The 5 Most Pivotal Moments of the Decade in Big-Wave Surfing

The twenty-tens. Can you believe they’re over?

From the tragic death of Andy Irons, the birth of the WSL, the Brazilian storm, the wavepool revolution, and so much more, the past 10 years were packed with unforgettable moments and historical significance. But, at this point—only days out from the next decade—it still feels too early to define it. Was there any clear theme or direction? Or did the surf world move in a hundred directions all at once? That’s hard to say today. Maybe later.

That said, there were many individual standout moments that we won’t soon forget. So, in the interest of defining them, we asked four experts for their opinion on what the most important moments of the decade were, in four different areas: big-wave surfing, aerial surfing, women’s surfing and longboarding.

First up is three-time Big Wave World Champ, and 7-time XXL winner, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, who gave us his insights on which waves–and which days—helped define the decade.