Hawaii ASP Members Vote Mikey Bruneau in for the Final Wildcard in the Billabong Pipeline Masters

Sunset Beach, Hawaii — Just two days before the start of the 2007 Billabong Pipeline Masters waiting period, Mikey Bruneau got the call. ASP official Faith Winzl was on the phone, breaking the news that Mikey had been selected to compete in the most prestigious and longest running annual event in professional surfing. “I was baffled,” Bruneau said. “I asked her… are you kidding me?  And she said no, you’re in!”   

Bruneau shouldn’t have been so surprised. In December 2004 he won the Rip Curl Code STL Trials in epic Pipe conditions to earn one of two wild card berths in the 2004 Pipeline Masters. Earlier that year, he charged his way into 2^nd place in the WQS event at Pipeline, distinguishing himself as a serious Pipe contender. This year, Bruneau is entering the Billabong Pipeline Masters through a side door—getting voted in by Hawaii ASP members to fill the final local wildcard in the event. The ballot included over a dozen other notable Pipe specialists, so the vote of approval underscores how the North Shore surfing community feels about Mikey. He definitely belongs among Pipeline’s elite.  

“I’m so stoked and honored to be part of this year’s Pipe Masters,” Bruneau said. “This is the big one. I want to win this event more than anything. The prize money would cover a really big party, plus, it’s a rare chance to surf Pipe with only four guys in the line-up.”  

In an effort to include more of Hawaii’s local talent in the 2007 Billabong Pipeline Masters, the ASP is adding 16 “Pipe specialists” to the field. Thirteen of the Pipe specialists gained entry by earning wildcards at the WQS Monster Energy Pro held at Pipeline in February. Kauai’s Roy Powers was added to the list by virtue of his standings (2^nd) in the race for the Van’s Triple Crown title, leaving the final Pipe specialist slot to be determined by a vote among the Hawaii ASP members. 

“We’re excited that Mikey got the vote from the Hawaii ASP members to compete in this year’s Pipeline Masters,” said Britt Galland, No Fear’s VP of Marketing. “He’s earned this opportunity as well as the respect of his fellow competitors through many years of charging Pipe.”  

Born and raised in Kailua, Kona, Bruneau moved to Sunset Beach when he was 12 and started surfing Pipe at the age of 13 with fellow groms Jamie O’Brien, Flynn Novak, Kalani Chapman, Danny Fuller. Mikey thrives on the adrenalin high that only Pipeline barrels can deliver. “There’s nothing better than being out there with your friends and pushing each other over the edge. When you get a crazy one and make it, there’s no other feeling like that.”  

Bruneau knows the place as well as anyone. Asked if his local knowledge would give him an advantage, Mikey admitted: “All the guys surfing at this elite level can sit in the vicinity of the peak and pick off a good wave at Pipe. But if the conditions are tricky, local knowledge could pay off. We have a few secret markers on the beach that we use in the line-up for different swell directions.”  

Mikey is no stranger to the perils of surfing Pipe. Just last week he was navigating a first reef barrel when a stray board came over the falls and caught him square in the face. “It almost knocked me out. There was blood everywhere from cuts on my face and a fat black eye,” Bruneau recalls. “It could’ve been way worse, so I’m feeling pretty lucky.”  

Luck could indeed play a role in the outcome of this year’s Pipeline Masters—the most coveted title in the surfing world. In 1974, Jeff Crawford won the Pipe Masters in what he described as poor conditions:  “But I had the best wave. In any event, the rider who catches the best wave usually wins.”