SURFING Magazine, 2014 Vans US Open of Surfing by SURFING Magazine

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The Good, The Bad And The Beautiful

JUSTES

It is impossible to tell the story of the 2014 Vans United States Open of Surfing. There is just too much that happens. At any given point in time during the Open, Matt Banting could be landing a slob-grab reverse while Greyson Fletcher is doing a hurricane grind on a gravely section of pool coping while a pro surfer is enjoying an afternoon delight in his (or her!) swanky hotel room while a guy is holding a sign and screaming about Jesus while a 14-year-old kid is rounding second base under the pier while a child is building a sand castle while Kolohe Andino gets ready for his heat while Dane Reynolds is hosting a pizza party and his party-goers are drinking red whine out of a turquoise shoe. All of this life in one single moment. It defies documentation. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a wild web of virtue colliding with vice â&#x20AC;&#x201D; giving, taking, borrowing, stealing and eventually collecting into a twisted week of events. Some of it is good. Some of it is bad. But all of it is beautiful in its very own way.

PHOTOGRAPHY Peter Taras Jimmicane Corey Wilson Steve Sherman Fiona Mullen Aaron Checkwood Greg Gyselinck Nick Liotta Antoine Justes

COVER PHOTO: ANTOINE JUSTES THIS PAGE PHOTO: FIONA MULLEN

S U B S C R I B E C H O O S E

Y O U R

V I C E

YES

single-move keeper clips into the sky in one

and now our greatest rockers are

big, freesurfing circle jerk, and it wouldn’t

trying to put today’s rebels in a

Kai Neville can shoot a year’s worth of

IT’S ONLY COMPETITION

We built this city on rock and roll,

school uniform.” touch the drama of a WCT season.” IT’S ONLY COMPETITION

touch the drama of

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH: Surfers from both sides of the stable have their say

J O S H K E R R : S u r f i n g i s a l i f e s t yle t hat i s a l s o my c a r e e r. L i ke a s p o r t it ’s c o mp e t it ive , but o ut s i d e o f t h e c o mp e t it ive r e a l m it ’s t o t a l ly a n a r t f o r m . B ut ma i n ly, it ’s j u s t f u n . I t ’s s o m e t h i n g I ’ l l b e d o i n g t i l l t h e d ay I d i e . Y

Josh, Australia. See the full sequence on page 116. S

R I

PHOTO: COREY WILSON

+ SURFING READERS' POLL: We asked, you answered + ANCHORMAN: Joe Turpel. "You stay classy!" + WHY IS THE TOUR STILL SO BLACK AND WHITE?

YEARS OF

SEP

2 0 1 4

WHAT TEAM AR E YOU ON?

WH AT TEAM AR E YO U ON ?

THE PROS AND THE PEOPLE H AV E T H E I R S AY

ISSUE

FROM THE HORSE

JOSH KERR: Surf c o mp e t it ive , b u t B u t m a i n ly, it ’s j

# 9 2014

DIGITAL

surfingmagazine.com

LET'S SAY I

+ SURFING READE

+ THE CASE FOR A CONDENSED SEASON: Jimmicane makes his plea

WELL, IS IT

Josh, Australia. S

I LET'S SAY IT IS

YEARS OF

single-move keepe

big, freesurfing circ

WELL, IS IT? Y

YES

Kai Neville can sho

+ ANCHORMAN: J

+ THE CASE FOR A

+ WHY IS THE TOU

JIMMICANE

GYSELINCK

WELCOME The surfing is right here, the skating is

over there and the butts are everywhere.

People of the streets, people of the beach, people of the bus and just plain people.

TARAS

SHERMAN

GYSELINCK

JIMMICANE

S T O RY T I M E

Pet erson Crisanto spins a tail. The story ended with an 8.87.

JUSTES

TARAS

GYSELINCK

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

JIMMICANE

Ifs, an ds and butts.

TARAS

WILSON

CHECKWOOD

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

JIMMICANE

WINNERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CIRCLE Jordy Smith won a heat, then this guy won selfies.

TARAS

MY FIRST US O PE N : D e fl o w e r ed in HB

“You never forget your first time,” my friends told me as we pulled into Huntington Beach. It was my third day on the job at SURFING Magazine and I was all dolled up to cover my first US Open. Lucky boardshorts. SURFING hat. Trusty reporter’s notepad and extra pens. I had been waiting my entire young life for this, and now the time had come to experience my first Vans US Open of Surfing. I was very excited and slightly scared. I asked my colleagues who had done it before what it felt like. “It’s best if you’re a little drunk,” they said. I practiced by myself beforehand (watching past webcasts and studying old brackets), so that everything would be perfect and I wouldn’t look like such an obvious virgin. It felt good, but I knew in my heart it would feel even better in the flesh. Magical, even. In my mind I had already planned out every detail: Brett Simpson would win his third US Open title and I would be there to write the seminal game story and cheer him on from the surfer’s area, alongside Kelly Slater, who

would take an inexplicable liking to me. At the awards podium, Rosy Hodge and I would meet and fall in love, even though she speaks South African and I speak English. It would be a fairytale. It had to be. It was my first time. .. But oh how naive I was. Kelly never showed up. And R osy told me she had a boyfriend. Then the script got completely scrapped when Simpo lost to Filipe Toledo in th e semis. And then the nightmare: an all-Brazilian final. At Surf City, USA! Where was my US Open? Next thing I knew they were tearing down the scaffolding in the rain. It wa s quick. And rough. And it kind of hurt. And at the end I was left, alone, with an empty feeling inside. I felt betrayed. Used. My mom was right, I thought. All surf contests are the same. They just want one thing from a young editor: undying attention for the length of the waiting period. They tell you what you want to hear until you give in, then it’s on to the next. But now that I’ve had a couple of days to process it all, I realize that the US

