Support Victor and Johnni’s Long Road to Recovery

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Victor Bernardo and his wife Johnni were involved in a serious car accident on Sunday, August 17.

The news came from Logan “Chucky” Dulien, a close friend of Victor’s who has also collaborated with the Brazilian on the Snapt series.

On Instagram, he wrote:

Please keep @victorbernard0 and his wife @jbuff9 in your prayers . On Sunday night they were in a very serious car accident that easily could have been fatal but by the grace of god are still with us . Victor was airlifted to the hospital and his wife Johnni was taken in by ambulance . They are currently both still in the hospital preparing Victor for surgery and doing there best to improve his wife’s condition . It’s going to be a very long and expensive road to recovery but Im confident the surf community will rally together to support and uplift them on the challenging journey ahead . for now just put out positive thoughts , love , prayers and healing energy for them both

Below Logan’s post followed a roll call of the surfing world, with elite surfers, filmmakers, and friends sending their love and well wishes.

Speaking to O Globo, Victor’s manager, Mike Townsend, said Victor and Johnni were travelling south on California’s Interstate 5, returning from a trip to Catalina Island, when their vehicle collided with a truck around 10:45 PM. No further details of the accident were divulged, but some images of the car the couple were travelling in were shared.

Due to the severity of their injuries, Victor was airlifted to an emergency trauma centre, while Johnni was taken by ambulance. They are both now in the ICU.

Victor suffered a leg fracture and a severe wound above the knee. Initially, doctors fitted an external frame to stabilise the limb. It was later removed, a development that, according to Townsend, may point to a more favourable recovery.

Before one of the surgeries, performed last Wednesday, the doctor treating the Brazilian made a reference to his return to surfing.

“Let’s get this guy back in the water,” he told Townsend, who later relayed the comment to O Globo.

Johnni was also seriously injured. She suffered internal bleeding in the abdomen and facial fractures, both of which required surgery. Yet even injured, Johnni managed to call Townsend and others close to the couple from the scene of the accident, alerting them to what had happened.

Victor and Johnni will undergo more surgeries in the months ahead, along with medication and rehabilitation. For now, they remain in hospital, with no discharge date in sight.

A fundraiser was created to help alleviate the couple’s financial burden during their journey to recovery. “Any amount of financial support in covering their living expenses (rent, car payments, meals, cat food, and medical procedures) would be extremely appreciated during this difficult time,” the accompanying text reads.

Our thoughts are with Victor and Johnni, and we wish them both a full recovery.

Support Victor and Johnni’s Long Road to Recovery

If you were a miserable person, you’d hate John Florence right about now.

Seemingly every week, the 3x world champ Starlinks out a new dispatch from paradise. The plot goes as follows: John John is in a deep blue, beautiful part of one of the five oceans, and something on the gorgeous catamaran breaks down, which JJF looks like he enjoys fixing.

Then, he has a fresh caught poke lunch with his wife and little son, slips on some premium surf gear manufactured by a company that he owns a controlling stake in, and proceeds to surf one of the funnest waves you’ve ever seen with nobody else in frame.

This week on the my-life-sucks program, JJF and fam slip away to a more remote section of the Caribbean known as the Antillas Mayores. When he arrives, it looks flat. But, since nothing wrong can ever happen to this man, a wave that is a maddening cross between small Bluff and fun-sized Barra appears out of nowhere — right before John eats “seven pieces of cornbread” and gets barreled, does searing turns, lands full-rotes, and puts Clay Marzo out of his misery on the ender. All in eyeshot of his adoring wife and child, with no other signs of life in sight.

However, if you were a well-adjusted person, you’d be happy for John Florence. He’s built this Edenic niche brick by brick (and taken us along for the ride). Thanks for the weekly installment.

“When it all comes together,” John John Florence said, “I think it’s the best wave in the world.”

Few waves have been so indefatigably glazed by the surfing public as much as Cloudbreak. But, it’s worthy. The 8,919 square-meter underwater reef is a geographic/bathymetric/oceanic miracle where, year-round, storms from the Southern Ocean send swell energy from thousands of feet deep into six feet of water along a tapered underwater point.

The result? A 500-meter+ wave with multiple tube-and-turn sections from The Ledge to Shishkabobs. The only shame is that it took this long for the CT to have Cloudbreak as a tour spot for the foreseeable future.

