TRIP CROWN 2008! (part 1)
TRIPLE CROWN 2008
After all the months of preparation and design time, the endless emails to print houses and sponsor companies, the worrying and wondering about the end product... In a few short weeks, I went from being an official "Triple Crown Artist" to being a fromer "Triple Crown Artist". it was a bit sad to watch the last of the tents pack up and the crowds move on, but occuring in that small space of time between the Ali'i and Pipemasters were some of the most surreal and unbelievable moments of my life. In fact, after all the looking to the future I've been doing for years, this winter I did a lot of looking back at where I started from on the island.
Signing autographs as the Ali'l contest was a day I never thought I'd experience! It was only 5 years ago that I was reveling at the opportunity to help add the judges scores for a Menehune contest with my boss's daughter. It was actually the first time I felt invited behind the curtian of everyday North Shore. This year, sitting in the VANS booth with my friend (and fellow Triple Crown artist Heather Brown), a perfect view of the contest and a constant flow of autograph seekers, caused me to stiffle a huge open mouthed grin most of the afternoon.
Living near Sunset, I stopped by the contest site everyday. Randy (Triple Crown producer) was kind enough to get me hooked up with a VIP pass. Though I was told I could go anywhere with it, it took me all day of milling about the contestent area to get the courage to walk in. I met this girl Hanalei from Tahiti a couple days before and we'd been hanging out a lot. She mentioned she was meeting her friend Pedro who just flew in from Mexico at the contest so she'd walk over with me... without even thinking I said "What's his last name?" Turns out it's the same Pedro I hadn't seen in years and just like that I have a friend in common with a girl I just met from Tahiti. Seriously though, how many Pedros are in the world? We became fast friends that week, spending many days surfing, eating 'cereals' (which sounds so adorable in a french accent), painting googly eyes on our toenails... it just seemed natural that we would know the same Pedro.
Back to the contest, Hanalei forced me to stop being a chicken shit and we watched the contest with the contestants and their friends. Her being the surf princess of Tahiti, she introduced me to some of my favorites, including my biggest surf hero Taj Burrow. Taj and his coach invited us for a game of shuffleboard at Turtle Bay! Looking back 5 years ago when I cleaned hotel rooms, I found a book about surfing written by Taj that someone had left behind. I took it home and it became a text book for surfing and a friend when I didn't have one. Meeting the real Taj all I wanted to do was yell Ron Burgundy-like "I READ YOUR BOOK, YOU'RE MY PRETEND FRIEND, I LOVE YOUUUUU not romantically but I wish you were my friend in real LIIIIFE". An instinct I'm glad to have surpressed. This was the one person in all of surfdom that I never thought I'd actually meet in real life. Life is so funny that way, especially on the North Shore. I've lost track of the amount of coincidental circumstances I end up involved in a long time ago.
Anyway back to Sunset... Hanalei and I cheered for her new boyfriend, Patrick Gadakas, we drank MANY Rockstar Energy Drinks made new friends. As an artist, I spend a lot of time in seclusion...that day made up for every party I missed out on during the year! That night I went all or nothing and hit up a house party! I don't even remember how I found out about it but basically 5 of us showed up with beers and ready to get rowdy.... we walk up to the main floor and realize that it's a grom party. ALL groms. Like if someone set off a bomb in there, they would literally kill the future of pro surfing. We decided to go upstairs and start an adult party. A word of caution if you're ever in this position: don't leave your beer in the fridge with a room full of eleventeen year olds. It will not be there when you get back and you'll be forced to drink Wiskey and lo-carb Rockstar.
It wasn't long before the adult party took over all three floors of the house and things got rowdy. I decided that my semi-hermit lifestyle was over and I was going to keep the party going for the rest of my life!! Until the next morning... when I was awakened by the teenage boys I'd promised to go hiking with the next day. Early. This wasn't just any hike, this was scaling Pupukea on a hunt for wild boar... another story for another time though. My favorite experience of the whole year needs it's own entry.
Thanks for following along, hope you enjoyed! I won't leave you hanging for long so keep checking back!!
SHINN