These Are Our Audience’s Favorite (Male) Surfers In 2023

Choosing a ‘favorite’ pro surfer is a far removed concept from aligning one’s allegiances with a local footy team. Rather than basic geographical loyalty, choosing ocean-sliding individuals who inspire us requires much deeper personal insights. In fact, due to the spiritual nature of our pastime, it may be closer in feeling to electing a favorite musician or artist. 

This complexity also means it’s impossible to choose just one favorite surfer. So, in our yearly Stab Reader survey — which more than 7,000 of you participated in — we made it possible to choose your three favorite surfers.

Personality, style, accolades, and god-given talent all inevitably play into this decision, with influence also added through word-of-mouth lore and an individual’s personal encounters with each surfer. 

At this point, social media, YouTube content, and competitive surfing are the three primary ways we interact with our favorite surfers. And, in the decision to choose a favorite surfer, we likely fall victim to the basic psychological concept of connecting with people who we perceive as similar to us.

So, this list is probably more a reflection of our core audience (and its lack of Brazilians) than a reflection of the most popular modern surfers.

Interesting regardless.

Find out who your top-50 favorite male surfers are below, and check out the women’s top-50 here.

The Breakdown

The most obvious initial impression is that the list is almost identical to last year’s. It features exactly the same 10 surfers as 2022, with only a slightly altered order. 

Last year, in 2022, seven of your favorite surfers carried over from 2021. This year, all 10 remain firmly planted from last.

John John Florence (picked by 33% of voters), Dane Reynolds (22%), and Mason Ho (16%) continue to hold the lion’s share of our audience’s affections — in the same hierarchy they did last year. 

Interestingly, Dane Reynolds didn’t even feature in the Top 15 of our Stab Surfers of the Year — though John and Mase placed 2nd and 10th, respectively.

Ethan Ewing (14%) and Jack Robinson (13%)  both jumped Kelly Slater (11%) — last year’s fourth choice — and dropped him down to sixth. Fair to say this can be attributed to both Ethan and Jack’s competitive comeuppance of late, and possibly to Kelly’s waning CT success. 

Mikey February (10%) and Griffin Colapinto (8%) remain in the same spots they were last year. Below them, Mick Fanning (7.9%) and Torren Martyn (7%) swapped places, closing out at 9th and 10th. 

A list of very familiar faces, with some very notable exclusions.

World Champion, Stab Surfer Of The Year, and all around good human being Filipe Toledo comes in as the first Brazilian on the list at 20th place, chosen by just 3.8% of voters. Below him, Gabriel Medina shows up at 22nd with 3.3%. Yago pokes his fins out in 29th and Italo Ferreira quietly revs his engine all the way down in 37th.

Of your Top 50 favorite surfers, 40% are Australian, 32% are from the continental United States, 14% are from Hawai’i, 8% are Brazilian, and 4% are South African. Kanoa Igarashi is the lone Asian representation, and there are no Europeans in the Top 50.

Also, of the Top 50 surfers, 48% are career CT surfers, 44% are career freesurfers, and 8% have had successful freesurf careers after some laps on the CT (Dane, M-Feb, etc.)

Pretty evenly distributed on that front. 

Who Almost Made The Cut?

Two of the most glaring exclusions from the Top 10 are perennial slab tourist and YouTube demigod Nathan Florence, as well as heavy-footed blast unit and creator of Nozvid, Noa Deane.

Despite spending six figures on his eponymous film, Noa came in just shy of the 10th place mark, a mere 158 votes behind Torren Martyn. Just below him, Craig Anderson lurks in 11th, and Nathan Florence sits at 12th — all of them boast roughly 5% of the votes.

Also, Laird Hamilton honorably arrives at 94th, right next to Ari ‘Krooky’ Browne, Oscar Langburne, and Russel Bierke, while Zoltan Torkos’ kickflip legacy sees him rubbing shoulders with Pete Mel and Jackson Dorian at 136th. 

Who are you most surprised to see in the Top 50?  Who’s missing?

Full List Of Top 50:

1. John John Florence
2. Dane Reynolds 
3. Mason Ho 
4. Ethan Ewing
5. Jack Robinson
6. Kelly Slater 
7. Michael February
8. Griffin Colapinto
9. Mick Fanning 
10. Torren Martyn 
11. Noa Deane
12. Craig Anderson
13. Nathan Florence 
14. Harry Bryant
15. Asher Pacey
16. Rob Machado 
17. Clay Marzo
18. Tom Curren 
19. Dave Rastovich 
20. Filipe Toledo
21. Bobby Martinez 
22. Gabriel Medina
23. Creed McTaggart
24. Jordy Smith
25. Chippa Wilson
26. Kai Lenny
27. Taj Burrow
28. Balaram Stack
29. Yago Dora
30. Bruce Irons 
31. Jamie O’Brien 
32. Ryan Burch
33. Mikey Wright
34. Eithan Osborne 
35. Ian Crane
36. Joel Parkinson 
37. Italo Ferreira
38. Jai Glinderman 
39. Joao Chianca  
40. Josh Kerr 
41. Parker Coffin
42. Mark Occhilupo 
43. Ozzie Wright 
44. Joel Tudor
45. Albee Layer
46. Kanoa Igarashi
47. Ryan Callinan 
48. Julian Wilson
49. Dane Gudauskas
50. Conner Coffin
    
    More 2023 Stab reader survey results: surfboards / wetsuits / swimwear / male surfers / female surfers / travel