The north shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu is just over 2,400 miles from the west
coast of North America. The ocean floor rises five miles to the
shores of what people call, "The Seven Mile Miracle". It's home to some of the most amazing
water and sand in the world. What would it be like to be born on this island, to grow up on these shores, to witness this water everyday? You're about to meet someone who did. Here's John Florence and his birth certificate. He was born in Honolulu, on October 18th 1992. This is where John grew up, this is John's office, and this is a story about John John Florence. John John Florence or whatever
isn't John John anymore. He's just plain old John. John has a tight-knit group of friends and
family living in the north shore of Oahu, also known as paradise. Like John, Kelly is a world-class surfer. He's also John's neighbor and pretty nosy. I'm thinking about maybe reporting
this illegal tree house to the authorities so it'll get chopped down. Another world-class surfer neighbor is Jamie. He and John were best of friends growing up. Jamie was an asshole. He tied my board to the top of a coconut
tree in his yard one time, and I was so bummed but Jamie was still
laughing the whole time. Ouch! Rough neighborhood. Don't let the palm trees fool you. John surfs from dawn to dusk
often into the night, everyday, ten hours a day. Or so he claims. One wonders when he has time to workout. I do not workout, I just surf. In 2014, John nabbed the number one
spot in the surfer poll from Kelly Slater after 20 plus years. How many time has Kelly won now? 22 times? Like, this is old as I am, yeah. Here's a wave breaking. Here's a wave breaking John. While he was recuperating, he picked up
a less dangerous hobby. So, I originally started flying. I still had my pilot's license long before
I had my driver's license. So John was a world-class surfer and could fly before he could drive. Thank god you don't need a license to sail. This...is not John's boat. This is. John also plays the guitar. Ouch. This is John's film storage
fridge in his dark room. These are John's favorite cameras. I'll say I use this one the most. Already at 22 years old, John has countless stamps to remind him of the
many places he has been to, places that most only dream of. Um, sometimes I look back on the passport and,
yeah, it does make me reminiscence,
rem-remi...remember. So props to you, John, for living the dream, living our wildest dreams. Pipe dreams, wet dreams, sweet dreams,
broken dreams. For you, John, it's not a dream. Dream on, John. What else do we need? Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait,
hurry up and wait. I wonder if the road's as bumpy
as it used to be. Ah! There it is. It's here. - Holy shit.
-Enough size for it. -Look at this one.
-Look at that one. That's just for one. -That's a nice one.
-Oh, damn it. We meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds. ...that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprized and overcome with admirable courage. Many years ago, the great British explorer,
George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there." Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it. And the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail,
we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous
and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked. Thank you. Oh, look at the ocean. Oh, imagine some inside cruising. Oh, no hand. Oh, my gosh. See you later. Should we go right here? I'm sure it's pointless to
walk all the way down. You end up right here anyway. And so, for now, our time with
John comes to an end. Any last words, John? How about a wave? Not that kinda wave, John. That kind. Check one, check two, check three, check four. Check 55, or not. Yeah, well, for, you know, for me... -Oh, shit. Is it still going?
- Yeah. Everything I associated with
surfing in the ocean, was 100% to do with my brother. He was my ultimate influence and I didn't
realize that until he was gone. A lot of drive, insight for surfing
kinda went with him. It took years for me to find that
love for surfing again. It's through guys like John, seeing how he's evolved from a kid to a man,
to what he's doing now... That's what got me psyched, it made me wanna
reevaluate my whole surfing life. I can't wait to see what's next. Every session I go out with him, it's exciting,
it's already the future, I see progressing with what he's doing. For me, it's nice to be around that psyche,
that energy, and how damn good he surfs. I think that's why I think why he
is where he is at, 'cause the way he surfs and he draws these
lines that no one else draws. It's explosive, it's wild, it's
unorthodox and it's... It's John John.