Patrick Gudauskas grew up in a highly competitive house. That’s just how it is when you’re the oldest of three surf-crazed brothers in San Clemente, California. (He’s three-minutes older than twin-brother Dane, and a few years older than Tanner.) Their dad, Tom Gudauskas, is a longtime surf-industry magnate who indoctrinated his boys into the lifestyle early. Naturally, Pat was never lacking for a surf partner, especially since you can’t even shake your towel out in San Clemente without spraying a former, current, of future tour star. But even while Pat was taking national titles as an amateur he never exactly owned the headlines at home. Besides, he and his brothers seemed inseparable, and whether by friends, peers, or the media, they were always viewed as a unit. To that end, it was fitting that they were surfing in the same heat against each other when Pat formally qualified for the Championship Tour at Sunset beach in 2009. His versatile approach served him well during his rookie season. He pulled the first-ever rodeo flip during his march to the quarterfinals in Tahiti that year. In 2012, when the Fiji event was controversially called off due to massive surf, Pat was one of only a few standouts who stuck around and caught bombs at Cloudbreak. But during that season and the next couple he struggled to stay afloat on tour, and after missing two events in 2013, he missed the cut. But Gudauskas, an eternal optimist, never got down. In the four years since he’s turned a lot of his energy toward giving back along with his family. They formed the Positive Vibe Warriors foundation to educate kids on water safety, promote ocean health and simply spread the family stoke. They’re efforts have been incredible, too. This winter, a couple months after finally earning his way back on the Championship Tour, Pat joined Tanner and Dane to deliver more than 300 boards to underprivileged kids in South Africa. The joy he gets out of those efforts is by far his biggest thrill today, providing him a different kind of fuel as he heads back out onto the global stage.