The Drop: Mason Ho’s SSOTY Crisis

“Uggh, but am I barn if I don’t pick the World Title guy who ripped all year?” Mason Ho lamented.

This week the Stab Surfer of the Year ballot appeared in my inbox. I pulled it up on my phone — at a red light — thinking it would be quick and easy. I’d type a quick Noa Deane there, throw a little Caity Simmers over here, sprinkle a dash of John John below, perhaps? But it wasn’t quick, or easy, and the light turned green and I put the phone in the cupholder and I haven’t opened the ballot since.

My vote doesn’t count for too much. And this is surfing, not a Supreme Court decision. So why am I procrastinating doing it?

Maybe I care more than I thought I did. Maybe we care. And maybe we consider our opinion as to who rides waves the best to be important. That’s what makes Stab’s comment section so scrumptious, right? So maybe I want time to think before locking in my picks.

Mason Ho also needed time — one hour of it — to decide on his picks for SSOTY. The biggest brain-melter? Deciding between Filipe Toledo and John John Florence. In this week’s episode of The Drop, we listen to Mason weave a tapestry of obscenity over who to include in his top five.

The Pod also discusses:

• Joshe Faulkner: From South Africa’s Infamous Slums To National Surf Champion — Twice
• Watch: Caity Simmers And Noah Wegrich In Ramble On, Santa Cruz
• On Surfing With Epilepsy
• Premium Exclusive: Win A Trip For Two to Secret Sumatra
• A Surf Sin

End your 2022 or begin your 2023 with The Drop. Find it wherever you get you podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Soundcloud).