The top riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding

5. Ben Player

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rider who has polarized me as much as Ben. Originally, I didn’t like his style in the first videos I saw with him and Toby… then he goes to Hawaii, then he starts boosting, then he starts charging, then he starts pulling off moves perfectly, then he starts putting his style on his moves, then he starts putting his style on everything he does, then he becomes the ideal. Ben is the evolution of style embodied by a rider and now I need to see every segment he’s in even if he’s just doing a duckdive.

4. Eppo

A long descendant of Daedalus, Eppo was the air man of air men. He made people want to commit to the air more than anyone. He pushed the sport with the ARS, the backflip, the double roll and airs higher over the lip than waves I’ve ridden. While some people push deeper into the barrel and others push harder into their moves, Eppo took to the sky and the sport has never been the same since.

3. Jeff Hubbard

Freak… that’s how you define Hubb, launching higher than physically and psychologically healthy, Hubb’s segments look like they come out of a damn videogame. Abnormally flexible and with the most complete skills of any rider to ever ride on a board, Hubb is who everyone wants to be. He can win with the deepest barrel. He can win with the highest air. He can win with the most fluid combinations of moves. Simply put, if anyone can win, it’s Jeff... Lucky for all of us, anyone watching a heat he’s in or a segment he’s riding on also wins.

2. Guilherme Tamega

A lot of people say they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win. Each of those people is quoting Tamega… there’s saying you’re willing to die to win, and then there’s making everyone fear for your life to prove that you’re not talking bullshit. It’s 1994, Tamega launches what becomes known as the Death Roll on a closeout at Pipe and takes off on one of the best 10 point rides in history to claim a win… Fast forward 17 years to Chile and he launches what is called a Death Roll over dry reef at Arica to win. With time some people change… but the heroes in our lives, they always stay true to who they are. Tamega is the real deal and during his reign of terror, no one came close to taking him down. When it comes to crazy rolls, crazy air forwards and fierce competitive drive, Tamega is King.

1. Mike Stewart

Having the respect of your peers is one thing, commanding respect from everyone who’s ever done a water sport is another. You see, getting the wave of your life at Pipe has to do with luck as much as skill… bodysurfing Pipe and attempting to do it from Second Reef… that’s beyond comprehension. Nine Time bodyboarding Champion, Eleven times bodysurfing champion, Mike proves that knowledge truly is power. Style, grace, power, and above all else skill… few people are as technical as Mike and no other rider in existence has been studied as in depth as Mike. Let’s face it, if the conditions are big and it’s a barrel fest… Mike will be in the final. Last year I met Mike for the first time in my life and it’s a milestone for way too many reasons to list but one of the top would be that even as revered as he is, I’ve met few people in life who live with as much stoke as Mike and it just goes to show… the secret to happiness isn’t status, it’s to approach everything in life like a pumped up grommet going for a session.

Top ten riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding - 6-10

10. Kainoa McGee

Hawaiian to the core. Kainoa buckled boards with pure power and takes off on the biggest Pipe waves to dare unload on the famed reef. It’s a shame he never won a Pipe comp but riding 15 ft. second reef bombs on dropknee and dropping in on unmakeable waves only to come out of the barrel with a claim… well that’s Kainoa. He’s in his element in the barrel and he’s a complete water man, manhandling huge barrels on his belly, on his knee, standing up or with a paddle. I met Kainoa once and I remember three things super clear: 1.) he looks like someone you’d NEVER want to mess with, 2.) he’s a super cool and nice guy and 3.) I reminded him physically of Alex Kinimaka. Not too bad a day for a stoked grom if I do say so myself.

9. Neymara Carvalho

While many women are super worthy of admiration for their skills, courage and power, Neymara was the first female bodyboarder I can remember of that busted more hardcore than guys. Her airs at Backdoor commanded the respect of all the people and she’s a hell woman if I’ve ever seen one. The funny thing is that if she were any more bubbly she’d be a friggin champagne. Seeing her go from land to water was like watching a hello kitty doll transform into the Tasmanian Devil and to me, she’s always been a super standout on any wave where you can boost being one of my favorite riders to watch… without gender distinction.

