The swells that kickstarted the eddie

Jamie & Jojo hit waves from Mexico to Hawai'i 

Swell chasers and Rusty Team riders, Jamie Sterling & Jojo Roper have been very active this winter. We’ve loved keeping up with them and tuning in to Surfline’s 20 foot plus series. This past month, they both started in Todos Santos chasing massive surf and a few days later ended up in Oahu at Waimea Bay. Honorable mention team rider Quetzal Estrada, Puerto loc, paddled out to Todos and caught some bombs. After Todos, The Eddie Aikau Big Wave contest was then called on, and they jumped over the pond. When swell appears they are on it ASAP. Jamie was an alternate in the Eddie and Jojo was following the swell. They ended up squeezing in sessions when the contest wasn't running. We are proud to have big wave surfers on the team, watching them is intense.

Would you paddle out to Todos on Friday the 13th? Jojo did. He tamed some beasts, but was not unscathed. While in Todos, Jojo took a lip to the waist. He strained his groin, hip flexor and hamstring. He had to get his ribs and pelvis adjusted, but he was back on the grind. All he had on his mind was the Jaws swell. Next thing he knew, Hawai'i swell picked up and The Eddie was called on after a 7 year break. With the injuries, he knew he still had to go tackle one of his dreams, to experience The Eddie. He paddled out before the contest and had an awesome session which ended as the first heat paddled out. To be out there and surf alongside Eddie competitors must have been amazing. Lastly he ended chasing the swell as it hit Mavericks. The skills and training that goes into surfing waves like this is hard to imagine. Hours of breath training in pools help simulate long hold downs, common in big surf.

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Jamie left the islands to catch the same swell in Todos, where he was joined with a bunch of other daredevil big wave surfers. On instagram he captioned it “Friday the 13th at Killers”, sounds inviting right?? Three minutes after he got to the peak, a clean up set came through. He said about 50 men and a couple women were out there and everyone was screwed. He said he could hear leashes snapping underwater. Only 10 people were left in the lineup after that. A 19 second swim through a moving wall of water steals a lot of energy. Next, Jamie ventured up the coast and stopped by the Rusty Factory to pick up a new board and was ready for The Eddie. He flew back home and headed to Waimea Bay. The Eddie was called on and Jamie was an alternate on standby. Once he found out he wasn’t in the contest he went to the Outer Reefs. There was barely anyone out and he surfed for hours. Sounds like a dream! We can’t wait to see what the rest of the winter has in store for these two chargers.

Follow JoJo and Jamie on Instagram and tune into the Surfline 20ft+ series.

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