All language subtitles for Momentum Generation 2018 (Momentum Generation 2018) (ENGLISH)

It didn't seem like we were
making an impact at the time.

We were just a bunch of kids living the
dream and traveling around the world.

It was our bond as a family that enabled
us to become as successful as we did.

We were all feeding
off each other, pushing

each other beyond just
going out and having fun.

The competitive thing was
a real cut-throat business.

We were competing
at every level.

The surf industry pit
us against each other.

All's fair in love and
war, and we are at war.

I had to be a bit of
an asshole to win.

He was being a dick.

Fuck him.

If I can just do this thing better
than everybody, then I win.

Friendships, relationships, happiness...
is winning worth giving up those things?

I was born in Cocoa
Beach, Florida in 1972.

My dad owned a bait and tackle shop,
so we just grew up fishing and surfing.

I like to build forts and go camp on
the islands, clamming and shrimping.

I was pretty tough as a kid.

I remember we were riding our bikes one
time down the street, and for some reason

I turned really sharp and I just ate
it and just hit the ground super hard.

And the people stopped their
car and they're like, are you okay?

And my brother goes, he's
the toughest kid on the boat.

He's on the block or
something like that, you

know, and I was like,
yeah, I'm fine, you know.

When I was like eight years
old, a lot changed for me.

That was when my mom
was trying to kick my dad out.

My mom just couldn't handle
the drinking and stuff, and

they would have these crazy
screaming fights in the house.

I feel like I changed
as a person.

I went from fighting and being aggressive
as my way to kind of get out my feelings,

to real like overly
sensitive to everything.

It was really
insecure, you know.

I grew up in Oxnard Shores.

It was a rough Hispanic town.

My dad was a talented
musician, and he made it to

a point where he was a
big fish in a small pond.

He was a big fish
in a small pond.

But then he got sucked
into the drug scene.

He and my stepmom,
they would have knockout,

dragout fights, wake
up with black eyes.

I was just like, God, Dad,
you know, what are you doing?

I didn't want to be
like my dad, a talented

guy that just couldn't
get out of his hometown.

And I didn't want to
be as strict as my mom.

I needed to get out from
under my parents' thumb.

I was born and raised in Hawaii.

I'm from Kona.

Growing up, my
parents ran a restaurant.

My dad was a pretty
gnarly alcoholic.

He was drunk every day.

One day, they got in a
car wreck and lost his arm.

My parents split up when
I was like 12 years old.

My dad wasn't in
the picture anymore.

Times got really hard.

I felt a little bit lost.

I didn't know what to do.

I didn't know what to do.

But following my dad's footsteps
was never an option for me.

I was born in Los
Angeles, California.

My father was a
pro football player.

He was very macho.

Big intimidating
guy with a beard.

It was a really tough
love with my father.

He would always grab
us and throw us around.

All his emotions came
with physical stuff.

He beat up my
brother really bad.

It was a big deal.

Our lives are still hard.

I was born in Kailua,
east side of Oahu.

My mother would probably get arrested
for child abuse for the shit that she did.

I would get dropped
off at like 5 a.m.

at Waikiki with $2 in
my pocket if I was lucky.

And then I would get picked
up at 6 or 7 o 'clock at night.

What are you going to
eat with $2 during the day?

Probably not a
fucking whole lot.

There was this pizza place and
there would be a display of a pizza.

Hey, come eat here.

We would steal that pizza.

I was a ghetto ass kid, man.

As ghetto as it gets.

I had nothing else to do than a
fight and steal some food and surf.

What is surfing?

You know, things are
chaotic, go out in the ocean.

Which is funny because
the ocean is chaotic.

But I felt calm out there.

I was like, all these problems
were happening in my life.

And the only time I felt really
good was when I was surfing.

That's when I had a
real sense of purpose.

This is who I am.

I was that surfer kid.

I wasn't that bummed
out kid at home.

I grew up in Chicago in a
very regimented schedule.

So that independence and freedom
to be able to shed your parents.

And it just picked me up.

To be you in the ocean.

That's what I just
completely fell in love with.

For me, surfing
was total freedom.

Hello, dear.

Hello.

Getting ready to go surfing?

Yeah.

Good, good, good.

I just remember standing
up for the first time.

All of these elements
just like rushing by you.

You're away from
everything all of a sudden.

You're above it.

And you're gliding.

And it was just, I don't know.

I was sold.

Growing up on the
North Shore, one of my

first memories of surfing
was late in the day.

So the sun was
shining down the waves.

And I remember standing
up and having that

perfect image of the sun
glistening on the barrel.

I remember feeling entranced.

Your first barrel, you're
going to remember it forever.

Surfing was my savior.

For me.

All my challenges at home.

And parents splitting up.

I channeled all
that to my surfing.

I could go do something on my own
that no one else could tell me how to do.

And I completely understood it.

Every day was something new.

Learning something
new on the wave.

And it made me hungry.

Surfing comes first and that's my life
and, you know, they've got to respect that.

Vertical one more time.

This kid is just working.

Unbelievable
coordination on a surfboard.

That is as good as you'd guess.

It doesn't get any better.

That's traffic surfing.

Kelly Slater.

Kelly Slater, one of the
bright superstars of the future.

There's no question about it.

The first time I met
Kelly was at the U.S.

Championships.

Kelly was 13 and I was 12.

Square tail.

No wing.

Works killer.

Kelly's already kind
of like a superhero.

Like Michael
Jordan at that point.

You know, everyone's
just like, well, Kelly.

And my dad's like, hey,
let's go take a photo with him.

I'm like, no, no, no.

He's like, hey, Kelly.

And I'm like, ugh.

That awkward moment when
your parent embarrasses you.

After that, Rob and I became good friends
and we would see each other at contests.

And the winner, Kelly Slater.

But back then, surfing
was not a career path.

It was just something
you enjoy doing.

When I was a kid, my local
break was a lot of hard characters.

Drinking beers and
smoking weed on the beach.

I started competing in
the little local contests.

There would be like
three kids in my division.

And talking to those
guys, they were like,

oh yeah, we're all
going to be pro surfers.

And I was like, what?

What are you talking about?

They're like, yeah,
that's what we're doing.

And I didn't know that
was an option, you know.

I remember hanging out with a
friend looking at a surfer magazine.

And I said, I'm
going to do that.

That's going to be my job.

And he was like, yeah, right.

And I just, no.

I'm going to be a
pro surfer someday.

And the blueprint for
me was Tom Curran.

I started surfing in 1985.

And Tom Curran won
the world title that year.

He was the first American
to win the world title

since the inception
of professional surfing.

It had been dominated
by Australians.

If you ask anyone in our generation,
Tom Curran was our inspiration.

He showed us what was possible.

As a kid, I did pretty
well in a few contests.

And by the time I was 18, I was
offered my first sponsorship deal.

Another young surfer rapidly rising through
the ranks is California's Taylor Knox.

$1,000 for the $1,000 picture.

Oh, man.

I don't know how this sells.

After finishing fourth
at the world amateur

titles, I got the contract
I was looking for.

I think I ended up
with $1,200 a month.

And that was a big deal.

Wow, look at that.

Slightest breath.

After a tremendous
amateur career, Blazer has

dedicated himself to the
world of professional surfing.

He signed the biggest
sponsorship deal ever.

It was a big jump for me because I
get nervous in front of a big crowd.

I was getting $75,000
a year at 18 years old.

Coming from not having anything
when I was a kid to getting paid anything,

to go surfing and be able to, you know,
find my own lunch was a bonus, you know.

We'll rob you first, but we
must give you my minimum.

Yeah, definitely.

It gives me a lot
more confidence.

You know, moving
up in the ratings.

I was kind of scared about the
whole concept of being a pro surfer.

I was just a little kid
going surfing every day.

I was just out there for
the pure enjoyment of it.

Like, there was no stress.

And now, you put a piece of paper in
front of someone with money attached to it,

and expectations and obligations,
and everything changes.

I saw it as a huge amount
of pressure, for sure.

But I also thought, like, this is my
duty to go and earn these dollars.

It was based on
that world title.

They wanted you
to win that world title.

I wanted to win so badly
because I never went to college.

I had a zero backup plan.

I was either going to make
it on the world tour, or I fail.

And that was it.

The end goal was always to go on
the world tour and be a world champ.

That was the
pinnacle of the sport.

Win a world championship.

But at the same time,
you got to go to Hawaii.

You got to do good in Hawaii.

Back then, I was like, Hawaii?

Scared the shit out of me.

Proving that you were
going to be able to surf in

Hawaii, that was a
really big part of the deal.

You want to make a name for
yourself, you know, you go to Pipeline.

