By Dylan King
Kelly Slater, one of the greatest surfers in the world, isn’t even close to done with his career, but the next big surfer is here and off to a good start. John John Florence, a child of the north shores of Oahu is only 21 years old, and eldest of his three brothers. He became really famous in the winter of 2005 when he became the youngest surfer to compete in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. Even being a young surfer he competed in the biggest surfing competitions
However surfing isn’t as easy as some people could think. John John’s worst injury was a broken back at the Pipeline, while surfing for fun. Even with this monster injury he is still surfing. In the 2013 Oakley Pro Bali, pulled one of the biggest air in surfing ever scoring him a monster score of 9.87. He pulled a 360 in the mid air, which if you didn’t know, is a huge trick to pull off. Other surfers can pull it off but what makes it so impressive with John John is his age. Only 21 years old, beating Sebastian Zietz, a major pro surfer for many years.
John John definitely has potential of becoming one of the greatest surfers around but he has a lot to learn if he wants to get there. Kelly Slater practiced for years and surfed nearly his entire life to be the best, but he also doesn’t surf to be a champion, he surfs purely for the love of the sport. If Florence follows the same path, he would have a long successful future ahead.