It’s 2002. Dan Malloy, the youngest of the Malloy brothers, is surfing in a contest at Sunset Beach on Oahu. He is 25 years old and building on a foundation laid out by his two older brothers, which has made him the most hopeful of the Malloy clan to excel in the competitive surfing world.
But it has been a slow road. Although Dan is arguably one of the best “free” surfers in the world, his rankings on the pro tour show otherwise.
For his brothers, there aren’t many expectations to fill. They know how difficult it is to do well at Sunset Beach, an arena notorious for big, funky, irregular surf. But today, the water is an opaque turquoise blue, and the waves are big — the size of telephone poles. Dan is trying to match his freakish, natural ability with the nuances of contest surfing. He’s more discerning than ever with his wave selection. Just before the end of his heat, he catches a set wave. He makes the long drop, fading confidently back toward the towering white water, turns at the bottom, and pulls up into a giant tube ride. Dan disappears, a couple seconds of ride that seem to last a lifetime, and emerges out on the face. The crowd of spectators erupts. He can hear the hoots and crackling applause as he paddles toward the beach.
After the awards ceremony, Dan straps his surfboard on top of his ’65 Chevelle and drives home. On the way, a strange, unsatisfied feeling comes over him. This unexpected sentiment has him thinking — why did I even start surfing? He is more passionate about surf exploration, seeing the world, and discovering new possibilities. This contest is the final nail in the coffin. Dan decides to walk away from competitive surfing…forever.
Chris, the oldest Malloy brother, arrives at the house and finds Dan at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal.
“How was the contest?” asks Chris.
Dan, with a mouthful of corn flakes and milk dripping from his chin says, “There were a couple good ones.”
Later that day, as the news moves through the coconut wireless, the word is out.
Dan Malloy had actually won the contest.
I’ve known the three brothers for over 20 years now. We shared a beach house on the North Shore when we first met. It was a prime location, smack dab at the epicenter of the surf world. From our deck, looking left, we could peer into the cavernous tubes of the famous Banzai Pipeline. Out front we had the playful waves of Rocky Point, and down the beach to the right, was the revered Sunset Beach. We had a climbing (training) wall in the garage, 100+ surfboards lying around, canoes, paddleboards and an assortment of ocean watercraft in racks outside and under the house. There was never a dull moment. Dan’s blasé reaction to Chris’ inquiry about the contest was par for the course, a casual interface that continues to this day. If I could say one thing about the Malloy brothers, it would be that they are unwaveringly understated.
It’s midnight at the North Shore house, November 1996. Some yelling in the front yard wakes me up. It has been raining all night and the power is out. I make my way through the house to the living room and stand there in the darkness. The yelling grows louder as I press my face against the window screen to see outside. Lightning strikes and I see Chris jump off our fence into the flooded front yard. I hear crazy laughter and a shuddering boom. In another flash, I see Chris backstroking across the yard as if he is doing laps in public pool. The rain is coming down harder, louder, and I can still hear him while I lay back in bed.
Around 5:00 a.m.,, I hear rapping on a window. It’s our friend Todd Chesser with a shit-eating grin on his face trying to wake Chris up. Then I hear the sound of wax on surfboards. Back out in the living room, again, I see Chris and Todd paddling their “big boards” out the driveway and down the street.
