17 year old Erin Brooks has officially secured her spot on the 2025 Championship Tour after advancing through her Round of 32 heat in Saquarema, Brazil. Scoring a 9—the highest wave score of the event so far– for two crisp turns on a wonky right-hander, Brooks embraced with her father in the shoreline as a vibrant crowd cheered her on. 

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Since her pre-teen years in Stab High Ladybirds, Erin has faced immense pressure and high expectations to achieve greatness. That constant affirmation, however, comes at a cost — something Caroline Marks alluded to after winning her first World Title.

“It’s funny,” Caroline said, “I was actually talking to my friends about this the other day. They were saying, ‘Oh, it must feel so good to live up to the expectations of being a World Champ,’ because I was told that over and over as an amateur. But that’s the case for so many kids who show promise, and for many, it never materializes. So, honestly, it’s been a huge weight off my shoulders.”

While Brooks already lists accolades more impressive than half the womens’ tour, including: a CT win (at the new Final 5 venue, Fiji), a Rip Curl Padang Padang Cup final (against full-blown tuberiding blackbelts), a Stab High Ladybirds win, and several CS + QS wins, you get the sense we’ve only gleamed the tip of the iceberg. 

Brooks started the year with a bang, winning at Snapper Rocks and finishing runner-up at Narrabeen. A few slip-ups followed—two 25th-place finishes at Ballito and Portugal—but she bounced back with a solid ninth at the U.S. Open. By dropping her worst results, Brooks entered Saquarema ranked No. 4 on the CS leaderboard.

“Qualifying here in Brazil, with its amazing surf fans, is something I’ll never forget,” she wrote on Instagram. She went on to thank her family, friends, sponsors, and coaches, underscoring how much of a team effort it’s been to reach this point. “I still can’t believe I get to travel and compete with the best surfers in the world. Dreams do come true!” she added, her gratitude palpable.

Qualifying at such a young age is not without precedent. Caroline Marks, the reigning 2023 world champion, did so at 15. Caity Simmers, who claimed the 2024 world title, qualified at 16 but opted to delay her debut by a year. Erin Brooks, though, seems ready to dive straight in, with the global surf community eagerly awaiting what’s next for this standout teenager.

Alongside with Bella Kenworthy, she will join 2024 World Champion Caity Simmers, as Ladybird alumni on surfing’s biggest stage in 2025. 

Congrats Erin.

Leave Mateus Herdy alone, alright Brazil? He’s one wipeout away from suds and scouring pads, and now his home country is crucifying him for gracefully unpacking Ethan Ewing’s death threats. 

It’s not all bad, though. If the tour snubs him, maybe Stace can grease a few wheels and throw him a mic on the WSL broadcast. That hair? Pure silk — he’d glide right in next to Joe Turpel. 

This week on the podcast: the year is 2006. The boys talk the newly announced Dream Tour, the release of Trilogy, and the wildest six months of Taj Barrow’s surfing career.

Let’s begin with the return of the tour of dreams. The biggest criticism of the WSL is not, surprisingly, that it has become a friendly church service. It’s that the tour stops seem more hell-bent on chasing cash than putting surfers in decent conditions. As a result, the viewing spectacle has often left us feeling empty. But this year, the voices of the people are finally being heard, and the schedule is looking more like the thing it’s supposed to be selling.

Five pre-cut events pushed back to seven; Jbay on the roster; finals day in the juice instead of the dribble. If nothing else, says Stace, this year will give the new faces a chance to do some post-heat interviews before they’re banished back to the Chang. 

Mikey and Stace defend the addition of the Abu Dhabi wave pool event. “It’s not only justifiable in 2024 to have an event that makes up just 9% of your overall ranking in a wave pool—I think it’s mandatory, with the way surfing is evolving. To leave it off the schedule would be weird to me.” Progress or get left behind; there’s no space to be a purist in a world dominated by big oil, petro states, and the relentless march of Kelly Slater Technology. 

