Machado, fabulous Barnet. Photo: Joli.The classic buttery slice, France. Photo: Laurel

If a piece of ‘Seppo bullshit’ could define an era, Machado and Slater’s 95 Pipemasters high-5 heralded all that was the New School. But, as pointed out by AI later, it was also shockingly poor tactics. Why stay up and riding just to high-5 your opponent rather than flick off, get out the back for priority and nab the next wave for the score and the win… and the world title, for fuck’s sake? Rob spent much of his competitive years telling us he wasn’t bothered, was almost convincing (despite. most notably, a spellbinding Pipemasters win) yet remained one of the highest profile Americans, fame largely won via trademark smooth style, and to a lesser extent, big hair. Buttery carving arcs, instinctive tube prowess and a combination of slight frame and delicate skills make Machado appear as one of those instinctive surfers that has oodles of time, never forcing his line or straining to manoeuvre. Whether or not you dig his guitar or buy into the hippy thang, there’s no doubt Rob is one of the iconic, defining surfers of the past two decades.