R E P O R T
Heff
J U N I O R
BARRON MAMIYA By Cash Lambert
“When I was a little kid, like 3 or 4 years old, my Dad would get me after work and we’d go surf. He’d say ‘it’s 3 feet today’ and I would say ‘I’m 3 years old, I can surf it.’ I thought however old you are, you could surf that big of a wave, it’s no big deal.” This is what Barron Mamiya, 15-years-old at the time, said to a camera that was filming for his Hurley Youth edit, which consisted of 6 minutes of massive Teahupoo and Pipeline barrels themed to adrenaline-pulsing jams. Today, Barron is 17-years-old and the edit has over 80,000 views and counting. He may not have his sights set on 17-foot waves, but the North Shore native is aiming for success in the competitive arena: He started off this year on an absolute tear, winning not one, not two, but 3 WSL Hawaii Junior Pros. While his short term tunnel vision is set on making it out of deep Pipe and Backdoor barrels, his long term vision is focused on the WSL’s Championship Tour, something he’s preparing for by grinding it out on the QS.
How has 2017 been different for you, Barron? It’s been a good year so far, winning three contests. This year, I want to try and get better and improve and do really well on the QS, and qualify for Primes next year, just working on my surfing. I don’t want to jump onto the QS and look like a little kid, you know. I want to show people that I can surf small waves, too. How much did boards play into your win at the Pro Junior at Sunset? I rode a 6’4” and felt weird about it, because I didn’t know if it was going to work. There were some solid 8-10 footers coming through, and that’s a small board for Sunset especially. I took it out anyway and in my first heat I only got a 5 and a 4. I was super nervous, just surfing not to lose. The next heat I clicked in and the board felt great. It was the best board I’ve ridden out there, and I was getting the waves I wanted.