When asked if Cloudbreak should be on Tour, world champ Caroline Marks put it this way: “I think it’s the best wave in the world,” Caroline Marks confirmed. “So, yeah, I think it should be a mainstay on tour.”

In this weeks The Drop pod, Stab’s Editor-in-Chief and Quiksilver’s team manager, Stace Galbraith, go over what storylines there are to watch for to prep for upcoming CT event, with the waiting period starting in two days (hint, there’s swell). If you haven’t seen these podcast videos before, the fellas tap one videographer to go down and film the CT warm-up sessions. If you’ve got cash (BetOnline) or ego (Fantasy) on the line, this is probably the single best vid you could watch.

Yago Dora & The Goofy Advantage

One of the highlights of the warm-up clips is just how damn good Yago Dora is at Restaurants. If you don’t know, Restaurants — which some surfers claim is funner than Macaronis — is the back-up location for the CT if Cloudbreak’s too big or wobbly. Either way, gonna be a fun week.

The stats tell us that Goofs reign supreme in Fiji, and by quite a margin. Since 2000, 14 CT events have taken place at Cloudbreak. In that time, over 65% of Regular v. Goofy match-ups have been won with the right foot forward.

With defending World Champ Yago sitting in 3rd place behind regular-footer Leo Fioravanti, it’s a good statistical opportunity for Yago to leapfrog. Fellow goofy Italo, however, is sitting in first place. But, if the waves are good, history tells us that Yago will likely have the nod.

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Backside Turn Discrimination

One of the other regular-goofy tensions at play here that Stace and Mikey point out is the difficulty in making backside turn surfing stand apart. If the Grateful Dead’s project was having their whole catalog all be “all just one song”, Mikey C argues that backside surfing sometimes blends into being “all just one turn.” Stace disagrees, kind of. Hear the nuanced debate above.

Joao Chianca’s Masterclass

If the waves are solid, there are few Regulars more up-to-the-task than João Chianca. João has long been a favorite of Mikey’s and Stace’s (all of us, really) and the boys note just how much of a stand-out he was in these warm-up clips, practically manhandling 10-foot Cloudy.

Erin Brooks Title Run

Will we see the second instance of back-to-back victories in 2026 (Carissa won New Zealand and El Salvador b2b)? Erin Brooks is fresh off her win at Teahupo’o and has reportedly been winning the warm-up days. Let’s not forget that she’s already won this event (as a wildcard, no less) in 2024. Bad day to pull Erin Brooks in the draw (sorry, Soph).

Good day to throw her in your betting or fantasy roster however.

More insights above.

June 2026, Ericeira, Portugal. 

I walk into 58 Surf Shop. Jon Pyzel’s not there yet, but he will be. Soon. Beers are flowing. Something of an open-air podcast studio waits for his arrival. He and I will sit there and chat. A small crowd has gathered to witness this and engage with the man himself afterwards. 

Jon arrives. Beers still flowing. Ok, let’s do this… except, the audio starts fucking up. In production, it’s always the audio fucking up. 

Despite hardly being able to hear each other, I learned a lot about Jon in those forty minutes. The biggest takeaway? Sounds dumb, or perhaps just obvious, but the guy just fucking loves surfing. 

He moved to Hawaii pretty young to spend more time in the water. Started painting houses to make money. Switched to fixing boards because it was more fun than painting houses. Eventually got his hands on some polyurethane that needed to be shaped instead of repaired. Built boards that win World Titles, boards that win SITD, boards that force the Merriam-Webster team to modify their definition of power surfing. Now runs one of the world’s largest board businesses (as a B-Corp) and still skips the weekly Zoom meeting whenever there are waves. 

Respect.

After we chatted, Jon spent hours talking to everyone who’d shown up. Smiling, handshaking, offering insights and opinions, and seeming to genuinely enjoy it. A rare breed. 

Hit above for a glimpse into the life of the man behind your favorite (John wins our audience survey every year) surfer’s favorite surfboards.

Shoutout to the crew at Polen Surfboards, who build Pyzel’s boards in Europe, for pulling it together.

Last year saw nearly six million business applications filed in the US. 

That’s the highest figure ever recorded, and it’s unlikely to slow down. A recent survey found that one in three adults plans to start a new business or side hustle in the next year. 

You may have noticed how this phenomenon has worked its way into surfing. There are more surf clothing brands than ever. And traction companies. And, more recently, an AI-driven barrage of new slopcasting apps — we’ve got a full story on that coming soon. 

