It hasn't been all easy going for the wunderkind that is Jeremy Flores. He has, by his own admission, lost his way on the pro tour before, but he has been on tour now for 11 years, and he hasn't had his 30th birthday.
Currently placed 16th in the world on the Jeep Leader Board, Jeremy is renowned for two things and they are i) his passion – for surfing, for life, for everything and ii) his prowess in giant, booming left barrels like this –
He has had his fair share of brushes with authority however, and has had his fair share of punishment to fit the crimes. In 2011 he was involved in an altercation along with Sunny Garcia in Australia where they had some biffage with a local surfer who was giving Sunny’s kid some grief, and his punishment was a one event banning.
Then in 2014 he attempted the popular ’storm the judges tower’ maneuver in JBay after a particularly undelightful heat in which he felt solidly underscored by the judges. This time he was hit by a two x Championship Tour event ban and a $6k fine. The monetary fine was ok, but being excluded from contests meant he was hard up for points, something that must have rankled him immensely and put things a little into perspective for the fiery lad. He reached out and apologised in person and in writing, but the powers-that-be were having none of it and stuck to their guns in dishing out harsh sentencing.
These days however, Mr Flores has taken his licks, has reinvented himself as a faster, more aggressive and futuristic surfer who loves the big turns and is never scared to go for the Kingmaker move in a heat. He rarely surfs safely, and after all these years he knows what needs to be done to win heats.
He also seems calmer, on the surface at least. He has a composed veneer about him these days, and has that deep, unnerving stare. His Jedi mind tricks no doubt picked up during time spent with the number one Jedi master himself, Kelly Slater.
He has legions of fans as well, as his 180k followers on Instagram indicate. So many every day surfers talk about him in reverent tones and love the fact that he is passionate and that his very fervor gets him into trouble often. The fans love trouble, they love a bit of bargey, and as mentioned, they froth on a tower storm, and they’re few and far between these days as the sport homogenizes itself down to a common denominator level.
As mentioned, he loves a solid chunk of spitting left (like this)
If we get a solid swell at Fiji he will make his move. He is unafraid of the biggest names on the Championship Tour and would absolutely relish a John John v Jordy v Jeremy heat. As it is, he is coming up against Owen Wright and Etan Ewing in heat 3 of round 1, so we can expect fireworks from the start. In fact, do not be surprised if he makes it all the way to the finals.
Stay tuned.