The cream rises to the top at Surf Ranch, sure, but crap also floats in a pool. Will this event be a code brown? Only time will tell. 

Next up: Taj talk. 

“Taj is one of the most documented surfers of all time, and for him to get the wave of his life without it being recorded, is ridiculous,” Says Buck. “Also, for him to get his best-ever wave at this stage of his career is, frankly, fucking inspiring.” 

“Just buzz across the top and I’ll jump on. It’s a piece of piss,” said Taj, half-asleep and instructing an inexperienced ski driver trying to tow him into a back ledge Cloudbreak wave before sunrise. “I’d never surfed the back ledge. This wave came through, and it just looked a bit different to the rest. I wanted to wake up and feel the board, but then the wave turned into an absolute monster. I was trying to outrun the tube, but it caught up to me, and I found myself in the biggest tube I’ve ever been in. I had to make it or I was gonna drown. It was the best wave of my life” 

Thrilling stuff, really. 

The boys then shift to the release of the Trilogy: New Wave, pulling words from one of the original film’s kingpins. More from Taj: 

“There might have been a little too much talking. A lot of the things they say seem kinda forced. They seem to just say the things they think they should say. But, we’re comparing them to Andy Irons, so it’s hard to match that.” 

Taj also had some nice things to say about the movie, but sass wins the day.

To wrap it up, a quote from a recent Paul Evans piece that deserves a hell of a lot more attention, as read on the pod by the velvety pipes of Mikey C. 

“Is pro surfing a better place now than it was in the late naughties? Probably not. Will anybody be writing articles about New Wave’s legacy twenty years from now, harking back fondly to a time when Billabong still existed? Hard to say for sure. Surfing has always had an awkward relationship with the future. It’s always been a lot more comfortable looking back. As we do, and recall a time before mindfulness, before being present, before journaling the journey, before photo dump about yesterday, when we didn’t expect people good at surfing to offer quasi-spiritual life coaching or guidance on breathing. Before being a person meant spending at least half your waking hours scrolling vacantly at a never ending string of people’s commercials for their own existence, surf films filled a functional need: the ritual of getting psyched.”

Taylor Jensen and Rachael Tilly have won their fourth and second World Titles respectively after the conclusion of the Surf City El Salvador Longboard Championships. The duo from Southern California topped the class in clean, three-to-five-foot rights at El Sunzal.

After three Championship events at Bells, Huntington Beach and the new KSWC pool in Abu Dhabi, the World Title-deciding event held in El Salvador resembled a ‘surf-off’ format not dissimilar to the WSL Finals. The top eight men and top eight women arrived in the slopey right point of El Sunzal, La Libertad last week. The event, which takes place over a day, was placed on hold until the 13th while awaiting more favorable conditions. 

The opening matchups saw the lowest-seeds pitted against each other in three-man heats, where only the winner advanced. Man-on-man heats came after the third match, with losers facing instant elimination. The title deciding bout was a ‘best of three’ surf off between the highest seed and the advancing surfer from the penultimate matchup. 

Honolua Blomfield threatened a Steph-esque repeat after a three-heat blitzkrieg that saw her matchup with the eventual champion, San Clemente’s Rachael Tilly. In 2015, Tilly became the youngest world champion in the history of professional surfing as a 17-YO. She was able to clinch her long-awaited second title after defeating 3x World Champion Soleil Errico in straight sets in the ‘best of three’ surfoff. 

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For Jensen earning a fourth World Longboard Title put him equal to his father-in-law, four-time World Longboard Champion, Nat Young. After nearly two decades of competing, Jensen, 40, joins an illustrious list of World Champs with more than three titles to their name, and has done so over a period that has seen a dramatic shift in the judging criteria. Jensen defeated last year’s World Champion Kai Sallas 2-0, banking north of 16+ points in both final heats. 

