Listen: “Plump Pip is the exact sprinkling of holiday magic our weary world so desperately needs!”

Joy to the world!

Yesterday, whilst David Lee Scales and I sat across from each other in Album surfboard’s upper room chatting, he asked me if I like holiday movies. Home Alone, A Christmas Story, etc. I told him I generally do not like them as they often feature depressingly dysfunctional families and unchill scenarios, exceptions being Elf and the just-released instant classic Plump Pip.

Oh when I saw Filipe Toledo waltzing Pipeline’s sand it filled my heart with such joy. Such pure, pure joy. He was like a little Christmas gnome dropped straight to us from the North Pole. Like dreidel spinning magic.

Longtom noted in his brilliant-per-the-norm wrap that, “Toledo has been parenting. And as all parents know, time in the water comes at a premium. By the time you’ve fed the kids and cleaned up half their bowl, fitness can suffer. Can Pip surf his way back to peak fitness at Pipe? It does seem a little late in the day for preparation.”

But I vehemently disagree with his analysis. Yes, Brazil’s second favorite surfer has been parenting but I would argue that the extra cheer around his middle is exactly what was missing. The secret ingredient that will take him from title challenger to title winner.

No drop will be too scary, no wave too big and he will gouge and hack and barrel his way toward the crown.

Don’t believe? But you must. That’s what the holiday season is all about.

Listen here.