LI Surfer Wins 'Most Prestigious Surf Contest On Planet' Pipe Masters

LONG BEACH, NY — In 2007, New York Magazine said Point Lookout native Balaram Stack, then 15, was "poised to be the single greatest surfer ever to come out of the tri-state area. "

This week Stack lived up to the decade-old hype when he was crowned champion of the 2022 Vans Pipe Masters surf competition on the North Shore of Oahu, billed by surfing media as "the most prestigious surf contest on the planet."

Stack, now 31, reacted to his win to Surfer Today.

"I'm shocked. I don't really know what to think. I need a minute to settle in. I'm stoked my mother is here. I'll be thankful and shocked for a while."

Stack has said in interviews that he started surfing after moving to Point Lookout at age four, and joined a crew of surfers centered around Long Beach surf shop Unsound Surf, who surfed throughout the winter.

The Pipe Line male and female winners took home $100,000 each.