Johnny V.: "Luckily a bodyboarder saw me and said to kick out."

Name: Johnny V.

From: Pacific Beach

Location: Mission Beach Jetty

Occupation: Photographer/Videographer

Johnny V. was coming out of the water by the Mission Beach Jetty when I saw him.

He had the waves all to himself at 5 p.m. on this chilly April day.

"Today was kinda messy," he said, "I pulled a couple cutbacks, but mostly, I was just trying to stay in the pocket."

Johnny's trying to surf as much as he can before summertime, because "it's not going to be as good.

"I like it here because even on small days like today (two-footers), it's got a side wave that meets with the main wave, and makes this big bowl then jacks up."

I asked him how many boards he owns, and he responded "I have a quiver of five."

Today, he busted out his 5'8" Omni Slater.

"I thought it would be too much foam to duck-dive," he said, "but it was perfect."

Every morning, Johnny prays for some swell. He's surfed everywhere in the county and his most memorable waves were out at Black's one day. "They were four-five footers and crystal clear tubes," he said, "you could see the glass bottom, and you could see out of the wave .... bro, it was like being in a prism."

Then another weekend, he ventured outside of our county and went skim-boarding at the Wedge at Newport Beach. "It was like 25-30 footers, and I got held down wave after wave," he said. "Luckily a bodyboarder saw me and said to kick out, then go around, and come in. If it wasn't for that guy, I'd be dead."