Conceived in Austria, raised at Pipeline!
There’s a hint of wildness and pathos in John John Florence’s rough boy persona, the two-time world champion who is the last custodian of the old way, talk softly, carry a big stick.
While his peers chase money and points and glory and everything else, Florence took his girl, his boat and a few pals and headed to the South Pacific for the voyage of a lifetime, exciting fans with semi-regular glimpses of his new life via a satellite connection to the internet.
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And, now, the shaggy haired boy who enchanted the world in Vogue fashion spreads and as the first tweenie to ride Pipeline, has turned thirty, can y’believe.
Tributes are flowing thick and fast for the level-headed eldest brother in the Florence triumvirate, which includes stylish Ivan and silly Nathan, although none as heart-felt as that from his lifetime shaper Jon Pyzel.
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Pyzel, who is a diabolically sexy former model whose looks have been squandered under the hard Pacific sun, writes,
“Little did I know 25 years ago that this tiny blonde kid (and his whole family) would have such a big influence on the course of my life! Great surfer and, more importantly, a damn fine human! Hope you are getting severely barreled somewhere in Fiji today.”
Pyzel has been making boards for John John Florence since his mama Alex brought the boys to see him at his old bay at Sunset Beach and gave him two-hundred dollars for materials to build five-year-old John a board, his first-ever custom surfboard.
The yellow four-six with halo of orange rails is “hideous to look at” but now exists as a memorial to a boy destined for greatness.
Enclosed is the trailer for his latest film, Gravity, which features music from seventy-three-year-old rocker Ozzy Osbourne.
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“While his peers chase points and money”.
Funny!
He’s already financially set for life, and still on the payroll while he’s sailing.
Don’t think he’s gonna be coming back to the ‘circus’ anytime soon.
He’s 30, has a bum knee, and probably no real motivation for more public screwtiny—a come-back is not looking promising—
him and his sponsor will just keep releasing travel videos to keep him in the limelight and to try and keep him relevant.
PS
Hey, did you read Sam George’s last article where he came to the conclusion, that surfers today have so many different options available to them related to surfing, (compared to 70s and 80s surfers—when pro surfing was the only game in town), that they have moved on beyond pro surfing to other interests.
Ya, I know, it’s Sam George, But this time I think he got it right.
His summary—“ When viewed from this perspective, the only thing the WSL gets wrong is its ‘overestimation’ of the broader surfing world’s level of engagement.
It’s pretty clear by this point that no matter how good a job the WSL does, the majority of the sport has quite naturally grown up and developed other interests — and in doing so, has left the pro tour behind”.
Good article..
Nailed it
‘Pin’ not ‘wing’.
His arms are fine AFAIK.
Corrected, thank you.
got jj’s landline…want it?
Anyone got a time machine I could borrow? I’d like to go back and change the course of my life please.
Jjs mates must get toey while he bangs one out.
I wonder if he waits till rough seas to disguise the noise. Seems like he would be courteous like that.
Have you ever thought of doing a Cameo-type service where people pay you to write intro / bios about them, or other people?
Much like submitting yourself to a caricature cartoonist, you’d never know whether the result would be flattering or soul destroying. Maybe both.
I’m still saving up for a Derek Rielly obituary
eulogies and/or property for sale/
another cartoonist banned!
There has to be some way to keep the genre that was the Longtom podcast introduction going. I’d pay!