Heaven Is On His Side - Stab Mag

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Watch the short film for a peek inside the mindset of big-wave surfer Joao “Massas” de Macedo.

Heaven Is On His Side

Nazare surfer rests his fate in the divine

elsewhere // May 27, 2022
Words by Coral McDuffee
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Shot on a Super 8, the scenic piece pairs words of Reverend Boatner with Portugal’s archaic gravity. We appreciate the artistry. Video: Marco Espirito Santo.

Surfing Nazare can look like death

Like hell itself is empty 
All nine circles 
And the devils are in the water
The prisoners are few 
Joao de Macedo rests his fate in a higher divine 
Reverend Laven Boatner’s excerpt rings in his ears 
A mantra of sorts:

I got a call from Heaven 
When I didn’t know anybody in heaven
But there was somebody in heaven that knew me 
For somebody to call you
They got to know you
And they’ve got to have your number 
So that’s when heaven was on my side 
When I got a call from the glory land 
He knew more about me than I knew about him

Heaven is on his side 
The words of delivery 
Morality is an afterthought 
This state of mind is a beautiful thing for a man about to surf slightly less than 86-ft Nazare. 

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