8. Andre Botha

At 17 I was finishing high school, at 18 I was starting college… At those same ages, Andre Botha was winning back-to-back world titles. Like other Zaffas, Andre has a tendency to take off on bigger waves than you’d want to even try to imagine yourself on. To make matters more intense, his style was classic Zaffa… smooth, powerful and pretty much damn perfect. Any young grom looking to make a mark has his benchmark to strive for…

7. Ben Severson

Mike’s nemesis in the 80’s, he was the first guy to establish a rivalry in the sport. Super quick, great spinners, deep tubes, and the most vocal advocate for hitting a roll as you came out of a barrel, Ben was a guy who excelled at fast waves. His BZ models were some of my first, with the classic T-10 Channel being one of my favorite boards in my life and he got so good shaping, he decided to make his own company. Think about it, channels, transition rails, wide points… these things we casually analyze nowadays were probably brought to the light thanks to Ben. Now say thank you.

6. Ryan Hardy

Hardballs… Want one wave to express how good Ryan is? Look for his spinner in the barrel at Teahupoo in the Tahiti Skins Competition. Want one session to express how good he can be in one session, look at him at the Box. Hardy charges and he’s one of the most emotional guys you’ll ever meet when it comes to competition making me suspect that he’s at least 1/8 Brazilian. When you think Ryan, you think precision and power. Where’s the best place to hit the lip? He’s there. What’s the most critical part of the wave to pull a move? He’s there. Like Mitch Rawlins, Ryan has a tendency to execute moves so perfect you wonder how the hell they do it. That’s because they have vision. While people focus on just hitting the lip and boosting, Ryan and Mitch both share that innate super power to already think about how they’re going to cross their legs while they’re boosting five feet above the lip.

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15. Jack Lindholm

Laidback to the point of Jack Johnson, Jack Lindholm took the world by storm as the first photographed bodyboarder. While people were asking themselves how to ride a bodyboard, Jack was pulling into huge barrels on his knee. Known as the Father of Dropknee he was also known for taking off prone on some huge waves just to erase any question from the minds of people. But when it comes to Jack, there’s only one spot you think about… Pipe. His style was very particular to the point where I’ve never seen anyone else ride like him, and it’s just as well because it’s not like he learned how to dropknee like most normal humans, he was born to do it.

14. Alistair Taylor

South African hellman. If you think big waves and you fail to mention Alistair, you haven’t seen his heats at Pipe and you’ve obviously overlooked he’s one of a select few who’s ridden Mavericks on a sponge. While most other nationalities may be more radical and in your face, South Africans have a tendency to ride ultra smooth and go way big. Case in point Neil Stephenson, Andre Botha, Jared Houston, Mark McCarthy, Dean Seppings and the Cockwell Brothers. What do all of these guys have in common? Smooth riding, deep tubes, big gonads and the chill factor off the hook. Alistair wasn’t the first but definitely seems to have been the hardest working of all Zaffas. In the 90’s, he lived off potatoes during his first North Shore stint which he was able to achieve thanks to the support of his church back home and in the process blew minds by taking off bigger and deeper than most mortals.

13. Damian King

If there’s a party to be had, Kingy will be there. The Joker also has a tendency to excel wherever there is water breaking and is the first and only rider to win a prone and dropknee world title. Kingy has talent to spare, skills to put you to shame and the musky manhood of a mythological beast who lives to rip the hell out of huge slabs (watch the Joker vid for documentation). Back to back World championships in ‘03 and ‘04 show that when he's on, you'd better watch out and his Shark Island victory still runs chills down my spine.

12. Spencer Skipper

The heir apparent to Stewart, Spencer never managed to bridge that professional gap… Instead he just rides good enough for spongers the world around to envy him. When describing Spencer’s style you’ll hear words like smooth, perfect, stylish and above all else… natural.

