A massive swell started building off of the shore of Ehukai Beach, Hawaii.

“It looks like Crash is going to try for that monster, he might actually be as crazy as everyone says,” said the announcer to his partner sitting next to him as he looked thru his binoculars. He didn’t realize he still had an open mic and his comments drew a few chuckles from the spectators with good ears.

The wave grew in size and was going to be the biggest swell seen on this beach in months.

“Crash” Callahan wasn’t crazy, he was just supremely confident in his surfing abilities. His father had him in the ocean and on a board at five and at twenty-two years of age he had barely missed a day since.

Furiously paddling his arms as fast as he could, Crash got himself in perfect position to catch the beast of a wave. Looking over his shoulder to see if any other competitor was following, Crash chuckled seeing that he was all alone. “Pussies!”

He shouted out.

He could feel by instinct the exact moment the wave was in a perfect spot and he popped up to his feet and leaned forward gaining momentum. Looking down at the tons of water in front of him he guessed that this wave would come close to forty feet, but he didn’t hesitate for a second as dropped in and hit the pocket and started to gain speed heading down the face of the wave.

The tournament announcer jumped to his feet as did the hundreds of spectators in the crowd. He grabbed his mic and held it up to his face. “MY GOD! That wave is heavy with a capital H! I hope Crash can pull this off! Rescue to the shoreline please!”

In the back of his mind Crash knew that the speed was a bit of a concern as he started to hit around 40 m.p.h., but the look on his face spoke of pure joyful awesomeness. Crash looked back and saw that a pipe was forming and started to head horizontal across the face of the wave instead of down it. He leaned back just the slightest and put a tiny amount of pressure on his back foot pumping the breaks. The tunnel caught him and a sensation of pure bliss spread throughout his entire body. There was no other experience on this planet just like this.

Crash fought to stay right near the entrance to the barrel, if he got caught in too deep when the wave broke he would be crushed. It was a delicate balance of pressures trying to stay right where he wanted to, but he pulled it off. What felt like minutes was really only thirty seconds and he could feel his ride coming to an end. He leaned forward taking a half step to the front of his board and shot out of the tube right as it started closing.

Just because he made it out of the barrel didn’t mean he was home free though. The wave was still huge and the shore was coming up fast. Crash raced straight down towards the trough building speed and he turned up to the ramp preparing for an aerial exit from his ride.

As he hit the top of the ramp he propelled himself into the air in a horizontal jump and thrust out one fist in a classic superman pose and screamed as loud as he could! “BANZAI BITCHES!”

Crash yelled so loud that most of the people on the beach could hear him and they went wild jumping up and down and cheering. Most of the spectators were from Oahu and they were proud of the Banzai Pipeline and their homegrown surfers.

Crash’s father put his hands to his face and shook his head back and forth, but he was grinning like a butcher’s dog underneath them. He loved his son with a passion and he never missed a competition. He had come to this very beach 25 years ago for a tournament himself, and had never left.

Dragging himself out of the surf, Crash was thronged with fans patting him on the back and telling him he was crazy for trying that wave. He had a huge S.E.G., (shit eating grin) as his dad called it, on his face as he slowly walked up the beach to meet his father.

His father jogged the last few steps to him and grabbed him a bear hug lifting him off of his feet. He whispered into Crash’s ear, “Are you fucking stupid? That was a man-eater! I must have warned you a hundred times about those!”

Crash said back to him “I had to go for it Pops, I’m not getting any younger and I need a few more wins for the real money to start coming in!”

His old man looked him in the eyes and gave him a gentle slap to the face. He smiled and said “No amount of money is worth your life. That’s why I managed to get you a meeting with a sweet alternative kind of sponsor.”

Crash’s father had been around the Hawaii surf scene for the last 30 years. He owned a small chunk of land across the street from the beach that he had bought way back in the day when it was affordable and put a surf shop and dive bar on it.

He now acted as a go-between for the local boys and the corporate sponsors that wanted them to wear their merch.

Crash tended bar three or four nights a week at the bar and surfed almost every day. He had turned pro at age 17 and had mostly been in the top 10 every year. He wasn’t worried about titles or fame though. He just wanted a lifestyle that allowed him to spend all his free time in the water. He was just a laid back Hawaii surfer who wouldn’t harm a fly and as a result he was loved by all of the locals of Oahu.

Crash was a typical looking non-Hawaiian surfer dude. He stood 6 feet, had an athletic toned build, and a mop of longish curly blond hair on his head. His good looks, fearless surfing style and a father with connections in the surfing scene meant that he was making quite a nice amount of money. He wanted to hit the jackpot though so he could get out of competitive surfing around 25 and just enjoy life. He was looking forward to seeing what this “alternative” sponsorship was going to be.

A loud air horn sounded ending the surf tourney and Crash turned and looked to his dad. His father smiled and said, “You better get headed over to the judges table, I have a good feeling about this one!” Crash smiled and sauntered towards the winners stand.

Crash winning that day’s tourney couldn’t have been better timed. A new sponsor attended the event and had already set his sites on Crash. The victory made him want the kid even more and he was already thinking about how high of a price he was willing to pay…