Open was actually a pretty cool time. I got to see Filipe Toledo win his first major event. I got to see the Strange Rumblings premiere and a guy in a Chewbacca suit campaigning for Jesus. And that girl with “boner garage” written on her lower back even gave me her number. She seemed nice. In hindsight, I thank the 2014 Vans US Open of Surfing for giving me a valuable dose of reality: No surf contest can ever live up to an unrealistic expectation of perfection. But that doesn’t mean they can’t still be fun. So from here on out, I’m just going to have fun. Flirt with that 1-star in New Jersey. Experiment on the QS with different nationalities (Spanish and Brazilian sound fun). But I won’t give my heart away so freely again. I’m saving myself for something truly special, an event that won’t play games. Actually, I am super excited to go see my first Eddie Aikau Invitational in Hawaii this winter. I think it could be love. — Leo Maxam

Corey A rrambideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main sponsor is a banana company called Chiquita and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably a joke about him peel ing out somewhere in there.

JIMMICANE

WILSON

FROM THE SKY TO THE SAND, HB I S AWFULLY VIBRA NT.

GYSELINCK

JUSTES

GYSELINCK

JUSTES

Kolohe Andino and a tail-throw almost as aggressive as yellow sunglasses.

GYSELINCK

JIMMICANE

TARAS

SHERMAN

GYSELINCK

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

THE MAYOR

Technically, Matthew Harper is the mayor of Huntington Beach â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but have you seen Brett Simpson surf south side?

JIMMICANE

ANOTHER AIR REVERSE? Yes, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Huntington. Josh Kerr and the wings of an angel.

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

SHERMAN

JIMMICANE

Dane Reynolds, in it for the hugs.

JUSTES

TARAS

Filipe Toledo and the little crowd that could.

Kolohe, going vert.

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

GYSELINCK

JIMMICANE

Greyson Fletcher.

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

JIMMICANE

LIOTTA

The Van Doren Invitational.

Hey, could we borrow that grab?

TARAS

JUSTES

SHERMAN

LIOTTA

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

JIMMICANE

GYSELINCK

Hey, you mind if we borrow that rotation? LIOTTA

Brett Simpson and the creatures under the pier.

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

JIMMICANE

IF THIS IS WAR... ...then Filipe Toledo is like Napolean Bonaparte, but more tan.

Nobody had it in them to tell Jordy Smith that 200 lb. men arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t meant to surf small waves like this. Oh well.

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

TARAS

JIMMICANE

TARAS

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

good from far but far from...

JUSTES

JIMMICANE

A lot of modern surfing can be traced back to Larry Bertlemann. We figured the least we could do is buy hi m a beer.

JIMMICANE

LIOTTA

FLOWERS IN HER HAIR And a world title on her mind. Steph Gilmore.

JIMMICANE

LIOTTA

JIMMICANE

TARAS

JIMMICANE

Malia Manuel made the Semis of the women’s division (which was, in fact, a WCT) but you’re probably fixated on that photo of Dylan Goodale and the very tall man aren’t you?

JIMMICANE

LIOTTA

TARAS LIOTTA

MULLEN

TARAS

WILSON

JUSTES

GYSELINCK

SHERMAN

JIMMICANE

TARAS

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

T hing s w e l e ar n o n th i s spr e ad : 1) Stephanie Gilmore does great turns. 2) Stephanie Gilmore has fantastic legs. 3) Somebody drove a Fiat into the ocean. 4) Wilian Cardoso is an elk.

JIMMICANE

TARAS

JIMMICANE

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all fun and games until somebody loses the world title. Tyler Wright and Steph, your smiling finalists.

JIMMICANE

GYSELINCK

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

She just couldn’t go wrong.

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

Ty ler Wright,

YOUR 2014 VANS US OPEN OF SURFING CHAMPION, gives one hell of a high-five.

JIMMICANE

They partied, alright. Just not for Tyler.

TARAS

CHECKWOOD

TWIGHLIGHT LIES Don’t let the tranquility fo ol you.

Don’t, you’ll go to jail.

JUSTES

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

JIMMICANE

“Going vert” is an expression that some folks use instead of saying “drowning oneself in alcohol.” It is also a valid way of describing what Tanner Guda uskas is doing with this turn.

GOING VERT

JUSTES

TARAS

JUSTES JIMMICANE

JIMMICANE

Kolohe Andino raised th e roof all the way until Round 5 when the roof suddenly came crashing down on him. The roof was named Garret Parkes.

JIMMICANE

TARAS

Bailey Nage and then her dad shook another manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand while chairing her up the beach.

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

TARAS

GYSELINCK

JIMMICANE

GYSELINCK

TARAS

PRO JUNIOR? Matt Banting won the Pro Junior division at the Open. He also happens to lead the WQS ratings. He also lands tail throws like this with delicate ease.

TARAS

Wilian Cardoso has no idea who Paul Mitchell is. Paul Mitchell has no idea who Wilian Cardoso is. Somebody, somewhere within a mile, probably has no idea where their pants are.

JIMMICANE

TARAS

JIMMICANE

TARAS

Right round baby. Right round. Filipe stuck this air about 30 times throughout the event, and it proved to be the song the judges wanted to hear in the final.

SHERMAN

JIMMICANE

After having just moved his entire family to San Clemente, this was an acceptable claim. Almost.

JIMMICANE

JUSTES

JIMMICANE

SHERMAN

Filipe Toledo

WON THE 2014 VANS US OPEN OF SURFING, b ut he did not win facial hair.

So many Instagrams, so few hashtags.

GYSELINCK

And with that, it became a ghost town. The ghosts were mostly of morals.

GYSELINCK

thanks for

JUSTUS