It is here, the Quo Vadis of the surfing world, the Coolangatta Coliseum, the sun, the blue water, the bikinis, the high-octane-est shredding on the planet.  I too am here, enthusiastic cub reporter, unashamed surf fan, anticipating sunburn, exhausted from the gladiatorial duel for a parking space, desperate for a thread to tug into a coherent story.  For the Gold Coast Pro, former dream tour kick off and low-key trade show bacchanal, has since been reincarnated as the first event of the Challenger series — a symbol of regional growth-of-sport and a cautionary tale for pro surfer dre ..read more

“When we got to a port we ended up trading our beer for ice cream. It wasn’t that kind of trip.” Nate Lawrence has been capturing the world’s best surfers for 25 years*. In that time, he’s witnessed a lot — some things he can share, others would probably land a few dozen people in prison. But when asked what’s the best surfing he’s seen over this quarter-century, Nate narrowed it down to two trips: Japan in 2011 (filming for Dear Suburbia) and a plague-induced empty Mentawais trip in 2020 (filming for Reckless Isolation). Two trips full of 8-hour sessions, god-tier surf, and an elite cast of s ..read more

Berlin’s legendary Berghain is renowned as one of the most challenging nightclubs to get into. Crowds will queue for hours in the frigid, bleak winter air of the German capital, with very slim chances of making their way inside. However, if Sven gives you the nod, you’re free to come and go as you please for the entirety of the weekend. A single stamp on your wrist is all you’ll need to skip the line. Roll up a sleeve, and back into the bass-filled, darkened halls you go. The World Surf League’s main bouncer, Jessi Miley-Dyer, has taken great care before administering her final rights of passa ..read more

Berlin’s fabled Berghain stands as one of the most daunting nightclubs to gain entry to. Crowds will queue for hours in the frigid, bleak winter air of the German capital, with very slim chances of making their way inside. However, if Sven gives you the nod, you’re free to come and go as you please for the entirety of the weekend. A single stamp on your wrist is all you’ll need to skip the line. Roll up a sleeve, and back into the bass-filled, darkened halls you go. The World Surf League’s main bouncer, Jessi Miley-Dyer, has used her stamp sparingly, granting only four surfers the opportunity ..read more

“The interesting thing about coaching,” said Aussie cricket great Ric Charlesworth, “is that you have to trouble the comfortable, and comfort the troubled.” Glenn “Micro” Hall — the good-natured, intelligent, 5’5″ (hence the nickname) family man who fought his way through a decade of WQS warfare to qualify for the CT at the ripe age of 31 — is now one of the premiere surf coaches in the world; an expert in both troubling and comforting the surfers he works with. And now, adding to his list of pros — Rio Waida, Tyler Wright, Molly Picklum, Lakey Peterson — he has a promising new pupil, the ..read more

“It was just a little insider. She just missed the chip-in and jumped. It looked pretty standard but I guess she was right in the bad zone. I reckon there’s a bonus ledge there that has wrapped up a lot of crew over the years,” West Oz filmmaker Tom Jennings told Stab.  Three days after being cut from the Championship Tour, Sophie Mcculloch had far more pressing matters to deal with than booking the next available flight to Snapper.  On finals day in WA, Sophie crossed the 500-meter ditch to the north of Main Break to surf the dearly-missed righthand cement mixer known as The Box. Af ..read more

Before Caity Simmers bested Molly Picklum in the 2024 Pipeline Pro final, she talked about how difficult it was to catch waves in the freesurfs leading up to the event. With the entire men’s and women’s CT (51 surfers) plus an array of locals bumping elbows at the world’s most coveted peak, one would be forgiven for looking elsewhere to avoid 97 heads in the water.  Like one of Homer’s epics, the opening scene of O’Neill’s annual North Shore edit starts in medias res, with no preamble or setup, and Caity riding two gorgeous Backdoor waves. Rocking her black-banded Borst and a prototype O ..read more

“It was just a little insider. She just missed the chip in and jumped. It looked pretty standard but I guess she was right in the bad zone. I reckon there’s a bonus ledge there that has wrapped up a lot of crew over the years,” West Oz filmmaker Tom Jennings told Stab.  Three days after being cut from the Championship Tour, Sophie Mcculloch had far more pressing matters to deal with than booking the next available flight to Snapper.  On finals day in WA, Sophie crossed the 500-meter ditch to the north of Main Break to surf the dearly-missed righthand cement mixer known as The Box. Af ..read more

David Batty wasn’t chosen by producers as someone to mic up and follow for Make Or Break. Or any other sports doco for that matter. Partly because he wasn’t a professional surfer on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour at the time of filming MOB — but mainly, because he wouldn’t convey the emotional ‘narratives’ that modern sports ‘storytelling’ demands.  Batty’s story is better than many, mind. When England faced Argentina in the France ‘98 World Cup Round of 16 match in St Etienne, the game got off to a flying start. It was level at 2-2 when David Beckham was sent off at halftime ..read more

Despite its top-shelf substance, the infrequent cadence of Mikey February’s Sonic Souvenirs has left many surf content fiends digging fingernails into forearms. The semi-elusiveness of its main character has created a sitch where scarcity triggers curiosity — the more they run away, the more we’ll run after them, etc. Today, rather unexpectedly, Mikey February dropped his first release under Spearhead Unlimited, “a platform for creative freedom, collaboration, and experimentation.” Cat’s out of the bag! Simply put, in ONZA! Mikey spends a day at a Mexican point doing exactly what you’d expect ..read more