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"\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;a style=\\\"float: right; margin: 15px 0 5px 15px;\\\" href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.surfingmagazine.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2014\\/11\\/issue01-2015-release5.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-56929\\\" title=\\\"Issue 8, 2014\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.surfingmagazine.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/03\\/Cover-for-Dayton.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"SURFING Magazine 50th Anniversary Issue\\\" width=\\\"200\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong style=\\\"font-size:130%;\\\"&gt;It\\u2019s a brisk January morning in Huntington Beach, California.&lt;\\/strong&gt; The surf is 3 to 4 feet and peaky, a playful respite from a month of nonstop  El Ni\\u00f1o swells. As the sun rises over my left shoulder it lights up the two 30 x 60 foot American flags we\\u2019ve draped over the south side of the infamous HB pylons.\\u00a0&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Here today are Kolohe Andino, Nat Young, Brett Simpson, Courtney Conlogue and Kanoa Igarashi. Four CT staples along with Kanoa \\u2014 the country\\u2019s youngest qualifier since Kolohe in 2011. This is the first time they\\u2019ve all gathered together in Huntington since the US Open of Surfing back in July, but today they aren\\u2019t here for points. Instead they\\u2019re here to smash the shit out of the punchy pier bowl right \\u2014 flanked by the Stars and Stripes.\\u00a0And the goal? To nail photos like the one you see on this page (and the cover). For the America Issue. Our first in two years.\\u00a0&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The five paddle out just after 8 a.m., with six photographers and two videographers strategically placed to capture their every move with the red, white and blue prominently displayed in the background. I take a seat on the cool sand next to Kolohe\\u2019s dad, Dino Andino, and we spark up a conversation. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cWhat do you think of this concept?\\u201d I ask. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cI love seeing American media pushing America. I really do,\\u201d Dino answers. \\u201cWhat\\u2019s going on with competitive surfing right now, with back-to-back Brazilian world champs and all of the talent coming out of that country, it reminds me a little bit of Jackie Robinson bursting onto the baseball scene back in the late \\u201840s. And I mean that in the best possible way. It\\u2019s lighting a fire under these American guys\\u2019 asses.\\u201d &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;I think about what he means. About Jackie Robinson. About how the comparison he\\u2019s making is in respect to the hunger and drive surfers like Adriano are using to springboard themselves to the top. When Jackie came into the MLB he inherently wanted it more than anyone who had ever preceded him, and when he started dominating the sport it made every other baseball player take a long, hard look in the mirror. Gabriel and Adriano\\u2019s world titles are having a similar effect: They\\u2019re forcing American surfers \\u2014 and everyone, really \\u2014 to work harder. Because as it relates to the CT, it\\u2019s time to be honest: America is no longer the alpha. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Of course, the current state of American surfing shouldn\\u2019t be judged strictly by wins and losses on the WSL, and that\\u2019s the point Leo Maxam makes in \\u201cAmerica Is Surfing\\u201d on Pg. 26. In it, he writes: \\u201c[In America] we are the culture makers, the trailblazers, the benchmark for the rest of the surfing world. So pay no mind to the \\u2018make America great again\\u2019 doom and gloom noise from those who would hijack American surfing and sell us exactly what we don\\u2019t need: fear, xenophobia and self-doubt.\\u201d And he\\u2019s right: What America might lack in wave quality and world title contenders (at least right now), it makes up for tenfold in opportunity. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Kolohe takes off on a chest-high right, spins a full-rotation air reverse and rides it to shore. He sprints up the beach \\u2014 giving Dino knuckles \\u2014 never losing stride all the way to the parking lot. According to Dino he\\u2019s trained once already this morning and he\\u2019s off to work out again right now. \\u201cThis is a big year for Brother,\\u201d Dino tells me. \\u201cAnd doing well on tour is all he cares about.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;I leave Dino and walk to the end of the pier. With the guys done surfing I clip the zip ties holding the massive flags and carefully fold each one into a 3-foot triangle. A pair of middle-aged women greet me. One of them is wearing a white hat with the emblem of an American flag. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cThat was a beautiful display,\\u201d the one with the hat tells me. \\u201cWe watched all morning and as US Navy vets we\\u2019re really happy to see you surfers representing our flag.\\u201d  &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cAnd isn\\u2019t this just the greatest country on earth?\\u201d The other one adds, with a warm smile.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;It is, I think to myself, my arms filled with red, white and blue. &lt;strong&gt;\\u2014Zander Morton &lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.surfingmagazine.com/originals/surfing-magazine-issue-5-2016/>