Watch: Mason Ho And Company Take On 30-Foot Waimea Bay
The master of good times in the ocean, what’s easy to overlook about Mason Ho’s surfing given how much fun he appears to be having all the time is how hard he charges when the conditions call for it. Case in point, his Black Friday spree at Waimea Bay. For a few hours during that swell the Bay was the place to be, and nobody shone brighter than Mase.
As surf fans, we get so used to seeing him infuse a little levity into his sessions. He’s probably the only person on the planet that can make the dry reef on the inside at Rocky Point actually look inviting, but such is the man’s talent. But with his deep roots in Hawaii, he also seems to be able to such just as much enjoyment out of a heart-pounding season at 20- to 30-foot Waimea. With his father, Michael’s constant counsel, guidance and inspiration, and the angle of his late brother, Derek, riding on his shoulder, Mason was in his element on Black Friday.
Riding a 10’2” Bay Slayer model from …Lost Surfboards and Matt Biolos, the shaper he’s been working with throughout his career, Mase describes it as “one of my favorite boards, by far.” Going with the four-fin quad setup, his equipment looks on point for the season.
And for Mase, as with a lot of big-wave Hawaiian surfers, there’s something sacred about being out at the Bay. A sacred site for pre-contact Hawaiians, there’s a unique power and draw to the place.
“I feel like everyone today is always searching for glory. They want that glorious clip. If the waves are big or gnarly or whatever, they’re probably going to be at Off The Wall, or Pipe, or maybe even Haleiwa trying to get the craziest video clip,” he explained in an interview. “But there’s something about getting out there on a big board, when you get a good one, you’re just like, ‘Fuck yeah!’”
