I've been a little bit shy about paddling out with a camera tacked onto the nose of my board. As a pro surfer, it is my job to be a "photo slut". The more photos I get with my sponsors' logos showing, the more likely they are to make it into places people will see, and the more photo incentive I earn. It's a simple formula really. Wear bright colors, ride bright surfboards, display the logos, surf in front of photographers, get "the shot", keep calling yourself a "professional surfer". Still, tacking a camera onto the board seemed a little like overdoing it.

The first time I tried my new GoPro camera, I stayed down the beach on a peak by myself. The next morning I did the same. But this morning the best peak was right in the middle of the crowd and I couldn't hide any longer. I paddled down and a bunch of the high school kids started asking questions. "What's on your board?" "How does it work?" "Cool!" They were working with a water photographer and I laughed and teased them, "you guys have to try to hook up with that guy, but i've got a guaranteed hook up every time!"

Unfortunately, the waves weren't the best. The thumpy closeouts were riddled with backwash. It was a little bit crowded, and I just wasnt having enough luck. Finally, I did get one right that was hollow enough to pull into, and let me ride for a second or so before closing out and tossing me onto the sand. All it takes is one! I even hooked up with my personal photographer and got "the shot"! It isn't really print worthy, but I was stoked!

Check out my videos for the moving version of the above sequence!