Malibu is well known for its 21 miles of scenic beauty along Pacific Coast Highway. Along these 21 miles sit multiple beaches that are perfect surf spots. The Malibu NoseRiding Invitational and the Malibu Surfing Association Classic are just two of the surf competitions that take place in the ‘Bu.
The city has also produced some of the most elite surfers in the world, including Miki Dora and Terry Tracy, according to the Surfing Walk of Fame. Malibu is home to local surf teams that are working to make more history, such as the Malibu Sharks or Pepperdine’s Club Surf Team.
Pepperdine’s team boasts some professional surfers of their own, such as sophomore shredder Pua DeSoto. The Hawai’i native said she has nine national titles and 12 state titles for her surfing.
DeSoto said when she was a sophomore in high school, she reached out to one of her uncles that had been a fan of the team for years. After talking with him and juggling all her success and professional schedule, DeSoto chose to come to Pepperdine and join the club surf team.
“It really gives me more opportunities to compete and just keep working on the things I need to work on,” DeSoto said.
DeSoto said she enjoys being part of the surf team, because it provides her with an activity to do outside of school and a fun atmosphere to do the thing she loves. DeSoto has had professional coaching since 12 years old, so the Pepperdine Surf Team provides a lighter environment for her sport.
“There’s just such a good balance of super happy, positive people and a very positive coach that is serious when it needs to be serious, but keeps it very light,” DeSoto said. “I love it personally, because I am reminded to enjoy it.”
Head Coach Joe Rickabaugh is the one who helps foster this uplifting spirit. Rickabaugh said he just wants his team to focus on getting better while enjoying the beauty of surfing at the same time, which his team said they value in their coach.
“I think more having a good time, having fun and individually getting better and growing each other’s individual surfing is kind of what we’re more focusing on,” DeSoto said.
Even with a team of more than 10 surfers, Rickabaugh still makes sure to pour into each surfer individually. Freshman Larry Flores said Rickabaugh is very knowledgeable of the ocean, different types of waves and knows exactly what critiques to give. In general, he is just stoked to be there with his team.
“He really cares about each individual surfer,” Flores said. “He’s really intentional with everything. He just pushes you to be the best you can, and I’ve fully felt that.”
DeSoto said being able to critique each other is one of the aspects she values most about the Pepperdine Surf Team. There are some days where she will sit on the sand for the first half of practice to observe and answer questions from other surfers before hopping in the water to talk to the rest of her team.
“Everyone is different. Everyone’s style is different,” DeSoto said. “So, no one will ever have the same critique, and I think that’s kind of cool. It’s just fun to watch and kind of study everything.”
Not only does Rickabaugh focus on his team’s surf style, but he also enjoys getting to know each surfer personally.
“All these kids come from different walks of life,” Rickabaugh said. “It’s just cool to watch them grow, whether it’s in surfing and/or out of the water, just them transitioning in life, going from a kid basically to an adult.”
Rickabaugh said the job as head coach is very rewarding, especially because he gets to share his love for surfing with his team.
“The ocean’s my favorite thing ever, so just getting the experience and sharing my favorite part of my life with other people,” Rickabaugh said. “Seeing the passion that some of them have, it’s really rad.”
One of the things that makes Pepperdine’s Club Surf Team so special is the fact that each surfer is willingly choosing to show up and put in the effort to get better.
Rickabaugh is also a coach for the Malibu Sharks, surf teams for Malibu middle and high school. By the time most kids get to high school, some of them begin to fade away from surfing, Rickabaugh said. But on Pepperdine’s team, the students are out living independently and making their own decisions.
“They’re choosing to do that on their own, nobody’s waking them up in the morning,” Rickabaugh said. “It’s a really cool experience.”
Rickabaugh started coaching when COVID was still affecting Malibu. The surfers he started with have since graduated, leaving him with many fresh faces in the water.
The team especially lost a lot of seniors last year but is still staying hopeful for the upcoming season.
“It’s a new team,” Rickabaugh said. “They seem super stoked, we’re looking good. The competition is getting crazier and crazier, as is our team.”
To fill these big shoes left by alumni, many young surfers have stepped onto the scene. Flores is one of the multiple freshmen that joined the roster this year.
“I think for the team, we have a lot of people in so many different levels,” DeSoto said. “We have a lot of new people this year and a lot of new faces.”
The varying levels of experience allow for unique opportunities for professional surfers, like DeSoto, to bond with those that are newer to the sport.
“It’s super cool to get somebody like that to share their experience, she’s experienced on a world level,” Rickabaugh said.
These shared experiences allow the team to strengthen their bond together. No matter how many years they’ve surfed or how good they are, they all connect on one thing: their love for surfing.
“I think it’s a beautiful dynamic, because we have both ends of it and kind of the middle — some people want to train and want to do that, but they also want to have fun and enjoy the scene,” DeSoto said.
The team practices once a week on Wednesday mornings at Zuma Beach. Although this may not seem like a lot, it is more than many other schools, Rickabaugh said. Pepperdine competes in the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA). The team travels all around California to compete, going down to Huntington Beach or heading north toward Santa Cruz.
“It’s a really good league, so everybody is insane,” Flores said. “So, that’s a little nerve wracking, but other than that, the opportunity [to try out] was there, so I thought I should take it.”
When Flores joined the team, he said he felt instantly comfortable. Just hanging out with the entire team gave him a friend group united over surfing.
“We’re all out there in the water, we’re all watching each other’s waves,” Flores said. “We’re all kind of hyping each other up if we do a good turn or something like that.”
Rickabaugh said some of his favorite memories with the team are made on competition weekends when the team gets to relax outside of Pepperdine.
“Watching them support each other, watching them joke around with each other,” Rickabaugh said. “I get to see them for who they are.”
The whole team shares a similar sentiment. Flores, DeSoto and Rickabaugh all said that just being a part of the team is one of their favorite parts of the whole thing.
“It’s always just so fun with everyone,” DeSoto said. “It’s always a good vibe. Everyone just loves surfing and wants to surf.”
One of the aspects that makes Pepperdine’s Surf Team so special is the individuality of each surfer. There is a variation in experience levels but also in where each surfer comes from.
“Our team stands out because there’s people from all over,” DeSoto said. “We have kind of a good variety of people from all over the U.S., Hawai’i and even international, like France. These different cultures that kind of come together, and ethnicities that come together into one.”
The team includes many talented surfers, including DeSoto, Henry Nafzger, who Rickabaugh said is one of Idaho’s best surfers and Alexandre Marque, a surfer from France.
The team’s variety doesn’t just stop at skill level or where they call home. Flores turned his passion for surfing into a business brand called Surf Trip, which has more than 90k followers on Instagram.
When COVID shut down Flores’ local Huntington Beach surf spots, he began drawing. However, his audience wasn’t entirely who he was expecting.
“Everybody’s kind of neglecting the surfers’ girlfriends and maybe the older surfers, daughters, granddaughters or even moms,” Flores said. “I really found a gap in the marketplace for surfer girl products.”
All of these different personalities come together to make up Pepperdine’s Club Surf Team. Overall, Rickabaugh said he is stoked for another year with the Waves.
“I’m pretty excited about everything,” Rickabaugh said. “I’m most excited for the contests, just to let everybody get their feet wet, literally and figuratively.”
The Waves got their first taste at competition Oct. 25 and 26 at Black’s Beach. They surfed again in Ventura on Nov. 8 and 9 and will compete in Oceanside on Dec. 7 and 8.
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