Tony Heff/WSL
2x World Champ John John Florence Puts His Name Behind Upcoming Pipe Pro
This offseason from the Championship Tour rumors have swirled that two-time world champion and 2024 Olympic surfer John John Florence was considering stepping away from competition in 2024 to chase waves and explore the world on his sailboat. For the moment the gossip appears all for not as his surf brand Florence Marine X has partnered with fellow surf brand Vissla to co-sponsor the 2024 Pipe Pro.
“I’m really proud to share that @florence_marine_x will be sponsoring the @wsl Pipe event,” Florence shared on his Instagram account.
The Pipe Pro is the first event of the 2024 WSL Championship Tour season and will get underway at the end of January. Growing up on the beach and rising to notoriety at Pipeline, the location is especially near and dear to Florence’s heart. Florence won the Billabong Pipe Masters in 2021 before the event was renamed the Pipe Pro in 2022.
“Pipe has been my backyard and favorite wave for as long as I have been surfing. I’ve grown up watching and dreaming of being in these contests,” Florence continued. “And then one day I was in them, surfing with the same surfers I looked up to as a kid. To be able to support the event now is a dream come true.”
At present, Florence has been enjoying his time away from competition by exploring the verdant coastline of New Zealand, where he’s been surfing, sailing and slowing down a bit. Meanwhile, as this goes to press a large northwest swell is hitting the Hawaiian islands. Stay tuned both fronts as we dive into winter in the islands.
