Six to eight feet tall glassy pipe and backdoor waves rushed to the shore as the sun shone down on Pipeline, Hawaii. The 2004 Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters was underway when the North Shore resident, Jamie O’Brien, made history. Of course, O’Brien grew up with the waves of the Banzai Pipeline. But that does not take anything away from the fact that he became one of the youngest surfers to win a Pipeline Masters.

Jamie O’Brien had been making waves in the world of competitive surfing before, but this win was what put him on the map. It also triggered a cascade of accolades that ensured that O’Brien’s name would forever be revered along with other iconic surfers. Now, O’Brien has made it his goal to travel around the world, experiencing the best the sea has to offer. But would you ever think the surfing legend would be afraid of waves?

Mighty waves and beastly backwash terrifies Jamie O’Brien

The ocean is a mighty and lively being. It twists and turns and gives birth to waves, some awesome and some terrifying. Recently, O’Brien came across the latter. A video posted by O’Brien on his official Facebook page showed him going surfing at an undisclosed location. All that we could decipher was, that the water was as blue as it could be, the sun was shining in its glory, and there was a mention of the Pacific Ocean somewhere.

At the beginning of the video, Jamie O’Brien exclaimed, “Waxing it up!” as he proceeded to vigorously rub wax on his surfboard. After which, he immediately proceeded to explain the activities he had planned for the day. O’Brien said, “I’m kinda scared. I’m not gonna lie. I mean, it’s scary because it looks like we’re jumping in the middle of the ocean, like in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.” This is not a surprising turn of events, given the fact that the video also showed some pretty sick waves crashing into each other creating some enormous backwash. Jamie O’Brien then described the waves perfectly.

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He said, “Everything is just going like- Boom! Boom!” as he clapped his hands together. O’Brien also added, “And I don’t want to get smashed up against the rocks. So I’m gonna use this wax.” He also revealed that he was planning to say a quick prayer before he went to the beach. Clearly, the mightiness of the waves, as they crashed and churned into each other in thunderous applause, reminded Jamie O’Brien that there might be a divine power after all. Or a God of the Sea, perhaps. Despite all his inhibitions, O’Brien went on to perfectly conquer these rowdy waves, as he always does.

O’Brien the wave sampler

Jamie O’Brien grew up right by the Pipeline, hence, no surprise the pipe wave is his drug of choice. Although, as an avid traveler and wave sampler, this man has ridden all kinds of waves in all kinds of manners. O’Brien has chased waves in wave pools and has even rafted some of the biggest waves ever by using rubber tubes meant for towing behind a boat. That is not even the craziest thing the Pipeline Master has done!

In 2015, Jamie O’Brien went viral for riding one of the biggest waves to ever hit French Polynesia, while on fire. He caught the wave off the coast of Teahupo’o, a village in Tahiti. O’Brien was wearing a black suit that covered him from head to toe, and which was set ablaze while he rode the gigantic wave. The stunt formed a part of his web show, Who is J.O.B. O’Brien’s actions only lead to one conclusion, this man likes to live his life big! And he is not afraid to take a few risks while doing so.

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