Watch: Teen Rides Wave Of The Winter On Black Friday Swell On Maui
"Baby" Steve Roberson rode his first waves at the Hawaiian big-wave break Pe'ahi when he was only 10 years old. A mere five years later, he's gone from being the youngest surfer to ever challenge the spot to catching one of the biggest waves of the winter thus far.
The oversized swell that hit the Hawaiian Islands over the Thanksgiving holiday, appropriately being called the Black Friday swell, his Pe'ahi, also known as Maui, with a particular ferocity. And while it may have freaked his mom out, Roberson was eager to get right out amongst it. A complete surf animal, the kid was chomping at the bit to get into a bomb.
Highlights: Hawaii's Black Friday Swell Delivers Massive Surf On Maui
After wrestling with the fear of watching her youngest boy go out there and take on the Pacific like this, which has to be overwhelming, Stevie's mother, Tiare, surmised, "This is living!! Following your dreams!! Believing in yourself!! Being your authentic self!! This is beautiful!! The passion, love, dedication & confidence this gives a kid is priceless!"
Stevie's ride has since gone viral and taken the surfing world by storm. Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater described the wave as "incredible," while Pipeline Master and YouTube star Jamie O'Brien called the effort "legendary."
The Roberson family has a long, multi-generational relationship with Pe'ahi. After moving from California to Maui in the late 1960s, Stevie's grandfather landed on the north shore of Maui and was among the first surfers to see the potential of what they called "Jaws." By the late '90s, Stevie's father and late uncle were breaking barriers out there. And now, three generations deep, Stevie and his two older brothers are keeping up the family tradition.
With El Nino conditions delivering big surf around the world already, it seems the big-wave season is off with a bang. It's going to be hard to top a 15-year-old getting the wave of his life, but he's just getting started.
Watch: Hawaii's Giant Black Friday Swell With Mark Healey
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.