Liam O'Callaghan - Underground Charger

LIAM WOULD GO: A SUNSET BEACH STORY TO REMEMBER

With a quickly rising northwest swell, my biggest fear this day was the ominous clean up set. About every hour, the entire lineup at Hawaii’s Sunset Beach would direct their attention west, gazing upon a fearsome expression of God’s attributes in the wild pacific – the west bowl cleanup set. Each clean up set was bigger than the last and at this point in our sunny afternoon session, the waves were pushing 20-25 ft on the face. Because of the rising swell, the lineup decided it was best to sit further out. I paddled up Sunset Point about a quarter mile out to sea. In this new position I thought I’d be safe from the west bowl clean up set. But once I saw the corduroy lines breaking on the outer reefs nearly half a mile out, I knew I wasn’t. Surfers to my left and right began to aggressively paddle out. When the first fearsome set wave came in, courageous surfers around me turned their boards to shore with intent to catch this huge wave, but each turned back realizing they would either be too late to take off or too deep to go right. As for myself, I barely made it over this huge wave. As I went over the top, I looked down and my eyes opened wide. To my surprise, I saw my best friend Liam O’Callaghan quickly turning to catch this wave. He put his head down and paddled harder than I’ve ever seen him paddle on his 9’6 big wave gun. I didn’t know what he was doing, “surely he is too late and too deep to make this wave” I thought to myself. I think the rest of the lineup thought the same. But in Liam-like fashion, he proved us all wrong and turned left. Sunset is a known right. If you go left you risk becoming flattened on a sharp coral reef. This didn’t hinder Liam… After the wave roared towards the rocks and sand, I was expecting to see his board tombstoning in the impact zone; instead I saw him fly out of the wave still standing after the wave exploded on the sharp reef behind him. 

It took me a while to see this story as more than just a cool surf story. Rather, it speaks volumes to who Liam is at his core. When other people saw limitations, Liam saw possibility. It is my goal to offer a glimpse of Liam’s touching surfing story through this lens. 

BEGINNINGS

Liam was born into a loving household in Carlsbad, California. His story can’t be told without knowing his parents - who Liam says are his greatest inspiration. His father grew up as a surfer in Long Island (shout out to our Degree 33 Family in New York). Like Liam, his father is strong, kind, and respectful to all. His mother is warm, compassionate, and the kind of person who makes anyone feel like family. Anyone who knows Liam knows that these traits definitely rubbed off on him. 

At the age of 3, Liam was diagnosed with Autism. As Liam grew older, he faced much adversity in the form of bullying. He has been called names, he has been told that he won’t find friends, he was looked down upon by the “popular” kids in school, told that he wasn’t smart or talented and so much more. These were some of the first “limits” that what Liam calls “ignorant people” placed on him. According to Liam, what got him through these tough times were his loving parents, his friends, family & surfing. Since his dad first put him on a surfboard, Liam was hooked.

Surfing became an outlet for Liam. Rather than lashing out in anger or trying to fight bullies, Liam would go bash the lip or pull into a closeout somewhere. When asked what his longest surf session was, Liam said “10 hours, maybe more.” When asked how many hours he has put into surfing, he simply said, “I couldn’t count that.” As someone who has watched Liam’s surfing progression since middle school, I’ve always known there was something special about Liam’s surfing. In middle school, Liam learned high performance maneuvers on a shortboard. I saw him stick 18 carving 360’s at Lowers in a single surf session. In early high school he learned how to powerfully maneuver big boards on a stand up paddle board. I’ve seen him turn a 4 inch thick 10’ stand up paddle board the way most surfers would turn a 6’2... it’s mind boggling. In the latter half of high school & into college, he has learned how to cross-step, nose-ride, drop knee and surf with style & flow on a high performance longboard - all while implementing the progression which he learned on his other boards. 

Liam ripping Cardiff Reef on his 9' Ultimate LOC Model

When asked who his high performance longboard inspiration is, Liam said that it was his close friend Shea Roney. Shea Roney is a highly acclaimed high performance longboard surfer in San Diego. Apart from Liam, I’ve never seen anybody turn a longboard the way Shea does. With the support of Shea, Liam delved into competitive surfing, and it didn’t take long for Liam to find success. I was there when Liam won his first contest in Ocean Beach. In round 1, Liam broke his board after a huge off the lip. Shea let Liam surf his board and on that board he won the event. Shea and I were teared up after this win. It meant more than good surfing to us. We saw that Liam knew he wasn’t held to the false limitations that the bullies placed on him. 

