Nazare Portugal, October 18th 2024

Surfer Magazine Big Wave Challenge Mens Paddle Winner:
Jojo Roper, Maverick’s, California, March 11, 2024
Photos: Fred Pompermayer

In March of 2024, Rusty Surfboards team rider, Jojo Roper hoped on a plane from Fiji to Lax, drove to San Diego and then within a couple hours, he was right back on a flight up to San Francisco chasing a massive Northern Pacific swell. 

As dawn approached on March 11, Jojo was in a stupor from the endless traveling. But he soon found himself in the line-up at Mavericks at dawn hitching a ride out to meet the Winters last-gasp swell.

You can watch him discuss the day HERE

Within Minutes, Jojo whipped around on his first wave of the day. The wave as well as the photo sequence captured by Fred Pompermayer, would blow up Instagram just a few hours later. 

The wave has already won Jojo the biggest wave of the winter earlier this year at The Mavericks Awards and now, its earned Jojo the Biggest Paddle wave of 2024 in the Surfer Magazine Big Wave Challenge.

Jojo has been riding custom built guns from Rusty Preisendorfer for decades. Ropers work ethic and his relentless pursuit of big waves around the globe have elevated him into the elite class. The surf world has noticed as well and Jojo has been selected as an invitee to the prestigious Eddie Aikau Invitational. 

Congrats jojo!

 More About The Surfer Magazine Big Wave Awards

"Under clear skies and a rising swell, the stars came out for the SURFER Big Wave Challenge. From world record holders, to the next generation of chargers, to local groms and even the harbor master of Nazare, it was a night for the books. Coming off of the wild El Niño winter of 2023/24, the entries for this year’s global big wave competition offered a clear picture of just how extreme and wide-ranging the pursuit of riding giants has come." 

"When planning for the SURFER Big Wave Challenge began, it wasn’t entirely clear who would make the trek all the way to Portugal for a mere awards show. But the big wave community turned out in a big way. From Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca in Brazil, to Jojo Roper in San Diego, to Soli Bailey and Laura Enever making the trip from Australia (albeit Laura enjoyed an extended layover at the recent Swatch Nines event in Waco, Texas, on her way to the show), it was a gathering of the tribe in the truest sense. Even Nathan and Ivan Florence, who were in the midst of chasing swell through Ireland, took a break from the Slab Tour to join the festivities."

“Nazare today is a bit like the North Shore was in the ‘70s,” explained Big Wave Challenge mastermind Bill Sharp. “It’s this small, quiet community, and big-wave surfers show up for the season early and just kind of hang out and wait for the waves.”