“All the crumbs make a loaf of bread” – J. Smith, 2017 Rant Is there a more entertaining individual in pro surfing right now than Jordy Smith? I think not. He’s an incredible surfer, yes, but he’s also a world-class claim choreographer, a heart-on-your-sleeve emotional roller-coaster, a universal icon for hair stylists everywhere. And now, … Read more
“That’s the best conditions I’ve ever seen” – Kelly Slater consoling Conner Coffin after his re-surf loss to Jordy Smith. Rant *I sincerely apologise for the lateness in publishing this piece; my bastard internet providers have some sort of infrastructure issue and are making me wait a week before sending out a technician. This … Read more
If you could personify the three Australian events of the WSL tour, and put them on notice regarding their place in the 2018 season, who would you expect to step up to the plate and prove their worth? Which event would you have laid money on to metaphorically catch a 9+ wave in the dying … Read more
The West is Wild. “I love surfing this break, and just going fast and doing big turns.” And didn’t he just? You know: go fast, and do big turns. That’s exactly what John John did; and by gosh, he did it well. I don’t remember those turns for a few years back, but we can … Read more
Owen fricken Wright. Where did that come from? Who the hell cares; it was just so good to see that he’s still got it. Welcome back Owen! There’s been so much written about Owen’s comeback (and deservedly so) that I won’t waste too much time revisiting. Suffice to say that we certainly missed the boat … Read more
The Winnner Destiny: has there been a more over-used word in professional surfing these past 72 hours? Maybe it’s just my jaded world-view, but destiny is a bullshit concept that serves to undermine the true elements that lead to success (like focus, hard work, talent and maybe a bit of good fortune). Destiny Attained was … Read more
Congratulations are in order: Keanu Asing has taken a formidable list of more talented surfers (Medina, Florence, Slater, Buchan) and soundly beaten them through smart-if-somehwat-conservative competion surfing. It was, as he admitted himself, his first event win since his junior days (including a history of no outright wins during his QS days), so we can … Read more
Drama? Check. Controversy? You bet. Cutting edge surfing at it’s best? Heck yeah! Step inside and let’s take a look at what went down at the Trestles Hurley Pro… Trestles was won on the rail. For all of the talk about ramps, new-school-above-the-lip surfing and high performance expectations, it was the surfers with solid turns … Read more
JBay 2016: Florence and The Machine We’ve been ‘away’ from the surf-stats desks lately, travelling, catching some winter swells and watching a lot of contests on mobile devices. We’ll keep it short this time, but here’s the wash-up from JBay: • Mick is a machine. Never mind the busted ankle, unresolved shark issues, supposedly more … Read more
“Now I’m just thankful for every comp I get to get in and hopefully, if I do get back on tour next year, I can take the same mentality and do it” – Sebastian Zietz Is 2016 going down as the year of ‘mentality’ in professional surfing? Wilko has seemingly changed his and has been … Read more