It wasn’t long before Liam wanted to move onto the next thing - Big Wave Surfing. This type of surfing is an entirely different beast compared to the classic surfing you’d see at sano and cardiff reef. This type of surfing requires grit and determination, strength and grace - all of which Liam possesses from his experiences in and out of the water.  

BLACKS PROVING GROUND

Liam’s entry into surf treacherous waves started at Black Beach. On a big day, Blacks beach is known by many to be the heaviest wave in San Diego. Being directed by an underwater canyon, swells marching towards the shore at Blacks move faster and with more power than other San Diego surf spots. They’re also much bigger, which Liam says in the best part. At Black’s Liam has learned the art of getting pounded. With no channel and a fierce rip current, you could find yourself paddling for over 30 minutes just to make it out the back – and on a 9’ to 10’ board, Liam didn’t duck dive. This caused Liam to become the strongest paddler I’ve ever seen. Seriously… he turns heads when he paddles. Blacks beach became a stepping stone for much bigger endeavors. 

Just last year (2024), Liam surfed one of the best waves of his life at Blacks; an ominous double overhead plus sand bottom slab that provided him an amazing barrel. The way he caught this wave is, again, unique to Liam. Liam is known for sitting out the back and waiting for the infamous Black's beach "Canyon Set." These are waves that only come a few times a session but are much bigger and stronger than the rest since they are  funneled through a deep water canyon off the shore of the La Jolla coastline. Most people are terrified of these waves, so they do everything they can to avoid them... Not Liam. (I certainly am at least). But for Liam, the canyon set section is his play ground. He likes to sit as far out as you can go, and when these big clean up sets come in, he is always in the perfect spot to catch them. This is exactly what happened on this wave. The green water gem a-framed before him, and with no hesitation Liam turned around, paddled at super-sonic speed, and dropped into an immediate barrel section. Liam traveled the tube as far as it could go until an oncoming lip nailed him in the neck. This wave clamped before he could make it out, but Liam is confident a make-able blacks cavern is still out there for him. 

TODOS SANTOS X MAVERICKS

Every time the swell direction is right, Liam travels to the infamous Todos Santos, otherwise known as Killers. Just last winter, Liam surfed the biggest wave of his life there... soon followed by the scariest big wave pounding of his life. Regarding the first, Liam dropped in on a 30ft set wave and made it safely to the channel. He's never experiences such a rush. Sooner after, the biggest wave of the day (35ft), broke directly on his head. Liam, who was sitting deep toward the rocks, was unable to paddle out in time to get through the fearsome wave. He kept calm, trusted in his training, and attempted to dive beneath the wave to make it to safety. The wave, however, had different plans. Liam ruptured his ear drum after getting pounded to the bottom of the ocean. Another wave came in which caused a two wave hold down. Liam recounts after that he never felt so close to death, but he also never felt so alive. Fortunately, Liam was picked up by the ski and was able to heal after weeks of rest. Sure enough, he was back in the water without any questions or doubts. Here is an image of the wave which caught Liam inside. Liam, who is offscreen, took the full power of the lip directly onto his head. 

This adversity did not stop Liam. Soon after, Liam was invited to surf Mavericks for the first time with a fellow big wave friend. The waves were solid 35ft plus and incredibly windy. Liam reports that the waves were treacherous and nothing like he has ever seen before. To those unaware, Mavericks is on of the most, it not the most, dangerous big wave spot in the world. Razor sharp rocks align the entire inside section and the wave slabs over a shelf. The biggest swells that avail the California coast funnel directly to this reef, creating a wave that is essentially a 30-60ft inverted cavern. On a clean day, the wave is impossible to surf for 99% of surfers out there, but on a windy day, it is nearly impossible for everyone. Nonetheless, Liam tried his odds and paddled out. Liam reports that the only people catching waves were tow in surfers, but even though he didn't catch a wave, Liam gained valuable insight into the raw power of the wave. This coming 2025/2026 season, Liam is planning more trips to Mavericks.

