Maxed-Out Teahupo’o Put a Stop to the Tahiti Pro Trials and Opened the Door for One Magic Freesurf

If you’ve opened up a single social media page since the weekend then you’ve likely already seen how absolutely psychotic Chopes got. Psychotic enough, in fact, to shut things down for the Tahiti Pro trials. Teahupo’o is the only stop on tour that’s practically a lock to get so out of control while the WSL’s in town each year that competition goes on hold, and that’s exactly what we got as a preview for this year’s event. And naturally, waiting for things to simmer down to contestable conditions won’t exactly keep athletes out of the water.

Here are a handful of hellmen who made the most of a day with much, much more on the line than their heat scores.