Professional surfer Jojo Roper is always on the hunt for the “biggest, best” wave.

That goal took the La Jolla resident to Northern Californias Mavericks surf break, famed for its huge waves. In the span of 36 hours in March, Roper left the waters of Fiji, switched his clothing and gear in his hometown of San Diego and hopped on a flight to San Francisco for his date with destiny near the town of Half Moon Bay.

Tired and on the verge of sickness, Roper rode a wave that later would grant him global recognition in the surfing world.

“I wake up at 5 and get ready to go surf, jet-lagged as all hell, two hours of sleep,” Roper said. “I was such a zombie, but the waves were huge. The adrenaline just kicked in and everything happened.”

Roper hit the bowl of the wave, which he estimated to be 40 to 50 feet tall, as the bottom of it “scooped out.” After almost falling off his board five times, he emerged from the other end. His feelings afterward? “Stoked.”

Tackling that behemoth wave, photographed by Fred Pompermayer, earned Roper the prestigious Mens Paddle-in Wave of the Year award in this year’s Surfer Big Wave Challenge at an Oct. 19 ceremony in Nazaré, Portugal. Roper also had a top-three finish in the Men’s Surfer of the Year category.

Twelve surfers from across the globe were honored for their achievements. Roper was one of two San Diego natives up for awards, along with Encinitas-based Women’s Surfer of the Year nominee Katie McConnell.

Big-wave surfer Jojo Roper is pictured Nov. 4 at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Roper made sure to highlight his hometown in his acceptance speech, telling the crowd “This one’s for San Diego.”

And San Diego has played an integral role in Roper’s life. He said he and his family “bounced between” Bay Park, Pacific Beach and La Jolla when he was younger. His father, Joe, was a professional surfer and currently operates Joe Roper’s Surfboard Repair in Kearny Mesa.

Jojo Roper, now 35, began surfing at age 3. When hes not chasing a swell or competing, he works at his family’s surf shop.

He said the large, passionate surfing community in San Diego made him want “to ring the bell” for his hometown.

“Everybody around me is a hard, hard worker, and in the whole community of surfing, you want to impress your community and do good for San Diego,” Roper said. “If you’re surrounded by all that positivity and everyone pushing for you, it gives you a little extra.”

Ropers path to big-wave stardom did not come without adversity. In fact, his surfing career hit a major snag in January 2023, when he suffered a broken back and a torn labrum in his hip in a wipeout off Todos Santos, Mexico.

The injury set Roper on a long journey to recovery. Over several months, he spent time resting and became “crazy religious” about physical therapy. His “savior,” he said, was La Jolla Shores Physical Therapy, where he worked with Stephanie Hoffman.

“I worked for seven months just to go surfing again, Roper said. So that was a reality check. I was like ‘I love everything I do and I just want to come back stronger and better than ever.”

After his physical therapy and going to a gym, Roper made a return to surfing in late summer 2023. He felt stiff at first, but being back in the water was “amazing,” he said.

What followed was a payoff for his hard work.

“You go through hell to do better, and I think I probably had the best winter of my life last year,” Roper said. “So you definitely learn a lot about yourself, what you can handle and take on. You get hurt along the way, but you gotta rise above it.”

Roper said he hopes to keep chasing bigger, better waves and explore exotic surfing locations such as Ireland and Spain. One of his next destinations is Oahus North Shore in Hawaii, site of the 2024-25 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, which is scheduled to run Dec. 14 through March 13 when wave heights consistently reach 40 feet.

Roper said his invitation to what is considered the “Super Bowl of Surfing” is one of his biggest accomplishments.

“The only way to truly etch your way into the memory banks of big-wave surfing is just having a wave that stands the test of time,” Roper said. “So that’s my goal. Maybe I have already, but I want to do better than that.”

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