HB Treats Reef Heazlewood Better Than Lowers - Stab Mag

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Does launching an air higher than the size of the wave violate any of Newton's Laws? Photo: Surf Station

HB Treats Reef Heazlewood Better Than Lowers

The Stab High flyboy turns Huntington into Hossegor in his latest edit.

elsewhere // Nov 12, 2022
Words by Christian Bowcutt
Reading Time: < 1 minute
A spray so aesthetically pleasing it belongs in a contemporary art museum. Video: Alex Hayes

The first minute of Reef Heazlewood’s latest edit almost lost me. 

I’m a Reef fan. But I’ve seen a lot of Lowers edits. My tolerance is too high, it takes a lot to get me buzzed. 

So even though the level of surfing by the 22-year-old manchild is extreme, I found myself getting lulled away by Lower Trestles’s soft sameness. But I was enjoying the edit’s choice of the classic Johnny Cash song, “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”, so I held the line and kept watching.

And then at 1:45, the scene changes, there’s a punchy, fun-looking tube ride. And then another. And then a flurry of airs and blow tails that rattle me out of my Trestles-induced stupor. Our old friend, Huntington Beach, has a glow-up and starts putting on its best Hossegor impression and I’m hooked. 

Reef loves surfing — which makes us love him. In the latest episode of Vans Stab High Presented By Monster Energy, Reef explains how he opted not to drink or party to be able to get out to Lakey Peak before anyone else. 

Reef’s Gumby-esque ability to land almost anything is not just pure talent, but a product of years of choosing surfing over anything else. This edit showcases the result of that dedication. It’s a worthy use of two minutes and thirty-eight seconds of your life.  

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