You can make a career
off just surfing one wave.

It's so powerful
and so beautiful.

Palm trees swaying,
white sand beach.

It's an amazing arena.

But when it's in a bad
mood, it pulverizes you.

It picks you up and just slams
you down, and that reef is so hard.

It feels like you're
hitting a sharp sidewalk.

Pipeline is definitely the
most dangerous spot on Earth.

Yeah!

Yeah!

I've seen a lot
of guys die there.

That's what makes it
such a proving ground.

It's prestigious just to do good in the
trials, but the real reward is to be able

to go and surf against
the world's best at Pipeline.

If you're on the North Shore and Pipeline
was good and you weren't out there and you

were some hot kid,
everybody knew about it.

Everybody saw you as someone
who was avoiding Pipeline.

Coming from Florida,
being a small wave guy, there

was a lot of eyes on
whether I could surf in Hawaii.

You can be the king of your
beach, wherever that is, but

if you can't surf well in Hawaii,
it doesn't mean anything.

I grew up surfing the Great
Lakes on a giant surfboard.

The first couple times I
went to Hawaii, I hated it.

You know, it's a
big fish, small pond.

It's a small fish, big pond.

And at 5'6", 130 pounds,
I ain't getting anything.

The waves are bigger, they're
stronger, they move faster.

It's so dangerous.

It looks like everyone
should go to the hospital.

Like, no way.

I'm on the paddle out of
Pipeline, like, no chance.

And then you had
some super heavy locals.

When you're 135 pounds, skinny, cowly,
the intimidation factor is super high.

I was pretty terrified of Derrick Ho
and Dane Kealoha, Johnny Boy Gomes,

Sandy Garcia.

These were the guys who could
put you in your place real fast.

These were the guys who could
put you in your place real fast.

Like, Brazil is to soccer,
Hawaii is to surfing.

So it's territorial.

You can't just come into Hawaii.

That's the hardest place
on Earth to fucking infiltrate.

Hawaii is like, respect?

Door is wide open.

No respect?

Door is closed and
your ass is kicked.

Oh, my God!

Someone's so big!

Some of these tourists that show up, they
just seem to leave their brains at home.

If I see someone acting
like a privileged prick, if I feel

like somebody needs a good
beating, I'm down to give it.

Either you can go home while you still can
walk, or we can beat the shit out of you

and send you home anyway.

The land and the culture was stolen
from Hawaiians not that long ago.

Queen Liliuokalani was
held up in her palace

at gunpoint and
forced to hand it over.

I'm literally from
the North Shore.

This is where I was raised.

Being a white person in
Hawaii, you're the minority.

And you can feel it.

It's tangible.

It's like a reversal from
almost anywhere else.

We were all over
there by ourselves.

I don't remember anyone's
parents being over there.

People were getting beat up.

It's kind of like the Wild West.

You're on your own, kid.

I was from the Big Island
where the waves were small.

And here I am on the
North Shore of Oahu.

Scary locals and the waves
are gnarly and I'm terrified.

And then in the winter
of ADP, Benji and his

mom rented a house
right there at Pipeline.

And that was like the
epicenter of the North Shore.

So everyone was gravitating
towards Benji's house.

My mom and dad split up.

She went to Hawaii on vacation and came
back and said, Hey, boys, get in the car.

We're moving to Hawaii.

And it happened to be
the North Shore of Oahu.

When we first got a hold of the Pipeline
house, we didn't even know that Pipeline

and Waimea Bay and Sunset
Beach were down this way.

I mean, this is
how naive we were.

I was 12, living at Pipeline.

Ross and Shane Dorian
started hanging out there.

And I'm like, yeah, this is rad.

They're hanging out at my house.

And then it became where
all the boys started hanging.

No way, you guys.

It's so rad.

When Benji had his
house there at Pipeline,

he's like, ah, okay, you
need a place to stay?

You can stay at my house.

I went from staying in some
rat-infested crack den to Benji's house.

Just hanging out there, watch
Pipeline, jump on the trampoline.

Bodies just
everywhere, sleeping.

It was like a summer party.

We all knew each other from
surfing different amateur events.

But it wasn't until we all stayed at
Benji's house that we became a posse.

What do you think about Rob?

You know, he's got
a real attitude, bro.

It wasn't just this little core
group from Hawaii anymore.

All of a sudden, our group went
from this big to this big to this big.

It just snowballed.

There were 80 surfboards
left at the house every day.

All the surfers were
showing up, and there

were 15 people at a
time sleeping on the floor.

Benji's mom was so
welcoming to everyone.

She never asked for a dime.

Everyone eating all her food,
leaving all their dirty shit everywhere.

Making the house a wreck.

Loud, staying up late.

It was just like a free-for-all
fun zone all day long.

The sand was this
thick in my living room.

And after a while, my
mom just let go of the

whole control thing
and just said, I love it.

I love it.

I'd always felt the more the merrier
because I had nobody growing up.

My dad had died and
our house was empty.

So to me, we were just a
family and these were my boys.

There were kids that were leaving
their parents on the east coast of America,

spending their holiday
season with my family.

I mean, what were
their parents thinking?

Like, our kids aren't
home for Christmas.

Every year for like a decade.

Right about Christmas time, everybody
goes home to see their parents.

And there's more ways for me.

A lot of us come from
broken homes, but over at

Benji's house, you felt like
you were with your family.

Most of us went through some
gnarly, hard times when we were young.

So to go somewhere where
there was a really positive,

loving, accepting home, we
just felt like it was safe there.

One day, I met Rob surfing
where we surf, at our little spot.

And he brought me
into Benji's house.

Without that group, I would have,
carrying fucking tea, been in jail.

That single-handedly
changed my whole life.

When Benji had his house
at Pipeline, it would be ten of

us on the deck watching the
waves, boards in the racks.

We knew we needed
to get out there and surf.

We just needed
someone to push us.

We'd all stand out on the deck,
everyone squashing the waves, yourself,

and here comes Todd.

Todd Chester had walked
through the yard, you know,

and he wouldn't even
ask if he could come over.

He was just such a gnarly dude.

Here.

Did you do anything yet?

Yeah.

But not with me.

Yeah, he's not anything good.

Look at that floor.

It's getting good.

Todd Chester and
Brock Little were already

completely established
pro surfers at the time.

We looked up to
those guys so much.

We wanted to be just like them.

Brock was the first guy to pioneer
surfing Himalayas and Waimea.

He was so fearless.

Behind him, slowly but surely, Todd
Chester started surfing big waves as well.

Brock was already starting
to take off in his career.

And when he would travel around
the world, Todd hung out with us.

Todd Chester was
a couple years older.

He was the one
that pushed all of us.

And he was brutal.

You come in after thinking, like,
oh, man, I just got such a good wave.

I wonder if Todd saw it.

Todd didn't talk about
any of the waves I got.

He was like, why'd
you paddle in?

You know, like, okay.

Well, um, because it's easier?

No.

Don't wuss out.

Get through it.

I remember watching Chester
letting waves land on him.

He's laughing.

Almost to say, like,
what's the big deal, Brom?

And you just feel
like looking for an out.

Oh, my ankle's kind of sore.

Shut up.

Grab your board.

Let's go.

Todd was like a sensei to us.

He was always one step
ahead of what we were doing.

He could see that
you could do it, but you

couldn't see yourself
that you could do it.

And he would say just some little
things that would get under your skin,

like, uh, you probably
won't make it anyway.

And you'd be like, fuck that.

I'll make it.

Now, looking back on it,
he knew what he was doing.

It's like he knew
how far to push your

limits, dangerously
close to knife or death.

Todd Chester would surf any size, big wave,
and he had a huge influence on all of us.

Eventually, we were all
feeding off each other, pushing

each other in a friendly way,
trying to outdo each other.

We always used to
say, oh, you won't go.

Just that challenge, like, turn around
on a big wave or a late drop and just go.

If you heard you won't go
in our crew, you're gone.

And if you don't go, ooh, ah!

That's like a month
of getting heckled.

And being heckled,
ugh, is the worst.

I'd rather split my head open.

He just kicked his ass.

You're not nervous?

Don't chew your
fingernails, man.

He's a little mad right now.

It isn't like a, hey, man,
you'll get the next one.

It was verbal beatings.

Like, and you felt this big.

And all you would do is think
about, okay, when's my next chance?

Because I can't let
that happen again.

I remember eating shit
on, like, a 10-foot wave

of pipe and Chester
actually acknowledging it.

Like, going, dude,
that was sick.

I'm so stoked you
went on that wave.

Yeah, but I cartwheeled
down the face and ate crap.

