America’s Next Great Pair Of Surfing Brothers Has Arrived
There are a lot of reasons to be excited for the start of the 2024 WSL Championship Tour later this month, and if you’re a fan of American surfing, somewhere at the top of that list is Crosby Colapinto joining his older brother, world title contender and future Olympian Griffin this year. It’s been a hot minute since we had a pair of brothers on tour, and these two are special. Dedicated, talented, affable, they’re leading the charge as a new generation of U.S. surfers, including their friends Cole Houshmand, Kade Matson and Eli Hanneman, hit the road this season and look to upset the establishment.
Brotherly surfing duos are nothing new to American surfing. Three-time world champ Andy Irons and brother Bruce are front of mind, but right behind them are Damien and CJ Hobgood, as well as Cory and Shea Lopez and Derek and Michael Ho. All of those surfers changed surfing in their own unique and special way. For the Irons boys, it was an unabashed, scorched-earth competitiveness that drove them to greatness. In an era where guys like Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson were all chasing titles, they proudly wore the badge of “people’s champions” on their sleeves. “Everyone wins,” Andy was known to say from time to time.
Meanwhile, for the Hobgood and Lopez boys, they were the living legacy of what Slater started. After rattling off his world titles in the ‘90s, Slater stepped out of the spotlight at the turn of the century. The void was filled by his fellow Florida charges. CJ won the world title in 2001, while Damien and Cory proved that Florida boys will charge harder than most in the South Pacific. Their respective acts at Teahupo’o and Cloudbreak were barrier breaking. Meanwhile, Shea was the technician and strategist that was right there in the early Aughts with Matt Biolos and company as the …Lost got underway.
That brings us to Michael and Derek Ho, hands down the best pair of brothers to call Pipeline home. Michael famously invented the “pig dog” tube riding technique after breaking his arm in the Pipe Masters but refusing to quit. Meanwhile, has there ever been anyone as graceful and in tune with Pipe as Derek? No, the answer is no. The first Hawaiian world champion, Derek’s impact continues to reverberate and inspire to this day.
And now it’s the Colapinto boys turn to pick up the mantle and have a go. We’ve already seen what Griff is capable of the last few years, including his appearance at the WSL Finals last year. But now, with younger brother Crosby by his side, the shared energy between the two could elevate both of their performances to new levels. The mindset is positive, the energy is good and the vibes are up with these two. Just being together on tour was a dream come true, but with their homies in the water with them and a new season at hand, things are about to get even better for the Colapintos. Watch this space.
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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.