-worker, or classmate will probably see, and some days it’s not so easy just to laugh it off.
Other times I wish I didn’t feel like such a sore thumb hanging out in the quad with my peers. My trendy, high-heeled, friend called my skating “cute” one day on campus, as she giggled at my Sector Nine. I later caught her filing her white tipped-nail on the grip tape of her boyfriend’s skateboard. Secretly, I wanted to punch her in the face (love you, chica).
Women skaters are often given the infamous title of “tomboy” for simply living with skateboarding style. Today, skateboarding juxtaposes feminism, as if somehow clenching a board under your arm makes you an unavailable candidate for a girlfriend, or someone looking for trouble.
So here we have this non-girlfriend-material, skating, rebel. How do we categorize her? The category is somewhere between a rock and a hard place.
Generally someone finds friends with the same interests as themselves and share the things you have in common with one another. While other girls give time to pedicures, Cosmopolitan and finding the perfects heels, the skater girl is breaking nails, (possibly bones), trying to nail that kick-flip and wishing Vans had that shoe in women’s sizes.
Peggy Oki wrote history as the only female member of the Zephyr skating team in the 1970’s, better known as Dogtown and the Z-boys. This group of outgoing teens rocked the skateboarding world as they skated with a progressive, surf style. Oki skates with her signature stance, bending to lower her center of gravity and dragging her hand along the pavement as you would surfing a wave. Critics bashed Oki for skating “like a man” as she power slides with aggression, dominating any bowl she drops into.
The bud of the Women’s skateboarding industry blossomed once snowboarding hit the slopes in the 90’s. The two board sports compliment each other. As the snowboarding scene grew, more board riders looked for something to get their stoke and found skateboarding as a placeholder for the summer void.
More girls began to skate and participate in competitions. Women such as Cara Beth Burnside and Jen O’Brien grew up competing in the boys’ divisions of skating because there was no girls division. As skateboarding became popular, the women’s industry reached a sink-or-swim situation, which was a trying time for women skaters.
Jodi McDonald, notable skateboarding pioneer, struggled with this transition. She didn’t like where the skateboarding industry was going and disappeared from the scene.
Originally a skateboarder, Cara Beth Burnside discovered snowboarding when women’s divisions were established in contests. After receiving exposure for her board riding skills, Burnside began competitive skateboarding, entering her first competition in 1991 against male skaters. She has conquered many women’s contests to date, as well as holds medals for snowboarding in the Winter Olympic Games for five consecutive years.
Finally, in 1997, Patty Segovia founded the All Girls Skate Jam. As this culture is fresh from the roots of skateboarding, girls meld innovative board riding with a feminine flair.
Apparel brands are also picking up on women’s interest in skateboarding and the need to have clothes to fit their lifestyle. Brands such as Roxy, Hurley and Volcom have widely extended their market to action sports chicks as well as fashion hungry females to support their cause.
Iceland snowboarder Heida Birgisdottir created her own clothing line, Nikita, for action sports women. With the appropriate motto, “For Girls Who Ride” Nikita provides women living an active lifestyle with clothing created with both function and fashion in mind.
It can be a lonely world as a skater chick, there aren’t that many of us. It’s fun to skate with others, regardless of gender but to balance yin and yang we need more estrogen in the skate scene.
Women who break into male-dominated cultures are celebrated and praised, as they should be. As more women expand their interests to other cultures, such as skateboarding, girls will be given more opportunities and more appreciation in the centuries to come.
Although the vibe transcends camaraderie and pure stoke, women are still struggling in the industry, as they may lose half of any possible prize winnings just getting to the competition.
As another deck of wheels hit the pavement with a female as the driving force, women’s presence in the skateboarding culture gains momentum. Today four skateboards wait to ridden in my room in Hawai’i, two of my girl friends have purchased their asphalt quiver and you are reading my words. I’d say life’s pretty sweet as a skater girl.

Women rocking in the action sports industry
From the slopes to the surf, women are out there shredding.
Layne Beachley, natural foot surfer from Australia has dominated the women’s surf scene claiming seven world titles riding the waves of the world. Beachley claimed the biggest wave ever ridden by a woman as she dropped in on a beastly fifty foot-face wave.
Beachley’s achievements are not limited to standing in the barrel, either. This Aussie ripper has established her own clothing line, runs a charity, and sponsers her own women’s surf contest, the Havianas Beachley Classic.

Goofy-foot Hannah Teter out of Vermont pushes women’s snowboarding to higher levels. A progressive half-pipe fiend, Teter was the first chick to land a 900 in competition and has showcased her talent to the world, winning an Olympic Gold Medal in 2006 for the women’s half pipe division.
Sponsors like Burton and Anon Optics have Teter’s back, allowing her to travel the world and continue to innovate snowboarding. Oh, and did I mention she skates between snow trips?