DEREK HO, 55 years old. September 26 1964 – July 17 2020
REST IN PEACE, POWER AND LOVE!
Here is just a tiny glimpse into UNCLE D’s final 5 years. All clips were filmed in the last 5 years. You can see he was living life to the fullest till the very end!
This man was/is an INCREDIBLE Father, Brother, Uncle, Husband & Friend. Always inspiring people around him and BLOWING MINDS in the water or on land. The first ever Hawaiian World Champion. A scientist of FUN! 100% one of the Kings of Pipeline and was blown out of the barrel more than most will know. We will forever carry on your energy and passion for life and surfing.
Thank you & Filming: Rory Pringle, Alani Media, Michael Veltman, Freesurf Magazine, Larry Haynes, Justin Rutherford, Chris Latronic, Tyler Rock, Zac Ramos, Landon Hayashi & Mason Ho (GoPro).
Just before Covid-19 was in full tilt, I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in Western Australia with young, up and coming South African surfer Shane Sykes.
Our goal was to film enough for a short film as part two of ‘Reach’, Shane’s video series he’s been working towards this year. We woke up in the dark every morning. With coffee travel mugs in hand, we drove the coastline checking every spot and doing our best to make the right call on where to surf that day.
On that stretch of coast, it’s so easy to just drive around for hours and miss the right window for the best waves. We’d often get to our chosen spot, paddle out, just to have the shark alarm go off and the boys be chased out the water.
Is this the future of surfing!? Inflatable arena’s where surf champions bomb drop, hippie jump, grind & novelty wave? I don’t know, haha! All that I do know if that surfing with these inflatables is so much fun it blows my mind. – Ben Gravy