Last year the 27-year-old from the North Shore of Oahu battled through a field of 16 of Indonesia’s best surfers and 16 of the world’s top tube riders to claim the Cup. “This is right up there with my Pipe Masters and Teahupoo trials wins,” O’Brien said after being escorted from the beach to the winner’s podium on the shoulders of his friends and soaked with champagne. “I got so barreled today, this was the sickest event ever.” This year, the Padang Cup is one of only five contests O’Brien is choosing to compete in. Here, he explains why making it back to Bali to defend his Padang Cup title is a top priority.


Since your win at Padang, you’ve been on a roll. You went on to take the Cloud 9 Invitational and the Volcom Pipeline Pro. For a devout freesurfer, you sure are winning a lot of surf contests. What’s up?
I like to pick my contests, as you can tell.. I like to surf in conditions that are fair to everybody. I enjoy contests, but I don’t enjoy people hassling me. I guess I got lucky in the contests!

You’ve won the Pipe Masters, the Teahupoo trials, and several other contests at Pipe. Where does your Padang Cup title rank among your career victories?

The Padang Cup is a special contest to me because the waves are so perfect and the people are so great. Most of the time you’re stressed out in heats, but in Bali the waves never stop coming. I’ve never had so much fun in a surf contest in my whole life!



Aside from Padang Cup, what contests will you do this year?

The Haleiwa Pro, the Pipeline Masters, the Volcom Pipeline Pro, and the Puerto Escondido contest.



Have you surfed Padang since winning last year’s event?
I don’t surf Padang too much anymore because the crowds are so heavy. It’s the easiest wave in the world to surf, but it’s a wave that could really challenge your barrel riding skills. So I can’t wait for this year’s event, so I can surf it with only three other guys out!

Aside from getting shacked at Padang, what are your three favorite things about Bali?

Traveling around Indonesia and surfing other great waves, the people that make the place what it is, which is great, and the hustlers on the street make it classic! I always wondered if I bought everything that everyone tried to sell me what I would end up with by the end of the trip!


Describe what happened on that infamous wave in last year’s comp when you rode behind Rizal in the tube and you both got spit out. Did you guys talk about it afterward?
Well, basically it was the end of the heat and the waves were still firing. I didn’t want to paddle in, so I figured since I saw Rizal paddling for it I would have a go too! I like double barrel riding, so I figured I’d pull in behind Rizal. I got really deep, didn’t expect to make it, and next thing you know I was rail to rail with him. Then he came out of the barrel, and I was still in there. As I came out, we almost collided. I was so stoked but so scared since Rizal was coming straight at me to hit the lip! We were both really stoked, smiling from ear to ear, just baffled.



When is your new movie coming out and will we see any footage from your win at the 2009 Padang Cup in the film?
Yeah, there should be some stuff from the Padang Cup in my movie. My movie will be out in stores in November. Basically, it’s out when it’s out! So in the mean time, enjoy your beans and bacon in peace!