Home of, The Regular Guy and Adventure
Every winter on the North Shore, Surfline run the “wave of the winter” contest. Through video submission, surfers enter their best waves surfed along the North Shore over the winter for a $25’000 first prize. This season saw some crazy entries, but it was Mason Ho and Jamie O’Brien who fought it out for first place, both with crazy waves at Pipeline. Check out what happened…
He has been the Golden Boy of South African surfers for years and many ask the question, why has he not won a World Title yet? There are plenty of questions and answers on this subject, but I am only going to go into why this could be the year of Jordy Smith.
In 2014 he had a reasonable start and then somewhat of a bad run, including nearly drowning at Teahupoo when being nailed by the biggest set of the day. That all turned around though at Trestles, where we once again were treated to the site of an indomitable Mr Smith. In that performance the World was reminded again of how good this guy surfs and why he is known as the Power Broker.
Going into 2015, Jordy is settled in California, married life seems to be agreeing with him and the right hand points of Southern California certainly lend themselves to his style of surfing. Every time we see an interview or a social media post, it is of a happy and very content looking man and this will be ringing the alarm bells for the other surfers on tour. Why? Because a happy and relaxed Jordy Smith, is a very, very dangerous competitor!
With Snapper Rocks starting tomorrow and the Gold Coast having enjoyed a stellar warm up for the event, you can be sure that not one of the surfers at the Quiksilver Pro are going to want to see Jordy warming up before their heats. The wave is made for his fast and hard approach and he has perfected his tube riding over the last few seasons in Mozambique. If Jordy wins Snapper, you can be sure he will carry that momentum into Margaret River and Bells Beach (Both venues he has done well at before and could easily win.) My call, if he makes semis or higher, World Surf League watch out!
But don’t just take my word on it, watch the video below to see how he has been spending his time in California warming up for the start of the year. Pretty dam mental surfing!
Last year the Brazilians finally got their first World Champion, now it’s time for South Africa. Good Luck Jordy! You have a nation behind you!
Working Class from Jordy Smith on Vimeo.
The kid has been making name this year, especially when he went out and won the Volcom Pro Junior at Cloudbreak in front of a global web audience. I have been lucky enough to spend some time with Slade this year and I can tell you 3 things about him. First, he is a really nice guy and very polite. Second, he is a big boy! Third, he surfs like a man possessed while at the same time looking like a highly surgical surfer. Bonus information – the Dolls love him! haha The Moms and ladies at all the Junior events this year literally swoon for him. So put that all together and I reckon you may just have been introduced to a future Champion!
Check out this great profile from the latest Boardriders Episode…
The North Shore season is upon us and once again Surfline are running their “Wave of the Winter” video competition for the best ride over the whole Winter Season. A couple of South Africans had entries last year for the big $25’000 first prize, including Josh Redman. This year there are a couple of Saffas on the Shore, so it will be interesting to see if anyone can lay claim to the prize? Check out the teaser video and then when you have some time the full movie of all last year’s entries.
It’s weird, a few nights ago I dreamed pretty vividly that I opened a Mega Ramp park and started skating it… at 35 that is pretty much a pipe dream, but then this video came across my desk and you got to just wonder!
Among the most influential skateboarders the industry has ever seen, Bob Burnquist is still innovating. In his new webisode series, Burnquist grants his fans exclusive access to the private domain in which so many of his contributions to skateboarding were born, his backyard in Southern California, better known as “Dreamland.” Hence, “The Dreamland Series.”
To lead off the series, we see something from Burnquist that hasn’t been seen since 2010: a full-length video part filled with never-before-seen footage. And, the Hip. Yes, he added a Hip feature onto his personal MegaRamp. A Hip that starts up on a hill and sends him across a 15-foot gap into the 25-foot quarterpipe. You know, something mellow.
Most people when talking about this event have mentioned 2 words, airs and tubes. But take one look at the photo of Jordy Smith above and just let it sink is a little – the Oakley Pro Bali at Keramas could well be won by big monster turns! So lets look at who the favorites are…
Kelly Slater sits atop his number 1 throne once again after Cloudbreak and lets be honest, he is always going to be a threat in perfect right handers. Not much more needs to be said on this one.
Taj, Mick and Joel are all threats. They have surfed these waves in bali for years and they all have lethal forehand attacks made for perfect tube to wall right handers.
Jordy Smith has slowly been building momentum, doing the biggest turns on tour and with plenty time in the water in Bali over the years he is my number 1 pick. He has it all from the tube, to the air to the gouge! Make no mistake, no one on tour wants Jordy in their heat at this one. He has the eye of the tiger at the moment, is super relaxed and you can see how much he wants to win.
John John, Gabriel Medina, Kerr and Julian Wilson are all good picks, as is Adreano if you can stomach that style of his on a perfect canvas. I watched some warm up surfs online and it is not pretty. The underdogs to keep an eye on will definitely be Kohole Andino, who has plenty contest experience at Keramas and has been slowly getting better each event this year. Dusty Payne has alot of time in at Keramas, just search online for footage, and lets be honest its about time he did something on tour. Sebastien Ziets is going to rip it and Nat Young always looks so good on the backhand, he could go really far. Lastly, keep an eye on Travis Logie – no joke, that backhand snap of his could go to town out at 4ft Keramas! (Oh and Yadin, he rips this kind of wave.)
All in, this should prove to be one hell of a contest!
Great Friday Mix for you this week starting with a free surf film from Oakley!
Join the likes of Jordy Smith, Sebastian Zietz, Adam Melling, Bruce Irons, Kolohe Andino and Julian Wilson among others as they travel from the pristine shores of Hawaii, around the world and back. Download your free copy of Oakley Dispatch: The Movie today at http://www.oakley.com/dispatchmovie.
Next up we have a new web series from base jumping nutter, Chris “Douggs” McDougall. Base Jump, Wingsuit, Skydive & lots of crazy antics! Douggs has led an incredible life over the last few years travelling the world! Follow “Base Dreams” the series for the highlights of Douggs falling & flying with his friends!
Last but not least check out skater, Jean Marc Johannes’ lastest web video with Globe Shoes as he shreds some of his favorite spots around Cape Town…