Momentum Generation

Shall we begin?

We are on a journey.

To the future.

So what happens now?

Something extraordinary.

Elena!

The public hates what we did, 'cause it's un-American.

Checking in.

Party of nine. Eight adults, one child.

Four nights at the Groupon rate.

I'm the one who asked about both the birthday cake

and the fire extinguisher.

We were pushing each other beyond having fun.

-Dracarys. -(DRAGONS ROARS)

Second time's the charm!

-Uh, it's actually the fourth. -Fourth. Yeah.

All of America is talking about nothing else.

I'm freaking out.

Hi.

Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams!

-Welcome, welcome, welcome! -(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

I want more!

Shane Dorian: It's didn't seem like we were making an impact

at the time.

We were just a bunch of kids livin' the dream

and traveling around the world.

Rob Machado: It was our bond as a family

that enabled us to become as successful as we did.

Kelly Slater: We were all feeding off each other,

pushing each other

beyond just going out and having fun.

Dorian: The competitive thing was a real cutthroat business.

Pat O'Connell: You're competing at every level.

Ross Williams: The surf industry pit us against each other.

Slater: All's fair in love and war, and we're at war.

O'Connell: You have to be a bit of an asshole to win.

- Machado: He was being a dick. - Slater: Fuck him!

If I can just do this thing better than everybody,

then I win... (echoing )

Machado: Friendships...

relationships, happiness--

is winning worth giving up those things?

Slater: I was born in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in 1972.

My dad owned a bait and tackle shop,

so we just grew up fishin' and surfin'.

I liked to build forts and go camp on the islands, clamming and shrimping.

I was pretty tough as a kid.

I remember we were riding our bikes one time down the street,

and for some reason I turned really sharp

and I just ate it and hit the ground super-hard.

And the people stopped their car and they were like,

"Are you OK?" and my brother goes,

"He's the toughest kid on the block," or something like that, you know.

And I was, "Yeah. I'm fine." Ya know?

I'll kick your butt, man.

When I was eight years old, a lot changed for me.

I'll kill you, man.

That was when my mom was trying to kick my dad out.

My mom just couldn't handle the drinking and stuff.

- ( siren wails ) - They would have these

crazy, screaming fights in the house.

I feel like I changed as a person.

I went from fighting and being aggressive

as my way to get out my feelings,

to real overly sensitive to everything.

I was really insecure, ya know?

Taylor Knox: I grew up in Oxnard Shores.

It was a rough Hispanic town.

My dad was a talented musician.

I think he made it to a point where he was a big fish in a small pond.

But then he got sucked into the drug scene.

He and my stepmom,

they would have knock-out, drag-out fights,

wake up with black eyes,

and I was just like, "God, Dad,"

ya know, "What are you doin'?"

I didn't want to be like my dad--

a talented guy that just couldn't get out of his hometown.

And I didn't want to be as strict as my mom.

I needed to get out from under my parents' thumb.

Shane Dorian: I was born and raised in Hawaii.

I'm from Kona.

Growing up, my parents ran a restaurant.

My dad was a pretty gnarly alcoholic.

He was drunk every day.

One day he got in a car wreck and lost his arm.

My parents split up when I was like 12 years old.

My dad wasn't in the picture anymore.

Times got really hard.

I felt a little bit lost.

But following in my dad's footsteps

was never an option for me.

Benji Weatherly: I was born in Los Angeles, California.

My father was a pro football player.

He was very macho.

Big, intimidating guy with a beard.

It was really tough love with my father.

He'd always grab us and throw us around.

All his emotions came with physical stuff.

He beat up my brother really bad.

It was-- whoo-- it was a big deal in our life.

It's still hard.

Kalani Robb: I was born in Kailua,

that's just the east side of Oahu.

My mother would probably get arrested for child abuse

for the shit that she did.

I'd get dropped off at like 5:00 a.m. at Waikiki

with $2 in my pocket, if I was lucky,

and then I'd get picked up at 6:00 or 7:00 at night.

What are you gonna eat with $2 during the day?

Probably not a fuckin' whole lot.

There was this pizza place, and there would be

a display of a pizza. "Hey, come eat here!"

We would steal that pizza.

I was a ghetto-ass kid, man,

as ghetto as it gets.

I had nothing else to do.

Get in a fight and steal some food, and surf.

My way out was surfing.

Ya know, "Things are chaotic? Go out in the ocean."

Which is funny, 'cause the ocean is chaotic.

But I felt calm out there.

Dorian: All these problems were happening in my life,

and the only time I felt really good was when I was surfing.

That's when I had a real sense of purpose.

"This is who I am." I was that surfer kid.

I wasn't that bummed-out kid at home.

O'Connell: I grew up in Chicago in a very regimented schedule,

so that independence and freedom

to be able to shed your parents

and it'd just be you in the ocean--

that's what I just completely fell in love with.

Machado: For me, surfing was total freedom.

- Hello, dear. - Hello.

- Getting ready to go surfing? - Yeah.

Good, good, good.

Machado: I just remember

standing up for the first time.

All of these elements,

just like rushing by you.

You're away from everything, all of a sudden, you're above it,

and you were gliding and it was just-- I don't know.

I was sold.

Ross Williams: Growing up on the North Shore,

one of my first memories of surfing was late in the day,

so the sun was shining down the wave,

and I remember standing up and having that perfect image

of the sun glistening on the barrel.

I remember feeling entranced.

Your first barrel, you're gonna remember it forever.

Slater: Surfing was my savior.

All my challenges at home and parents splitting up,

I channeled all that to my surfing.

I could go do something on my own

that no one else could tell me how to do,

and I completely understood it.

Every day was something new,

learning something new on a wave.

And it made me hungry.

Surfing comes first, and that's my life

and they gotta respect that.

Announcer: Vertical one more time,

this kid is just rippin'.

Unbelievable coordination on a surfboard.

That is as good as it gets.

It doesn't get any better; that's perfect surfing.

Kelly Slater!

Announcer: Kelly Slater,

one of the bright superstars of the future,

there's no question about it.

Machado: The first time I met Kelly was at the US Championships,

Kelly was 13 and I was 12.

Square tail, no wing--

looks killer.

Kelly was already kind of a superhero,

like Michael Jordan, at that point,

everyone was just like, "Whoa. Kelly."

And my dad's like, "Hey, let's go take a photo with him,"

I'm like, "No, no, no." He's like, "Hey, Kelly!" And I'm like, "Ohhh!"

That awkward moment when your parent embarrasses you.

Slater: After that, Rob and I became good friends,

and we would see each other at contests.

Announcer: And the winner: Kelly Slater!

But back then, surfing was not a career path.

It was just something you enjoyed doing.

Shane Dorian: When I was a kid,

my local break was a lot of hard characters

drinking beers and smoking weed on the beach.

Announcer: Shane Dorian!

Dorian: I started competing in the little local contests.

There would be like three kids in my division.