One of the best pro surfers in the world, Jamie O’Brien, was recently introduced to his distant cousin James O’Neill O’Brien, Member of the Board of Directors of the O’Brien Clan Foundation, by Body Glove’s Scott Daley during the recent Surf contest at “El Porto” in Manhattan Beach, CA. Both discussed their direct descent from Irish High King Brian Boru, whose victory and death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 is potentially the inspiration for a surf festival, which will be held in 2014, to commemorate the millennium of the epic conflict.

O’Brien was born on June 9, 1983 in Hawaii and currently lives in Haleiwa. He has said that he was fortunate as a child to grow up near the Banzai Pipeline. He is one of the youngest surfers ever to win a Pipe Masters challenge. In addition to his remarkable surfing career, Jamie has produced two surfing films, Freakshow and Freaside and appeared in Step Into Liquid and Blue Crush. He has made television appearances on MTV’s Boarding House/Stunt Surfer and in numerous surfing videos including Waxed Planet, Raising the Bar, Super Computer, The Mystic, The Next Generation and Califragulistic.

Gemini Contenders, Jamie and James were born on the 8th and 9th of June, a few years apart, and have common Irish ancestors who emigrated from Ireland to Australia and Iowa respectively. The two met each other in sunny Southern California, via the North Shores of Chicago and Oahu, their respective birth places. By a remarkable synchronicity, Jamie O’Brien, his sponsors Red Bull and Body Glove, and the O’Brien Clan Foundation, all share a vision of a first annual “Jamie O’Brien International Invitational Surf Festival”, to be held in Ireland.

If one were asked to explain Jamie O’Brien in a word, they might choose “explosive.” Whether being spit out of a seething Pipeline barrel, launching an air reverse six feet above the lip, or blowing up in front of a camera, Jamie’s surfing is a full frontal assault on the senses. There is a saying that “the person having the most fun in the water is the best surfer on any given day.” By this rationale we would like to put up Jamie O’Brien for the argument of the best surfer in the world.

He travels the world, surfing amazing waves while making movies like his latest “Who is JOB”. He lives in front of one the best waves on the planet and is a standout at every session and contest. He spends his down time editing his movies, fishing, diving with sharks and enjoying the fruits of his surfing talents.

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