“What annoys me about Liam O’Brien? The fact that he surfs so much. If the waves are cooking, he’s the biggest frother. He will spend the most amount of hours in the water.” “He’s a little bit stubborn. He charges like a nutcase and he’s a gentle lad.” “It’s not his first rodeo on this planet, is ...
“What annoys me about Liam O’Brien? The fact that he surfs so much. If the waves are cooking, he’s the biggest frother. He will spend the most amount of hours in the water.”
“He’s a little bit stubborn. He charges like a nutcase and he’s a gentle lad.”
“It’s not his first rodeo on this planet, is it? He’s definitely an old soul in a young man’s body. A wizard incarnate.”
Those quotes are just a handful of insights peppered throughout Friction of Perception, the new biopic of Liam O’Brien. For many surf fans, LOB simply appeared one day out of the ether onto the 2023 Championship Tour (He qualified in 2022 but was injured during a Pipeline freesurf hours before the event and missed the season.)
But the 26-year-old from Burghleigh Heads has a deep skillset and personality to boot. The testimony of those who know him, paired with the impressive variety of waves he surfs, offers more than enough evidence. In a way, Friction of Perception is a perfect example of a writer's mantra — show, don’t tell. Liam, with the help of editor and friend Darcy Ward, peeled back the curtain in the best way.
Beachbreaks in Portugal, slabs in Western Australia, and the marque barrels in Tasmania, Tahiti and Fiji, there’s a lot to like here. LOB’s pointbreak style is as clear as zinc, but his poise in dangerous surf puts this film in another echelon.
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Seriously, how many other surfers on this year’s Championship Tour have sniffed the infamous ledge at Shipstern Bluff? He also packs Cloudbreak, sends it at Pipeline, then finishes the film off with stupifying waves at Teahupo’o.
Liam had a tough go on the 2025 CT, finishing 24th after Margaret River, two spots shy of clearing the mid-year cut. With Friction of Perception, he’s shown us that he’s much more than a comp guy. He’s one of the best surfers in the world. More importantly, he just seems like an all-around good bloke.
Related: Liam O’Brien on the Pacific Theatre of Dreams and Nightmares in ‘Friction of Perception’
‘He’s Got Something Special’: Liam O’Brien Drops Stunning Surf Film first appeared on Surfer on Aug 11, 2025
Category: General Sports
