Surfing
Surfing
Best From the Beach: 'The Other Guys' Drop In at the Volcom Pipe Pro
Could Jamie O'Brien win a heat at Pipe on a soft-top surfboard? What's it like getting a call from Kelly Slater? Who among us are anti-wave pool? These are "The Other Guys."
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17 min
'The Other Guys' w/ J.O.B., Kalani David, Finn McGill and Vaughan Blakey
"The Other Guys" live from the Volcom Pipe Pro.
At the Volcom Pipe Pro, there stands on the sand a tower of scaffolding two stories high, and it buzzes with the energy of a primetime event. Judges and their clipboards, commentators and their headsets, athletes in their singlets, all filing in and out of the live hive with the eyes of the collective surf world tuned in to watch.
In the tower's shadow, a couple backyards over, tucked between some swaying palms and a neighbor's crooked fence are "The Other Guys." Two ambitious surf scholars taking advantage of the fact that while we have surfing's finest in town for the action at Pipeline, they might as well sit 'em down for a chat.
"The Other Guys" saddled up for three hours of live pirate radio on day 1 of the Pipe Pro, and the guest list included their new neighbor Jamie O'Brien, who extolled the virtue of surfing and social media's torrid love affair and debated if he'd ever paddle out in a heat at Pipe on one of his signature fluoro soft-top surfboards.
Kalani David broke down his incredible comeback from life-threatening illness and went on to describe how being back and competing at Pipe is the best start to this next chapter of his career. World Jr.'s champ Finn "Thunders" McGill tells the boys about that time he almost ignored a call from Kelly Slater, then Vaughan Blakey swooped in to spread the good word about surfing's bright but complex wave pool future.
Balaram Stack dropped in to chat ballistic missile crisis and how much better his view of Pipe is from the balcony of his room in the Volcom House. Chris Cote, a member of the buttoned-up roster of professionals on the main event commentary team, loosened his tie and stopped by with some advice from the big leagues. At the end of the day, (around 1 p.m., they work the brunch rush only), it was a freewheeling conversation fueled by made-to-order libations in pineapples and a passion for all things surf.
Up top, we've compiled the day's greatest hits into our "Best From the Beach" segment — press play and saddle up to talk story with "The Other Guys" and friends, then come back for more live conversation from Pipe as soon as the comp is back on.
Live and rambling on the North Shore of Oahu
© The Other Guys
No play-by-play, no sponsor plugs, no post-heat interviews ... nothing of the sort. "The Other Guys" are just, well, talking about everything else. Chris Binns, esteemed surf journo from Australia, is joined by Travis Ferré, founder and editor-in-chief of What Youth, in this pirate radio broadcast streaming live from Hawaii. Tune in next time and settle into a seat on the North Shore with "The Other Guys" and some of surfing's finest, going live at 10 a.m. Hawaii time every day the Volcom Pipe Pro runs.
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