It’s easy to find a factory willing to build you stuff. It’s not easy to give people a reason to buy it. 

And, we must admit, ONE Surfing Co has a pretty compelling pitch. 

Founded by two brothers from Hossegor, Matt and Hugo Moulia, they have launched a wetsuit subscription service. 

The gist? You pay a monthly rate. They send you a new wetsuit — or wetsuits, depending on which package you choose. You surf in your wetsuit until it’s worn out and send it back to them. They send you a new wetsuit, and off we go again. 

The logic checks out, and a 3x CT winner agrees. 

“I immediately thought the idea was brilliant,” says Michel Bourez, who signed on as an ambassador and part owner in the brand. “The subscription model has never been done before, and that’s what really caught my attention. But what convinced me the most were the people behind the project. Matt and Hugo are young, ambitious entrepreneurs who are incredibly motivated, and above all, they’re great surfers.” 

In case praise from a man whose command of rail is so powerful that people couldn’t resist the temptation to compare him to an Ancient Greek warrior, I can confirm that the boys fucking rip. Matt and I worked at Quiksilver together for a bit. While there, he tried to build a subscription model for them, but it never went live. So he left, took out a bank loan, and spread his wings. 

“My brother and I are not professional surfers or famous names in the industry,” says Matt. “I think that helped us look at surfing and question things we’ve all accepted for years. We wanted to create something new for people who surf every day and go through suits quickly. With our program, they don’t need to worry about high up-front costs or their suits wearing out. And we had kids in mind from the beginning. They grow so fast and shuffle through sizes so quickly, and we really didn’t see a reason for them to have to be uncomfortable in suits they’ve outgrown just because their parents want to wait longer to buy a new one. Finally, we like being able to take full responsibility for the product and recycle it once it’s no longer useful, rather than knowing we’re eventually adding to landfills.” 

All ONE suits are made with limestone neoprene, and the new edition features a U-Zip entry. The boys were kind enough to send one my way, and it quickly became a go-to. It’s a no-frills, straight-up, quality wetsuit. Warm. Comfortable. Stretchy. The three cliché pillars of wetsuiting. 

And, they’re not just forcing another subscription on you. You can flat-out buy a suit from them, too. The new 3/2 would set you back €400, while subscribing to always have a fresh 3/2 is only 20€ a month. And if you’re looking for a deal and/or the suit you throw on while your other one is wet, they sell secondhand wetsuits that still have some life left in them. 

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They also offer a variety of packages that ensure you have a full range of suits for all seasons. 

ONE is now available in Europe and is expanding globally, starting with the US and Australia soon. First drops will be limited, so the boys suggest you should sign up for early access if you want in.

Very much in line with what being a professional surfer entails these days, Charly Quivront has given in to the demands of the content machine.

Having recently started editing his own footage and releasing it as part of the Où Est Charly? / Where Is Charly? series, he’s making a deliberate move to sustain the less quantifiable half of his career: freesurfing.

In the latest instalment, Charly shares more from his trip to Mexico with How Surfers Get Paid star Benjamin Sanchis, which happened to coincide with a massive south swell that lit up a certain point that you might recognise from Ritualistic Tendencies.

Four man heats held over a mere 20 minutes should be illegal.

Yet that’s the standard in the early rounds for many legitimate professional surfing contest. So much to do, so little time. This week’s episode of The Drop kicks off with the analysis of one of those heats, perhaps the most anticipated matchup in the Round of 96 at the 2026 Garabito Pro (apologies, Hayden Rodgers and Alana Lopez).

In case you missed it, last week Mikey C made his much anticipated return to the Qualifying Series after a 12 year hiatus. In the end, Mikey’s initial hypothesis proved correct. A mere 10.20 heat total would have advanced him. The problem? He posted an agonizingly close 9.55. Somewhere, Jadson Andre is shaking his head.  

Speaking of drama filled returns, you cop EAST yet? The first installment of the Electric Acid Surfboard Test starring Harry Bryant is live, featuring four boards with polarizing paint jobs unsheathed at a roping left point in Central America. The varied quiver from Ashton Pickle, Greg Brown, Tom Morat and Corey Munn each get a crack, with mixed results. 

