Date of Birth: September 21, 1982

Best Known For: I guess right now it’s for beating Kelly in France with his ninth world title on the line. I’m working pretty hard to make sure that’s not the only thing I’ll be remembered for!

Local Spot: Avoca Point

My Crew: My family, my girl Beck, my friends at Avoca (they know who they are), all the Aussie guys on tour, my trainer Luke Waters and the Hurley pit crew Pat O and Mitch Ross

Board of Choice: JS does all my boards so I’m pretty lucky. I’ll generally have a dozen fresh ones in the garage between trips to try, not to mention all the favorites. My go-to board for competing is a 6'0” x 18.25” x 2.25” round square 

Dream Wave: I LOVE sand-bottom barrels

Ace hosts his first official training camp at Casurina

Over the weekend Ace Buchan hosted the first ever Ace Buchan Traing Camp together with the good guys at Surfing Australia. According to Ace and the 16 fresh little groms the weekend was a hit, some of the kids went as far as saying it was the best weekend ever! The waves were pretty fun, first day was kinda small but Sunday was perfect for the kids, 2 foot fun little off shore peaks, Ace said.

The weekend was fimed for Fuel TV and a clip will be coming to Hurley.com soon.

MR

Rob, Ace, Brett, Conner and Mitch Crews have a free-for-all. Video: Tom Aiello

Rob, Ace, Yadin and Brett do some RandD on the Bukit Peninsula. Video: Tom Aiello

A few images from the annual gathering in Cabo. Photos: Kevin Voegtlin

SIMA's annual Surf Summit is many things to many people. For some, it's an excuse to surf for four straight days. For others, it's an excuse to tie on the bandana and take advantage of the all-you-can-drink bar. And for many, it's an opportunity to connect with others and learn something about our ever-evolving industry. But for the majority, it's most likely a little bit of all of these. Here are just a few Hurley photographic highlights from this past week in Cabo. Stay tuned for more as they arrive in our Inbox. 

Rob Machado closes out the event with a chat with 1989 world champ Martin Potter. 

Pottz, Fernando Aguerre and Rob. 

Yadin, Brett and Jim, Tracy and Brittany Heritage. 

Ace, ASG President Norb Garrett, our boy Saxon and Fisher King Paul Gomez. 

Right to left: Pat O, Web, Jenna, Yadin and some guy called Bootleg. 

Ace had a strong, quarterfinal finish, while Conner and EG made the semis in the Pro Junior. Overall, a solid Hurley showing at one of the most high-performance events to date. Video: PK; Photos: Lallande

Video highlights from Saturday's Phantom party at Irvine Spectrum. Video: PK

Ace Buchan is now in the Round of 16 at the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro. He's doing it with hacks like these. Video: PK

Simpo's alley-oop puts him over the top in Round Two

The Rip Curl Pro at Bells can be a challenging event. Extended lay-days. Non-stop "festivals." A little chilly. But so far, our boys have survived the test. Round Two went yesterday in some chunky conditions at Thirteenth Beach, about 10 miles east of Bells. Due to the bleak conditions at the famed right point, organizers are looking at all of the surrounding area's options. 

Ace dominated his Round One heat, going straight to Round Three. Brett narrowly lost Round One, so he had to face Kekoa Bacalso in Round Two. It was classic California vs. Hawaiian battle, but Simpson found the conditions to be a lot closer to HB than Sunset Beach. toward the middle of the heat, he let a big alley-oop fly, stuck it, and netted a high 7 for the single maneuver. "I've had a tough couple of heats," he said. "Hopefully this last one gets me in rhythm again."

If true, it couldn't be better timing. Brett faces Adriano De Souza in the first heat of Round Three. Ace also has a tough one against small-wave maestro Jeremy Flores. 

But we have faith. If we've learned anything from Brett and Ace's stint at Bells so far, it's this: they're survivors. 

To see Brett's Round Two heat, go here and click on Heat 13.

Ace and Simpo give us the scoop on the famed point. Rip Curl Pro update: Ace won his first-round heat and goes straight to Rd. 3. Brett got second and will surf in Rd. 2. Video: Tom Aiello