½ inch away from being paralyzed after a near career ending fall at Pipeline last week. Ricky broke his L1 vertebrae in his lower back during warm-ups for the Volcom Pipeline Pro.

Ricky recalls the experience:

"I woke up at dark to warm up before the contest which was rumored to run. Usually i get up super early to beat the crowd and sneak into some bombs but this morning was packed to the rim before light even peaked out. I ended up sitting an hour and a half before i caught my first wave. They announced over the intercom that it was a lei day. So everyone stayed out and the crowd did not thin. After about 2 and a half hours i finally got a bomb. I made the drop, pulled in then all of a sudden i was on my stomach and getting sucked up and over with the lip. There was no tension on my leash so I curled up into a ball and came down like a bag of bricks on the reef on my tailbone. I heard and felt everything crack in my lower back and instantly knew i was hurt bad. I tried to kick my feet as i swam up but i couldn't tell if it was kicking or the wave thrashing me around. I got on my board and could barely breathe from the pain in my lower back and stomach. I made it to the beach and walked up the sand and collapsed. The lifeguards weren't on duty yet but thankfully a guy ran up when he saw me collapse. The same guy happened to be a guy that i saved last year when i was warming up before the contest. He ran and got help and they came and put me on the stretcher and got me in the ambulance and off to the hospital. I spent 4 days in Queens hospital before i was released. I got beyond lucky. (Unlucky but lucky) I broke my L1 vertebrae. It compressed and broke outwards. If it would of broken any other direction I would of been paralyzed. God was definitely watching over me! Now i am in a back brace for 4-6 weeks then I will be doing all the rehab and whatever it takes to get back in the water asap!

WOW, lucky man!

During the Pro Bowl this last week. Reef took a few of the NFL athletes out for a surf with Kelly Slater. Saints quarterback Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham and former NFL quarter Doug Flutie to name a few.

In a quote by Reef, "I'm just blown away. I mean, Jimmy Graham is texting me right now!"

Not a bad month for Reef..... winning the Backdoor shootout, then straight into hobnobbing with NFL pros.

"Castles, Slabs, Perfect Waves and the most amazing trip of my life." -Evan Geiselman

Contest wins, world titles and editorial coverage are just a minor glimpse into the real lives of our day to day surfing gods. With arguably the best surf team out there, Dragon is giving you the chance to see what these guys are doing in-between prepping for heats and putting stickers on their boards. In this month’s installment, check what Mick Fanning, Owen Wright, Evan Geiselman, Ace Buchan and Taylor Knox have been doing……..‘In between the heats.’




OWEN WRIGHT - Couple newies from Byrne....Frothing!











ACE BUCHAN- Australia Day. We're doing it!











EVAN GEISELMAN - Just got home from Ireland. How's that Slab?! Love this place.











MICK FANNING - Happy Australia Day!










TAYLOR KNOX - So what!? I grew my hair out.

Rad clip of Brandon Scheid doin' his thing. Check it out, the guy is gnarly.

Reef Mac has been on a roll this winter. Freshly off scoring the cover of TW, the Kauai native started the winter off with getting one of the waves of the winter at Off The Wall, and then followed it up with winning the Da Hui BackDoor Shootout in pumping Pipeline surf while winning 30 K. He took down a star-studded cast that consisted of Bruce Irons, Jamie Obrien, John Florence and Marcus Hickman.

"It's an experience I've never felt before," Reef recalled of his nail-biting afternoon. "It sucked watching. I don't know how Slater, Andy and guys who've won out here do it. I was so stressed out that I had to have a beer to calm me down."

Photos courtesy of Surfline.com. To see the photo feature, click on:
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/reef-mcintosh-wins-da-hui-backdoor-shootout_64881/

Ryan Briggs in and around Florida.....Typhoon Lagoon and beyond....

New York's finest, Balaram Stack planted himself on the North Shore for majority of this winter season. Living in front of Pipe for 6 weeks paid off. He was able to snag this Pipe bomb, get pitted off his brain then finishes with with a crazy air 360.

Not bad for the boy from New York.

Click below. Video courtesy of Surfline.com

http://www.surfline.com/surflinetv/sixty-seconds/balarams-barrel-to-air-combo_63894

Contest wins, world titles and editorial coverage are just a minor glimpse into the real lives of our day to day surfing gods. With arguably the best surf team out there, Dragon is giving you the chance to see what these guys are doing in-between prepping for heats and putting stickers on their boards. In this month’s installment, check what Mick Fanning, Owen Wright and Evan Geiselman have been doing……..‘In between the heats.’




MICK FANNING- "If Dragon doesn't make these next year, I'm riding for Marc Jacobs. Hahahaha!"









OWEN WRIGHT -"My new kicks. Laces suck."











Owen Wright -"Byron Bay is soooo nice!!! It's good to be home."












EVAN GEISELMAN- "Go Magic! I love the NBA!"