TEST PILOT SPOTLIGHT: JOHN FLORENCE

Founder. Olympian. Innovator.



Raised a stone’s throw from the storied Pipeline, our founder and original Test Pilot John Florence gained a preternatural relationship with the sea – a way of navigating waves of consequence and reading the ocean that only comes once in a generation. Over his 30 years, that relationship has led him to redefine the sport of surfing, along the way winning nearly every major title from the Pipe Masters to the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, including back-to-back World Surf League Championships and 5 Triple Crown wins.



When he’s not chasing world titles, you’ll find John testing our gear, sailing his catamaran 7000 nautical miles across the South Pacific, beekeeping, tending his local organic farm, and figuring out new ways to push the limits of what’s possible in and around the water with his brothers Nathan and Ivan across the North Shore.