11. Steve Bullet Mackenzie

Bullet’s nickname is well earned because he’s the fastest rider I’ve ever seen on video and people say he was even faster live. While some riders can will perfect waves to come their way, Macca has a way of commanding speed bursts to push through the deepest sections. To boot, he loves the big surf. As a rider, it was always amazing to me that he had such a hard time getting sponsors. That aside, his victory over Kainoa at Maxing Pipeline shall always cement him as a legend. One interesting detail though, I’ve always suspected he has a life threatening allergic reaction to rollos because if you see Bullet footage throughout all the years, if he’s busted three rolls in all that time, I’d be surprised.

75 riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding - 16-20

20. Keith Sasaki

Sleeph Sahaki. A smartass if there ever was one, Keith also took dropknee riding to the next level of performance riding. The first rider I can remember of who threw tail, Keith had a knack for making spinners, carves and snaps look stylish while everyone was trying to figure out how to maintain rail control. As if that weren’t enough, he has what is undoutedly the coolest moustache in bodyboarding and that my friends, can’t be beat.

19. Ross McBride

In bodyboarding videos there are three major series that made an impact on everyone who bodyboards: Tom Boyle’s Bodyboarding video magazine, Christ Stroh’s Underground Videos and the No Friends Series. If you want the blueprint to the perfect surf video, watch the first No Friends video and try to keep yourself under control in Ross’s segment. The Boss could launch big, ride deep and manage to do a board spin like a jackass on one wave and a huge backflip on the next. Nowadays No Friends is still going strong and the Boss is… well the Boss as CEO of No Friends Inc.

18. Daniel Kaimi

Along with very few people Daniel Kaimi gained attention for the sport in the 70’s. The first bodyboarding world champion, Kaimi charged big and hard often blinding people paddling in with his supernova smile. All Aloha and one of those guys who are in it mainly to have fun, Daniel Kaimi will forever be known as one of the first Hawaiian wild men to choose the sponge over the toothpick.

17. Paul Roach

Paul is to bodyboarding what Motörhead is to thrash metal. Bodyboarding doesn’t have many rockstar personas, but Roach is rock and roll and then some. With probably the most sold dropknee board models in the history of bodyboarding, Paul threw tail with abandon and if he has a good point break, he’ll simply rip the hell out of the wave. As far as progressive and aggressive dropknee riding is concerned, no one comes close to Roach, ask ANY dropknee rider.

16. Mitch Rawlins

Mitch reminds me of Taj Burrow from the WCT for the simple reason that people are baffled as to why he hasn’t won a world championship. The difference is that while the standup surfer mentioned in this comparison has a style that can at times seem twitchy, Mitch is borderline perfect in his execution. When you see him surf, you can’t help but say that the way he does moves are the way they are meant to be pulled off. 

75 riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding - 25-21

25. Brian Wise

The Wiseguy was known in the 90’s as a bit of a hardass in competition, someone whom you wouldn’t necessarily enjoy having in a heat because you’d know he’d hassle the hell out of you. That same intensity went into his riding. His very peculiar style was focused on big waves and power carves and he pretty much made the carve-to-spinner combo a staple. His reverse spinners blew chunks of water, he rode big waves and true to his reputation of going big, look to his waves at the two Pipe contests which he competed in which the waves were massive. In one he got a ten second beatdown and in this year’s Pipe contest his air drop is on more than a few people’s desktop backgrounds. On land he’s mellowed out considerably, finding Christ and living in Hawaii… in the water he’s still one of the most fearless guys ever to hop on a sponge.

24. Alexandre de Pontes

The beginning of the Brazilian revolution occured thanks to this man. Xandinho rode big, boosted and had style, poise and charisma. He also liked big hollow waves. Sound familiar? Xandinho fell victim to a car crash and the sport lost one of its best ambassadors. But the deed had been done… the doors to the world stage had been blasted down, and thanks to him Brazilian hellmen have been wreaking havoc on the world of bodyboarding ever since.

