The Goldenwest Street gang

Mike Sciacca

Two days before the 2003 Philips Fusion began, as the city braced for

an influx of surfing competitors from across the world, a group of 19

from the local men’s talent pool gathered at the beach near

Goldenwest Street to hone their competitive skills.

It was to be a simple yet effective workout for these 19

professional surfers, among them Danny Nichols, who had brainstormed

with some of his surf buddies the idea of forming a couple of surf

sessions as a group.

Their mission, the 23-year-old said, was to “band together” before

the start of the nation’s biggest surf contest.

“The idea was to put a workout together where we could coach each

other in an effort to make each other better competitors,” said

Nichols, a Huntington Beach resident and 1997 graduate of Huntington

Beach High. “I surf with these guys on a daily basis here in

Huntington. We’re all friends, and there is so much talent here. I

just thought it’d be great to pump each other up for the U.S. Open.”

All 19 of the surfers who gathered at Goldenwest Street the

Thursday before Saturday’s preliminary trials began, Nichols said,

will compete at the U.S. Open. A few, he added, also will surf the

Junior Pro event.

Their morning workout, which lasted 3 1/2 hours, included three

five-man heats and one four-man heat. With each competitive heat,

surfers not in that particular heat sat together on the beach and

judged their peers in the water.

The top 10 surfers with the highest point total at the conclusion

of the heats advanced to the next round.

“It was great to pick up some tips from the other guys” Nichols

said. “Everybody seemed psyched for this. We’re all so competitive,

but we’re friends, so we help each other out. Judging each other, and

being judged by your friends, is a great way to get a better

perspective.”

The group included some of Huntington’s seasoned pros as well as

some of the sport’s top up-and-comers.

Local surfer Jay Larson, who joined the professional ranks 11

years ago, is entering his 11th U.S. Open.

“This is the biggest event of the year, and what makes it even

more special is that it’s in our own backyard,” said Larson, 29, a

Huntington Beach High graduate and Surf City resident. “What this

workout is intended to do is get everybody in contest format and

mode. Who better to judge you than your friends and peers? We learned

some things, but being friends, we had a good time heckling each

other, too. I enjoyed our time out there today.”

No Huntington surfer has won the men’s U.S. Open, but Nichols

feels there may be change in the swell.

“I’m due -- I’ll tell you that much,” he said with a chuckle. “But

really, I think one of us Huntington guys will break out this year.

Someone from Huntington is due to win it. It could be any one of us.

I just think it’s time.

“I know I’ll be rooting all my buddies on 110%. I know the other

guys will be rooting each other on, too. That’s what this workout was

all about -- getting the boys together to get ready for America’s

biggest surfing contest.”