And I was like,
yeah, that was a killer.

It changed the way
we perceived safety.

I mean, at 15, we were
surfing 25-foot waves.

It was an unbelievable day.

Flying up in heaven
and I fell from the clouds.

It was pretty frickin'
sweet until I'm knocked out.

We've been on the
sideline for damn long.

Had a lot of fun.

Had a lot of fun.

Had a lot of fun.

Had a lot of fun.

Had a lot of fun.

Had a lot of fun.

I remember one day, as we were
paddling out, this enormous jet comes in.

And

I couldn't even take a
breath in, so I was, like,

hyperventilating, like,
I'm gonna fucking die.

And I remember looking over
at Benji and Benji laughing.

Like, a fun ride at
an amusement park.

Todd Chesser, he taught me that if a
wave breaks in front of you and you laugh,

it calms your heart rate
so you can breathe more.

You can't afford to surf
big waves if you're scared.

That just means your adrenaline's
running, your heart's pumping.

Odds are you're not gonna be
able to hold your breath as long.

It's just simple science.

A number of guys
got hurt really bad.

Benji had a really
bad scary one.

He caught a second reef wave one day
and just got hammered on the inside reef.

I got held down for two waves.

I was down.

I was scrambling for my life.

And I felt the give up.

The give up is where you just kind
of go, like, I'm not gonna make it.

You know, like...

I remember when I hit the water, the lip
hit me and knocked all the wind out of me.

And I was immediately going...

I was underwater forever.

And then the wave finally started
letting me up and I started swimming up.

And I felt like this was it.

Like, I need to
get to the surface.

And the next wave
broke like this over me.

And that was the
last thing I remember.

I opened my eyes
and time had passed.

I was crying hysterically.

I was just sitting in the foam on my board
and I was coughing up all this gross shit.

And I look and
Dorian is running.

He's like, oh!

And he comes and grabs me.

Oh, my God.

And we made it.

We hugged.

We're laughing.

And my ears are messed up.

My body hurts.

And I'm like, I almost died.

And Dorian's like,
I'm going back out.

And I'm like, ding!

Like...

That's a fine line
between having the best

wave of your life and
actually getting hurt.

Jack Johnson blew his face up
one time on a Kelly You Won't Go.

I went to Jack's house and he
looked like the Elephant Man.

His teeth were missing.

And the only thing I could do was kind of
almost laugh because I was uncomfortable.

Like, I don't even
know what to say.

That wave you hurt yourself on?

Why you told everyone that
I said you won't go on that?

Why did you do that?

You trying to make me feel bad?

I didn't tell
anybody that, Kelly.

His life was altered, you know?

Like, he almost died.

Almost dying in big waves,
as morbid as it sounds, is

one of the things that's
exciting about big wave surfing.

It's that kind of junky vibe you get
from it that keeps you coming back.

We've all had stitches.

We've all bounced
off the bottom.

You go out when it's ten feet.

And you're like, oh, wow.

I took a couple on the head.

I hit the bottom.

And I'm OK.

So then you go out
when it's ten feet.

It's twelve feet.

Next thing you
know, it's twenty feet.

I couldn't get
out of the barrel.

Like, the whole web's gone.

I think I'd be coming out
and, like, keep feeling it.

I'd be like, what?

What?

What?

I remember being out on
this huge day at Pipeline

and watching Shane Dorian
catch the twenty-foot left.

And, like, oh, my God.

Dude, that's my friend.

He's on a twenty-foot... Well, if
he got one, then I can get one.

Before long, our crew
was ruling Pipeline.

I mean, we were
catching all the sets.

And it all came from putting
our time in and taking our place.

One day, Surfer
Magazine calls me.

Hey, we're going to do
a photo of your house.

And I was like, cool.

Why?

And the photo is legendary now.

Like, when I look at
it, I'm like, oh, I get it.

I know what everyone was saying.

Benji's house.

That day, our crew
was set in stone.

We were a brotherhood.

We had our own
language for a long time.

We'd all just speak in weird
tongues and just had so

many code words that
were, like, four layers deep.

Get up, Boulay.

Contest is on, bro.

Get up and get some cereal.

This is your sock on drugs.

This is my sock on PK.

Kalani is, like, a younger brother who
doesn't know where he fits in sometimes.

And so he would be,
like, a little shit to us.

One time, we were
jumping on the trampoline.

And for absolutely no
reason whatsoever, on an

up bounce, he just
pushed me into the bushes.

I got up and I wanted to
kill him, but he was so small.

I'm like, why did you do that?

He's like, I don't know.

I just felt like doing that.

We sponsored Kalani
when he was 10 years old.

He was really wiggly and
really fast, really squirmy.

Wiggly, wiggly, wiggly.

I'm like, this guy's so wiggly.

He was this big.

He was like an action figure.

And he was doing things
that no 12-year-old's ever done.

He's got the genes of Superman.

He can eat cinnamon
rolls and get ripped.

We all have different
diets completely.

Shane eats protein.

He eats protein and raw
deer and stuff that he kills.

Like that.

Machado?

Quesadillas.

All day.

That's it.

Ranch, quesadillas.

Kelly eats raw almonds and air.

Ross is on a paleo,
anorexic, heroin diet.

I eat carbs.

Ugh.

Out of beer bottles.

Benji's a class clown.

Benji doesn't have one
competitive bone in his body.

He's like the extreme.

There's Kelly and
there's Benji over here.

Kelly is hell.

Because we all think he
sold his soul to the devil.

He's always been
freakishly flexible.

He's got scoliosis in his spine.

That is so wrong.

Triple jointed.

The weird nugget
cast with the twig legs.

He's got a body that no
human's supposed to have.

Like, he's creepy, bud.

Kelly's like he's Syrian.

He's like meant
to be in the sun.

Shane is just Shane-o.

Shane-o!

Shane-o.

He's super into his hair.

I think that's a bad thing
for a guy who's bald now.

Like, I'm glad I was
never that into my hair.

Whenever a camera would come
out, Shane would kind of pucker his lips.

We used to all give him shit.

Like, what are you doing
with your mouth, dude?

Shane did the frickin' Zoolander
Blue Steel before that movie came out.

Ross.

Really sarcastic.

Dirty sense of humor.

I like it.

Ross is super gross.

Says horribly
inappropriate things.

But looks like the nicest
guy you've ever met.

Pat's like a little
garden gnome.

He is the happiest
guy in the world.

Like, when Pat has a bad day, he's
like, man, I'm so bummed right now.

That's Pat being
mad right there.

Pat falls.

He had a fascination
in his balls.

When we were young.

He'd look over at him at, like, lunch,
or in the lineup, or when we were

waiting for a flight, and
he'd just have his balls out.

He was proud of his balls.

He was like a little
guy with big balls.

I do.

Yeah.

I don't know.

I just would always, um,
they'd always just drop out.

Oh, is anyone there?

Where the hell am I?

Taylor Knox was the
biggest jock of our crew.

The quarterback guy in high school
that pulled underwear off the guy's butt.

And he was that guy.

Taylor Knox's
nickname was Bonehead.

We're not supposed
to say that, though.

Everyone else call him Bonehead?

Am I the only one?

Robin Shado.

Just call him the Fro.

Fro-mo.

He grows fast, dude.

You got a pretty fertile head.

Yeah.

He said head.

He said fertile.

I mean, let's be honest.

The white Jimi Hendrix.

They would see him walking down the street
in Japan, and it was like Elvis sight.

You just see the afro.

And you would see
that thing going through.

And then there
was Taylor Steele.

Every morning on my way to school,
I'd have to walk right by this old van.

Like, it looked like,
you know, a rapist van.

100%.

One day, it's almost Christmas, and
my mom goes, hey, why don't you invite

those two boys in that
van out there for dinner?

And I go, what?

No way.

She's like, come on.

They don't have
their family here.

So I go out there.

I'm like, hey, guys.

You know?

The whole door comes open.

I'm like, whoa.

You know, like,
they lived in there.

It was kind of gnarly.

And I'm like, hey, you guys want
to have Christmas dinner here?

They're like, yeah.

Yeah, that story's
not true at all.

Benji only let me stay at his house
because I was doing his chores for him.

Are you having fun doing dishes?

We're shooting Pipeline every day,
because that was the spot to shoot.

Seeing yourself on video
was a huge novelty at that time.

There was no one on
the beach with cameras.

That was just, like, way
before videos were videos.

We weren't in videos.

It was only big-time corporate
companies that did videos.

After each session, Taylor
only let us watch it one

time through, and we
couldn't stop, rewind, or pause.

Okay?

Because it would
destroy the taste.

