When the banner by the judge’s tent flipped from green to yellow, junior Dylan Thomas knew that in just five minutes he would have to defend the reputation of the oldest surf shops in the South Bay. As the clock ticked down to 30 seconds, he strapped on his leash and slid his hand across the smooth rail of his surfboard. This was not any average surf competition. This was the South Bay Surf Shop Showdown, where old-fashioned community rivalries are settled. This was for bragging rights, and Thomas came to brag.

“I haven’t wanted to win a contest so badly in a long time,” he said. “Everyone comes to this contest, and there’s just so much respect riding on it.”

Thomas has been riding for ET Surfboards in Hermosa Beach for well over a year and represented the shop both times the competition has been held. The Showdown is put on by the Progressive Surf Group, with all proceeds going to the Adam Frand Foundation, and showcases surf teams from ET Surfboards, Dive ‘N Surf, Spyder Surfboards, Tyler Surfboards, Solutions, Soul Performance and ZJ Boarding House.

The competition is strictly invitational, and Thomas was honored to be the one surfer to represent ET in the juniors’ division.

“ET has a huge dynasty as the most respected surf shop in the South Bay. It’s just such a huge honor to ride for them at all. The fact that they consider me talented enough to ride for them in this is just insane,” he said.

Catching the first and largest wave of the heat, Thomas started strong with huge cutbacks all the way to shore and received a score of 5.5. His second wave scored a 6.5 and within the first five minutes he had a combined score large enough to seal his position in the finals.

“All I was thinking was not to screw up. You’re representing ET. You’re representing people that hook you up, give you stuff and expect you to perform in return,” Thomas said after the first heat.

Even though Thomas has experience competing as part of a team and being a top varsity surfer for Redondo, he felt added pressure during this latest competition.

“In this competition there’s so much added importance placed on performance because of how small a shop’s team has to be. Everyone has to do well for the team to be successful,” Thomas said.

During the juniors’ final, which took place later in the day, the waves became choppy and difficult to surf. Thomas placed third in both the heat and the entire division, blowing away memories of the first-round loss he experienced the year before. ET placed forth in the Showdown, and reigning champions Spyder Surfboards won first place and a trip to Mexico.

“I never thought I’d be doing this when I started surfing,” Thomas said. “I’m doing what I love and it’s just a huge boost to my confidence that a shop like ET has my back and at the same time expects me to have theirs.”