People in Your Neighborhood: Jojo Roper wins the Men’s Paddle-in Wave of the Year award for his 40- to 50-foot ride earlier this year
La Jolla resident Jojo Roper rides a 40- to 50-foot wave March 11 at Mavericks in Northern California that earned him the Men’s Paddle-in Wave of the Year award in the 2024 Surfer Big Wave Challenge. Professional surfer Jojo Roper is always on the hunt for the “biggest, best” wave.
“I wake up at 5 and get ready to go surf, jet-lagged as all hell, two hours of sleep,” Roper said. “I was such a zombie, but the waves were huge. The adrenaline just kicked in and everything happened.” Twelve surfers from across the globe were honored for their achievements. Roper was one of two San Diego natives up for awards, along with Encinitas-based Women’s Surfer of the Year nominee Katie McConnell.Roper made sure to highlight his hometown in his acceptance speech, telling the crowd “This one’s for San Diego.”
He said the large, passionate surfing community in San Diego made him want “to ring the bell” for his hometown. The injury set Roper on a long journey to recovery. Over several months, he spent time resting and became “crazy religious” about physical therapy. His “savior,” he said, was La Jolla Shores Physical Therapy, where he worked with Stephanie Hoffman.
Roper said he hopes to keep chasing bigger, better waves and explore exotic surfing locations such as Ireland and Spain. One of his next destinations is Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii, site of the 2024-25 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, which is scheduled to run Dec. 14 through March 13 when wave heights consistently reach 40 feet.
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