There'd be, like, 25 of us all
screaming, oh, he got smashed.

Gal smashed.

Shane no got it.

Or he had the best one.

He won the session today.

So that could be,
like, five hours.

Yeah.

One day, I remember Taylor
telling us, hey, I'm going to

make this movie, and you
guys are all going to do parts.

So then we started
working on our parts.

None of us really knew
what was about to happen.

The guys were
surfing faster and more

energetic, and I wanted
that kind of feel to it.

Punk rock and surfing were
never merged before, and

I didn't know it until I
put it in the first edit.

And once I saw it in an edit,
I went, that is the perfect mix.

But my parents,
they just didn't get it.

The footage didn't
look that great.

It was kind of grainy.

I'm old school.

All the surf movies I'd seen
had scenery and locations.

At the time, surf movies
were built on going to an exotic

destination that only a
handful of people could afford.

But Taylor's movies were
built in everyday conditions.

All of a sudden,
the kids could relate.

They're like, oh, my
God, I just got to watch the

best surfers surf waves
that I surf every day.

We didn't relate to it,
but we said, OK, what

we'll do is we'll pay
for the first thousand.

But you have to go sell them.

This is Taylor.

That's an attack dog for you.

What have you been doing?

Making movies.

Are you doing this for school?

Yeah, just for the hell of it.

This guy, he's from Bubblegum.

Why don't you come in on Monday?

All right.

I'll take care of you.

When Taylor came back and said
he sold all of them, we were in shock.

We started liking it.

In fact, my husband
would work out to the music.

Wow, look at all these people.

They're so cool.

Holy shit.

It was such a success that
Taylor immediately was like,

hey, we're going to do
another one of these things.

We're going to film for a year.

Try and make the
best part you can.

Taylor's movies were
like the glue between us.

They were the thing that
bonded us, kept us together,

traveling together, staying
together, filming together.

We started touring the movies with
the bands that had songs in the films.

Art

that is speeding really fast and it's
gonna explode out of your chest if you

don't make something of
yourself, because you're

driven to change how it
was when you were younger.

We were all disenfranchised
youth trying to find our own way.

There would be no Unwritten Law
without the Momentum and Focus videos.

When we recognized we
had fans across the planet,

we just kind of celebrated
every night since then.

Taylor's movie was the biggest
thing that ever happened to our band.

It changed our lives completely.

It meant that we could put
out records and go on tour

for the rest of our lives
and that's what we did.

I want

to thank Taylor Steele for
making this all fucking possible.

Taylor Steele's movies made the Momentum
crew all pretty big and pretty popular.

But there wasn't a lot of
belief amongst the old guard

that these guys were actually
gonna make it competitively.

Back then there was two
things that were important to us.

Getting a good section in Taylor's
movies and making it on the World Tour.

The World Tour used to be the top 44
surfers in the world, competing through a

series of 10 to 12
events all over the world.

And only one guy is crowned world
champion at the end of the year.

The Australians were dominant
like the Hawaiians in Hawaii.

Anyway, that's their zone.

Well over 50% of guys
on tour were from Australia.

Australia and America
had a great rivalry going.

When we drew those guys in the
heats, it made us try that much harder.

Whatever happens, I'm
gonna get a chance to beat him,

and I'm just really looking
forward to that opportunity.

The Australian guys were so dominant at
the time, they had so many world champions.

There were this old guard on
the tour that we all looked up to.

I'd see these guys, I'd
see them in magazines.

I was so starstruck.

And we'd get in heats
with them, and they were

so willing to do anything
it took to beat us.

And I mean anything.

Paddle through the pack, and you growl
at everyone, and you give them stink eye,

and you make sure that every good
wave comes through, you're on it.

You know, you don't give
a shit about anyone else.

It's a selfish sport.

Get out of my bloody way.

You know, it's my day.

It was like our
generation versus their

generation, and those
guys saw us as a core threat.

There was so much on the line.

This is my career, this is my lifestyle
that's setting myself up for the rest of

my life, so I'm not gonna let some
little twerp take it away from me.

I had a heat with them.

Martin Potter ended up
winning right at the end.

He ran up the beach and bashed his board
into the big fence there and ripped out

all the, like, electrical cords
and was, like, throwing a fit.

I was so stoked that that
was the reaction to him losing.

My first year on tour, I
took down Martin Potter.

I remember hearing him
yelling on the beach, and

I was just sitting out
in the water, giggling.

My first win on tour
was against Gary

Ogerton, and it was in
France, where he lived.

It turned into this big protest.

His wife came and rushed the stand,
and he starts throwing his board and

screaming at the judges,
and I thought it was great.

I loved it.

I loved every second of it.

The first time I ever competed
against Slater before the contest, Kelly's

standing right there, and he sort of
puts his hand out to say, good luck,

and I slapped his hand away and
said, get the frick out of my face, mate.

But the whole surfing world
knew he was the messiah.

You know, it was like,
it's not if he's gonna

win a world title, it's how
many he's gonna win.

Kelly was always, by far,
the best surfer in our group.

No one disputed that.

We were all rooting for
him to win the world title.

In 91, Kelly finished 44th.

And then that next year,
he won the world title.

We were just, like, tripping.

It was a victory for all of us.

We were working as a unit.

Our levels were all rising.

And in the successive
years after I won, 93, 4, 5,

basically all my friends
started winning events.

I just needed one wave, and
thank God I got it, you know?

He seemed to have found a
new confidence from winning.

It feels unreal.

I think it's really important for American
surfing right now because our level of

surfing has improved
drastically compared

with the Australians
over the last few years.

I would just like to thank all the
fans for coming out and supporting.

It's just a great feeling.

Do you have any messages
to your mom or father?

Yeah.

Hello.

Hello.

Well, thank you very much.

Thanks.

It was surreal.

It wasn't a dream anymore.

All of a sudden, being a
pro surfer was a reality.

We were just
taking over the tour.

Different lines being drawn.

Different boards being rowed.

More aerials.

More tail slides.

Faster.

The judges had to adapt.

Everyone had to adapt.

It was a different way of
surfing from what was being done

before where it was everything
was sort of on the wave.

Okay, we've got that.

But now we're going to
start going above the limit.

Kelly and I were really
working on the narrower, thinner

boards so that they could
more easily be thrown into the air.

I remember one time
Kelly came down the line

surfing this wave and
flew over my head.

Doing a helicopter.

Landed.

And I went, oh my gosh.

Things are really changing.

Hey, bud.

Let's party.

Back in the 70s and 80s, if you
surfed, you were a fucking loser.

You were a hippie.

You were a stoner.

You didn't get respect
if you were a surfer.

At that time, there was a major
drug culture within surfing as a whole.

But in our group,
nobody was doing drugs.

It was a clean lifestyle.

I've been asked to talk about, you
know, how bad drugs are and everything.

To us, it was a real sport.

And that was the thing
that you could also package

up and say, these guys
are actually athletes.

They're taking it
to this next level.

Right before Taylor's
movies came out,

there was a pretty big
recession in surfing.

And then the momentum generation put a
whole bunch of new energy into the sport.

And surfing had a boom period.

Surfing used to be a subculture.

Then it became a counterculture.

And then it became
an action sport.

Jumped it, beat it, surfed it.

You bring on the X Games.

You throw a little
punk rock in there.

All of a sudden,
it's on ESPN, ABC.

MTV, youth movement.

The industry changed.

Magazines changed.

Fashion changed.

Sponsors were
popping up everywhere.

The momentum
guys just leapfrogged.

All the expectations.

All the boundaries.

The surf world just
went 180 degrees.

All of a sudden,
these guys were it.

Those magical years, when you
saw all of our names growing together.

Kelly paved the way because he was
crossing over into mainstream media.

As embarrassed as Kelly
is by doing Baywatch,

he went into how
many millions of homes?

That turned the
light on for surfing.

Because you had some average
family in Kentucky turn on Baywatch.

Like, who's this
Kelly Slater guy?

Oh, he surfs.

What's surfing?

Fucking Baywatch.

I mean, everybody
made fun of him.

It was unbelievable.

It was the corniest thing ever.

I was really insecure
about it, you know?

I was like, why did I
do this thing, man?

The whole thing was just
so outrageous and ridiculous.

We'd be surfing a place
where we wouldn't have leashes

right in front of a cliff,
because that's what you do.

And we would lose our
boards, and it would just

perfectly go into this cave,
which is what happens.

And there would be an octopus in
there, which is, of course, believable.

I looked at the
guy who wrote that.

I'm like, you... Like, you
did not... Did you write this?

The bottom line is, my boy
was on the hottest TV show

around, hooked up with
the hottest woman on Earth.

