By Aukai Ng Photos Ryan “Chachi” Craig & Christa Funk
Many of the top surfers have shown their progression from early groms years to adulthood. However, it seemed as if the surfing public just blinked and there appeared Jake Maki. We can all admit that we probably have been sleeping on this 19 year old’s style of surfing. Having grown up on the Big Island and now living on the North Shore of O’ahu, this Kahuku graduate has demonstrated how commitment can get you on the big stage. Jake has traveled to different parts of the world to find the best visions in the barrel: Fiji, Indo, and even Kelly’s Surf Ranch. And in the most recent years, he has charged at some of the most prestigious events in Hawai’i. His first stop was Da Hui Backdoor Shootout where he represented team Volcom and packed it in many solid barrels. Shortly after, Maki headed down to Waimea Bay to answer the call for the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. Since Jake constantly practices at Waimea whenever the swell is big, it makes sense that the Aikau family invited him. In every single one of his heats, he absolutely went for it on every bomb that came his way. He survived big takeoffs and gnarly wipeouts through the day and he kept getting back up. At this point, Jake has definitely left his mark on surfing history and the whole surfing community can’t wait to see more of his surfing.
Tell us a bit about your relationship with surfing and how you got started?
Surfing is a huge part of growing up in Hawai’i because being surrounded by the ocean there are countless waves to be ridden in our islands. I grew up on the Big Island and started surfing by getting pushed in by my dad. The majority of waves where I grew up surfing were super gnarly and not very user friendly. The waves were hard to get to and we often had to scale cliffs to make it down to the rocks below before getting in the water. The waves usually consisted of some kind of rock or reef obstacle that you had to avoid, or risk breaking your only board or set of fins. Living on the Big Island I worked hard and surfed as much as I could, hitching rides from uncles and older friends to go surf. I moved to the North Shore when I was 14 years old and lived close enough to the beach to get on my bike after school and go surfing. Having sand on the beach felt like I was at Disneyland or something haha. (Big Island surf breaks are most often fronted by rocks.) I had taken trips to the North Shore before, but now I had access to these waves all the time. When I moved to O’ahu, I made it a goal of mine to start surfing big waves.
Seems like you got pretty comfortable at Pipeline very quickly, especially for a teenager.
I first paddled out at Pipe when I came over on a trip from the Big Island, I was probably in 6th or 7th grade. It was a small day and not ‘real’ Pipeline. Soon after I entered what would be the last Pipe Pro Jr. competition, and that contest was my first experience at real Pipeline. It was bombing and I realized I had a lot to learn but it was a wave I wanted to set my future focus on.
It’s no easy task to get respect and have credibility at the Pipeline is it?
I always try to be as respectful as possible at Pipeline, saying hello, and shaking all the boys and uncles hands every session. After a long time of watching from the channel, going on closeouts, getting burned a lot, and watching the best do their thing, I slowly tried to work my way up, taking time to note what lineups people used, listening to what everyone says about the wave, and stuff like that. After putting in a lot of time and getting called into some makeable waves I got hooked and started to learn a lot about riding the barrel. I learn something new every time I surf Pipe. Pipeline is one of the best and heaviest barreling waves in the world, but it’s not just the perfect freeze frame barrel shot every time. There’s a lot of faces of the waves and they’re always changing. There’s an endless amount to learn. Pipe is a really crowded wave, with a lineup full of lifelong Pipe surfers, local surfers, pros, photographers, groms, and people who might not be ready to surf Pipeline yet. My goals for Pipe are to continue putting in my time and learning the wave and proving myself out there, chasing the biggest deepest longest barrel…with the biggest spit too! haha. One of my biggest goals since I was little was to be in the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout one day, and I got to achieve that this year thanks to Volcom!
The 2023 Volcom shootout team consisted of Balaram Stack, Kainehe Hunt, Makana Pang, Noa Deane, Mikey “Redd” O’Shaughnessy, and myself. That was super special to not only achieve one of my goals to be in the competition, but to be chosen by Volcom and to surf Pipeline with just my friends! That was a really cool event because with the specialty format, I was able to surf four sessions at Pipeline with no one out, I learned a lot over those two days of competition! We had some wild conditions and everyone did the best they could to wrangle a good one.
Getting the line-up at Pipe with only your teammates out is indeed a blessing! How about Waimea? Tell us about your evolution thus far out there.
I started out surfing Waimea Bay probably on something like an old 7’6’ sitting in the channel at Pinballs. Then Uncle Kalani (Chapman) let me borrow his 9’2” on bigger days. Waimea Bay is a premier right hand big wave surf spot. With the takeoff spot filled with hundreds of feet of foam and fiberglass on a normal day, it can be hard to find the right spot in the lineup or catch a wave by yourself, but that makes it a fun wave to surf with friends because you can catch a really giant party wave. Being in the deep water and open ocean is really cool and peaceful, and looking back towards shore you can see the big valley and the chaos on the beach, the traffic on the roads, and everything in-between. The giant drops at Waimea and potential for long rides draws me back every time. My goals at Waimea are to push my limits, get a crazy drop on a big wave, and prove myself out there. My biggest goal in surfing was to get invited to the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, and I achieved that and got to surf in the event on January 22nd. I think everyone in the Eddie wants to win it haha, but being able to compete in the Eddie had all of us in the contest feeling like we were winning!
Being in the Eddie event was a dream come true! Being surrounded by the best big wave riders in the world, and a lot of my heroes I look up to was really amazing. Everyone was smiling all day. We couldn’t believe that day was real. The waves were giant, so was the audience on the beach. People were calling each other into waves in the heats, the crowd cheered for every ride. It was the coolest thing ever! It was an honor to be out there! Surfing twice, and having a chance at a maximum of eight waves at perfect Waimea Bay was really amazing.
To honor Eddie Aikau at that event was cool because that is where Eddie became a pioneer in both big wave surfing and ocean lifeguarding. Eddie Aikau inspires people across the world because he was an incredible surfer and lifeguard, and he did it all with the Aloha Spirit. This year the event also honored Uncle Solomon and Uncle China too, both whom I had the honor of talking story with in the past. I was the youngest competitor in this year’s Eddie Aikau contest, and that was a really cool and special feeling. It made me want to go even bigger so I could prove that I really wanted to be there and that I should be there.
You took some huge bombs and a few serious spills! Talk about the wipeout factor at Pipe and Waimea.
Pipeline is one of the most deadly waves to surf, and it is also the most unpredictable, making it hard not to wipeout sometimes! I’ve hit the reef countless times, sometimes really really bad. I once went over the falls straight to my knees on the reef, it felt like they both broke instantly. I’ve worn a helmet at Pipe since my first sessions out there. Good thing, because I’ve slammed my head a handful of times where I think it could have easily killed me.
Wiping out at Waimea Bay is really gnarly. If you fall from the top, it’s a long way down, so it’s likely you’ll get the wind knocked out of you on impact. It will suck you over if you get caught or fall in the bowl too, then it will thrash you, push you deep, and keep you under for a long time.