Gerry Lopez ain’t called Mr Pipeline for nothing.

“What he does is poetry,” said fellow Pipeline legend Rory Russell. “For sheer beauty, no one else even comes close.”

Renowned for his butter smooth style and winner of two of the early Pipe Masters comps (in 72 and 73) watching Lopez taming the Banzai makes for timeless viewing. Back in the early 70’s, as the shortboard revolution hit its stride, Lopez was one of a handful of surfers to pioneer the contemporary approach to surfing Pipe- defined by almost impossibly steep drops and as getting as deep in the barrel as possible.

Not only is he highly commended for his in water antics, Lopez also had a long and fruitful career as a shaper and a writer, founding Lightening Bolt surfboards in the 70’s and shaping under his own Gerry Lopez label after that.

This two minute clips comes from the 175 film Super Session, which was directed by film maker Jespen Hal and featured a huge array of talent from the era.