Kelly Slater's become the
envy of guys the world over

for snagging the ultimate
beach beauty, Pamela Anderson.

Pamela Anderson supporting her
latest bow contestant, Kelly Slater.

But is it serious?

It's a bit too early to say.

They're both extraordinarily
attractive people.

Slater's agent says Anderson and
Slater are just very close friends.

They would hand out Photo Slut of the Year
Award to the guy that just tried too hard.

I watched the work of Mack in Bold and
Boyful Because Chester would make fun of

you if you got too many
photos in the magazine.

No photos, please.

Todd was like the moral compass
defining what was cool and not cool.

Listen here, Spielberg.

Turn off the camera.

Chester was the guy that kept everybody
honest, kept everybody real and humble.

If anybody got on their high
horse, he would just level them.

I want to ask you about your morals and if
you feel cheap about using women for sex.

No.

No?

Not at all.

No remorse?

If you ever puffed your chest out, Todd
would be the first one to pop your bubble.

He was really the soulful guy.

He didn't seek
out the limelight.

Don't just surf when
there's cameras.

When there's cameras on
the beach, like, who are you?

Say hello to your man.

I'm putting music
over all this stuff.

To all the guys, Todd came
across as so macho, but

really, when it was just me
and him, he was such a softie.

One night, Todd kept saying,
you should go to this one bar.

So me and all my friends were there,
and all of a sudden, the singer goes,

we have a special
guest here tonight.

Mr. Todd Chester, come up.

He has this white
70s ruffle tuxedo.

And he got down on one knee and
said, will you marry me, honey baby?

And the singer said,
now you've got to answer.

And I said, yes.

And my eye, ooh.

Everything was
coming into place.

He found the girl of his dreams.

He had a good sponsor.

Everything was
going just terrifically.

For Todd, it was the
time to finally grow up.

We were all so happy.

I'm excited for him to get
married and the whole deal.

Good morning.

Where's the freaking elephants?

He was just a good
example to remind us to stay

true to ourselves and
remember what's important.

He was the closest thing
to a soul surfer out of all

of us because he didn't
care about the accolades.

It's not about titles.

It's about being happy.

I mean, nothing was cooler about our crew
than when Kelly won his first world title.

We put that jerk in a freaking trash
can with a helmet and a blanket.

We pushed him down a hill.

He just ate crap
the whole way down.

Any other sport, the
Michael Jordan in that sport, is

not rolling down a mountain
after his first world title.

It was crazy.

It was a crazy time.

I felt like all of my childhood dreams
came together in this weird reality where

I was with my friends
traveling around the

world, doing what I
wanted to do for a living.

The best feeling that I
had was I just belonged.

For the longest time in my life, I
feel like the carrot dangling in front

of the horse where I was like
right in front of me for so long.

And I was like

Well, you got one now.

That was great.

Wow, that was groovy.

Marshall, get out of here.

In the mid-90s, it was our show.

It was no longer the
new kids up against the

guys that were still
hanging around from the 80s.

We weren't looking up anymore,
and we were looking at each other.

The only reason Shane's good
is because he hangs out with me.

That's the only reason.

What?

Because I like beating Ross.

He hasn't beat me in a long
time, and I'm really proud of that.

Ross and Shane had this
crazy rivalry at the time.

They're the same age.

They had the same sponsor.

They were competing
at every level.

You want to go?

Yeah.

You want to go?

I can

still remember Shane had a
heat with Ross at Reunion Island.

They're screaming at each other.

Fuck yous.

And we were just like, I'm
going to get the hell out of here.

You know there's two
sides to every story?

There's not.

This story, there's
only one side.

It's the truth.

We were staying together at Reunion
Island, and then we were in the same heat.

Shane versus Ross the next day.

And one board that
was super, super good.

I was so amped on the board.

I remember telling Ross
how good my board worked.

The next morning I wake up.

Ross is gone.

Perfect fist-sized
hole in my board.

And we're staying together in the
same room with no one else around.

I woke up in the middle of the
night and punched his board.

I don't know.

I must have blocked that out.

I don't remember doing that.

That's crazy.

What a snapper.

I grew up in Waialua.

Can't help it.

I'm part Moke.

I don't remember
doing that though.

Is he sure?

I remember just going, wow.

I can't believe you do that.

So next level.

And I beat him.

It felt so good.

I'm riding the board of
the hole and everything.

Well, of course, Shane
would tell you that

story because that's the
one where he smoked me.

But at the end of the day, our
rivalry wasn't as bad as Rob and Kelly.

And if you get behind,
you're just going to quit?

Yeah.

Yeah, I like that.

It makes it easier.

Yeah.

I mean, it's all that about you.

You know, you give up so easily.

Especially that
one year, 95, where

everything came to a
head, there was conflict.

So that's when you see this magnifying
glass on that raw motivation for Kelly,

you know, almost like demons.

It gets put on the
forefront against Rob.

It feels really good
to be right here.

Kelly won the world
title in 92 and 94.

The rest of our crew, some
of us had won events, but

no one had even come
close to winning a world title.

And then 95, I was
having a really good year.

I got a win in Japan.

Kelly won Indonesia.

I won an event in France.

It was just this back and forth,
seesaw battle throughout the year.

And then we came straight
back to the US Open.

And me and Kelly made the final.

And everybody was
kind of pulling for me.

Kelly was just better than
everybody almost all the time.

When he would win, we wouldn't
all go run down to the tournament.

We'd run up to the beach.

He was winning every week.

I was just like, geez, man.

What question do I
get to ask the most?

Uh, where's Kelly Slater?

He became, like, overly famous.

He was dating Pam.

He was on Baywatch.

And everybody in the
world knew who he was.

People started, like, wishing
the other guy would win.

And Rob was the only one
that really stood a chance.

You travel with Kelly.

You play music with him.

How's it going to be
going against him?

You got to do what
you got to do to win.

That's why we're
here, to win, right?

One more in the water.

He's just another
guy with a jersey on.

Massive crowd
here at Huntington.

Two greatest four-wave
surfers in the world.

Slater's in front of him.

Look at him kicking
the water in Rob's face.

He gets around the buoy.

It's messy for that.

He's going to go
on his backhand.

He gets a little
rebound off the wave.

Side-down reentry
at the end of it there.

Oh, Machado just
having a great final there.

This might be his final wave.

Big snap right there.

That was a pretty
significant win for me.

Everybody just went nuts.

Kelly was really good.

Really super
alpha, super intense.

He did some small things
that year that upset Rob,

where he tucked one of
Rob's boards in France.

Morris made me a couple boards
and they felt terrible, both of them.

I went over to his house and I
was like, these boards feel like shit.

I don't want to ride them.

You got anything else?

And he goes, I
made three for Rob.

They're downstairs.

He goes, you can't ride
three boards at once.

You might as well grab
one of those and try it.

New surfboards
are pretty sacred.

I would have a really
hard time taking someone's

brand new surfboard
that was made for them.

I don't care if there
was ten of them.

It turned really weird because I put
my traction pad on, I put my stickers on.

And Rob came over and he's like,
man, fucking take that shit off my board.

Give me that board
back, you know.

And he was kind
of just being a dick.

I was being a dick.

I thought he was being a dick.

That was mine.

And you took it and rode it and then put
your stickers on it and your traction pad.

And yeah, take it off.

You should be returning
that thing to me brand new.

How it was.

I was like, fuck him.

Take traction off
your own board.

I wasn't doing
this to be a dick.

I was just trying to be
nice and take the stuff off.

But then afterwards I realized, he
was really being a jerk, you know.

So then it kind
of pissed me off.

After that, Rob and
Kelly didn't talk for a while.

It got pretty weird.

You just feel the tension
building up to the last contest.

The pitch is divided between
Kelly Slater and Rob Machado.

The guys are the
best of friends.

We were going in to the
Pipeline Masters in Hawaii.

And Sonny Garcia from
Hawaii has a commanding lead.

They need me to do shitty,
which isn't going to happen.

And they need to do extremely
well, which is going to be hard.

So I'm pretty confident.

Sonny was going to bring
home the first Hawaiian world title.

So many people
were pulling for Sonny.

And Aki felt that stress.

It was for his world title.

He just had to win that heat.

I was getting threats from a few
Hawaiians saying, if you do win this heat,

you know, you might not be
going home and stuff like that.

And it was quite scary.

Masters champ up against
Hawaiian favorite Sonny.

But Sonny was having a shocker.

He broke his board.

Had to go to the beach
to get another one.

And while that was happening,
I'm sitting out there all by myself.

And a perfect wave came.

And what do I do?

I got to go.

I can't not go.

So I went.