23. Pat Caldwell

Co-inventor of the El Rollo, lanky, long, kooky and crazy. Pat is a hell man and for a time he just wanted to get demolished by the biggest waves in existence. His closeouts at Waimea still hold water as some of the craziest slabs I’ve ever seen anyone willingly take on the head. Apart from that, Pat was recently elected as the new General Manager of the IBA World Tour. Pat is a guy who loves the water, loves big waves and the influence of him and other judges and riders on scoring criteria are helping push bodyboarding to the next level… which is several feet above standup surfing’s BS melodrama.

22. Kyle Maligro

Maligs rode dropknee the way you wanted to ride dropknee, rode standup the way you wanted to ride standup and rode prone the way you wanted to ride prone. The most talented of the original Kauai Classic Team, Kyle is one of the top 3 riders to influence my brother in his approach to riding prone and dropknee. In a time when people were scrounging ugly ass reverse rollo attempts, Maligs was launching them so perfect that you were torn between loving him for being so good and hating him for making it look so easy. If I needed to use one word to describe Maligs I don’t have to think too much… seamless.

21. Chad Barba

16^th century hermits have shit on Chad Barba when it comes to living off the beaten path. Made famous for his exploits on the Inside and Crave the Cave, Chad’s Kong-sized-balls approach to the Wedge and huge Puerto showcases that on waves hellmen would pull into to score the barrel of their lives, he’d be gunning to hit the end section and soar 15 feet in the air.

75 riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding - 30-26

30. Mariana Nogueira

Power. That’s the only word you need to describe Mariana Nogueira. A dominant women’s champion in her own right, Mariana was one of the first female bodyboarders to charge on a worldwide scale.

29. Pierre Louis Costes

Known as the 2011 champion that can land a backflip in any size wave at any given moment. That the guy is a distant descendant of Adonis and from France just makes riders want to beat him even more. You can’t be that good and that handsome and get away with it. That he’s a fantastic rider makes him even more admirable. You see, when people need to pull a safety move, they go for a roll. What’s PLC’s safety move? A friggin backflip.

28. Nathan “Nugget” Purcell

Though sometimes his style looked a little all over the place, you just had to see him at Shark Island or Blackrock to understand how good the guy is. He invented the Gorf (an inverted air forward move), he charged, he had skills and if that weren’t enough, he actually saved the life of fellow sponger Lanson Ronquilio at Pipeline.

27. Danny Kim

The original standup bodyboarder, Danny Kim did floaters and snaps at Sandy Beach that left people scratching their heads as to how he landed them. As a grom, I stood up on my bodyboard on more than one occasion and it had all to do with Danny and something tells me that I’m not the only one.

26. Chris Taloa

Although Danny Kim pioneered standup bodyboarding, Chris Won Taloa was the guy who entered a surf contest, demolished his first heat and showed standup surfers that we can more than compete on their level. The next heat, he was deliberately underscored, but who cares, the damage had already been done with his smartass smile rubbing salt into the wound. Add to that epic exploits on DK, including one of the biggest backside dropknee tubes in the history of Pipeline, and you can’t help but think of Chris every time you order wonton soup.

75 riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding - 35-31

35. Amaury Lavernhe

The 2010 Champ from Reunion Island is REAL good as a rider. Up to that point, all world champions had been from Brazil, Hawaii, Australia or South Africa (which only has one world champion). Amaury showed that growing up in a French tropical island paradise can and will produce a phenom. A well rounded rider who can bust in any condition, Amaury’s approach is deliberate to the point where you see his eyes on a wave and you know what he wants to do.

34. Dave Hubbard

If the secret of eternal life is joy and versatility, Dubb is a modern day sage. His joie de vivre is second to none and his skills are insane, just barely missing out last year on becoming the first bodyboarder to ever take out the dropknee and prone events in a Grand Slam Event. He’s good in the barrel, he’s good in the pocket, he’s good in the air, he’s good on the knee, he’s good standup and let’s face it… the best claims in existence are his. It’s not that Fu-Manchu would be proud of brother dub, it’s that cosmically speaking he is the fusion between Fu-Manchu and Charlie Chaplin with the genetic talent from having a last name Hubbard.

