"Brock Little: A Breed Apart," written by Matt Warshaw, ran in the May 1987 issue of SURFER. The version here has been edited and shortened.

Right from the beginning, were you the kind of kid who would take off on anything?

Pretty much. I remember my friends always asking why I’d go out when it was so big. And when I was 12 or 13, I remember Bradshaw shaped me a board, a 5’6”, and I surfed a closeout day at Haleiwa on that. I wasn’t in control or anything. I was out there shitting my pants, in fact. But I was out there. And I caught a couple. Every time I get into those situations—a new big-wave situation, like the time I first surfed Waimea—it’s like I tell myself I’m just going out to watch. Then five minutes later I’m watching guys surf it, thinking, well, I can do that. And I just go out and do it.

I first rode it three years ago, in ’83. There were so many swells that year, and it got to the point where it would be 18-20’ and there’d only be four or five guys out—so it was a good year to get into it. That first time, I borrowed a neighbor’s board, a gun shaped by Gary Speece. I rode down there on my bike, cause I didn’t have a car or anything, and I just paddled out by myself. My friends weren’t interested. And I sat for awhile, then started surfing. (shrugs)

How about that story with you and Roger Erickson.

I was surfing Waimea earlier this year, and it was pretty big; later on there were closeout sets. And I’ve always respected Big Rog, but he’s never really talked to me. I’m still just the kid out there. So that morning he saw me catch a couple, and I always do these little doinky turns at the top of the wave. These were medium-sized waves, right? Then all of a sudden this big-ass set wave came in, and I decided to go. Took off right in the pit, and it wasn’t the very biggest wave I’ve ever ridden, but right up there. So I take off and dropped straight down, rode it through, kicked out. And there was Big Rog, paddling back out, and he looked at me with this glare in his eye, and he said, “That was good, Brock. That was good. All balls. You keep doing those little pansy-ass turns, but that was 

. Way to go.” And at this point in my life, that's the highest compliment I've ever gotten.

I more or less try to catch every wave I can; I try to keep moving. Bradshaw and the older guys sit way out there and wait for the monsters. I've never been able to do that, whether it's one-foot or 20'. I'll paddle for anything. If Haleiwa's 10', I'll hang inside and catch six-footers. So when Waimea is huge, I'm still mostly going for the 18-footers. If a bigger one comes in and the guys outside miss it, I'm on that too. But at this age, I'm more into quantity than quality.

It seems that you pretty much crave speed and thrills. Which is pretty normal for a 19-year-old.

Well, I don't crave it. But I don't mind it.

Is that feeling as strong as when you were, say, 15?

Have you ever hit a point where you're thinking, "Slow it down'?

A few times, yeah. Mostly while driving. But sometimes in the water, too, where I'm saying to myself, "What are you doing, Brock, you're so dumb."

I'm guessing that we're talking more about Pipeline than Waimea. You don't particularly like that place. Why?

Well, for one thing, I have a weak backhand. I just feel so much more confident going frontside than backside. In fact, I almost never go left. If it's small, I surf Chun's, if it's medium I surf Haleiwa or Sunset, and if it's huge I surf Waimea. Pipeline doesn't really scare me . . . I'm just not confident out there.

But as far as getting bounced at Pipe vs. getting held down at Waimea . . .

Oh I'm way more worried about getting bounced than I am about getting held under. I mean, getting held under, you're either going to die, or you're going to pop up and be fine. Scared, but fine. But if you get bounced . . . well, you can die, and that's alright (laughs), or you can get badly hurt, and yeah that does scare me.

At this point, what does surfing mean to you?

I surf for fun. I don't surf to practice. I don't surf to train. I surf cause I enjoy it.

It is, yeah. Let me think a second. Okay, I surf for fun, that's true. But there's work involved as well. My number one priority is maintaining the lifestyle I have right now. I like the way I live. And in order for me to keep things the way they are, that means getting the work done first, then having fun. And really, you know . . . surfing Pinballs for the photographers . . . I mean, it's business, and I'd rather be surfing Haleiwa, but it's still fun. It's not like torture being out there. I'm still enjoying myself

I'll probably go back to college next semester. I want to be a fireman, but right now it's Liberal Arts. You take Liberal Arts courses for a couple of years, then get into Fire Science. After that, go to California maybe, travel a bit. Who knows. Maybe next year I'll have a better idea of where it's all going. But at this point, anything could happen. My life is open.

Brock Little (1986)

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