Big-wave surfing was the world’s most dangerous and thrilling sport, until crystal meth nearly sank it.
By the time Vince Collier pulled his truck out of Santa Cruz and onto California Highway 1, Shawn “Barney” Barron and Darryl “Flea” Virostko could feel the LSD taking hold of their brains. They drove north. To the left, the Pacific Ocean looked cold and gray under a winter sky. Metallica blasted from the stereo, but the mood in the truck was subdued. The four surfers in the car—Collier, Barney, Flea and Zach Acker—had all heard the stories. Underwater caves. Shark- infested waters. A half-mile paddle out to a wave that, this time last year, was better known as an outright danger for fishing boats than as something anyone in their right mind would try to surf. Barney, Flea and Acker were three of the best young surfers from Santa Cruz. Now they headed toward a rite of passage that actually meant something to them: surfing the big waves at Mavericks for the first time.
It was early afternoon, February 1990, when they reached Half Moon Bay. Collier turned the truck off the highway and zigzagged through side streets until he found the small parking lot at the base of a cliff. The white radar dish of the Pillar Point Air Force Station hovered high above. From the back of the truck, Collier produced a collection of oversized surfboards. He barked orders. Paddle close and keep away from the “bowl,” a cauldron of churning, foamy whitewater that would sit on your chest and hold you under as it dragged you toward an outcropping of jagged, toothy rocks.
From the shore, it was difficult to make out what they were paddling into. But as they drew closer, it began to look less like a wave and more like the entire Pacific heaving upward and flopping over on itself. It was a real monster—20 to 25 feet high, with some sets coming in bigger and faster. They sat on their boards and watched with glassy eyes as waves rolled over into barrels that spat like Yellowstone geysers.
This story is from the January/February 2017 edition of Playboy Magazine US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January/February 2017 edition of Playboy Magazine US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Veteran's True Battle: Staying Sane After Returning Home
Can a single injection save thousands of soldiers suffering from severe PTSD? An Afghanistan combat vet goes under the needle to find out if there really is a cure for war.
True-Crime Shows That Are Anything But Dateline
We’re more fascinated with true crime than ever before. But what are we really looking for?
Is Lagos the Most Dangerous Party City On the Planet?
With Nigerian music influencing America hip-hop and EDM, Adam Skolnick travels to the world capital of Afropop and finds a city that's both captivating and conflicted.
Keegan-Michael Key on Obama, Religion and Life After 'Key & Peele'
With Key & Peele behind him and his first marquee movie role (alongside a do-rag-sporting kitten) out this month, the comedian pauses to talk race, religion and Hamlet’s anger translator.
Foreign Relations: How To Score A Date Around the World
A globe-trotting guide to hooking up, hanging out and sexting around the world, with the must-have dating apps, must-know pickup lines and expert tips that will break any language barrier.
The Rise and Fall of Loon
Chauncey “Loon” Hawkins was Harlem hustler royalty, a hit-writer for Puff Daddy and a crucial part of the Bad Boy Records family. He looks back at the wave that took him and the wreckage it left behind.
Bob Odenkirk Traces His Rise to Unlikely Leading Man
You’ll be glad to know that the star of Better Call Saul and W/ Bob & David - two of the most adored spin-offs in recent TV history - is not comfortable with his newfound success.
Do Silencers Look Good with Skinny Jeans?
Meet the gun-loving, indie-music-listening, hipster-beard-growing millennial entrepreneurs disrupting the gun industry.
How Jazz Saved Hip-Hop Again
The story of two South Los Angeles music scenes and Kendrick Lamar's genre-bending album To Pimp a Butterfly.
Casey Neistat - YouTube's Favorite Vlogger
For the YouTube genius who snowboarded through Times Square, life in New York hasn't always been a viral joyride.