Conan was gracious enough to take Jason Bogle's place on the trip after Jason was forced to back out due to illness. All of us wish Jason the best of luck on a speedy recovery, our thoughts are with you! We'll see you in 2005!(The following interview was borrowed from Etnies' website)

Where are you originally from?
Hawaii--Kailua, Kona, to be exact.

Where do you live now?
I live part-time in Hawaii and part-time in California.

How and when did you start surfing?
I started at eight. There was a break in front of my house that I grew-up at. I'd see guys out there and I was just drawn to it.

Who were you surfing with at first?
I just surfed by myself, which sounds weird, but when I graduated from that spot and went to the local break called Banyons, I started surfing with Shane Dorian and a bunch of the kids we grew-up with.

Who were some early influences on your surfing?
There's a guy named Barry Pantog, who surfed really good when I was young. Obviously, Shane Dorian--he was three years older than me, so I always had someone to push me and also to try and compete with while growing-up, which was good.

Who do you usually surf with now (and where)?
It's kind of random--I just surf by myself when I'm here [California], but, obviously, on trips, it just depends which trip it is and who is on it. Usually, I kind of just do my own thing. Sometimes I surf with Jay Larson or Pat Tenore.

The famous Pat Tenore.
The famous Pat Tenore. I've been getting him out in the water.

Good, man. He's always saying how out of shape he is, but I think the guy's probably in good shape.
Yeah, he's lying.

Do you enjoy surfing in contests?
It kind of depends. I have a competitive drive, but I don't thrive on it, I don't need it. So, if I want to be there [at a contest], I'll usually do good because I want to be there. But, if I'm just chasing something and the waves aren't that interesting or it's not that fun, I kind of lose interest. Plus, I've been doing it a while, so I want to check out some different options.

How could contests be improved?
They just have this one tour where you qualify for the other tour. One is in super-good waves and the other one is in really shitty waves, so the quality of surfers you get--obviously, the god guys are there--but there are some other guys who make it through the shitty tour onto the really good tour who don't really know how to surf the good waves. I think the tours should be more aligned and more comparable in venue so that you do get the quality surf for both, and hopefully through that, you'll get the quality surfers.

What is good about being a pro surfer?
I think the freedom you have to be able to travel and explore all of these different places. It's really something that a lot of these guys [pro surfers] take for granted, but we're really lucky to be able to do that. I just think the experiences you get are real life experience. You have to adapt to certain situations where there's different food, different money, different languages, different cultures, different everything and it really teaches you to adapt to different situations that are thrown at you. I think that's a great education. Not only that, you're also seeing the most amazing places in the world. Usually, people surf because they enjoy it, not because it's a job. It actually is a job, but if you're doing something you love, you should do it really well and professionally.

What is bad about being a pro surfer?
I can't see much bad, man. You sound like a wiener if you say something's bad about it. It's pretty damned good, so I'm going to say nothing.

That's a good answer. Name your favorite surf movies.
I really liked Thicker Than Water, because it was really different for its time. I won't say the surfing was so progressive, but the filmmaking process was.

There was some good surfing in that movie, too, though.
I know, but it's not like one of Taylor Steele's movies where someone's doing a backflip. But, there's some good surfing in there, for sure.

What kind of boards do you ride?
I ride Town & Country boards--Glen Pang, usually. His guns--bigger boards--are incredible, and I've got some really good small boards lately, as well.

What is the size range of your boards?
5' 11" to 9' 6".

What is good about surfing in general?
I think it's healthy, it's free, it's a time when you can forget about everything and just focus on improving on what you've already established. I'm always looking for new ways to do things. I've always been that way, and it's exciting. It gets monotonous if you're in a contest, because you get stuck in that same format, but now that I haven't been chasing the tour as much, I can really find a different way to ride a wave, and it's exciting.

What is bad about surfing in general?
I think cold water, cuz I'm a pussy (laughs).

Have you ever been bit or stung in the water?
Stung, but not bit--thank God. But, I have been chased out of the water by a shark in South Africa, and I didn't like that.

I don't like that, either.
I don't even remotely like that, actually. It's no fun.

(Laughs) Have you have ever been the subject (or perpetrator) of localism?
It's hard to say. I mean, I grew-up in Hawaii, and there's definitely localism there, but I'm from there, so I don't really deal with it at all. Going somewhere else, I'm pretty respectful of that. I've had times when people have hassled me. It's weird--both times that I was hassled, the guy was an American. Once in Australia, I found out the guy was American and once in South Africa, I again found out the guy was American. So, yeah, this guy dropped in on me six times and then decided to come swing at me, and when he did, I turned my head and he broke his hand on the back of my head (laughs).

Yeah, good for you!
I found out he was an American, so they're a bunch of pussies!

A guy in Africa was an American?
Yeah.

Was he talking with an accent?
He was trying to, but his American accent came through.

What a f@&kin' kook! Where is a good place to eat?
There's a place in Honolulu called The Garlic House.

Where on Earth are the best waves?
It's hard for me to say. Speedies is as good as it gets, G-Land is as good as it gets, Tavarua is as good as it gets, Tahiti is as good as it gets. I'm kind of spoiled, but I'd have to say one or all of those. They're different, but they're all incredibly good--so it's hard to pick any one over the other. Tahiti is intense, Cloudbreak is just perfect, and Speedies is just a joke. I don't know, they're all good to me. I'll take any which one.

Who are your favorite surfers of all time?
It's hard to say. I really enjoy different guys for different reasons. I think Occy has been an inspiration, just for the fact that he fell off into nowhere land and came back. To come back is really hard physically and mentally. The fact that he did it and became a World Champion was really motivating and inspiring, and his surfing is great. For tricks, I think Taj Burrow is just great. He's just out of control--he's so good. Mick Fanning surfs really good. I don't know--there are a lot of guys that are just coming-up that are phenomenal.

What have been the highlights of your surfing career?
The fact that it's still going. Probably when I won Haleiwa in 2000. To win a Triple Crown contest in Hawaii...every best guy is there and they all want it. To come out on top of that is really good for me--that was a big moment.

What do you enjoy besides surfing?
I like a bunch of things--traveling, taking photos and jujitsu boxing and that kind if thing. But, I take a lot of photos--I really enjoy that.

What are your future goals in surfing, and in general?
My future goals are to really focus on photos and videos and just to keep pushing my surfing. I think if I get on the right trips, it'll be really fun. I also want to win the Tahiti contest before I die.

I think that's a possibility.
That f@%kin' thing keeps eluding me and I'm ready to just take it home (laughs).

I'd like to see that.
Me, too!

Click here to read about Quiksilver's Strider Wasilewski.

Click here to read about Billabong's David Rastovich

Click here to read about Jason Bogle

Click here to read about Keith Malloy

Click here to read about Conan Hayes

Click here to read about Ben Bourgeois

Please Note: Surf Aid International reserves the right to substitue any and all named surfers in the event of illness, injury, or irreconcilable scheduling conflicts.Strider Wasilewski, Ben Bourgeois, David Rastovich, and Jason Bogle have committed to make a good faith effort to go on the trip. In the unlikely event Strider Wasilewski, Ben Bourgeois, David Rastovich, and Jason Bogle, or all of them are unable to go on the trip, the winner(s) (1) may withdraw from the trip and forfeit the prize and Surf Aid International will return the value of one (1) entry to the winner(s) or (2) the winner may proceed to go on the trip without any right or claim arising out of the failure of Strider Wasilewski, Ben Bourgeois, David Rastovich, and Jason Bogle, or all to go on the trip.