Tour de Force: The ASP Turns 20

1995:
1/95 - Exhibiting increasingly bizarre behavior, Mark Occhilupo drops off the ASP tour to become a veritable recluse in Australia, reportedly living in front of the TV set and packing on almost 60 pounds

2/95 - Under pressure for his decidedly Aussie-centric approach to the tour, Graham Cassidy steps down as ASP president. Another Graham, South Africa's Graham Stapelberg, a longtime judge and administrator, takes over the ASP reins. Immediately holds meetings with Coke executives and the North Shore community in order to get the tour climax moved back to Hawaii.

3/95 - Slater recaptures the world title--his second--with a good performance at the Coke Contest, held in Sydney beaches.

5/95 - In an incredible logistical feat, The Quiksilver Pro picks up the entire Top 44 and sets them down at G-Land, in Java. Kelly Slater wins in epic conditions and the bar is raised for higher quality competition venues.

8/95 - California's Rob Machado surges ahead of the pack, winning his third event of the year in France at the Hossegor Rip Curl Pro. He leads close friend Kelly Slater in the title race going into Hawaii.

10/95 - Pro surfing experiences a 70% decline in U.S. television coverage. The The Bud Tour also fades, hampering American hopefuls.

12/95 - Slater makes magic with an incredible, come-from-behind victory at the Pipe Masters, capturing his third world title. Facing Machado in the semi-finals, Slater offers his fro'd bro a high five for a particularly clean tube-ride, a feel-good but ultimately misinterpreted gesture than masks both Slater's intense competitive nature and total dominance of competitive surfing.

1996:
1/96 - The surf industry steps up support level by putting on a series of events and high-quality surf spots. Quiksilver repeats at G-Land, Billabong delivers Kirra and J-Bay, and Rip Curl backs Bells, Reunion Island and Hossegor.

2/96 - Seventeen-year-old Andy Irons beats out Shane Beschen and Derek Ho to win his first WQS event, the HIC Pipe Pro, held in ferocious 12-foot storm surf. Gets back to Kauai in time for high school classes the next day. Little brother Bruce makes the semi finals.

3/96 - A resurrected Mark Occhilupo begins showing up at a number of WQS events, looking remarkably fit and trim after his three-year, couch potato hiatus.

9/96 - Greville Mitchell, a successful English businessman and philanthropist, inexplicably donates $300,000 to the ASP to establish a traveling medical team. He then forms the Mitchell Surfing Foundation, which hands out cash prizes for special awards like Rookie of the Year. To this day nobody can say exactly why.

9/96 - Chaos ensues behind the event scaffold at Brazil's Rio Surf Pro when a mob of angry vigilantes gun down a band of young thieves, who themselves had shot and killed a woman who refused to give up her purse. ASP President Graham Stapelberg is spotted walking through the ensuing panic...carrying $80,000 of cash prize money in his backpack.

12/96 - Slater in France--and on a roll--captures a fourth world title with his fifth victory of the year. Celebrates later in the year in Hawaii by winning the Pipe Masters for the third time.

1997:
3/97 - Mark Occhilupo is back on the WCT, having finished 20th on the WQS in 1996.

5/97 - Andy Irons wins the first WQS event ever held at Teahupoo, Tahiti, in fun, six-foot conditions.

10/97 - The fizz goes out of Coca-Cola, its ASP umbrella sponsorship ending after three years. In the nick of time CSI, a European sports management firm, inks a deal to take over television production and distribution responsibilities with the aim of establishing global television coverage.

12/97 - Slater continues to dominate, winning four of the first five events of the season en route to win his fifth world title, breaking the record set by Mark Richards. A rejuvenated Mark Occhilupo, now 31 but surfing great, finishes second.

12/97 - Another one bites the dust: The CSI/ASP relationship melts down after the group fails to deliver any significant TV coverage.

1998:
5/98 - The WQS event at Teahupoo goes off in heavy, 12-foot surf, the awesome Tahitian left cylinder shocking all involved. Hawaiian Conan Hayes dominates the final, but for some reason judges give it to Aussie Koby Abberton in one of the most contentious decisions ever.

7/98 - Aussies Mick Campbell and Danny Wills jump out to an early lead in the ratings. The two unknown soldiers hold their grip on the lead through Europe as the tour heads to Hawaii.

8/98 - The shape of things to come: Andy Irons wins the Op Pro and U.S. Open back-to-back in Huntington Beach, solidifying his spot on the WCT in 1999.

12/98 - Frontrunners Campbell and Wills fall apart at the Pipeline Masters, both choking in epic form. Kelly Slater comes from way behind--again--to capture his fifth consecutive world title, his sixth total, then immediately goes into "quasi" retirement.

1999:
5/99 - Even though the incredible Mark Occhilupo wins the Gotcha Pro at Teahupoo, held in some of the heaviest contest conditions ever, it's Florida's Cory Lopez who steals the show, fearlessly dropping into a surreal tube that completely redefines the limits of "ride-able."

8/99 - Following his first WCT win in Europe, California whiz kid Timmy Curran finds himself rated fourth in the world with a solid shot at the world title.

12/99 - Sixteen years after his first appearance on the ASP tour, Mark Occhilupo completes his amazing comeback by winning his third event of the year in Brazil and a long-deserved world title.

12/99 - Andy Irons fails to re-qualify for the WCT after a spotty freshman season. Rumors of substance abuse and "partyitis" abound.