Gilbert Brown and photographer Tony Roberts tell us about their experience of working together for so many years, braving waves on trips to different parts of the world.

This time we present a photo that happened on the second time that Costa Rican Gilbert Brown visited the Hawaiian island along with photographer Tony Roberts.

In this interview, Brown tells us the whole story behind this photo, and Roberts also shares his experience of traveling with one of the most charismatic surfers in Latin America at that time.

Interview with Gilbert Brown:

Surfing Costa Rica - Gilbert Brown in Hawaii.

In what year and where was this photo taken?

It was on the second trip to Hawaii in 2011 and was taken at Pipeline.

How many feet do you think the wave was?

I think about 10 Hawaiian feet but that day they were coming out up to 15 feet, in Costa Rican terminology that would be about 20 feet.

How did it end up going for you on the wave?

Well, even though it closed on me, there were no major consequences.

Why were you in this area?

Based on our annual trips, it can be said that sometimes I went to Hawaii, other times to Indonesia, Mexico, or the Maldives.

In Costa Rica, what do you consider to be the most similar swell to this one that you have surfed?

Waves like that are incomparable; we're talking about Hawaii, it's very difficult to make comparisons.

Surfing Costa Rica - Gilbert Brown in Hawaii.

Interview with Tony Roberts:

What's so special about this photo?

It was a huge day, I consider it the biggest day of that month several years ago, it was quite big breaking on the second reef.

Where did they stay during the trip?

We stayed at the Quiksilver house with Latin American surfers like Gabriel Villarán and Magnum Martínez. Bruce Irons, Jaime O'Brien, and several others were also there.

During all the time you had working with Gilbert, what impressed you most about him?

What always impressed people about Gilbert was his versatility as a surfer; he could surf any type of wave, big or small. He's very brave, and people identified with him. When we traveled to different parts of the world, people admired his skills and were amazed, even wondering where those guys learned to surf so well. That's when we explained that there are heavy waves in the Caribbean off Costa Rica, and everywhere we went, both Gilbert and his brother Ronald always surfed very well.

Surfing Costa Rica - Gilbert Brown in Hawaii.

You can find video footage of this and other trips on Tony Roberts' "Real Surf Stories" YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/RealSurfStories

Written by: Enrique Hernández

General Management: Marco Montero