Next Previous

John Florence, vertigo oop, Mentawai Islands

Right now, there’s five men on a boat in the Mentawais. Ryan Callinan, Chippa Wilson, Matt Meola, Albee Layer and the man pictured here, Hawaiian John Florence. They’re cruising the island chain in search of perfect ramps. Each man wants to stomp the best aerial he can so that he might win the $50k that Kustom are gifting as part of 2012′s Airstrike. Following the release of four webisodes, you’ll vote on single clips and the best air wins the cheddar.

The alleyoop John’s doing here might be a land, and it might not. It might be a stalefish grab, and it might not. You’ll have to wait and see. Actually, just to say that this is John Florence doing an alleyoop doesn’t seem to be enough. It’s something more than that. Kid doesn’t surf with the restrictions of most – he doesn’t care about dizzying heights or knee-break landings. And everything stays so buttery smooth! Growing up conditioned by Hawaiian juice will do that to a man. But know this: None of the surfers on that boat will stop trying to one-up each other (with moves like this) until they’re battered and bloodied. This oop is the kinda thing you can expect from the webisodes, so sit tight. But until then, enjoy images like this that we’ll be filtering out in the meantime (which includes a gallery dropping later today).

Check out the Airstrike website here.

Photographer profile

Nate Lawrence

Nathan Lawrence, 29, surfs with more power than a lot of the pros he shoots. Don’t let him tell you otherwise – Stab spies have seen firsthand. He throws stones, we tells ya, the kind that break bones! Nate’s tough – he loves shooting in Canada, out in the cold, with the bears. In fact, Nate’s favourite-ever photo is an empty barrel shot that he took. But, he does enjoy shooting surfers, and one of his favourites is based on personality. “I really like shooting with Chippa (Chris Wilson). Mostly because he’s such a great human.” So, what makes good photography to Nate? Perhaps not a certain image, but more everything else that comes with it: “Being able to be in the right spot at the right time and capture that split second of raw, unfiltered emotion.”

More photos from Nate Lawrence