1986 Hawaiian Billabong Pro: Sunset Beach, HI (Mark Richards)

Finals:
Mark Richards
Gary Elkerton
Glen Winton
Ronnie Burns
SF1: Mark Richards, Gary Elkerton, Michael Ho, Cheyne Horan
SF2: Ronnie Burns, Glen Winton, Marvin Foster, Shaun Tomson

[@gregorymceaddy8884]

Getting tubed once at Sunset is rare, but twice on the same wave...that was epic

[@richardjones2006]

MR in full "wounded seagull" mode.

[@matthewj9832]

That’s all my dad would say lol

[@davidetomsu]

Awesome to see how far surfing has come since those days, in the performance, the format and the commentary

[@0warami_7oo]

The surfing regressed at sunset nowadays due to shorter boards?

[@davidetomsu]

@@0warami_7oo I feel the surfing has gone to new levels these days. The boards do play a role. Some surfers still ride longer boards, but they're different. What a pleasure to see big carves at sunset

[@springfieldbearpatrol2937]

Love all the styles from back then. If only we could send some modern boards back through a time portal! But for its time this was great surfing.

[@0warami_7oo]

This is epic thanks, never seen this before and i always wondered about this and finally the footage decades later

[@chrisculley3756]

It's crazy I used to just be so happy as a kid when ABC would put this on. It was like there Wild World of Sports or some s*** I don't know it was just one of those things that you got to see as a kid on the mainland. But it was so cool it was like whatever these guys are doing I want to do that and I want to be where they're at . If Mark Richardson isn't the epitome of Australian I don't know what would be. RLTW 3/75

[@randyvaughn4046]

This was my life. This was my time.

[@overheadunlimited]

the best time

[@SurfLife4me]

Livin the dream in So Cal back then…surf, skate, and ska.

[@bobross5079]

Brock Little R.I.P

[@padthai411]

I used to use webbed gloves for a good 10-15 years. It helped so much, My paddling was smoother, using less strenght, just slowly pushing my hands through the water instead of pumping through the water with bicep use. And also great for a boost on take off. Definitely advise groms to try out a pair you wont regret it. Make sure they are not too tight, as they also need to be wet, so if you're trying them on in a shop, if they fit too tight in the shop they are too tight. And then when you use them for the first time, just stroke slowly through the water, dont force or you will burn up your energy.

[@JulienSorelEatsSabras]

Hmm. But don't you think you would have been better served by better positioning and a slightly longer board? Or were you surfing mushy waves that you had to paddle for every time?

[@SuperAwesomeMicro]

Great surfing

[@michaelfarar4232]

Mark fooled the rest of us by surfing big powerful waves on a twinny. Thanks to Simon Andersen who brought us the Thruster, and a renewed confidence

[@andrewmarshall360]

Mark had style

[@chrisculley3756]

Oh my God I was wondering if I was going to see one of those freaking gloves I used to sell back in the day Body Glove. I tell you what if the 80s wasn't the most commercialized decade ever. RLTW 3/75

[@byronbass5485]

RB!!

[@Soul-Taker]

That's an insane format, not good insane just insane. Waiting periods yes, going from Sunset to Waimea and then back to Sunset WTF?

[@matthewj9832]

I had no clue the did it at Waimea . That would be epic now but small wave guys are over valued now a days

[@overheadunlimited]

"Pros" used to be held to a different peer standard. As Shaun used to say, "two feet to twenty feet", and you HAD TO RIP IN HAWAII.

[@TheArts19]

Kong got robbed

[@0warami_7oo]

Yeah his highest scoring waves maybe but did he lack 4 solid scores?