By Jake Howard

Big ups to San Clemente aqua warriors Eden and Zion Walla, who just inked deals with Rip Curl and are now officially on The Search.

“I’m so proud right now,” said Eden after signing her new contract.

“So stoked,” said a beaming Zion.

Wildly successful among the NSSA ranks, the brother-and-sister duo have a savvy competitive act, but that’s just the start of it. Pulling into barrels, chasing swells, driving boats, diving for fish, they’re full-on water people. They’re also adept rock climbers, because variety is the spice of life.

To be transparent, I’m on the digital marketing team at Rip Curl and couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to work with Eden, Zion and their family.

In 2018, they showed up at the Gudauskas brothers’ annual Stoke-O-Rama surf contest, and while not much bigger than a sand flea at the time, they got out there and got after it with the surf pumping. It was pretty obvious they were going places—and preferably in big waves.

The Walla siblings play an integral role in the emergence of the next generation of local legends that includes friends and competitors around them, including Tanner Sandvig in San Clemente and Marlo Harris in Dana Point.

Their crew is tight, and the sky truly is the limit when it comes to surfing’s future in the area.

If you have a candidate for Grom of the Week, we want to know. Send an email to jakehoward1@gmail.com.