LIAM DOESN'T DO THIS ALONE

Just like his high performance longboard surfing endeavors, Liam is not alone on this big wave journey. Liam credits his improvement to his close friend Mitch Farmer. Mitch is truly a one of a kind person. He is a __ year old with the energy & stoke of a 20 year old and is one of the kindest, most supportive people you could ever meet. He is also an underground charger. For these reasons, Mitch has become a mentor to Liam in a lot of ways. But according to Mitch, it is much more than that. Mitch see’s Liam as an inspiration, a fellow big wave companion, and a friend. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of their friendship is that they have each other's back. When surfing huge Todos Santos or maxing Blacks, they keep an eye on each other. This was clearly seen when Liam saved Mitch after a big wipeout in San Clemente. Mitch broke his ribs and Liam was the first to save him from the impact zone. Mitch would have certainly done the same thing if the situation was reversed. 

To survive huge waves, Liam trains hard and responsibly, but definitely not like anyone you’ve ever seen. For balance and strength, Liam does squats on an indo board while carrying a heavy chair over his head. He also rides a bike, but not for any everyday stroll.  Liam rode 30 miles down the coast and has a goal of biking 100 miles in a week. Another time last year, Liam paddled 6 miles on an 8’ softtop… in the dark. On top of all this, Liam does pool training with Mitch for breath holds and of course… he gets in the water for lengthy surf sessions that only Liam could get away with without getting in trouble.

Recently, he also started professional breath hold and swim training through Deep End Fitness. This provided professionalism and expertise from what otherwise might be considered an unorthodox regimen. 

A SURFER LIKE NO OTHER

To say "Liam does it all" is an understatement. One big waves, he possesses a style reminiscent of Greg "The Bull" Knoll, with a modern high performance twist. On longboards, he was carved his own path by combining critical nose rides, trim, and flow, with an extremely powerful approach. I've never seen a longboard moved around with so much speed and torque, especially when performing one of his "drop knee" cutbacks. Liam also recently started kneeboarding. So far he's already surfed "The Wedge" on big days, and has even made the finals in the Huntington Beach Kneeboarding international championships. 

Now Liam sets his sights on big wave paddle boarding; and I know that nothing will stop him.

It is this kind of approach that makes Liam unique. The term, “special needs” has never been in his vocabulary, only “special abilities.” Just like the lip of a wave he’s riding, Liam blows limitations out of the water. The most amazing part of all of this is that he is just getting started. In the close future, his eyes are set on Mavericks, Jaws, & Nazare. With a drive like this, Liam will be shaking up the surfing world more than any wave can. He’s not interested in trends, in the pursuit of “cool,” or flashy new tricks with the goal of instagram likes. Rather, Liam marches to the beat of his own drum. When longboarding trends began to embrace the single fin, Liam opted for the 2 +1. When big wave guns and performance boards started getting narrower and thinner, Liam wanted thicker and wider to match his style. His philosophy is that every surfer should ride what they want to ride and surf how they want to surf. He doesn’t surf for accolades and recognition, but humility comes first. He simply surfs because it’s fun, and he enjoys sharing it with his friends. For this reason, we believe Liam captures the essence of surfing.

In addition to all these things, Liam spends his summers as an Encinitas Lifeguard, a fitting endeavor for Liam. Even after 8 hour shifts in the sun, constantly rescuing people at one of San Diego's most crowded beaches, Liam is never tired. If you are visiting San Diego in the summer and head to Moonlight Beach or D-Street, you are in good hands with Liam. 

In the process of writing this, he also just purchased a Harley Davidson that he plans on installing a board rack on (just when I thought Liam could not get any cooler). 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT LIAM

I wanted to save the most important aspect of who Liam is last: his character. Nobody feels judged around Liam, but only welcomed. He sticks up for those deemed as outcast by the world, he has a joy that has radiated throughout North County and beyond, and he has overcome much adversity and trial. Before winning heats, he lost multiple, before successfully making a drop on a big wave, he first wiped out, before becoming known and respected by many in San Diego, he was bullied and told that he would have no friends. To summarize, Liam always paddles back out. The waves of the world won’t stop him. 

Liam credits his character to his Lord, Savior & Friend, Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, Liam knows that his personal value will never be in big waves or accomplishments, but only in the creator of the waves and fountain of all things. No bully can take this away from him.

Liam joined the Degree 33 family as an ambassador last year after I (Jake Hennessy) introduced him to our owner Trevor. We are truly honored to be a part of his journey and we know there is so much in store for him. To stay updated with his story, follow his instagram @Liam_Vincent_Ocallaghan

If you are inspired by this blog and think it may be an inspiration to others, we would love you to spread the word or repost on social media.

Also, to see Liam in action on his favorite board, the Ultimate Longboard, click here.