The opening ceremony for the Quiksilver In Memory Of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is one of surfing’s grandest gatherings. The best big wave riders in the world all converge at Waimea Bay. They come with boards, they come with respect, and they take part in native ceremonies there in the sacred sand. Eventually, they paddle out and form a prayer circle in the lineup — silhouettes of superheroes shadow off into sea as the sun melts into the Pacific. It really is something.

Koa Rothman spent the 2015-16 Hawaiian season focused on two things, making barrels, and riding big ass waves. Sit back, hit play and feel the jealousy rise.

Arguably one of the best Pipeline shots we have seen this winter.

Committed. Shot: Bielmann

When Pipe’s pumpin’ you know where to find Koa Rothman. Shot: Heff

"This was one of the most memorable afternoons for me from the #quikpro. I knew the waves would get good as soon as the tide started to push back in and I really wanted to shoot with Jeremy Flores. This was my last day and his as well before bailing to Portugal for the WCT event.

After a few minutes conversation on the phone, Jezza said he would come down for a surf, he had such a hectic, busy day and could have easily brushed me off. It was around 6pm and the light was amazing, the waves were so much fun. Jeremy destroyed it, going for big turns and airs. This was shot just down the track from where the Quiksilver WCT house is situated, not a bad peak to have out the front of your place.

To top off the afternoon, Josh Kerr who was also surfing with Jeremy came in, got dressed and walked over to me with a bag. The bag had a bottle of red wine, baguettes and other goodies. Jeremy came in and we sat and watched the sun go down on an epic afternoon in France."

"This was shot at a break called Les Estagnot, it was a peak that offered rippable right and left handers, it was 4 foot and really clean. I texted Dane earlier to let him know it was fun, i knew it was his last day in France but i was not sure he had time for a surf.

I was already on the beach when Dane was coming down. I knew if he got the right waves it would be a slaughter with displaced chunks of ocean getting sprayed everywhere. Another great afternoon in France."

"The night before this shot was taken, there was froth and excitement, people running around organising jet skis and preparing for the big swell to hit. Leo and Mikey shared a ski and were doing step offs, i was on the beach trying to locate them as there were a few others out on skis doing the same.

Finally i got my sights on them, they were 200 meters north of the contest, Leo had a bright green wetsuit on so it was easy to spot the boys. This was the best wave Leo got in 3 hours, definitely his cleanest. He got tubed on a few others, but the wave in this shot was really perfect.

Leo is ripping and has made a remarkable comeback after back surgery from a horrific wipeout and Pipeline. Every day the kid gets stronger and confident, it's great to see, i hate to see anyone with such talent injured."

"This was the same day as the Leo shot. We got up really early, the sun doesn’t hit the water until about 8.15am, it's still kind of dark even then.

Then the next problem was the fog, had to wait for it to lift before i could get a clear shot. Mikey got this one about 500 meters north of the Quik Pro WSL event. For me it was the cleanest and best shaped wave Mikey caught in 3 hours. i love his style and the flair on the wave, not to mention he rips."

"This was the first time I shot with Koa Rothman, such a nice polite kid. i was really impressed with his backhand surfing, this right was really testing him and he smashed it.

As you can see, he has a smooth and graceful style, this was shot at Les Estagnot one late afternoon."

"This afternoon was so crazy, people started flocking to the beach when they saw Dane and Mikey run down for a surf at a break called Les Estagnot.

It was wild, people were clapping, whistling, ooohs and aaaahs after every turn or air, having a great afternoon. With standing room only being behind me on the hill, it was chockers with lots of frothers enjoying the free show of power surfing at its most radical.

I love when people are passionate about watching surfing as they are when watching football."

"Kanoa rrocked up to France out of the blue, he was just in Portugal competing and decided to come to Hossegor for 3 days. He knew Pierre, the CEO of Quiksilver, was holding a massive barbecue for the athletes and staff. Kanoa loves food and there was no way he was going to miss out on a free banquet..

Here he is the morning after the banquet, punting in front of some grommets full of food and full of energy. Beats me how he got that high."

"It was the Dane and Mikey show at Les Estagnot, France. That's Jimmy Graham filming with another filmer, Nick Pollet, looking on as Mikey impresses."

"Another moment of Dane in the Dane and Mikey show!"

"First time i shot this Dunphy and he f'n rips. His front side hacks are nuts, can’t wait to shoot him in perfect rights with big hack sections."

What you’re witnessing here is Koa Rothman absolutely manhandling the now famous Kandui swell from a few months ago. Check it out.

Koa Rothman, Nathan Florence and Kiron Jabour took on the Code Red swell at Teahupoo. Check out some darn heavy waves.

Koa Rothman, 20 year old Hawaiian big wave surfer, is always charging. The above clip, which you've probably watched twice already, features some of his latest barrels, plus the Teahupoo death slab that won him two awards at the XXL awards last weekend – Tube of the Year and Wipeout of the Year – for the same wave.



So what does it feel like getting rolled by a Teahupoo monster? Koa talks us through it.

Congrats on the double-win this year – when did it feel like it was going from barrel of the year to wipeout of the year? What happened? What was going through your mind?
Well, as I was towing into that wave everyone in the lineup was trying to go and Laird looked back and said, ‘This is your fucking wave! You better go!!!’ and I was like, ‘I guess I'm going.’

I let go of the rope and thought, ‘Oh okay, it’s bigger than I thought it was going to be.’

I got to the bottom and it was sucking up harder than anything I’ve ever seen and I remember trying to stay as straight as I could and just losing all my speed from the barrel sucking in so hard. I remember falling onto my back and realizing how big it really was and watching the biggest lip I’ve ever seen land next to my head.

Then when I fell it felt like it went silent for five seconds then it felt like I got hit by a semi-trailer truck and it dragged me around for about forty seconds. I thought I was going to die.



You’ve had multiple barrels and wipeouts, how does the win this year stack up against the others?
I’ve never actually won anything so this was just beyond anything I could imagine, and that wave was the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced – the ride and wipeout.

How did you feel the next day? How was your body feeling?
The next day I was just happy my brother was ok, he had hit his face on the reef really bad and needed surgery. I was feeling really sore and could barely surf – my whole body was sore, even my fingertips.

Compared to a lot of the other big wave surfers, you’re pretty young. How old were you when first started charging the bigger waves?
I think when I first started surfing big waves, like really big waves, I was probably 17, but even when I was a little kid I wanted to be out there.

What’s the plan for this year? Any trips coming up or are you going to hang at home?
I think this year I'm just gonna chase perfect waves around the world with good friends. Actually I think I see a huge swell going to Tahiti – haha.

Follow @KoaRothman and @Quiksilver on Instagram