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“I’m still in shock, but a lot went into this one, so it feels good,” said Jensen. “It’s a crazy format. I’ve been down the bottom coming up, and to sit at the top and watch everybody surfing amazing all day just thinking I hope they run out of steam or something. I’m just glad I had some legs left, and it seemed like the other guys got tired. I had a lot of wanting-to-surf energy and just went out there, picked a good one, and got lucky right away. I try not to get emotional, but having my family here is everything.”

The winners received $15K for their victories in the Cryptocurrency-sponsored surf town.

Go loggin!

A hard thrust of the hips, legs wide and hungry, animal sounds leaking out from somewhere deep. Surrender to it. There aren’t many things that hit quite like this. 

Cuttys are back, baby. Only One MP: The Classic Cutback Comp is an online, video-based brawl celebrating the frontside cutback—pieced together by Simon ‘Shagga’ Saffigna and Daniel Carmichael as a nod to the late Michael Peterson

Entries were split into six categories: Best Overall Cutback, Most Innovative Cutback, Best Female, Girls Under 16, Boys Under 16, and Micro Groms. Judges included Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Curren, Joel Parkinson, Occy and Dingo Morrison.

Submissions stayed open for three months and could come from any era, leading to some outrageous, vintage down-carve submissions from Andy. The boys pulled in over 500 entries, with Shagga drip-feeding the standouts on the comp’s Instagram throughout the comp window.

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Last week, the winners of the most prestigious surfing event of 2024 were announced, along with some delightfully awkward selfie acceptance speeches posted on IG. Here are the champs: 

Best Overall Cutback: Kelly Slater

Most Innovative: Taj Barrow

Best Female: Lee-Ann Curren

Girls U/16: Lehihani Zoric

Boys U/16: Darcy Dwyer

Micro Grom: Kobi Lana

Do yourself a favour: watch the winning clips and prepare to swallow your teeth.

Produced in partnership with Db. Enter a giveaway to win a grand’s worth of gear from them, right here.

Such was his distrust of a baggage handler’s ability to read the word “Fragile” that a renowned Nashville guitarist purchased a first-class seat for his guitar, ensuring they arrived together — intact. 

While a similar story has yet to surface in the world of surfing, the anxiety of traveling with surfboards — especially freshies — might present one of the few instances that unites surfers of all nationalities, creeds, and stance widths.

After repeated requests from surfing’s itinerant populace, Db budged and stretched out their nearly indestructible board bag to fit boards up to 7’6″. 

After a few luckless spins on the baggage-handler roulette, I started to wonder if the packing process for someone who travels multiple times a year would be any different from that of a recreational surfer and infrequent flier. That got me thinking: which of Db’s team riders would be taking the news with a bigger grin? 

Noah Lane seemed like the biggest nutcase on their roster, and I’d heard that he had recently left his adopted home of Bundoran during the one week of the year when it’s summer in Ireland to hunt down frigid pointbreaks in Chile. I reached out for packing tips and, frankly, to figure out what’s wrong with him.

“I’m usually a pretty last-minute, throw-everything-in kinda traveler,” he admitted. This made a little sense. If you’re hurtling your body at icy chunks of ocean that even Russell Bierke ranks as among the hardest to surf, why be so precious about foam and fiberglass?

Still, I wondered if he’d be quite so chill about packing if he didn’t have access to Db’s rib-protected travel coffin. There’s a touch of irony in someone who thrives in discomfort being cushioned by hardware that specializes in doing just the opposite.

Noah’s decision to leave the brief Irish summer for Chile’s winter still puzzled me. As a Sunshine Coast native, he must’ve heard of the perfect warm-water lefts around the Indian Ocean — and probably the South Pacific too.

“Our summer was pretty woeful, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to head into the Southern Hemisphere winter. I feel like you’re either cut out for the cold, or you’re not. I’ve been in Ireland for the last decade and I miss a more temperate climate at times, but the weather doesn’t really bother me.”

