In partnership with JS Industries.

When you’re gifted a sacred totem impressed by the heels of one of surfing’s most revered cutback artists, you drag it around the world with you. 

Such is precisely what 2x Stab Surfer of the Year, Microdose star and one of Gen Z’s highest ranking rail connoisseurs, Jai Glindeman did when he was handed Joel Parkinson’s magic blade he rode to victory at Bells, Jbay and Kirra. 

In Sumatra, a place known for its machete-wielding denizens and brilliant patches of reef, however, it got the axe. 

So yep, Parko better be on his Christmas list. 

JS Industries just released the first episode of ‘Far and Wide’ – a bit of a profile piece on their surfers, and how their connection came to be. 

A while back, Glindo retired his quiver of Pyzels and got himself some tractors. Why? Well Jon Pyzel lives 8,214 kilometers (5,105 miles) away in Hawaii, whereas Jason Stevenson lives just up the road in Cooly. 

“I just wanted a connection with a shaper I could go and talk to. And I felt like that was my next step in getting better at surfing,” said Jai.

Here’s a bit of a recap of his first visit to the factory, as well as his first burns on his batch of Golden Childs, Big Barons and Big Horses. 

Sus more tractors here.

Click here to enter the Bong giveaway for a free session at Atlantic Park Surf (for Stab Premium members only)

A few weeks ago, Billabong gifted four Stab Premium members a session in the Palm Springs Surf Club, as part of the California portion of their ‘Know The Feeling’ tour. Now, as they head up the East Coast, they’ve offered us another two spots for Premium members to surf in the new Atlantic Park Surf Wavegarden Cove in Virginia Beach — and yes, they’ll be covering travel + lodging.

“We just wanted to get on the road with our team riders and go hang with our retailers to remind everyone why the surf industry is the best to be in,” said Dane Jefferys from Bong. “Working at a surf shop has always had it’s perks, and we’re keeping it rolling with the Know The Feeling tour. We went through California and stopped at a bunch of surf shops, and now we’re headed to the East Coast for September. Everyone is welcome to join, the event is open to the public with a Beach Pass, but we’re reserving a few exclusive spots in the pool so retailers and Stab Premium members can come surf.”

If you want a full, in-depth look at what the pool is like, you can watch Brett Barley’s recent clip here.

The event will be on Friday, September 19th from 5-8pm and will include surfing, live music, and a significant portion of Billabong’s team in attendance — including Joel Parkinson, Shane Dorian, Laura Enever, Seth Moniz, Luana Silva, Shion Crawford,Macy Callaghan, Cruz Dinofa, Kepa Mendia, Bo Raynor, and more.

Click here to enter the giveaway (if you win, Bong is also covering lodging + transport).

Predicting surf conditions is part science, part instinct and sometimes, pure magic. As it turned out, Rosco from Tropic Surf, the event’s head forecaster and founder, proved to have all three. He held off until the very last day of the waiting period, and the gamble paid off in full: a perfect 3–4 ft swell pulsed through Sultans, setting the stage for an unforgettable finale.

Despite nursing a noticeable limp for the past 24 hours, The Spartan, Michel Bourez emerged from his overwater villa with his trademark grin. On the way to breakfast, he joked that he was hoping for barrels; he wasn’t sure if he had the leg strength left for turns.

By 8 a.m., Rosco made the call everyone was hoping for: the comp would run at 9:30 a.m., maximizing the mid-tide pulse.

The opening heat saw Owen Wright, Jesse Mendes, and Michel Bourez hit the water, and the waves didn’t disappoint. Each surfer put their stamp on the rising swell, unleashing signature turns and powerful hacks. But all eyes were on Bourez’s hamstring. If he was in pain, it didn’t show. He opened with a commanding 8.5, perhaps powered by the now-legendary Four Seasons lamb chops from the night before. 

Owen had been in top form all event, but it was Jesse Mendes who rose to the moment, lighting up Sultans with a string of high scores. Michel and Jesse pulled away, leaving Owen behind in the first 30 minutes of the thruster division.

Meanwhile, Craig “Ando” Anderson, having gone live on socials earlier, said his goal for the day was simply to score above a 5. He did just that with a stylish 7.5 on his first wave. But Mendes wasn’t slowing down. He surged ahead, knocking Ando out and advancing to the final.

In the second semi, Maldivian local Smiley Rasheed showcased his deep knowledge of Sultans, expertly picking off the best waves. Still, Bourez, despite the injury, was gaining momentum, dropping high 7s and 8s consistently. Typically a front-foot-heavy surfer, Michel adjusted his approach, relying more on his back foot. It didn’t matter. He was hammering every section that came his way.

