Radical Times in Hawaii
Hawaii. It’s big, it’s bold, and it’s reputation may be even bigger and bolder than itself. But all that aside, the enchanted island is diverse. From Muay Thai to Mai Tais, Waimea to Waikiki and solid Pipe to a solid pie at Ted’s…there is something to suit everyone.

This year, our team attacked every angle. They stayed out late at night. They surfed before the sun rose. They did turns, punted airs and got barrelled. They rode everything from ten-foot slabs of concrete to twenty-foot slabs of unpredictable water. It was a bonafide Radical Time. So for your enjoyment, we thought we would combine these few weeks of bliss edit for your enjoyment. Dig in, then start planning a Radical Time of your own to Hawaii — you really do owe it to yourself.
This Wave
Waves here are truly special. A single one can make your career, break your career, humble you, hurt you, kill you or give you a euphoric experience you’ll never forget. They each have their own story and starting now, our riders are going to tell those stories by giving you raw and honest insight on what made the best waves they’ve wrangled unique.
Jeremy Flores
“I took off super late and was like shit, I should’ve been deeper and knifed it straight inside! I was kinda mad because I wanted the barrel, but I tried getting super low on my bottom turn so that I could still get that little corner section to lay into it. As I was carving, I felt the spit hit the back of my head. It was like a slap from #ThisWave for not being inside hahah."
Koa Rothman
"I wasn’t even sure if #ThisWave was going to be a good one. I was sitting in a weird spot — definitely not where I think the best ones come in — and the sun was going down so it was already kind of dark, but I just whipped it and went anyway. When I got to the bottom, I saw it throwing and realized how big the barrel was. It wasn’t so bad for a wave to come in on."
Zeke Lau
“I had been trying to get barrelled all morning, then the randomly went completely dead for a minute. #ThisWave came in and I saw how smooth and glassy it was — I pretty much felt like I had to lay into a big turn."
Kael Walsh
"It was kind of shit for turns and there were so many guys out there warming up for the comp, so I kinda got pissed off and wanted an air section the whole time. #ThisWave came in and gave me a pretty good little ramp, so it was a good way to remind myself that I’m not on the QS."
Ramzi Boukhiam
“I kept on seeing all these crazy-fun looking lefts and I wanted one so bad, but #ThisWave came straight to me instead. It had a perfect wall so I just went as vertical as I could. It felt really good…for not being a left."
Cody Young
When the opportunity arises, GO! "All the local, really respected guys gave #ThisWave a look and didn’t really want it for some reason — I was baffled. I thought I was little deep, but I went anyway and it worked out pretty good.”
Jesse Mendes
“There were so many ramps this session, but I kept on avoiding them because I didn't want to get injured before the last two events of the season. Then #ThisWave came in with such a perfect ramp and I couldn't resist!"
Mikey February
“Wanna make a backside turn look rad? Mikey Feb is here to help. “I’ve been trying to do turns like this whenever I get the right section — you just need a lot of speed and some wall, then you can just lay into it. #ThisWave was perfect for it, and it felt sick.”
Noe Mar McGonagle
“Oversized Pipeline on an undersized board? NoeMar explains how that one plays out. “There were a lot of waves breaking at Second Reef, but I wasn’t on a big enough board to sit out there with everyone so I hung on the inside and waited for #ThisWave. It worked out perfect — although I got smoked on my next one.”
Zeke lau
There are very few reasons you'd ever come in from waves like this (with an audience like that). Unfortunately, Zeke found one. "I got #ThisWave when I was trading off with a friend at at Off The Wall one morning. I snapped my leash on the next one and had to run in before paddling out for more!"
Leo Fioravanti
“There haven’t been many proper days yet this year, so we’ve been trying to make the most out of anything we get. I paddled out super early this morning and it was pretty on and off, then the wind went offshore, the sun came over the mountains and #ThisWave came in. It wasn’t the biggest barrel, but it was still beautiful in there.”
Connor O’Leary
"As bizarre as it sounds, #ThisWave was my first wave of this session. I paddled out with Dunphy and there were massive ramps out Rockys this afternoon. I wasn't really planning on trying an air on this section but I think I just did it out of instinct and then held on. I honestly thought I was going to eat it on the landing because it gets so shallow on the lefts at Rockys. Somehow I landed super softly and pulled it off. It really didn't feel as good as is looks here so I'm frothing it turned out ok…haha."
Kanoa Igarashi
“I’d been surfing all afternoon and decided it was time to get a wave in. When I got to the beach, the sun was setting and the light looked so sick that I felt like I had to go back and get just one more. #ThisWave came in and had such a perfect ramp — it was beautiful. Stoked I paddled back out.”
Matt Banting
“#ThisWave was a perfect ramp! The wind was blowing straight into it and it had the best section. All sorts of people were sticking airs this day so I was pretty fired up to get this one.”
Wiggolly Dantas
What makes a good ramp? Wiggolly explains. “I thought #ThisWave was going to barrel when I first saw it, but then I realized I could do a big air instead. I like big, steep sections like that — the ones you could almost get barreled on — for airs.”
Connor O’Leary
How’d 2016 WQS champ Connor stay relaxed between the heats? He tells. “It’s always nice to get a few waves away from the event sites. I'll never say no to a good left rip bowl like #ThisWave at Rockies!”
Ramzi Boukhiam
To send, or not to send? That isn’t the question for Ramzi. “Rockies was pretty solid so there were some really big sections. I caught #ThisWave and started racing towards one. I’m not really an air guy so I was kinda scared, but I just went for it! It’s one of my favorite photos from the trip.”
Koa Rothman
Board choices are not bored choices. Here’s @koarothman and some advice on how to keep things interesting. “I was riding a 5’9” and I remember getting to the bottom of #ThisWave and being like hmmm, I could probably be on a bigger board here haha!”