Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
The Banzai Pipeline, or simply Pipeline or Pipe, is a surf reef break located in Hawaii, off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea on O'ahu's North Shore. A reef break is an area in the ocean where waves start to break once they reach the shallows of a reef. Pipeline is known for huge waves that break in shallow water just above a sharp and cavernous reef, forming large, hollow, thick curls of water that surfers can tube ride. There are three reefs at Pipeline in progressively deeper water farther out to sea that activate according to the increasing size of approaching ocean swells.
Patrick Shane Dorian, or "Shane", is an American surfer from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He spent 11 years touring on the World Championship Tour as a professional surfer. Dorian quit competition surfing in 2003 to focus on big waves. He is currently a big wave surfer and one of the best in the world at big wave riding.
Jason "Ratboy" Collins is an aerial surfer who graduated from Santa Cruz High School. Following the lead of surfers such as Christian Fletcher, Collins dominated aerial surfing in the mid-nineties. Collins is best known for his extensive repertoire of aerial manoeuvres Double grabs, reverses, and 360 breaths of air, many of which he pioneered. Collins is also an accomplished longboarder and is well known for his overall riding style.
Peʻahi is a place on the north shore of the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has lent its name to a big wave surfing break, also known as Jaws.
LeRoy "Granny" Grannis was a veteran photographer. His portfolio of photography of surfing and related sea images from the 1960s enjoys a reputation that led The New York Times to dub him "the godfather of surfphotography." He was born in Hermosa Beach, California.
Peter Mel, is an American professional surfer. Mel began his surfing life in Capitola, California before moving on to Santa Cruz. He is known as a 'big wave' surfer and son of John Mel, a four time surfing National Champion.
Red Bull Illume is an international photography contest for adventure and action sports. It showcases the most creative and captivating photography on the planet and aims to bring the public closer to the world of adventure and action sports. In 2019, its fifth year, Red Bull Illume added two new categories: Best of Instagram, sponsored by SanDisk, and a Moving Image category. 59,551 images were submitted by thousands of photographers with entries from all around the world. A judging panel of 50 photo editors and digital experts selected 60 Finalists, 11 Category Winners and 1 Overall Winner, which were unveiled at the Winner Award Ceremony at the LUMEN - Museum of Mountain Photography, Plan de Corones, Italy on November 20, 2019. The Overall Winner was Ben Thouard. The next Red Bull Illume Image Quest will take place in 2021.
Greg Long is an American surfer from San Clemente, California. He has won the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational, in memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay, the Red Bull Titans of Mavericks event held at Mavericks in Northern CA, and the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event held at Dungeons in Hout Bay, South Africa. Additionally, he is the most decorated surfer in the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. He is widely regarded as one of the best big wave surfers in the world.
Mike Castillo is a veteran Baja pilot, well known in the surfing industry. He is credited for spotting the world-famous surf break, Cortes Bank, by air in 1990 while flying over the coast of Southern California with photographer Larry "Flame" Moore.
Surfline is a company and website based in Huntington Beach, California that specializes in surf forecasting and surf reports, live webcasting, photography, videography, as well as editorial coverage of the sport of surfing. Surfline.com is now ranked 1,180 in the US and 5,784 in the world in terms of popularity compared to other websites and is now the largest provider of streaming HD coastal cams. Since 2003 it has taken on buoyweather.com and fishtrack.com (2012), on average the family of websites receives 175,000 visitors per day. The site includes streaming video, surf reports and forecasts. Surfline.com offers streaming cameras at 150 surf breaks, and is one of the larger surf cam websites. Surfline currently has approximately 50 employees.
Sean Robb Collins was the American founder of Surfline and a noted figure in the areas of surfing and surf forecasting.
Mark Robert Visser is an Australian professional big wave surfer, author, keynote speaker and ocean adventurer. Visser is best known for being the first person to surf Hawaii's most dangerous wave Jaws, Maui, at night in 2011. It was documented in a film called 'Night Rider'.
Steven Lippman is a former competitive surfer and skateboarder turned commercial photographer and director who has been called "one of the most explosive and diverse photographers around today." Specializing in lifestyle, fashion, and beach/rock & roll culture, he has shot advertising campaigns for clients such as Harley-Davidson, Patrón, Paul Mitchell, Sony, Coors Light, Verizon, James Perse, and Billabong.
Elephant Surf is a surf company based in San Diego, California, and is the leading innovator of compression shorts for surfing. The company was founded in 2010, and specializes in lower body rash guards and compression shorts to wear under boardshorts.
Zakary Noyle is a professional surf and wave photographer living on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, best known for his large wave photographs.
Sonny Miller was an American cinematographer and waterman specializing in surfing and nature photography. He achieved success filming surfing related dramas, In God's Hands (1998). Riding Giants (2004), The Big Bounce (2004), Lords of Dogtown (2005), Blue Crush (2002) and Die Another Day. Miller experienced a heart attack and could not be revived just one week after the passing of his mother, Suzanne Gilliland. Married to Debra Levinson (1999-2009)
Adventure Parc Snowdonia, formerly Surf Snowdonia is an adventure park and tourist attraction, incorporating an artificial wave pool, at Dolgarrog in the Conwy valley, north Wales, owned by Conwy Adventure Leisure Ltd. It is the world's first commercial artificial surfing lake. The site cost a total of £12 million and opened in August 2015.
Aaron Chang is an American photographer specialized in surfing and ocean photography. He spent 25 years as a senior photographer at Surfing Magazine; he was an early photographer to practice the act of shooting waves with a wide angle lens from the water.