The final of the thruster division saw Jesse and Michel greeted by a set of dreamy, sky-blue walls. Taj Burrow briefly joined the lineup, teasing the end bowl, but was soon (politely) asked by the boat crew to clear the field. With Taj out, Michel turned up the heat, combining searing turns with a cheeky tube ride through the inside section. Jesse answered back with some excellent surfing of his own, but Bourez was simply on another level, taking out the thruster title.

That set the stage for the Grand Final: Owen Wright vs. Michel Bourez.

Owen had dominated all week, but reports from the boat claimed he was napping after his early exit—perhaps a strategic power nap before the final? Meanwhile, Bourez was pushing his hamstring to the absolute limit.

With a 3-minute priority advantage to start, Bourez wasted no time, dropping an 8.5. Owen, whose patience had paid off throughout the event, waited for his moment—but the building swell was favoring the end bowl, and Michel had already tuned into the rhythm. He kept applying pressure, banking high scores with aggressive forehand surfing.

Owen responded with a flurry of powerful turns but was still chasing a 7.5 as time ticked away. Then, with just a minute left, Sultans delivered one last gift: the best wave of the event. Michel was perfectly positioned, dropped in clean, pulled in deep, and disappeared through the inside section, emerging to cheers and a perfect 10.

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It was the exclamation point on a day, and a performance for the ages.

Michel Bourez, overcoming injury, adjusting his style, and showing absolute determination, is your 2025 Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy winner.

Check out the traktor collection here.

“My biggest gripe running a surf shop is when customers come in before their Indo trips and try to skimp out on surfboards. Like you’re dropping $4K on a boat trip to surf perfect waves, and yet, you won’t even invest in the proper equipment to go and enjoy it?,” huffed Andrew Froggett, the owner of Surfculture, one of Australia’s largest board barns back in May. 

The Frogman’s got a point. There’s no point heading to Greenbush on a board that wouldn’t have you getting down the line at Greenmount. It’s a recipe for a spiritual nosedive, among more literal ones too. Being caught out on the wrong equipment in perfect waves may be the only thing more annoying than getting skunked entirely. 

Admittedly, mustering enough coin for an overseas strike is already a stretch for a lot of crew. So what do you do? 

Personally, I turn my attention to the tried and tested brands with a reputation for quality. Try to have at least one reliable step-up that doesn’t buckle like a folding chair at the first sight of reef. In that lineup? The usual suspects: CIs, Pyzels, Mayhems, JS, maybe a Tokoro if I was feeling really frisky. 

However, this is a paid partnership (I’ve already sent my dims over), so I’m going to butter up JS Industries a little more. 

But back to JS. Let’s examine the facts. They’ve got a great team (Parko, Occy, Mikey Wright, Glindo come to mind). They don’t release a new board model every month or refer to them as part of a ‘surfboard family’ (sorry Britt, gives my Gen Z instincts the ick). Made many of Andy Irons’ winning sleights (core score). They’ve been Mr. Consistent in SITD finals appearances (still no wins, bless). 

Plus, they’re farm-strong, as evidenced by guys like Koby Abberton, Bruninho Santos and Tai Buddha plowing through, not posing on, these meaty Indo walls. 

Plus, again, free board. 

Check out the traktor collection here.

Despite Four Seasons’ reputation for seamless luxury, Owen Wright’s week has been anything but smooth. Since his single fin win, he’s been tending to a crook young son. Classic Four Seasons response? A fully loaded PlayStation setup with Mortal Kombat, Gran Turismo, Minecraft loaded, delivered to the villa.

Yep. This place is a joke.

Taj Burrow literally caught a seaplane to surf empty waves today.

With a nanny secured and the grom well-occupied, Owen was free to keep his momentum going from the opener, laying waste to anything resembling a vertical wall.

In the first semi-final, the ocean held its breath for the opening 12 minutes. But once the sets rolled through, Owen wasted no time dismantling the end section at Sultans with the same surgical precision we saw during his winning run in the single skeg division. 

Jesse Mendes, needing a major score in the dying minutes, paddled wide into a racing wall and launched the event’s first air reverse. It earned a crowd-pleasing 7.67 from the judges, but wasn’t enough to stop the in-form Aussie, who, in a scandalous twist, was allegedly taking tips of Jesse’s partner, Tati Weston Webb to help win the final.

In the final, Michel Bourez came out swinging with his trademark forehand hacks, but after the ocean went quiet, he was unable to close the gap. Owen’s rhythm and wave selection proved untouchable once again.