And got a huge barrel.

And spat out.

I'm like, oh no.

Usually you'd be
coming out like claiming it.

But I'm coming out like this.

I'm like, oh no.

Five minutes left.

I need one more wave.

Poor Mark.

He's like, take this wave.

Take any wave you want.

Couldn't make a wave.

And I knew right then,
I just lost the world title.

And Aki ends up
winning the heat.

Out of the contest.

I don't believe what I just saw.

I was like, what just happened?

The state of Hawaii is... And

I was like, wow.

This is crazy.

It's almost like this big
door just opened up.

Time to get up.

This morning of
the quarterfinals.

Are you ready to rock and roll?

Yes.

Of course, me and Kelly come
up against each other in the semis.

Number one and two, Rob
Machado and Kelly Slater.

Rob Machado.

This guy's being on fire.

Both of them can do any
maneuver you can dream of.

The public knows Rob as
being a cruisy, mellow styrofoam.

He's a stylish guy.

Oh, Rob's like zen master.

Yeah, yeah.

Not when we were growing up.

He was as cutthroat
as any of us.

Rob and I are just
really competitive.

And I want to beat
him equally as bad.

By Rob making the semifinal,
he moved into first place.

He passed Sonny.

And I had to beat Rob
and then win the final.

Kelly had to win the final.

But if I beat Kelly,
I win the world title.

This one cloud blew through.

And it was just blue
sky all of a sudden.

The waves got
really, really good.

Back then, it was your best
three waves in 30 minutes.

And I took out my left.

I got a 10.

And then Kelly got really deep.

Kelly got a 10.

And...

I mean, up until that point,
between us both, that was

the highest scoring heat
in the history of pro surfing.

And in these conditions, they're
the two best we could ever ask for.

Rob Machado and Kelly Slater.

It came down to
the end of the heat.

Kelly got the perfect left.

Spit out a two.

Did this big roundhouse.

And I hear the crowd go crazy.

And there's uncertainty.

And another one.

Just a perfect 10-foot A-frame.

And I took off on the thing.

And I became, like, mesmerized.

And I was just in this
bright blue cavern.

I come out.

And there's Kelly
with his arms up.

You know?

And...

I did kind of like this half
cut back and almost fell.

And then we high-fived.

I see Rob lying out of a barrel.

And instead of kicking out to get
priority, and he would have won,

just goes that extra
further and high-fives Kelly.

And maybe it was
Kelly doing that.

Because he's there
going, please high-five me.

And then I'm
going to get priority.

And the way Kelly thinks,
he was probably thinking that.

For sure.

That wasn't by accident.

Kelly doesn't do
shit by accident.

You don't become one of
the most dominant servers

on the planet by
giving people high-fives.

You know?

I've never seen him ever
do that with anyone else.

I think a lot of people
read into that too much.

I think that was
totally genuine.

Like, his friend got spit out of a barrel
and threw a high-five at each other.

If you break down the actual high-five,
Kelly's thinking, yes, I still have this.

Like, I guarantee he
calculated the numbers.

And Rob wastes
a bit of time there.

Definitely a mistake, right?

By giving the casual high-fives.

And the paddle back out.

And Kelly got the priority.

Meaning he got the next wave.

I fucking would have ran
Kelly's fucking ass over.

I would have just got
him under interference.

Even if I just
clipped him and fell.

I'm fucking out there
to win the world title.

Fucking high-five you
when you get on the beach.

After I fucking take you down.

Like, you know, to me that
just... You know, I'm a competitor.

And I know that
Kelly is the same way.

He is the most calculated,
smartest, driven server ever.

They're the reason
for everything.

I would have just run him over.

Because he was right in the way.

But Rob fell into the trap
and Kelly won the world title.

Yet again.

Am I going to run someone over?

No.

That's just not in my DNA.

Maybe that was
the downfall for me.

You know, I wasn't...

I didn't have that
cutthroat mentality.

You know?

Was the high-five a
tactical maneuver?

On Kelly's part?

Kelly is so calculated.

Like, he knew exactly
what he needed to do.

I don't know.

I'd love to hear his
side of the story.

It bums me out more
than anything to hear

that from people who
are my friends, you know?

I think it's just outrageous.

I never thought of that at all.

And in my memories of thinking about
the heat, there was never any intention

whatsoever other than just to be
stoked and express that right then.

And I don't think it would have mattered
so much anyways, because I was trying to

go right on every wave and
Rob was trying to go left, so...

Priority wouldn't
even have mattered.

A little later, we took like
30 friends out to dinner.

We were all celebrating.

The hard thing was Rob was
at the same restaurant with

his family, and, you know,
they were all really somber.

It was a weird predicament.

That marked the beginning
of some dark years.

It was the morning
of February 13th.

Todd was out in the yard.

Getting ready to go surfing
and I thought he had left.

Then I heard something
and I peeked out the door

down the hallway and I
saw him standing there.

And he was just standing there.

He just said, I love you.

I said, I love you.

And there's a part of me that
almost felt like he knew something.

I don't know.

It was just the look
on his face that day.

I'll never forget.

I can't remember what I
had for lunch yesterday, but

I will never forget the look
on his face that morning.

All came in.

Three surfers in the
surface of the alley.

Rescue crew pulled 27-year-old Todd Chesser
from the waters just south of Waimea Bay.

Lifeguards found Todd's
body after 40 minutes.

The short break at Waimea
was critical at that time.

60-foot face.

We tried to give him TPR.

Too much water.

Safety officials closed
all North Shore beaches.

He's set to be married to
Janet Rollins on August 2nd.

Tight staff managing the
signs Cheeseiano Nelson Club.

I got a call from this girl at work
saying that my son was in trouble.

I jumped in my car
and was praying saying,

don't let this happen,
don't let this be real.

So, yeah, I went
to the hospital.

And all the friends
were out there.

All the friends
were standing there.

And then the doctor told me, we think your
son passed away before the ambulance came.

And I said to the doctor, I said,
well, that must be really hard for you to

tell people this that
happened to their loved one.

It must be really hard for you.

I was feeling that
compassion for that

person and trying not
to think about myself.

But yeah, it was the
worst day of my life.

I remember just looking
at grown men just falling.

Holy shit.

Todd's gone.

It was just like losing
a family member.

He was the unkillable,
unfadable, unscareable dude.

You can't kill him.

Certain guys just
couldn't be taken down.

He was like a giant was gone.

At first, it didn't make sense.

It didn't even really register.

And then it just hit me, like someone had
taken a baseball bat and just swung it at

my stomach as hard as
they could and wouldn't stop.

Todd was like a mentor
for a lot of younger guys.

He's an incredible guy.

I just wanted to say,
geez, we'll miss you.

At his funeral, I'm sitting next to his
fiancée and all these people, and I just

remember going, fuck,
this is just too much.

This is too much.

Everyone here was who we
wanted to be at our wedding.

I mean, fuck.

It's hard, man.

I was so worried about Janet.

I was so worried about Jeannie.

I almost felt guilty for being so sad
because she had lost so much already in

her life, you know, with
Todd's dad passing away.

And Todd was like her
everything and just felt

like too much to have
to deal with for her.

When I saw what she was going through,
I realized what I was supposed to do,

and it was be there for her.

And I told my mom, I'm
going to Fiji in six days.

I'm going to take her.

We stayed in a little hut,
and she just would cry

all night, and she just
kept yelling at me, why?

Like, why?

Why is this happening?

I didn't know what to say.

On that trip, she
brought Todd's last board.

And one day, we paddle out,
to a place called Restaurants.

It was completely flat.

And then out of nowhere, a
four-foot wave coming off the reef.

She catches it, gets
barreled on his board.

She rips.

Going down the line.

I get the next one.

We're flying.

She's screaming at me.

I'm screaming at her.

We surf for an hour and a half.

We come to the beach, and everybody
that was on the island was watching.

People came in from Cloud
Break, and I go, was it bombing?

They're all, it was flat.

It gives me chicken skin because if
you surf, you know how rare that was.

And she was on his board, and I
swear it was like he was saying bye.

She didn't sleep
for seven nights.

That night was the
only night she slept.

The only night.

That day, Jeannie got a
goodbye hug from her son.

I thought it was just one of the
most special moments of my life.

I'll always be thankful to
Benji for taking me on that

trip because it was the
thing that I needed to heal.

But Benji had a really tough
time for a while after that.

After Chester passed
away, I hated surfing.

It was tough.

I got into drinking more.

Tons of cocaine and
ecstasy was our thing.

But every time I woke up,
I realized he was still gone.

I was definitely depressed.

I was suicidal.

So I checked into this place
called Inpatient Whatever.

