Bio From: http://www.surfline.com/surfing-a-to-z/cory-lopez-biography-and-photos_851/
He paddled into Teahupoo for the first heat of the morning with only two years of world tour experience. A few minutes later, he paddled as the entire ocean seemingly surged toward him, stood up and swallowed him whole. He wouldn't make the wave or win the heat, but Cory Lopez ascended the ladder from trickster to legend in a matter of seconds.
The fact that he was even surfing in the Gotcha Tahiti Pro, a WCT event, was a leap in itself. Hailing from Indian Rocks, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Cory was born into an unlikely setting for a pro surfer. While the East Coast is nothing to brag about, the Gulf is positively dreadful -- hot and flat with the occasional half-day dribble swell to stave off insanity.
Fortunately, his father Pete was a lifelong waterman and older brother Shea was already leading the way. Pete loaded the boys up nearly every weekend for a cross-Florida trek to either Sebastian Inlet or some ESA contest. Frequent doses of the Caribbean, California and the North Shore prepared them for the next level.
Sibling rivalry didn't become a motivator until well into the game. In the beginning it was, "If Shea's doing it, then I'm not." Five amateur titles later, he had decided to follow his brother's path.
A daredevil from day one, Lopez was always a speed freak. Known for his extreme surfing, he toned things down just enough to qualify for the 1997 WCT a year after Shea by surfing in a record 29 World Qualifying Series events. Already making a name for himself via Lost videos, Lopez was touted as a freesurfing genius and a future great. Riding tiny, disc-like boards by Matt Biolos/Mayhem in everything from 2-foot junk to triple-overhead mackers, he helped take the fish beyond its logical extremes. By not holding back in heats, he forced the judges to take notice and contributed to changes rewarding innovation.
After a decent rookie season, he narrowly lost out to Danny Wills in his first final in Japan during 1998 and rose to 10th in the world. His act at G-Land and Pipe only hinted at his potential in the heavy stuff.
Then came Tahiti. Lopez's balls-to-the-wall attack on the heaviest wave ever ridden in competition was the highlight of the year. The rest of his season was a wash, save for one quarterfinals berth, but he was lauded by peers and fans voted him into the Surfer Poll, where he would stay for five straight years.
As the added emphasis on innovation became entrenched in the judging criteria, Lopez gained in both scores and confidence, sticking in the top 16 through his career -- finishing as high as a third in 2001, the same year he scored his sole WCT victory in, of all places, Tahiti. And while he took home few dream tour titles, he consistently won the important backroom battles over photo picks and movie parts, racking up more than a dozen covers and 30 surf vid roles, plus untold spreads and ad campaigns.
Upon retiring from the WCT in 2008, Lopez took an "ambassadorial role" with O'Neill, even leaving his beloved Gulf Coast and moving to California for the position (though he regularly visits home to see family and check on the family surf shop, Nekton.) Marriage and a baby girl soon followed. But the new roots couldn't hold him down too long. He immediately renewed his focus on producing and documenting mental moments, scoring epic sessions everywhere from uncharted Africa to chasing hurricanes in old East Coast haunts like Cape Hatteras -- even earning another cover for Transworld in March 2009 -- perpetuating a career that's always stood on three solid pillars: big tubes, big moves and images broadcast even bigger.
-- Jason Borte (updated December 2009)