If Mikey February’s edition was a smooth, tension-free alt ride, then this veers into the opposite lane. Harry is unapologetic and offers feedback without pretense or remorse. From the spray to the fins to how it holds on rail, Harry’s got his preferences and ain’t shy about it. Another notable feature in this season’s episodes: we see each shaper’s live reactions to how Harry takes to their creation. They laugh, cringe, critique and offer surfboard insights we may not have known otherwise. Well played, Danny Johnson.  

Mikey and Buck then highlight a practical guide for which bikinis are actually best to surf in (with help from Coral McDuffee), before reveling in the improbable run of Seth Moniz and Erin Brooks win the 2026 Tahiti Pro. Consider the fact that Seth had not made a single heat prior to Tahiti, the seventh tour stop this season. Mikey makes a great point on the murderer’s row Seth faced (in order of appearance): Eimeo Czermak, Yago Dora, Barron Mamiya, Italo Ferreira and Griffin Colapinto. Meanwhile, Erin came back from combination with seven minutes left in the final to win her first event as a full-time CT surfer at 19 years old. With multiple hollow lefts breaking over reef still on the schedule (Fiji up next), she looks poised for a dangerous run.

Last but not least of which is a teaser from part two of Hossegor Beach Cocaine, detailed how four surfers grappled with the ramifications after random bricks of cartel cocaine in Southwest France. Paul Evans, you’ve outdone yourself.

Before losing $35 Billion in one day (the greatest private, single-event financial loss in world history), 24-year old Leopold Aschenbrenner wrote a 165-page manifesto on why he understood the A.I. industry better than anyone else. 

In 2018, we asked Matt Biolos to write a thesis of comparable gravitas on the subject of the foam-and-fiberglass business. 

He didn’t disappoint. 

One of things Matt revealed was that during the period when …Lost’s high-margin products like clothing and energy drinks were bringing in “4-5x” the cash as surfboards, he stopped pouring enough focus into managing the bread-and-butter board business:

At the peak of all …Lost’s various ventures, I drifted away from the day-to-day running of my surfboard brand. I went for the money. But I was sorta one foot in, one foot out: I was running a staff of clothing designers and a marketing team, traveling the world to set up and support other companies with …Lost apparel. I saw the golden payoff, that I couldn’t expect to ever have with surfboards. 

Before Kolohe came of age, our classic …Lost Surf team—Wardo, Cory and Shea Lopez, Beschen, etc.—was aging, and I was not doing much work to rebuild it. I was not really on top of it for a few years, just sorta going through the motions. We had a few gifts brought to us, like the “Rocket” model, that kept things going, but our presence on the WCT was really dwindling.

As the clothing and energy drink were crumbling (with my income, as well), my partner, Mike Reola and I re-focused and started to really water the flowers on the board program again. I started surfing a ton, and working with more surfers again. Kolohe was the spark and the catalyst, and I am forever grateful. He and Dino brought Taj Burrow around to try some boards, and then some media magnate helped convince him to jump on board with …Lost.

I met up with Carissa Moore, while watching Kolohe surf heats. Young Julian Wilson came around and we had a good four year run. Then little Mason Ho became Mason Ho.

All the while, I traveled to Brazil and AU and EU, paying attention to the upcoming surfers, and started building an international team, and re-establishing an international brand. Tyler Wright, Yago Dora, Michael Rodrigues…Support them early and help them grow.

Constant travel, and time surfing in our own backyard of Trestles got me back in the game.

At the same time, this underground grom movement in San Clemente started to happen. Fueled by Kolohe and Lowers, Griffin is the first to explode out of this machine…His brother Crosby, Kade Mattson, Jett Schilling etc are coming up. Eli Hanneman, Winter Vincent and other global groms are on the program, and now it’s game on.

We put our focus on the kids, and we’re setting up the future. 

And set up the future he did, five years after this manifesto, in 2023, Matt Biolos won the inaugural Surfboard Empire CT Shapers Rankings title, presented by Veia. He’s won it every year since for a total of three Shapers Rankings Titles. 

And now, in 2026, Biolos is a dastardly 24,000 points ahead of Sharp Eye for his fourth Shaper Rankings title bid thanks to Erin Brooks’s win and Griffin Colapinto’s runner-up finish.

Now, with seven CT events done and six to go (including one at his home turf of Lowers) and with a herculean lead over the rest of the field, the smart money goes to a 4x Biolos victory.

He’s still chasing that second Stab In The Dark, though.