Noah approached the trip as a bucket-list surf pilgrimage. “I’ve wanted to visit that coastline for a long time and experience the space I’d read about in Chatwin’s In Patagonia, and the magic and sense of place in Gabriel García Márquez’s writing,” he continued, “It definitely lived up to expectations. And as cliché as it sounds, my only regret was not staying longer.”

Despite heading back to Australia for Christmas, Noah says, “There’s nowhere in winter I’d rather be than here at home. So my bigger boards won’t be traveling much further than down the road to Mully.” He added, “Europe is an amazing place, and there’s so much to experience in the peripherals of surfing that I’ll always try to sneak away somewhere to break up the colder months.”

Whether you’re gearing up for an Irish winter with step-ups tuned up for Mullaghmore and its sisters, or heading to much warmer Australian points for a casual trim on a mid-length, Db just made getting there a breeze with their new 7’6″ wheeled coffin.

And, just like some body parts in cold water, it will roll down to 30% of its size — taking up just about the same space as a bidet, which you might want to consider tossing out, because honestly, how often do you use that thing?

The digital print on canvas in your Ericeira rental will remind you: “It’s about the journey, not the destination.”

And journeying is exactly what Matt Myers and his mentees have been excelling at throughout their year in the Challenger Series.

Myers’ Wet Shoulder League series may not be shortlisted for any YouTube Creator Awards based on measurable popularity alone, but it still offers an engaging and authentic glimpse into the lives of mid-table journeymen and women striving to join the boss tour.

In the Ericeira episode of WSL (see what they did there?), the crew discovers that the sun doesn’t rise until after 7 a.m. in Portugal — perhaps the grand star, influenced by centuries of wine-fueled late nights and slow mornings, now simply refuses to show up on time. Sanoa Dempfle-Olin offends an entire nation by bringing her own sardines to a land renowned for the finest fish-tinning in the world, likely displeasing the judging panel, who didn’t count the Canadian Olympian’s potential heat-turner at the final buzzer of her Round of 32 heat.

The episode’s dishonorable mention goes to the brutal snubbing of Stab contributor and World Surf League mic man, Chris Binns. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

Results were hard to come by for Myers’ crew during the Challenger Series’ sole Euro stop. Alyssa Spencer was the top-performing surfer of the bunch, now sitting in 8th place in the rankings, with a realistic chance of qualifying if she delivers a strong performance at Saquarema. Alyssa was prematurely chopped off tour at Margs earlier this season during her rookie run.

On the men’s side, the odds look promising for Nolan Rapoza, the highest-ranked of the group, currently sitting in 15th place, not far from the qualification line. Meanwhile, despite having a mathematical chance, Levi Slawson faces a steep climb from the bottom of his 34th position.

Until the season finale of Wet Shoulder League shall we just embrace life with the same enthusiasm Matt Myers celebrates a 5.6?

Back in 2021, after a decade in the ring, Julian Wilson finally got sick of the punches and lobbed the towel straight into Erik Logan’s face. Instead of competing, he chose to embrace fatherhood and pour his energy into building his clothing empire: Rivvia Projects.

Julian’s bourgeoning brand tastefully blends skate-culture with mid-30s golf-core, and on top of that, it backs the Avalon-born heavy-hitter we’re here to talk about: Caleb Tancred.

“Originally, the goal was to put together a welcome-to-the-team clip, but it ended up dragging out due to a few different reasons,” says Caleb. “I tore my MCL at home, then I went on Euro-Summer and went running with the bulls. Not a good combo.”

Before Caleb blew out his knee, he stacked enough high-voltage clips around Aus to put together a two-and-a-half-minute, red-letter surf part. 

With graduation from his University degree just weeks away, Rivvia’s golden boy has a clear vision: “The plan is to focus on the regionals for 2025, for a solid Challenger Series push in 2026 — and then hopefully meet Jules on tour in 2027.”

