- HELLO, TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT EDDIE AIKAU.
SO NOVEMBER 19, 1967, WAIMEA BAY IS BIGGER THAN IT'S EVER BEEN.
NOBODY'S SURFED IT THIS BIG.
THEY WOULD JUST BE LIKE, THAT IS A DEATH ZONE.
BUT EDWARD RYAN MAKUAHANAI AIKAU,
AND HE'S LIKE, I'M GONNA GO.
AND THEN JUST KILLING IT.
AND THAT DAY IS RECORDED BY EVERYONE.
HE'S TAKING OFF DEEPER THAN EVERYBODY.
HE'S RIDING BIGGER WAVES.
HE'S KILLING IT. HE'S OVERNIGHT, A SENSATION.
HE'S ON COVERS OF SURF MAGAZINES.
IT'S LIKE, EDDIE AIKAU, HAWAIIAN HERO.
EDDIE PROVES HIMSELF IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE WORLD.
LIKE THAT WAS FOR HAWAII.
THIS IS FOR EVERY HAWAIIAN IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
MOST OF THEM ARE IN HAWAII, I UNDERSTAND.
SO WAIMEA BAY, WHERE HE MADE HIS NAME,
PEOPLE ARE DYING ALL THE TIME IN WAIMEA BAY.
BUT THEN ONE PERSON'S LIKE,
OH, WE SHOULD HAVE A LIFEGUARD.
AND EDDIE'S LIKE, HEY, LOOK AT ME.
REMEMBER ME? EDDIE AIKAU.
SO THEY MAKE HIM THE FIRST LIFEGUARD AT WAIMEA BAY.
HE SAVES OVER 500 PEOPLE.
WELL, NOT A SINGLE PERSON DIES.
PUMPING WATER OUT OF CHESTS ON THE SAND.
I'M GONNA START SWEATING AT A CERTAIN POINT
BECAUSE I JUST DO AS I GET EXCITED.
- DO YOU HAVE YOUR TOWEL READY?
- I'M GONNA MOIST DOWN. - YEAH.
- I'M GETTING A LITTLE BRIGHT.
- KEEP IT DRY.
- SO NOW WE'RE IN THE '70s,
AND THIS BRINGS IN A NEW BREED OF SURFER FROM AUSTRALIA.
THEY WIN A BUNCH OF COMPETITIONS.
THEN THEY [bleep] GET IN THE PRESS
AND THEY INSULT HAWAIIAN CULTURE,
SAYING, HAWAIIAN WAY OF SURFING IS OLD.
IT'S OUT OF DATE.
WE'RE THE FUTURE.
WE'RE THE FUTURE OF SURFING.
I DATED AN AUSTRALIAN FOR TWO YEARS.
CAN'T DO AN AUSTRALIAN ACCENT.
I THANK GOD, BECAUSE I'D DO IT ALL THE TIME.
THE HAWAIIANS ARE REASONABLE PEOPLE,
BUT THEY HAVE BEEN PUSHED TO THE POINT.
SO THE AUSTRALIANS GET BEAT UP A FEW TIMES.
PROBABLY MADE THEM BETTER PEOPLE.
AT A CERTAIN POINT, THEY'VE GOTTEN BEAT UP SO MUCH
THAT THEY'RE, LIKE, HOLED UP IN THEIR ROOM.
THERE'S A KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
AND THEY'RE JUST LIKE, OH, NO.
SO THEY GRAB A BUNCH OF TENNIS RACKETS.
RABBIT GRABS THE DOORKNOB
AND HE TURNS IT LIKE, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?
HE OPENS IT UP, AND IT'S EDDIE.
AND HE'S LIKE, HEY.
I DON'T HAVE A TENNIS RACKET.
PLEASE PUT THOSE AWAY.
ALSO, WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY?
LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS.
EDDIE WALKS THEM TO A HOTEL WITH A CONFERENCE ROOM.
AND EDDIE'S LIKE, WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW
HAS BEEN HAPPENING ON THESE ISLANDS FOR SO LONG,
WHERE WHITE PEOPLE ARE JUST SAYING, LIKE,
HAWAIIANS, YOUR CULTURE'S NOT REAL.
