Florence announced Monday 6/4. “I was trying bottom turns in the yard yesterday to see if there is any way for me to possibly surf this event, but nothing about it felt right. I think it’s best I heal 100% before I get back in the water.”

“When I was a little kid, I watched my favorite surfers winning events and trying big airs and big maneuvers, and I dreamed of doing those things,” he continued. “I will never lose that. I’m excited for everything to come. I hope to come out of this injury smarter and more excited than I have ever been.”

“John is like any other guy out here, when he has pent up energy from a frustrating loss, he’s going to find a way to decompress. Johns style of decompressing is looking for big sections and sending it. I was holding my breath the minute he paddled out. I knew he was feeling jumpy. At one point I looked at him from the beach and gestured to take it easy! Haha. In my position it’s sketchy watching him surf like that cause I want him to be ready for the next comp, but you can’t tell someone like John to just surf safe. It’s not in his nature……..thankfully so.” @rosswilliamshawaii

A post shared by John John Florence (@parallelsea) on Jun 5, 2018 at 2:07am PDT

Hawaii’s 2X World Champ is having a tough year and a 3peat isn’t likely. Despite high-scores & flashes of brilliance —here’s the last 5 events: 25th, 13th, 13th, 13th, and now INJURY. This places John John rank at #21 on the Jeep Leaderboard and will be lower after Uluwatu.

“This year has been so much fun regardless of my results,” he explained. “Through some of the tough losses I’ve learned more than I have in the past couple years. That’s why I love competing — the chance to learn is always there, win or lose. I love the drive to win you get from a loss. I feel like I’m more driven to win than ever from this year.”

We wish Florence Godspeed in his 100% recovery…