39| Jeremy Johnston
Birthday: July 11, 1986
Hometown: New Smyrna, Florida Jeremy Johnston spent a good deal of last winter at home, laying tile and surfing with his crew at the New Smyrna Inlet—which certainly isn’t a bad thing. For starters, it shows the kid isn’t afraid to do a little work. And when you share your local spot with generations of entrenched elders, as well as hyper progressive talents like Aaron Cormican and the Geiselmans, your surfing is bound to improve. The payoff in ’06 was a win at the Quiksilver King of The Peak contest at Sebastian Inlet and a top 16 finish on the U.S. Junior tour. A tall, lanky goofy-footer, he’s proved he can get it done at home, now it’s time to hit the road. 40| Blake Jones
Birthday: June 26, 1988
Hometown: Melbourne Beach, Florida Blake Jones’ inverted 540 air at the 2006 NSSA Nationals, which won him the air show, cemented his place as one of the East Coast’s top prospects. With a top-20 finish on the domestic ASP junior tour, Jones has also proven he’s got what it takes to make heats using the rest of his repertoire. Beyond the occasional 21st century flight resulting in the odd solid result, Jones will need to consider upgrading his power source. He’s a talented free-surfer, but like Jeremy Johnston, it’s going to take some serious time away from Florida before he’s competitive on a global stage. 41| Wiggolly Dantas
Birthday: December 16, 1989
Hometown: Ubatuba, Brazil Wiggolly from Ubatuba is Brazilian, so it’s a given he can pretty much tear any of his peers apart when it’s two-foot, but what’s maybe most telling about young Wiggolly is that he was the highest placing Brazilian in the recent Monster Energy Pro. Not getting the waves he needed in the round before the quarters, the highlight of his journey did include advancing out of a heat alongside Rob Machado and eliminating big-wave standout Evan Valiere in the process. While his Hawaiian performance is evidence he’s undaunted in sizable conditions, more than anything it spoke to where his priorities lie. The fact that he was in the islands instead of throwing his hat in the ring at the two big WQS contests in Brazil indicates he’s preparing himself for bigger things. 42| Nalu Wallace
Birthday: May 12, 1990
Hometown: Paia, Hawaii A hidden gem among the Maui contingent, Nalu Wallace has skills that have yet to be discovered. “Nalu’s solid,” says Ian Walsh. “I’ve been watching him grow up and in any conditions the guy is gnarly. He’s nuts out at Jaws.” Surprisingly, for spending most of his time on pintails and towboards, he’s not half bad in the small stuff either. The trick for Wallace will be raising his profile, and if he should so choose, dialing in his contest act, but it’s only a matter of time before he catches one of those special “Oh my God” kind of waves. |
