Surfer Magazine: Volume 45 #3

SURFER Interview: Makua Rothman

by Brad Melekian

Growing up on the North Shore is tough. Growing up the son of a prominent father on the North Shore is tougher, the privilege often clashing with the need to pull away and establish oneself. Life for Makua Rothman changed when he let go of the rope on a giant November day in 2002. During one of the most historic big-wave sessions in history, Makua followed a borrowed, too-slow jet-ski into the biggest wave of the session–a wave that eventually won him $66,000 and acknowledgement in media as far-flung as Miller Lite beer commercials, all recognizing him as riding history’s biggest wave. More importantly for Makua, his success that day has brought respect from those surfers that he has been emulating for years. The respect only grew this winter when Makua won the Best Barrel Expression Session at the Rip Curl Pro at Sunset Beach, and received invitations to both the Pipeline Masters Trials and the Quiksilver in memory of Eddie Aikau big wave contest at Waimea Bay.

Read more of the Interview with Makua Rothman …

Hot Seat: Carissa Moore
by Jake Howard

Cute little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, right? Well, Meet Carissa Moore, the sweetest little darling to come along since Shirley Temple…until you draw her in a heat that is, because this 11-year old sensation is already blowing up beyond belief. Last month during the Roxy pro at Haleiwa she knocked out a handful of seasoned pros, and a few months before that she made the finals of the hotly contested Boys division at NSSA Nationals. Bottom line, many insiders are already touting this little phenom as the big threat to surfing’s gender barrier. So we figured if she can hang with the big boys and girls she shouldn’t have any problems with the Hot Seat.

Read more as Carissa tackles the Hot Seat …