Watch: Barron Mamiya’s Turn Tutorial at Honolua Bay

Originally posted on SURFER | By August Howell | Last updated Jan 7, 2025 4:48 PM ET

Can Barron Mamiya be considered the Championship Tour’s best dark horse? Marian-Webster defined a “dark horse” as “a usually little-known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing” or “an entrant in a contest that is judged unlikely to succeed.”

If you’ve watched any clip of Barron on the North Shore over the past 5-plus years, you know those definitions don’t apply to him. There’s nothing unexpected about his performances at treacherous Pipeline (See: beating John John Florence in the final last year). Whenever he leans over his board and grabs rail on a double-overhead cylinder, I expect him to come flying out with the spit.

2025 will be Barron’s fourth year on the CT since he qualified as a wildcard after a breakout performance and a huge W at Sunset Beach in 2022. He’s bested the mid-year cut in all his seasons, but, we have yet to see a podium finish outside of Hawaii.

The CT is so stacked these days that the repertoire required to stay on tour is staggering. But Barron clearly has the talent to make it happen. Remember his Snapt4 section? The 24-year-old checked off every trick and backside pigdog contortions in the book. To top it all off, Mick Fanning, Bobby Martinez and Taj Burrow judged the film’s best parts and deemed Barron to have the most complete section over the likes of Jack Robinson, Mason Ho, Seth Moniz, Zeke Lau and more.

Consider the clip above of Barron and good friend Kala Grace (another Pipeline standout) at roping Honolua Bay a reminder of his tool kit. The waves aren’t all-time by the bay’s high standard, but it looks like a damn good day to work on frontside cutties. One last thing: Honolua deserves to be back on tour. But that’s a story for another day.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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