Congrats to Mark Healey, Todos Santos Big Wave Champion!

Notorious Hawaiian daredevil Mark Healey found his stride on Sunday at the inaugural Todos Santos Big Wave Event, outscoring fellow islander Shane Dorian by 0.5 to take his first big wave title. A steady influx of 45-foot faces made for intense competition, amazing rides and impressive footage all day long. The board-snapping conditions also added to the camaraderie among these watermen, who came from all over the world to compete for the love of the sport alone. Healey’s prize package included serious bragging rights and an enormous bottle of Patron, the latter of which he was happy to share with his fellow surfers.

Photo: Ordioni

Event Director Gary Linden says he couldn’t be happier with the results. “Healey was due. Big wave riding is the sport of kings, and this Hawaiian proved he was worthy of the title.”

Photo: Carpen

The Todos crew, including Greg Long (who kicked in his Eddie bonus to help get Todos off the ground), hopes that the media coverage will fuel interest and investment in next year’s event, and ultimately help to build momentum for a recognized big wave world tour. Gary and crew: Big Mahalo for inviting us to be a part of it.

Photo: Overfel

OluKai Supports the Todos Santos Big Wave Event to Run Sunday 2/28

OluKai is stoked to lend a helping hand to Gary Linden and his Todos Santos Big Wave Event. After major corporate sponsors pulled out, Gary and his team decided to go grassroots, producing and marketing the event with passion, local know-how and the support of the surfers themselves. When the contest goes off this Sunday, it will include the reigning heroes of the sport, from recent Mavericks champions Chris Bertish, Greg Long and Grant “Twiggy” Baker to Hawaiian standouts Mark Healey, Jamie Sterling and Dave Wassell, plus a cadre of international riders including Brazil’s Carlos Burle, Chile’s Ramon Navarro, Peru’s Gabriel Villaran, and Mexico’s Coco Nogales. All of them are competing for the love of big waves, not the promise of prize money.

A legendary shaper, contest director, judge and big wave rider himself, Gary has been a local at Todos for 25 years. This contest is the test case for his ultimate vision: uniting the major big wave events in a tour that fosters the development of local big wave communities and elevates their best riders to the world stage. If recent contest results are any indication, the formula works. 2010 Mavericks champion Chris Bertish – and Twiggy Baker before him – gained worldwide recognition and invitations after proving themselves at Red Bull Big Wave Africa, the event once held at their home break, Dungeons.

We support Gary’s vision and salute the dedication and passion of the big wave community. You can check out the action at www.todossantosevent.com.

Good luck and go big!