Billy Kemper doesn’t scare easily.
As Big Wave World Tour Champion and 4-time winner of the Peahi Challenge, he is one of the greatest big wave surfers of all time. But as Kemper lay in a hospital bed in a rudimentary Morcoccan hospital, watching the doctors examine a blurry X-ray of his pelvis with the light of a cell phone, he was terrified. Kemper had just suffered a horrific wipeout during a surf session at a powerful Moroccan point break, and despite the blurry X-ray and flickering light, the crack in his pelvis was there for all to see. With the full extent of his injuries still uncertain, he was rushed to a larger hospital in Casablanca, where higher quality imaging confirmed his broken pelvis and collapsed lung, as well a litany of other debilitating injuries. Only upon his return to the United States by privately chartered medical flight did further imaging reveal the ligament damage to his knee – ACL, MCL, meniscus – all gone. He was lucky to be alive. But would he surf again? Spoiler alert! He was already back in the water by June, catching some easy ones in Waikiki with his family. Though the road ahead may be uncertain, the top of the podium is clearly where Kemper wants to see himself again.
There it was – a thing of beauty.
"It traveled from hundreds of miles away to meet me here at this moment. On this glassy evening, this one wave came to me. It was the perfect mile-long wave, a barreling behemoth point break just waiting for me to match its energy."


It was a heavy time.
I grew up under the shadows of some heavy hitters, including my brother, who I lost when I was eight to drugs. This made me who I am – it taught me to dig deep in the most challenging times. I’ve always fought for it. Now, there’s a flow to everything. Every day, I train harder than I ever have. I wake up and start my day with XPT pool training and breathwork up at Laird Hamilton’s and Gabby Reece’s facility. Next, I head to the Mamba Academy for physical therapy and bodywork. Then I drive 100 miles to Newport Beach to work with Dr. G to tie everything together. Some days, I head to the W Training Facility (at Medterra headquarters) to work on full-body strength and conditioning.
CBD is now something I live by.
I am continuing to use it daily not only myself, but for everyone in my family. We are believers in CBD.