There was all these people that
were on smack, heroin, all this stuff.

I just needed, I
needed to talk to people.

I needed help.

Like, I wanted answers.

Men have the hardest time
with feelings and emotion.

A lot of macho, a lot of ego.

So you never really
go, let's talk about this.

In our group of friends, I
don't know if we ever actually

sat around and said, hey
man, how you doing with that?

Shut up.

It was just something
I wanted to forget.

And I think that
goes for a lot of us.

We felt like Todd had been
taken from us personally.

Not just our group,
but like us personally.

I felt like I had
been taken from me.

My way of dealing with it was I
just felt more comfortable by myself.

I just didn't want to
talk about it anymore.

I didn't want to think
about it anymore.

If we would have sat down
and just like talked it out,

it would have helped a
lot of us process it better.

We were kind of worried
about showing weakness.

You don't want to show
your competitive weakness.

There is underlying tensions from
competing on the world tour against each

other, and people were starting
companies that didn't involve everybody.

We were all angry and
looking for someone to blame.

It was the start of
the change from it's

all fun and games to
it all getting serious.

Money started coming into play.

Managers came into
play during this time.

I had many arguments
with Kelly's manager

because he wanted money
to use him in my movies.

Soon after, Kelly's manager was also
Rob's manager and Kalani's manager.

And that's when I said, fine,
I'm not going to shoot him.

In February of 1997, Todd
Chesser died and then that

same year was the last
time we made a film together.

I remember Taylor telling us
that he was going to be done.

And I was feeling a sadness
like we were part of something

really special and that
it was the end of an era.

The catalyst that brought us together,
filming with Taylor, that was gone.

And really, people were
just trying to take care

of themselves, looking
after their own interests.

I guess people can get pretty
ruthless when money's on the line.

So I've kind of put the
money out of my head.

Chesser would call you a sellout if
you were becoming too business-headed.

He made sure that you're
surfing for the right reasons

and you're part of the
group for the right reasons.

He enjoyed all of us
hanging out together way

more than making a
dollar or being famous.

Todd definitely never let financial
upside influence our decision-making.

When Todd died, that was gone.

Soon afterwards, a lot of us
started going our own ways.

At some point, you grow up
and stop living at your friend's

house in San Diego going to
punk rock shows, you know?

At some point, you start
to figure out, yeah, we

love all these guys, but,
like, my life's this thing.

And, you know, not
everyone fits into this thing.

And for me, the
competition shifted to being

more important than
camaraderie in those years.

That was my way to focus
my, I don't know, sadness.

After Todd passed away, winning
competitions wouldn't address the pain.

It would just fuel my direction.

It gave me a sense
of pride in myself.

People noticing you.

It makes you feel good, however
shallow or deep that could be.

So I went on this
absolute tear competitively.

I thought in my head, there's no
reason I can't win every contest.

I wanted it all, you know?

I just wanted to win
absolutely everything.

For Kelly, whenever he had a breakup
or problems with family or whatever,

he was able to channel that into
annihilating people underwater.

We were all competitive,
but if you're gonna be a

world champion, you
gotta be frickin' an animal.

Kelly had this idea in
his mind that he wanted to

break Mark Richards'
record and win five in a row.

And we're the only ones that
we're gonna get in his way.

Competing against your friend and
holding him off waves or keeping priority,

to me, it's against
the art of surfing.

Deep down inside, I probably knew I
wasn't ruthless enough to win a world title

because I'm not comfortable with
doing the dirty work that needs to be done.

You bang boards, you try
and push each other out of

position, every now and again
you get the elbow in the head.

This is what we call hassling.

There's a lot of guys who are amazing
surfers but such mellow characters that

they couldn't bring themselves to do
that and so their careers are very short.

You have to be a bit
of an asshole to win.

And I didn't have that
killer instinct in that way.

The last couple years on tour, I
was like, dude, what am I doing?

I was pretty quick to realize
that this isn't for me anymore.

When I was in heats, I knew that I
should have been achieving more.

I was constantly blaming
the judges for shitty results.

And then all of a sudden, breaking
my foot, I was like, just, I'm out of here.

The competitive thing was
a real cutthroat business.

You're only as good as your
rating at the end of the year.

I had to learn to be able to sit on
people with priority and use tactics.

And I felt like this is not
where I'm supposed to be.

When I was on tour,
people were talking about

the next Kelly Slater
and shit like that.

And I was like,
I'm not that guy.

I wasn't ready to go to those dark
places to win that world championship.

Nobody wants it like Kelly.

He's such a gnarly,
gnarly savage.

This controversial
play by Slater forced an

interference penalty on
Besshia, costing him the win.

Kelly panels up
over Shane's back.

Gives him interference.

Surfers don't like
it, but it is allowed.

Almost like cheating
within the rules.

I despise people that
do that kind of stuff.

After the heat with Kelly
at the Pipe Masters in

95, I started to struggle
with being as competitive.

I lost motivation.

I just got really salty
at the whole tour.

People got that vibe from me.

Then when I broke my hand, all the surfers
had this vote for the injury wildcards.

If you have a really bad injury and
you're not able to compete during the year,

then you can apply for an injury wildcard
to qualify for the next year on the tour.

So I was applying
for an injury wildcard.

Rob was applying
for an injury wildcard.

It's super awkward.

You go up and plead your case
to all the guys who are on the tour.

And then everybody votes.

Here we are voting between
Rob and Shane Dorian.

Two friends.

There's only one guy
who's going to get it.

The grumblings around town
were that Rob's over the tour.

He doesn't care
about it anymore.

So they voted for Shane.

Yeah.

I was done.

I'm off the tour.

Going through the transition of being
a professional surfer to what's your next

chapter in life, there's no books
out there to tell you how to do it.

When it happened to me, I went from a very
busy life and busy schedule to all of a

sudden grinding to a halt and being
at home and just listening to the quiet.

It started to turn very dark
and I became depressed.

After I'd quit the tour, I
ended up working for a

biotech company helping
for marketing and trade shows.

Wearing a suit and
tie and shit every day.

Behind a desk.

So I was like, this is heavy.

Like, what am I doing?

After I was voted off
the tour, my son and

I and my sponsor at
the time went bankrupt.

I thought it was
the end of the world.

I'm not on tour.

I don't have a sponsor.

Holy crap.

What am I gonna do?

After Rob got off tour,
he was a broken man.

A couple years later,
he came to Bali and lived

in my house for six months
being really negative.

And so we came up with a movie that
we could do together to help get him back.

In a positive zone.

These kids here play
this game with rocks.

They throw one up in the air.

They pick up the other
ones before it falls.

I'm not really sure how you win.

But maybe you don't.

Maybe you just play.

At the start of it he
was in a really bad place

and at the end of it it
was the old Rob again.

It was just like old times.

But now, he was reinventing
himself and becoming a free surfer.

Trying to make a living
on just sponsor money

without the need to be
competing on the world tour.

And the Drifter helped
with his sponsorships so that

he could actually go on
trips and make surf movies.

Taylor Steele is responsible for this
new phase of my life and my career.

I'm beyond grateful.

He revived me.

He made me who I am.

At the time if you stopped being
on the tour you vanished into thin air.

Like that was it for you.

Rob was the first person who ever left
the tour who had success immediately.

So I went to my sponsors and
said Rob left the tour and look at him.

And I quit the tour with the
intention to surf really big waves.

There was definitely a part of that
that had to do with doing it for Todd too.

On a subconscious level I felt like I
needed to surf big waves so that Todd

would be proud of me
even when he was gone.

Shane Dorian the greatest
big wave surfer of all time.

Don't think you can debate that.

Shane has really focused on the
traditional big wave riding approach.

And that's to paddle in with your bare
arms into a 60 foot wave and get barreled.

For some people it's
getting to the top of Everest.

For me it's big waves.

The ocean is throwing everything at
you that it can and in that fleeting moment

you feel like every single experience in
your whole surfing life comes together for

you to ride that wave
absolutely perfectly.

It's happened maybe
three times in my life.

That's what keeps
me coming back.

Rob leaving and
having success definitely

inspired me to do what
I really wanted to do.

At that time in my life I was traveling
around the world surfing and I remember at

one point I flew to Australia I walked
into this restaurant and I looked over and

Kelly was sitting in the corner
by himself and he was pale

and he looked 10 pounds
lighter like in the darkest place.

The contest was meant
to start the next day.

I remember him telling me
like I don't want to surf right now.

And I was like don't.

Go home.

And fix whatever
you need to fix.

He withdrew from the contest
and got on a plane and left.

Through my most competitive and passionate
years I had these ultimate highs.

