I was born and raised here on O’ahu in a small country town just east of the North Shore. I’ve been surfing professionally for over 15 years and surfing the world’s deadliest wave is what I got paid for (Pipeline). In 1999, I was launched on to the world stage when winning the prestigious Pipeline Master trials. This allowed me a spot in the main event where I was able to upset the #1 World Title Contender, show casing my skills in some of the biggest, rawest wave conditions the Pipe Masters competition has ever seen.

Now proving that this small time island boy can bang it out with the worlds best, a Teahupoo, Tahiti Trials invitation followed soon after. This was my introduction to the world’s second most infamous wave (Teahupoo). Talk about being thrown into the frying pan…on a scale of 1 to 10 it was HUGE and the waves demanded 110% focus, commitment and respect.Being the waterman I strive to be, I keenly observed a solution that allowed me to tackle these waves of such immense magnitude and make it to the finals of yet another event. I had the late, great Andy Irons, the then 6 time World Champion Kelly Slater, Vetea David (the Tahitian king of Teahupoo), and myself, in what the industry marketed as a Super Final. I fought hard and proud but lost on name sake alone. As a devoted waterman, I’ve gained a tremendous amount of knowledge, not only from what I’ve accomplished, but also from what I’ve suffered. A number of years ago while surfing Pipeline on the Extra Large size, I was involved in a freak accident that turned into a near-fatal experience. The incident happened all because of someone elses lack of awareness. The lessons I’ve taken from that event have inspired me to my goal of instilling proper surf etiquette and safety into those whom I teach.

Besides surfing, another huge passion of mine is acting. I can be seen on movies such as Charlie’s Angels 2, Blue Crush, and Pirates of the Caribbean 4, as well as on the hit T.V. shows Lost and Hawaii Five-0. I have also landed national/international add campaigns for Nissan Xterra -which aired during the NFL playoffs and Winter Olympics, and appeared on a Coke-a- Cola Commercial. When I’m not acting, I’m still quite a character, so there’s always a ton of fun to be had.