Recently in Red Bull Rising Category

Words By Ben Mondy
"This is crunch time, it really is make or break, when the surfers will either crumble, or step up and make it count." Red Bull Rising coach Andy King, was squinting into the sun, watching a heat late in the afternoon, as the sun sets, this time, into a swell ridden Atlantic Ocean. It was the first day of the 6-star prime rated Rip Curl Pro, held in the heaving beachbreaks of Europe's surfing capital, Hossegor, France. 

Life on the WQS ain't easy, but things go a hell of a lot smoother when you're winning. And for a guy like Wiggolly Dantes (who arguably has the coolest name on tour), his win this past weekend in England at the 2008 Rip Curl Boardmasters definitely eases the burden.

"I had a great time in England and people were so nice to me all week," Dantas said. "We had great waves at the start and tough ones today but it was always lots of fun. So stoked to get this first title, such a big thing. It is a great confidence boost for the upcoming events."

So I'd always wanted to a pro surfer. I mean, who doesn't? And you know I could have been a contender. If I only had the talent, and the looks, and the drive, and the balance, and the stickers. Did I mention talent? And yet I thought I'd dealt with those demons. Thought I'd driven a sharp arsenic laced stake through the heart of the divide between what I wanted and what I am. And then I came to Huntington, for the Honda US Open. A place built, designed, refined, and aligned with the Godification of the the pro surfer. Here these mini-gods are able to walk around with shiny white new sticks, their brown skin and their glittering futures, right through the adoring Californian mass disciples. Knee tremblingly beautiful girls want to be with you, mohawked nipple pierced 40-somethings want to be you and every one from fat Montana mums, to 17th street bums to young surfie groms want to know you.

And well I figured if you can't beat em, join em. My simple plan was to tag along with a pro surfer for a day, just to try and soak up the adulation, share the pressure (heck, maybe even the prize money) and live the dream. I knew what it doesn't take, I wanted to find out what it does take, to make it, especially in this joint, this pro surfing high church.

Well I've been thinking about the heat for a while, I mean I've traveled along way for this event, so you know it's there. But I suppose it was yesterday I really started focusing on in it. We went out for a surf in the competition area last night before dark, in some of the worst conditions you'll ever come across, and I was checking out how my board feels and getting ready and so its only human to go over what might happen in the heat the next day.

And then I went out for dinner with the rest of the Red Bull guys to a sushi place up near Seal Beach - I may have ordered the biggest plate of food I've ever seen, the leftovers could feed an army, so anyway that was that, I went to sleep, trying not to think about it too much.

In the morning I just got up and got my boards ready and tried not to eat too much - just an orange and some water and then went down the to the comp. I was in the third heat, so I didn't have that long to wait, so I had a little 20 minute free surf on the other side of the pier. I actually felt pretty good in the free surf, I finally have a good board and I've been feeling pretty good in the last few days, so it was a confidence booster. I've had a some pretty bad results in the last few comps which affects your confidence, so it felt good to be surfing like that.

Check Out The Photos
Words by Ben Mondy
"I swear on my mother's grave, that's what I saw, why would I make that up? I couldn't even begin to make that up." I'm in the passenger seat being driven down from LAX to Huntington by Red Bull Rising coach Andy King. And I'm incredulous. Kingy had just told me that only an hour ago, in a mall, he had watched slack jawed, widemouthed and freaked out, as a dog came walking through carrying a cat. Now that, possibly, is weird enough, but not only was the dog carrying a cat, but the cat was carrying a rat. He was too stupefied to even take a photo. The dog, the cat, and the rat just walked by, no owner (or owners) in sight, off into the fluro lit distance.

"I love coming to California, I really do. You know it's a good place to prove yourself and even if the waves are sloppy, it's still such a good place to do well. To me, down here, it feels like a real sport. There's the infrastructure and the hype and just the interest, so I'm always excited to come to California and try and win.

Before here I'd been home back in Kauai for a little while, I went home to work on my boards and my surfing and gather my marbles and just get ready for this event, the Honda US Open. I came in about a week and a half ago - I came early as there was no waves in Hawaii and I heard there was swell here, so I got here as quickly as I could.

Well folks, we're off and running. The U.S. Open is back for another go and we've got ourselves a week's worth of mayhem, parties, and even a bit of surfing...and if this last weekend's warm-up was even a hint of what we're in for as the main event gets cracking, it's going to be a hell of a ride. Julian Wilson, who's been in the States for over a month now and recently won the Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure, is in blistering form. From Round One of the Honda Junior Pro all the way through the semis, Julian's proven to be the man to beat. The final is coming up this weekend. And as for the main event, well, considering it's the only six-star WQS on the U.S. Mainland, it's safe to say everybody's amped out of their gourd. The Red Bull Rising crew just moved into their temporary digs up on 15th Street. "The house is sick," noted Hawaiian representative Gavin Gillette. "The surf's been pumping, it's definitely summertime in California." That being said, the first Red Bull Rising installment's coming up tomorrow, so tune back in for fresh videos, photos, and the ever-classic blog by Rising's own Ben Mondy, as well as the surfers themselves.