Watch the clip above, then check yourself into Surf Rehab, and tell me the thought of a 1-2 Rivvia punch on the Wozzle circuit in 2027 doesn’t make your heart twitch. 

There was once a man who lived in a house made of sand. For 50 years, he watched hurricanes come and go, unshaken, never once thinking to leave.

Then came Helene, the biggest hurricane he had ever seen. The townsfolk pleaded with him to leave, but after weathering so many storms, he refused. “I’m not afraid of a storm named after a woman!” he laughed.

Two days later, he was dead.

Turns out, feminine-named hurricanes are far deadlier than storms named after men. Apparently, this is because people perceive them as less threatening and fail to take them seriously. 

So, in plain terms: sexist ideals kill.

This week, the third most powerful hurricane to ever be recorded, named Milton, is set to slam into Florida. Not only does he sport a masculine name, but he also looks to be a very, very bad boy.

Milton was barely on the radar before October 7, but after a period of rapid intensification — fancy talk for when storms crank up their wind speed by over 35 mph in a single day — he shot up to a Category 5. Yesterday, wind speeds were clocked at a gut-punching 175 mph, leaving little time for thought, only the instinct to run. 

Hurricane Milton is set to make landfall by Wednesday night, and with the potential to be the most powerful hurricane to hit the state in over a century, scientists, government officials, and alligator enthusiasts alike have warned everyone to take fucking cover.   

It’s a rough time to be a resident of the battered Gulf Coast. Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene came barreling into Florida and then went on a joyride of destruction through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. In the two weeks since it hit, this Category 4 monster has claimed over 230 lives, making it the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005 — and that number is only expected to rise.

According to North Carolina resident Morgan L. Sykes, as of October 8, dead neighbours are still being discovered amongst the rubble. “The rivers are giving up the dead; landslides are yielding corpses,” Sykes told The Guardian, before turning their anger toward a government response that many have deemed shockingly inadequate. “The personal terror I felt that morning is nothing in comparison to the rage I feel for those lives unnecessarily lost, those displaced, and those struggling to access too few services — all while the government seems to prioritise the privileged.”

It’s hard to fathom that less than two weeks after Helene, the Gulf Coast is bracing for an even more intense storm. Milton is set to slam into Tampa Bay tomorrow evening, and as the clock ticks down, responders are scrambling to clear the wreckage left behind by Helene. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has emphasised the urgency of clearing that debris before Milton arrives, warning it could become deadly projectiles. Forecasters predict an 8-to-12-foot storm surge — the highest ever for Tampa Bay and nearly double what Helene brought — prompting officials to order every resident in the region to evacuate.

“You have to evacuate; Hurricane Milton is not survivable,” said Sarasota City Mayor Liz Alpert.

However, the mass exodus has jammed freeways, leaving people stranded in a terrifying purgatory on the road. By Monday morning, gas stations were already running dry on fuel, further adding to the chaos.

It seems almost petty to look for someone to blame in the midst of this mess, as if pointing fingers could somehow ease the suffering brought on by these back-to-back, brutal weather events. But the villain isn’t hard to identify. All the elements fuelling storms of this intensity and frequency trace right back to the climate crisis — a collective narrative we’re all complicit in, and one that we can no longer afford to ignore.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told a news conference, “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”

The news of these severe weather events comes on the heels of our own road trip through the soon-to-be-affected areas. During our recent Stab Highway expedition, we followed a similar route to Hurricane Helene, but instead of societal destruction, we inflicted ruin upon ourselves. Still, we found ourselves smothered in the weirdness, the eccentricity, and the raw kindness of the Sunshine State. It’s hard to believe that an area so full of life is now facing complete devastation.

Life can turn to hell in a heartbeat. Our thoughts are with those already affected, and with those who are set to face Hurricane Milton in the coming days.

Stay strong, Florida. And brace for impact.