Competing in the Pipe Masters, surfing XXL Jaws and finishing 18th at the Eddie are all extremely commendable accolades on their own. Most pro surfers would be chuffed just to tick one of those off in their lifetime. For Australian charger Russell Bierke, all three came within a week of each other in what he described as his ‘most intense season ever’ on the North Shore.
“I wouldn’t even call it a season. I think all three stretched just over a week. It was so intense but it was definitely one of my best stints in Hawaii,” said Russ.
“I arrived [in Hawaii] at the start of December just before the Pipe Masters started. Most of the waiting period was horrendous and we didn’t get the best waves, but finals day was pretty cool to see everyone taking on big, unruly Pipe. That night, after the final, I flew straight to Jaws. I surfed the whole of the next day and then had one rest day before The Eddie started.”
Russ is no stranger to heavy waves, he’s garnered a reputation for himself as one of the best slab surfers in the world, especially when it comes to trying to push the boundaries of what is possible when paddling into waves of consequence. That ability to huck himself over the ledge at the most critical moments paid dividends during the 2024 Vans Pipe Masters as he finished 11th out of 40 surfers. He was also the highest placed Aussie amongst a stacked field of pros, pipe specialists and world class tube hounds.
As soon as the Pipe Masters finished, Russ flew straight to Maui with fellow O’Neill counterpart Torrey Meister to surf XXL Jaws in what Russ described as the ‘biggest and rawest’ ocean he has ever been in.
“Nothing compares to how it feels being out in the lineup at Jaws. The sheer power and speed of that wave is unmatched. It’s funny because me and Torrey were trying to be cautious out there as we wanted to save ourselves for The Eddie. But there’s such a balance out there of being far inside enough to sit under the wave and hold your ground in order to catch it, while also making sure you don’t get caught out by a set and end up getting hurt or destroying your board.
“Luckily I came away pretty unscathed from Jaws and managed to get a couple of the biggest waves of my life.”
When asked who he thought was a standout at Jaws, there was one name which sprung to mind instantly; Albee Layer.
“He went absolutely nuts out there. He’s always pushing the limits of what is possible at Jaws. You can tell how calculated he is out there, but at the same time he just wants it so, so bad. That one he almost made during that swell, but got clamped, was psycho.”
After his second round of extreme adrenaline at Jaws, Russ quickly turned his attention to The Eddie. This was the first time he had been invited to compete in one of the world’s most prestigious surf contests.
“When I was young I had an ‘Eddie would go’ poster on my wall and so to be invited to compete was a childhood dream come true. Moments like that make everything you’re doing so worth it.
“Me and Torrey arrived back on the North Shore around 8pm, the night before the contest. We stashed our boards at the comp site and then woke up at 3am and rode our bikes down from Rockies. There were already thousands of people heading to Waimea at that point, the whole day felt like a giant festival when you were on land. As for in the water, there is only one way to approach The Eddie and that is to send it on the biggest ones possible. It’s definitely nerve racking but if there’s ever a time to send it, it’s that time when you know you’ve got the best water safety in the world looking out for you.”
If Russ’s mission was to send it, you could call that mission complete. He finished 18th out of 48 surfers, picked up two 30 point rides along the way and placed higher than some of the world’s most renowned chargers including John John Florence, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, Peter Mel, Koa Smith and more.
“It was a really good vibe in the water for my heats, we were all chatting and if someone was in the spot, we were yelling at each other to go.
“I ended up bruising my ribs from a Waimea beating that day and so after that I didn’t really feel like doing much for a week or two. It was such a big adrenaline dump and I think if I’d stayed in a rhythm and had something to work towards after that, I could have kept going but I got injured and was happy to just cruise.”
Calling me from his home on the south coast of NSW where it’s currently summer and the surf is nothing but onshore slop, Russ said that he is hoping to get back to Hawaii before the season is over if a significant swell pops up. Whether it’s Pipe, Jaws or Waimea, we’d love to see the hard charging Aussie sending it in Hawaii once again in 2025.
