“You get the one or two hotheads that show up”

Chula Vista native Zachary O’Hara, an 18-year-old surf instructor at the San Diego Surf School, talks about nearby Ocean Beach as well as his local break in Imperial Beach.

While his go to spot since starting surfing at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has been Imperial Beach, O’Hara says the temperament of the local surfers in OB can be hit and miss.

“From what I’ve heard they are kind of territorial a little bit,” said O’Hara. “I heard there’s a lot of competition out here, it sure seems like it too.”

Imperial Beach seems more welcoming according to O’Hara, although tensions can still flare in the water and on the beach.

“Everyone seems pretty chill,” said O’Hara. “You get the one or two hotheads that show up, but from what I know everyone is pretty much chill.”

On a tense day, two of these hotheads crossed paths as O’Hara recounts. Things got nasty as violence broke out.

“This one guy got pushed off his wave and then pulled a pocketknife out of the sleeve on his wetsuit,” O’Hara said. “He cut someone’s leash as they were going by. There was an argument on the beach after and both guys just stormed off.”