But there was no way to
have those without having

these lows that other
people can't even understand.

I went through a pretty
gnarly depression that

I think a lot of my
friends weren't aware of.

And then after I won my
sixth world title and beat Mark

Richards' record I just literally
broke down and started crying.

I had a real epiphany.

That competitiveness
was taking a toll on me.

It was really sapping
me of enjoying what I

was doing and detracting
from my friendships.

And then my mother called me
and said that my dad had cancer.

And that was the
breaking point right there.

I had a few nights I
literally cried myself to sleep

because I was so angry
and confused about my dad.

Like, why would my dad drink so
much and cheat on my mom so much?

And I don't think my father came
to one world tour event I ever surfed.

But then I came to Hawaii for the
Pipe Masters when he was dying.

I remember surfing the
finals and he was crying.

And I said, what
are you crying for?

He was just like, man,
I'm just so proud of you.

I'm like, sorry I didn't win.

I really wanted to
win for your dad.

He's like, no, you won.

He's like, don't
worry about that.

He's like, I'm just
so proud of you.

I don't know.

It was just tough.

You know, my dad's dying of cancer
and can barely take care of himself.

And Ross lets him
come sit at the house.

I don't know.

It's, I don't think I've ever shown
him a real appreciation for that.

After his dad died, it was quite beautiful
when Kelly reached out to a lot of us and

had real, sincere
conversations with us all.

I had never seen him so
stripped bare emotionally.

That was tough.

Obviously, in life,
you've got to fight it.

I remember Kelly and I got together
and it was like a full therapy session.

We just talked about
memories and good times and

it was so refreshing to
be able to just be friends.

My father was super abusive.

That was the reason I
went to rehab, 100%.

A lot of people went
the other way but Kelly

stayed there for 30 days
just to hang out with me.

Kelly worked on all his stuff
before I went through mine.

So, when I went through
mine, he took care of me.

We would have these talks for hours
at night about, you know, life, fathers,

why, why am I feeling this?

Kelly taught me hanging on to
animosity is only ruining my life.

It's not ruining his life.

So, I made amends with my dad
and I stopped doing drugs all at once.

Every situation in your life you have
your pride and ego or you have love.

If you choose this, it's
always gonna be bad and

if you choose this, it's
always gonna be good.

I learned all that from my
smart-ass fucking Slater friend

and I couldn't, I couldn't,
I couldn't think of enough.

Everyone in the world is
fighting the same battle.

People are all suffering from a lack of
connecting with love with people around us.

Personally, I had to wake up to myself and
see that who I thought I was maybe wasn't

all I was cracked up to be.

Kelly kinda did lose the plot a little bit
but he came back in the biggest way ever.

It's pretty neat to see our clique how
we bring people back from the dead.

When I was working for the biotech
company, it was just tearing me up inside.

I definitely fit a wetsuit vibe
more than a suit-suit vibe.

And I was really lucky
that Benji, Kelly, Rob

and Ross helped me
get all my sponsors back.

They made all the calls behind the
scenes that I only heard about afterwards.

Hey, you know what?

Like, someone's gonna call me.

That's pretty heavy.

You got some pretty
heavy friends in high places.

I love Kalani.

Yeah.

So I might have had a
conversation here and there.

I did.

I helped him a little
bit get in the door.

I mean, this Kalani Rob,
he's way better than me.

And I remember going, you
should have the paycheck, not me.

This is ridiculous.

I made a phone call and I
just said, let's sponsor Kalani.

He's just too talented
to be behind a desk.

As a kid, whatever I dreamed
to be, I've so outdone that.

And the only reason
truly why I'm still here

doing anything is because
of my friends, for sure.

I wouldn't be here without them.

If you guys should have turned out
bad, considering the upbringing they had,

but the group and having that support
around, guys saying, hey, don't do that

shit, kind of slapped some guys around
that could have gone the wrong way.

I mean, I was no exception.

I was on the world
tour for 20 years.

And I could not get over
that hump of, I didn't win.

Taylor took himself so serious.

When he would not win, world titles,
just to watch how it was eaten away at the

guy, I couldn't be around him
because I'm so opposite of Taylor.

And then one day,
he finally just let it go.

I'm never gonna
win a world title.

I'm done.

And then he can actually live.

My friends helped me realize
surfing doesn't define me as a person.

There's what you do and
then there's who you are.

And that's the difference
that I didn't know back then.

I got a little bit of bingy
blood injected in me.

And I got more happy
just being who I am.

It's an emotional
rollercoaster, this career.

You lose more than you win.

But it's all about the
state of mind you're in.

Because I've seen guys
win contests and not enjoy it.

And I've seen guys get
third and wear a static.

So who won?

Who's the most fun?

To me, it's the one
having the most fun.

And that's what I
loved about Todd.

It was about surfing.

For the pure love of surfing.

People say that Taylor and I paved
the way for the professional free surfer.

But honestly to me, Todd
was the original free surfer.

When I look back at it
now, each one of us has

kind of taken a part
of Todd and his legacy.

With Shane becoming the
best big wave surfer in the world.

Kelly reconnecting the whole
group, being that catalyst.

It brought us all back together.

Christmas is 14.

I was like, I'd love to do
something for all my friends.

I just sent this message
out and I just said, even

though we don't see each
other, I love all you fuckers.

Ironically, Kelly's always been the
one that was crawling into his own shell.

But he was the one that created the
text thread that's kind of grown to this

wonderful thing where
we all keep in touch daily.

It really shows how much we
crave to connect with each other.

So one day, I texted everybody.

I said, let's get a
momentum reunion together.

That was the first time we
all got together in so long.

It was just like, we never left.

Oh, yeah!

Bring it!

Now that the competition's
been taken out of our

friendship, it brought us
back to being kids again.

It was like being
there 25 years ago.

And I don't care if we have the same
blood running through our veins or not.

To me, friendship
is thicker than blood.

It's the closeness that makes
you connected to another spirit.

As a whole, I look at my
life, I've been given so much.

And thankfully, I sought
out people I wanted

to be around who were
better people than I was.

And those people have rubbed off on me
in a lot of ways and still do, every day.

A lot of us have been friends
since we were 12 years old.

So I can say my deepest, darkest, whatever,
and those guys don't even bat an eye.

It's just, those are my friends.

The reunion was insane.

We had so much fun.

Teasing each other, laughing,
and surfing is just a bonus.

I'm going I'm going I'm going

I'm going I'm going Move my system Move I
No matter who you listen to Let it do what

it meant We sure do
love this life If I was Now

There's no combination of words I could
put on the back of a postcard No song that

I could sing But I can try for your heart
Our dreams And they are made out of real

things Like a jukebox And photographs With
sepia tone Lovin' Love is the answer At

least for most Of the questions In my
heart Like, Why are we here And where do

We go And how come We're so hard And it's
not always easy And sometimes life Can be

deceiving I'll tell you one thing It's
always better When we're together It's

always better When we're together Yeah,
we look at them stars And we're together

Yeah, Well, it's always
better when we're together,

yeah, it's always better
when we're together.

100% people pick it up
there, guys, there, there.

And all of these moments just might
find their way into my dreams tonight.

But I know that they'll be gone when the
morning light sings or brings new things.

For tomorrow night you see that they'll
be gone too, too many things I have to do.

But if all of these dreams might find
their way into my day-to-day scene,

I'd be under the impression I
was somewhere in between.

With only two, just me and you,
not so many things we got to do.

But places we got to be will
sit beneath the mango tree now.

Yeah, it's always better
when we're together.

I'll tell you one thing.

It's always better
when we're together.

It's always better
when we're together.

It's always better
when we're together.

After Todd died, Kelly
said to me, you realize now

the only person you could
ever really date is Pat.

And I remember thinking, that's so
weird, he's like my brother, you know, Pat.

It's always better
when we're together.

Janet and I were such
close friends, you know,

it's like one of those
romantic comedies.

And you're like, why doesn't
this guy just kiss the chick?

We were living together as roommates
and I came home one night... Yeah.

And he told me how he felt.

Hey Janet, you know, we've
been friends for a long time.

Yeah, you know, like
what do you think?

Whoa, I didn't see that coming.

At first it was a little
weird, but it just felt right.

The only person Todd would have felt
comfortable with me being with is Pat.

Sometimes I think he was
up there kind of orchestrating.

Probably telling the guys to
threaten the other guys away.

Hearing some of the
speeches at our wedding,

I kind of started
to put it together.

I was like, okay.

They all knew what
they were doing.

It was just so perfect that
her and Pat got together.

I mean, I got to pinch
myself sometimes.

That's like Todd's
spirit coming through.