33. Andrew Lester

Pocket surfing isn’t easy… ask any rider… except Lester. The guy makes pocket surfing look downright preschool easy. A standup guy with great style, he’s someone you love to watch in big hollow surf just to see what he’ll put out of his ass and make look too easy.

  

32. Stephanie Peterson

Another female Brazilian charging woman, Stephanie was part of an elite crew that pushed women’s bodyboarding lightyears into the future, boosting, busting and committing to critical maneuvers a lot of guys would shy away from. So how good was she? How good does winning Pipe six times make you? 

31. Carol Philips

Big wave female hell woman. She was the first woman to compete against guys in Pipeline and to boot, she founded the World championship of Women’s Bodyboarding. Think Billy Jean King in terms of impact in female sports, and you get the idea of the importance of Carol Philips. As if that wasn’t enough, she was appointed in 2005 to the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women. There’s girl power… then there’s woman power. Carol embodies the latter.

75 riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding - 40-39

40. Uri Valadao

Brazilian world champ that can win in any condition and will whip a wave into submission. In small waves he’s relentless and he can pull out a 7 pt. ride out of mush. The thing is that he performs in all conditions, and that’s a rare feat and something truly commendable because whether it’s 1ft or 12ft, he can win and look good. 

39. Aka Lyman

Backside dropknee riding is probably what it is today thanks to Aka. Rarely does anyone even think of getting the extension he could get on a snap. His frontside attack was also insane, but his backside was just mental, period. One of the most rounded riders ever to put a knee up.

38. Isabela Sousa

What do Jared Houston and Isabela Sousa have in common? In 2011, they both launched and landed their first air reverses in competition. Isabela is fast, fierce and will make boys cry for putting any skills they have to shame in any condition. 

37. Dave Ballard

An Australian dropknee legend, count how many times he hit the lip and landed. The guy was insane. That he also pulled off full extension layback slides and had a hell of a backhand carve might almost prompt you to forget he could charge prone. For evidence of greatness, look for Underground Tape Vids 4 and 5 and bring a bib. Oh, and did I mention he also charges prone? Then double check him.

 36. Karla Costa

Brazilian world champ who can charge. Sound oddly familiar. Karla is one of those pro women’s bodyboarders who took time to make a family and come back to pick up where she left off. Great style, great spinners, has power, charges and all the while seemed super shy, well that is until the horn in a heat sounded, then you were screwed.

75 riders who have changed the face of bodyboarding - 45-41

45.     Phyllis Dameron

God Dameron could this woman charge! While big wave surfing is normally a testosterone driven realm, Phyllis charged Waimea on a sponge before it was even fashionable to do so. Like many of the female elite, she made guys envy not only her skills, but her balls.

44.     Jay Reale

Jay is a nice guy. If you have to ask why, you’ve obviously never met, spoken with or corresponded via email with him. I was able to enjoy a couple of email exchanges a couple of years back and I’m still grateful for him being so nice to a grom. Now that doesn’t mean he didn’t charge. His ARS’s are damn text book and his reverse bashes against the foam still remain on my wishlist of moves I wish I could pull off.

43.     JP Patterson

Winner of the first Pipe contest and pioneer of the wounded seagull stance, JP wasn’t aesthetically pleasing to some, but I always found his style interesting because it was so different, going against supposedly established core fundamentals and still charging and charging BIG. He survived one of the biggest closeout sets in Waimea history and was always known for going bigger than most people would even dare to draw on their notebooks.

42.     Cavin Yap

Although it feels like standup bodyboarding is an almost lost artform, I couldn’t help but remember Cavin while compiling this list because he threw chunks of water that standup surfers would kill to be able to do. He rode standup with the best most polished style and his carves were just killer.

41.     Paulo Barcellos

Brazilian world champ who busts… sound familiar? Like the best Brazo surfers, he was competitive, hungry and would do whatever it took to get the win, in the process becoming the second Brazilian to win at Pipe.