The 10 Best Aerial Performers Under 18, According To Mikey Wright

It’s a bold endeavour, determining the planet’s best surfer under the age of 18. Yet each year, Quiksilver’s Young Guns manages to sift through the chaff and reveal the brightest foam operators of the next generation. Chasing $10k and a free Indonesian excursion, Instagram has been lit with hashtags and lanky frames throwing heat in the hopes of impressing a celeb judging panel that includes Jeremy Flores, Zeke Lau and Mikey Wright. The hifi triage have been scanning the feeds for the wildest #YGCombo, #YGRail and #YGAir posts respectively and have since picked their faves. Yes, we now have a list of Young Guns round one winners.

To stand out in a feed of featherweight pops and spins, these groms posted video evidence of themselves sending it in the most thrilling fashion. The mulleted judge, scrolling through his #YGAir submissions, simply had to reward them for their reckless achievements:

@pastramidwight
@finn_mcgill
@robbie.mccormick
@samkcoffey
@sebastianwilliams1
@kaelwalsh
@oceanmacedo
@noah_hill_surfer

Along with the rest of the top 30 (#YGAir revealed shortly), these groms now have a month to compile a few minutes of their wildest water based achievements. You’ll then vote for the kid that inspires you most. Groms with the most backing score a ticket to the Indonesian crescendo.