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Surfing

No Contest explores San Francisco's gritty and committed surf scene

No Contest meets a community that thrives the bigger, colder and uglier the waves get. This is surfing, but San Francisco style.
Written by Chris Binns
6 min readPublished on
If you don’t surf you'd probably have no idea that San Francisco has waves. And if you do surf, chances are that while you might know Ocean Beach can occasionally pack a punch, you’re probably still unaware that once you get back on the sand you’ll find one of the most radical, staunch and diverse surfing communities in North America waiting to welcome you with open arms.
Shot of waves breaking under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Surfing, San Francisco style

© Silvin Morgan/Red Bull Content Pool

From the generational owners of working-class watering holes and cutting-edge surf shops to female chargers pushing it as hard as anyone in big waves and tech wizards who love surfing Kelly’s Cove more than the internet, San Francisco the surf town has something for everyone.
In the first episode of the latest series of No Contest, host Ashton Goggans is rediscovering the mythical City By The Bay and he’s brought some of his favourite athletes along for the ride. He’ll surf in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge with Jamie O’Brien and Ian Walsh, before Izzi Gomez ventures a little further south to take on the most famous big wave on the American mainland, Mavericks. To top it all off, Goggans dives into the local food and bar scene with a cast of colourful culinary characters that can’t be beat.
Izzi Gomez in San Francisco.

Izzi Gomez, not quite wearing some flowers in her hair, in San Francisco

© Cori Stephens/Red Bull Content Pool

Read our exclusive interview with standup paddle world champ turned big wave charger Gomez below, then hit play at the top of the page to get to know a whole new side to the home of some of California’s greatest beach breaks. Enjoy!

Izzi! Talk us through your San Francisco experience.

Izzi Gomez: That was my first No Contest trip and it was great. I've always watched the series and hoped to go on one of the trips, and it ended up working out which was cool. I've always loved northern California and we had a great crew with Jamie and Ian, and Ashton was such a great host that it was really fun. I hadn't been there before with anyone local, or someone who really knows the area, so it was nice to be fully immersed in the surf culture and get to know a few people.

A shot of the waves breaking in San Francisco.

Classic San Francisco, as shot by Brian Clifford

© Brian Clifford

You're chasing big waves these days and in California, that means Mavericks, which isn't far from San Francisco. Do you think you'll spend more time there now you know your way around?

For sure. I feel like I know the Santa Cruz region better because I've hung there more in the past, or just stayed at Half Moon Bay. I've been to San Francisco a little, but I'd love to spend more time there now and revisit a few of the spots we looked at during No Contest. There are so many fun waves around there.

We got the full spectrum of conditions too, a couple of days that were pretty cruisy and soft, a few sessions where the current was ripping down the beach and difficult and a couple of waves Ashton took us to that were really fun.

Bianca Valenti surfs at Red Bull Magnitude at Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii USA on January 23, 2023.

Bianca Valenti is taking her Mavericks act to the world

© Christa Funk/Red Bull Content Pool

What was it like to spend time with fellow Red Bull Magnitude competitor Bianca Valenti? She seems awesome.

Bianca's really cool. We've known each other for a long time and I've always looked up to her and thought, 'Wow, she really knows how to get barrelled'. Her style backside is insane and there aren't too many women who've done strike missions to Fiji to score massive Cloudbreak before, so I'm stoked to have her in my group of friends. Then to come and spend time in her local zone and hang out with the crew was super fun.

Ian Walsh surfing at Point Fort in San Francisco.

Ian Walsh goes upside-down beneath the Golden Gate Bridge

© Silvin Morgan / Red Bull Content Pool

Had you spent much time with Ian before?

Ian's such a character, he's got such a funny personality. When I transitioned from paddle boarding to big waves I started spending more time on Maui and Ian was one of the people I would be around a lot because we were training in the same places. I was stoked when I heard he was gonna be on the trip, he's such a nice guy and someone I really admire as a surfer and as a human. Ian's awesome.

Ian Walsh surfing at Mavericks in California

Ian Walsh wrangles one of the wildest Maverick's takeoffs seen in years

© Fred Pompermayer/Red Bull Content Pool

What do you take from his big wave act?

I remember watching his movie, Distance Between Dreams, for the first time. There's this one scene where he's like hooked up to the VO2 Max machine, then he's paddling as hard as he can in a pool and they're doing all this lung capacity stuff. I was like, if this is what big wave surfing takes, then I don't know, because this is crazy! Ian's been on of my biggest inspirations ever since.

I have this conversation with people around big wave surfing a lot, where I'd say a good percentage, like 70 to 85 percent, are not normal, there's something going on upstairs. And then there's people like Ian and Greg Long, who are very intelligent and calm, and stoic in a way. They're like geniuses, you know? Ian's one of the most methodical people that I know, he's really dialled in when it comes to equipment, and everything really.

Jamie O'Brien post-surf at Fort Point in San Francisco, USA.

Jamie O'Brien post-surf at Fort Point

© Silvin Morgan/Red Bull Content Pool

As someone who's reinvented her own surfing approach over the years, does seeing how Jamie O'Brien goes about life give you confidence to keep going down your own path?

Oh, absolutely. There are so many angles you can take as a professional surfer now, and I definitely draw inspiration from guys like Jamie and Kai (Lenny). Personally, Kai was a bit of a catalyst for me realising I could go from SUP to shortboarding, the way he went from windsurfing to big wave. I love seeing people take a path that is a little different, not the norm. That's cool. It's so important to follow your passion and do what you want to do.

It was cool to hang out with Jamie in San Fran. I've known him for a while and have always thought how easy it would be for him to be this cool guy and not give you the time of day, but he's always been so humble and nice and fun to be around.

Ashton Goggans, Ian Walsh, Jamie O'Brien and friends in San Francisco.

Ian Walsh and JOB at surfing's highest profile underground wave

© Silvin Morgan/Red Bull Content Pool

What were some of your San Franciscan highlights?

That's a tough one. I think my trip highlight was the people. Getting to hang out with Bianca was great, and Zoe Chait coming and hanging was awesome too, 'cos there are not many girls surfing Mavericks. And the fact that she was born and raised in Half Moon Bay just makes it even better.

Matty Lopez was there with us, he's a local guy and was really nice. I'd seen him around before so it was really cool to meet him and hang out. And then one of the guys Ashton interviewed on the beach one day might have been a lifeguard back in the day, or an old surfer, and it was awesome to hear his stories from back in the day, like pre-wetsuit and pre-big wave gear. We had some really cool conversations the whole time.

Matty Lopez, Pee Wee and Lewis Samuels in San Francisco.

Matty Lopez, Bill Bergerson and Lewis Samuels; San Francisco's finest

© Silvin Morgan/Red Bull Content Pool

Looked like the eating might have been pretty good too?

Oh yeah. The food insane. Look, if eating was a sport and I lived in San Francisco, I might just quit surfing!

Part of this story

Izzi Gomez

The sky is the limit for stand-up paddleboarding world champ turned big-wave wizard Izzi Gomez.

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