IT'S ALL BULL[bleep].
WE RECOGNIZE YOU SURF WELL,
BUT YOU'RE BEING A [bleep] DICK.
ALL OF YOU ARE A GROUP OF PENISES SITTING HERE.
AFTER A WHILE, THE AUSTRALIANS ARE LIKE,
WE DON'T WANT TO BE DICKS.
WE WANT TO BE COOL SURFER DUDES.
WE'RE SO SORRY.
DO YOU KNOW THEY SAY "WIDE ON" FOR A FEMALE BONER?
THAT'S AN AUSTRALIAN TERM.
AS OPPOSED TO A HARD ON, IT'S A WIDE ON.
DON'T YOU MAKE ME EXPLAIN THIS MORE.
[laughter]
THIS INSPIRES, I THINK, IN EDDIE A BELIEF THAT, LIKE,
I HAVE TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT HAWAIIANS ARE SUPER SWEET,
AND THE WAY WE'RE GONNA PROVE IT
IS THAT WE'RE GONNA SAIL FROM HAWAII TO TAHITI
ONLY BY THE STARS.
AND SO THEY LEAVE.
SIX HOURS IN, IT'S A STORM.
SO I CAN JUST GO, AND IT'S LIKE I'M STILL HERE.
AND IT SAYS, KEEP IT DRY
BECAUSE I SWEAT A LOT, SO I MADE THESE UP.
- [laughs]
SO THEY SET SAIL,
BUT THEY SET SAIL IN JUST BAD WEATHER.
THE STORM HITS THEM HARD.
THEY GET FLIPPED.
THE CAPTAIN WAS JUST LIKE, OH, NO.
I DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE.
BUT THE PROBABILITY OF WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE IS PRETTY HIGH.
EDDIE SAYS, I'M JUST DOING IT.
EDDIE TAKES OFF HIS LIFE JACKET.
AND HE'S LIKE, I'M GONNA GO.
I'LL GET HELP.
I'LL TELL YOU--
I'LL TELL THEM WHERE YOU ARE.
HE GETS ON HIS BOARD, STARTS TO PADDLE TOWARDS LANAI.
THEN A FEW HOURS LATER,
THE PEOPLE ON THE BOAT SEE A AIRPLANE,
AND SO THEY FIRE THE FLARE,
AND THAT IS HOW EVERYONE GETS RESCUED.
AND THE AIKAU FAMILY ARE ON THE SHORE WAITING,
AND THERE'S NO EDDIE.
AND THEN THE CAPTAIN HAS TO TELL THE AIKAU FAMILY
THAT EDDIE WENT--
HE WENT--
HE WENT TO SAVE THEM.
HE DIED SAVING THESE PEOPLE.
THEY'VE NEVER FOUND EDDIE'S BODY.
BUT QUIKSILVER STARTED
A SURF COMPETITION CALLED THE EDDIE.
THE FIRST EDDIE COMPETITION THAT'S EVER HELD.
IT'S BIG WAVES, BUT IT'S ALSO JUST...
[belches]
[bleep] UP GNARLY WAVES.
AND EVERYBODY'S SITTING THERE.
THERE WAS HEMMING AND HAWING.
WELL, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T.
MAYBE WE SHOULD.
MARK FOO, LEGENDARY BIG WAVE SURFER,
HE SAYS, EDDIE WOULD GO.
AND EVERYBODY IS LIKE, [bleep] MAN.
YEAH, EDDIE WOULD GO.
AND SO THAT BECOMES A THING.
EDDIE WOULD GO,
AND IT MEANS EDDIE WOULD GO ON THE BIGGEST WAVE.
HE WOULD GO SAVE YOU,
AND HE WOULD GO.
BECAUSE IF YOU ATTEMPT LIFE,
YOU MIGHT DIE, BUT YOU'LL LIVE ON,
AND EDDIE HAS.
- WOW.
- I MEAN, I KNOW I HAVE TO WAKE UP AT--
OH, IT'S ONLY 11:30.
LET'S HAVE ANOTHER DRINK.