DOB: February 11, 1998
Hometown: Durban, South Africa
Stance: Regular
Sponsors: O'Neill wetsuits and clothing, DVS footwear, Vestal watches and DaKine accessories

Very few surfers' Tour debuts have been as hyped and proclaimed as Jordy Smith's, but at just 19-years-old, South Africa's (or perhaps the world's) next big thing has already got some competitive clout to back it up. The 6'1 Durbanite put the ASP Top 45 on notice when he made the 2006 Billabong Pro J-Bay podium (he finished 3rd) as a wildcard and he hammered it home with a 2nd place finish at the ASP WQS six star at Sunset Beach to become the 2006 Van's Triple Crown of Surfing "Rookie of the Year."

Jordy has since laid claim to the 2006 ASP Junior Championship and 2007 WQS No. 1 titles and has his sights firmly focused on that other series title ' the one you get for finishing 1st on the ASP World Tour. Dubbed the 'South African Slater,' Smith is already shouldering his homeland's hopes that he'll be their next Shaun Tomson and is clearly a competitor poised to lead the next generation of up-and-coming surfers as they take on their heroes.

Josh Loya is best known for charging hard in big surf at Mavericks and in Hawaii. Unlike many of his big wave counterparts, who struggle to survive heavy drops with a stinkbug survival stance, Loya applies his patent style and grace under pressure no matter what size the surf may be. Loya’s well-rounded approach is the result of his upbringing in Santa Cruz, where the ability to surf waves of any size well is an expectation. After making the finals for two consecutive years at the Cold Water Classic and finishing 4th, Loya is hungry to bring the event win home to Santa Cruz.

Kieran Horn’s role as the O’Neill Surf Team Manager is a busy job. But even the responsibility of keeping a long list of hard-ripping pros in-line, doesn’t prevent him from showing everyone in the water who’s boss. Horn is Santa Cruz’s most stylish surfer, and his smooth wrapping turns are the product of years of grooming on the areas many fine pointbreaks. Currently Horn sits at 4th on the 2008 Macy’s California Trifecta Ratings— putting him in perfect position to apply his local knowledge as he heads home to the Lane. With a 2nd place finish at last year’s Cold Water Classic and an event win in 2003— Horn looks to be the favorite at this year’s contest and a contender for the Macy’s California Trifecta win

Sharing a name with one of the greatest surfers to ever live can be a tough row to hoe, but Santa Cruz’s Nat young seems to be handling the task just fine. Building on an ’07 season that saw him finish 15th on the ASP North American Junior Tour, as well as a big win at the Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championships during the O’Neill Cold Water Classic in his home town. Perhaps even more impressive was Nat making the quarter-finals of the Cold Water Classic losing to ’07 WQS #1 in the world Jordy Smith and Santa Cruz local stand out Josh Loya, not a bad result for a 16 year old. Young plans on buckling down in 2008 and applying what he learned in the hyper competitive lineups of his hometown to his routine in competition.

After falling off the WCT in 2006, Roy narrowly requalified for the tour in 2007, by winning the WQS 6-Star Prime Reef Hawaiian Pro in pumping surf. Since Roy’s dramatic finish, he continues to gain competitive experience surfing against the world’s best. As the year winds down, Roy has managed to climb to 24th on the WCT ratings. The Kauai native is comfortably seated to requalify for the ‘CT and has nothing to lose heading into the Cold Water Classic. Powers has consistently proven to be significant competitive threat in big surf—if the Lane turns on, look for Powers to be a strong contender.

Orange County is well known as the epicenter for the surf industry. That's why some thinks it's odd that only two So-Cal locals have made their way to the Dream Tour, one of them Huntington Beach's very own Tim Reyes. Reyes' first two years on tour saw enormous potential and like a locomotive picking up speed, his results got consistently better and he soon found himself well within the top 10. The Reyes juggernaut seemed unstoppable and looked to be HB's next threat for the crown when disaster struck.

Reyes suffered a horrific wipeout surfing Steamers in the O'Neill Coldwater Classic in Santa Cruz, tore both his ACL and MCL in his right knee and was put on standby until he fully recovered. Even though he fell out of competition in '06, he had a high enough ranking to qualify him for '07. And while last year he couldn't surf enough events to pack in the points, he was still awarded one of the three wildcards for the '08 season. Reyes is fearless. The bigger the wave, the harder he charges and we're more than ready to see him in full force and in good health this year.