If you haven’t noticed, professional surfing is in a rut. Primary sponsors and have undergone massive financial restructuring to prevent bankruptcy, and the (ASP) has struggled to keep backers for its events. Scariest of all, the sport鈥檚 only consistent draw, 11-time world champion Kelly Slater, turns 41 in February and is winding down his storied career. All of which means that surfing is in need of some serious verve. Enter 20-year-old John John Florence, a North Shore wunderkind who鈥檚 been billed as the next Slater since he was in kindergarten鈥攁nd whose time has finally arrived.
19
Age at which Florence became the youngest surfer ever to win the Triple Crown.SKILLS: With his technical, skateboarding-influenced moves and years of training at Oahu鈥檚 famous Pipeline, Florence is equally adept on two-foot and 30-foot waves. 鈥淗e has a crazy skill set,鈥 says surf historian Matt Warshaw. 鈥淗e can throw giant, complicated airs and go deep inside the biggest, meanest caves.鈥
PEDIGREE: Florence first surfed Pipeline at age six, scored a sponsorship at eight, and, at 13, became the youngest surfer to compete in the prestigious . In 2011, at 19, he became the youngest surfer ever to win that event.
ASCENSION: Last May, in the opening minutes of the Billabong Rio Pro鈥攖he third event in the ASP World Tour鈥擣lorence took off on a shoulder-high wave, pumped down the line twice, and casually launched a smooth 540 air, a skateboarding trick that only a handful of pro surfers can land. The move sealed his first World Tour victory and put him in the ASP title hunt, until he lost in a tough second round in the penultimate event, in Santa Cruz, California.
NEXT UP: Expect him to make another run at the top spot in 2013, beginning with March鈥檚 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, in Australia. 鈥淗opefully, I鈥檓 on my way there,鈥 he said in a 2011 interview, referring to his world-title aspirations. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 having fun and I surf for a living, and that鈥檚 a dream in itself.鈥