Japanese surfer Horiguchi Shinpei survived a terrifying wipeout at Pipeline during the DaHui Backdoor Shootout on January 4th, and shared his experience in an interview for Kookslams’ debut episode of their new series, Behind The Slam.
While conditions at Pipeline this past week posed challenges for World Surf League (WSL) athletes, the waves at the DaHui Backdoor Shootout were particularly powerful. The event showcased the unforgiving nature of Pipeline, a wave renowned for its intensity and reputation as the proving ground of surfing. Koa Rothman emerged as the individual division winner, scoring the wave of a lifetime, but not all surfers enjoyed such fortune.
Shinpei’s wipeout came on an overhead wave at Pipeline, which was both shallow and hollow as it broke over the reef. As is often the case at Pipeline, Shinpei made a late drop, attempting to angle into the famed Pipe pit. He lost control just as the wave’s lip came down, landing squarely on his head and sending him spiraling into the whitewater.
Despite the heavy wipeout, Shinpei was lucky to escape without injury, offering a sigh of relief to those watching from the shore. In the Behind The Slam interview, Shinpei reflected on the experience with Kookslams, recalling the heart-stopping moment of the wipeout.
“Oooohhhhhh,” he said, reliving the wipeout. “Taking off, it felt great. Right after I made the drop, I don’t know why I went straight. The wave was so hollow, yeah?”
Indeed, the wave was hollow, and the danger of the powerful lip is clear. Fortunately for Shinpei, he narrowly avoided a direct hit to his head by just a few inches. Instead, the lip grazed his shoulder before the wave exploded beneath him. Reflecting on his narrow escape, Shinpei offered a unique explanation for his survival.
“Why I survive? Good Karma,” he said with a smile. “I do beach cleanups almost every day. Maybe that’s why—God of Water pushed me 3 inches forward just 1-2-3 inches. It was very serious, but fun.”
Shinpei’s commitment to beach cleanups and his belief in karma has earned him respect both in the water and on land. His philosophy: do good, and the universe might just look out for you when you need it most.
The new Behind The Slam series seeks to explore the stories behind some of the heaviest wipeouts in surfing, offering an intimate look at what goes through a surfer’s mind before, during, and after a brutal slam. The series concept was inspired by the desire to share real, unfiltered moments of surfers’ experiences. Kookslams manager explained the initial challenges of creating original content and how the series took shape.
“I had been trying to figure out for a long time what original content would look like for Kookslams,” he said. “At first, I thought about doing ‘man on the street’ content, trying to get gotcha moments, but that just didn’t work. Then it hit me—what I really wanted was to know what happened before, during, and after these heavy slams. That’s when Behind The Slam was born.”
Kookslams’ new series promises to deliver more personal stories from the surf world, with a lighthearted, fun approach to discussing the dramatic moments that define a surfer’s career.
Stay tuned for future episodes of Behind The Slam, where the surf community opens up about some of the most intense moments on the waves.
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