The teenage Hawaiian attacked the closeouts in front of the Sheraton during this week’s lay-days. © WPS
Right now, John Florence is the most versatile surfer in the world.
In recent months he’s been untouchable, from Pipeline, to mainbreak Margies, to Brazilian beachbreaks –- but what makes him so dang fearsome to everyone else in the competitors area is his level head and confidence.
To prove how utterly unfazed he was in his first WT final, in the first five minutes, John John had already posted a 16-something. Against Parko, of all people, an ice-blooded competitor in the best form of his life.
There are no chinks in his armour, no visible achilles.
“Ah man, he’s unbelievable,” said the vanquished Parkinson.