Pancho Sullivan (July 1, 1973-)

The Largest Surfing Encyclopedia

---

A-Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

---

Advertisement

Pancho Sullivan transcends rankings. Along the North Shore of Oahu each winter, when the so-called best surfers in the world show up at his doorstep, he outshines them all. Refusing to conform to contest constraints or allow a wave to dictate his path, he surfs on his own terms.

Pancho Patrick Sullivan was born in Haena, Kauai, where he was first introduced to surfing. At age five, he relocated to Oahu with his mother and was an all-star in baseball and soccer before taking to the ocean full-time as a teenager.

He successfully competed in the HASA against rivals Ross Williams, Jason Magallenes and Keoni Watson, but left the scene at 15 to live with his father in Oregon. He returned to Hawaii a year later, freesurfed and played golf for Kahuku High. "I didn't want to end up without any options," he said. Because of this, he focused on his last few years of school and registered for community college upon graduation.

Sullivan was set to begin college life in January of 1992 but happened upon Sunset during a pro event and entered on the beach. His raw talent took him through eight rounds of competition, earned him $1,800 and altered the course of his life. Pro surfing was nothing new, yet a naive Sullivan "couldn't believe I could make money doing something I loved."

By the winter of 1994, he had established himself as the premier North Shore freesurfer. In competition, he couldn't be counted upon, but his daily displays of radical power surfing were without peer. He graced the cover of several major surf magazines, secured solid sponsorship and displaced more water than 20 men.

With talent that would melt a majority of the Top 44 with envy, he tried to corral his act into competition but found little success and returned to the freedom of Hawaii. "I'm turned off by the type of surfing they're promoting, the contradiction of it," he offered in defense of his decision. "I don't want to devote three or four years of my life to surf 2-foot waves."

Instead, Sullivan opted to spend all but one month of the year at home. Compared to most pro surfers, he is an agoraphobic, taking just a couple trips per year, usually to Tahiti's challenging reefs during summer to stockpile enough photos and video to keep his sponsors more than satisfied.

Despite Sullivan's reluctance to grovel the globe for points, he has competed with considerable success in Hawaiian professional events, earning the HPAC title in 1998, 1999 and 2000 as well as the XCEL Pro two of those years.

While he hasn't achieved his mission of winning a WCT event or the Hawaiian Triple Crown, it isn't for a lack of talent. When surfers like Sullivan aren't winning, it calls the system into question. Until the tour is structured to exhibit and reward pure surfing, he is content to sit atop Pupukea Hill on his three-acre estate and wait. -- Jason Borte, December 2000