With the win, Owen Wright goes back-to-back and puts one hand firmly on the overall trophy. A semi-final finish in the thruster division is all he needs to lock in the 2025 title.

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A few weeks ago, right around the time tsunami warnings were ringing all across the Hawaiian Islands, a wild Mikey February appeared on the South Shore of Oahu, hoping to torture test some of his EAST quiver. 

Rather audacious, trying to film a project in a pretty locked down zone during a swell event, yet alone on a quiver of rainbow-sprayed alternative shapes.

Thankfully the local crew were kind enough to share their waves with us for a few sessions. It probably helped that Mikey is one of the most respectful, low key guys you could possibly share a lineup with.   

M Feb wasn’t the only tour veteran trying to get a gulp of the southern juice, either. Stab filmmaker Blake Michel came back with a glowing report of Zeke Lau’s surfing since becoming a father, sticking Darc Sport on the nose and growing his hair to unprecedented lengths. 

Here’s what the Hawaiian heavy got done that week.

Day one of the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy (FSMCT) opened in rippable, head-high walls, setting the stage for the single fin division and a proper look at who packed their style along with sunscreen.

Sadly, Sierra Kerr had to withdraw at the last minute due to illness, gifting local wildcard “Smiley” Rasheed and Brazilian sharp-blade Jesse Mendes a free pass to the semis.

Taj Burrow, a 3x winner of the event, promptly capitalized on the last minute cancellation of Kerr, but was barred from competing because… he’s too good and someone else should have a turn.  

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Oldest in the draw, Michel Bourez was first out thanks to the event’s age-handicap system (more candles on the cake, more time in the water). He went straight into Sparta mode, belting the clean faces. A few minutes later Craig Anderson and Owen Wright were released from the boat and joined the party. Can confirm there’s still plenty of lead in the pencil of both fellas backhands. Owen’s windshield wipers looked as deadly as they did in 2017 when he rinsed the field at Snapper, in one surfing’s greatest ever comeback stories. 

In the semi-final, with just four minutes on the clock, Owen Wright suffered a dramatic equipment issue, hooning down the line on the inside, he managed to dislodge his fin and was left riding a finless. Unable to continue without risking morphing into Ari ‘Krooky’ Brown, Owen had to watch from the channel as Jesse Mendes waited patiently out the back, needing a 5-point ride to advance. But, Wright willed the ocean into having a siesta and the 2018 Triple Crown winner got the axe.

On the boat, Taj and Ando debated whether Owen could even make the final. Problem solved when Wright casually instructed Four Seasons staff to retrieve a backup single fin from “Room 101.” Taj blinked: “Who even travels with two single fins?” Ando muttered something about only owning one in his entire life.

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With $25K USD on the line and an allergy to being broke, Wright clearly wasn’t leaving the Maldives as a cautionary tale. With his backup fin on the way, Taj was sent out for a 10-minute expression session to keep the spectators entertained.

In the final, Owen and Bourez traded blows as the tide pushed in and the sets thinned out. Wright found the better rhythm, outpacing Bourez and pocketing the Single Fin crown.

Up next: the Twin Fin Division. Stay tuned.

Single Fin Division Results 

Owen Wright (AUS) 

Michel Bourez (TAH) 

Jesse Mendes (BRA) equal with Ismail “Smiley” Rasheed (MDV) 

Craig Anderson (AUS) 

2025 Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy Leaderboard 

Owen Wright – 1000 pts 

Michel Bourez – 900 pts 

Jesse Mendes – 800 pts 

Ismail “Smiley” Rasheed – 800 pts 

Craig Anderson – 700 pts

Just after 10am on Saturday, at Long Reef beach, beloved surfer, father, and longtime local Mercury Psillakis was attacked by what has been repeatedly described as a ‘large shark’.

“There was a guy screaming, ‘I don’t want to get bitten, I don’t want to get bitten, don’t bite me,’ and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up, and it was huge,” a witness at the scene told Sky News Australia.

Mercury was pulled from the water by other surfers, but had lost too much blood and died at the scene, said police superintendent John Duncan of Sydney’s Northern Beaches unit.

“He’d suffered catastrophic injuries,” Duncan told a televised press conference. “Unfortunately, it would appear that a large, what we believe to be a shark, has attacked him. And as a result of that, he lost a number of limbs. His colleagues managed to make it back to the beach safely, and a short time later, his body was found floating in the surf, and a couple of other people went out and recovered it.”

The police said two sections of a surfboard were retrieved and would be examined by experts.

This is the first attack in the Northern Beaches in at least three years. The beaches between Manly and Narabeen have been closed.

Our hearts are with the Psillakis family.