An edit of Damien Hobgood, double hand dragging into barrel after barrel at Cloudbreak. Is there anything more satisfying to watch? Maybe not. Feast your eyes on one of surfing's most delectable combinations.
We asked Damo for the backstory on this early season highlight reel he put together at Cloudbreak. “I didn’t think I would ever get to surf pumping, uncrowded Cloudbreak again. It was post World Tour, post Big Wave Tour. I was in full dad mode. Minivan and baseball practices had replaced strike missions and two man heats. Hadn’t been on a surf trip for a while. Salty Crew planned the trip to Namotu to go fishing with Duane Diego, and hopefully get some surf. Noticed a little bump in the forecast, and was hoping for a little early season Fiji love. One of the first days on the island the surf was small, the boys were fishing, I thought I would learn how to foil. Second wave on the foil ended up slicing my head open. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh I just ruined the whole trip. Thought I was finally gonna get barreled. Now I took myself out before I even got to surf.’
Went back, got some stitches on the island. Kinda frankensteined it with the stitches sticking out of my forehead. Some surf was supposed to show up the next day. If it was big I had a plan. If I wear this hat, it will protect my head when I hit the water hard. The hat will protect it, and I'll be fine. Like a helmet.
The next morning Cloudbreak was doing its thing. I had my hat on. Ended up getting a few sick ones and putting together some clips out there. ”
Jared Lane, co-founder of Salty Crew and fellow goofy foot tube hound, described it differently. “Leave it to Damo to downplay the clinic he put on out there. Damo and the double hand drag went on for hours. Never seen someone spend so much time in the tube. I can vividly remember him yelling at me while I was grabbing a different board on the boat, “GET BACK OUT HERE NOW! You never know when you’ll get this kind of surf again. If ever!” It was a clinic on tube riding on your front hand. The line up cleared out and Damo surfed till his arms were coming off as if it was the last surf he was going to have in his life. Nobody could keep up, he had full eye of the tiger.” -Jared Lane