You’ve Never Seen A 4’11” Stinger Surfed This Well

Kids these days — sharp as knives, buzzing with ideas that haven’t yet been dulled by time. 

Harley Walters, younger brother of Dakoda, has managed to accomplish the impossible task of finding his own niche on YouTube — an online video series (don’t call it a vlog) dedicated to breathing life back into battered boards and seeing what they’ve got left in the tank. The more history a board has, the better the tale. Past episodes include a resurrected HP Rasta board snapped two decades ago, a gaunt 30-year-old banana, his dad’s 1980s twinny, an eBay relic, and plenty more.

“I came across one of my Pop’s surfboards in his garage that was forty years old. It was a big quad fin with no dimensions written on it but looked interesting to ride. I took it for a few surfs and had a blast on it. It made me think there must be old boards sitting in plenty of sheds around the country that would be good to get back in the water and see how they feel,” notes Harley. “These boards all have unique stories of their life previously lived. I want to see how they go for me and what I can learn from them. Searching for and finding them is half the fun. All the boards I’ve ridden so far are way older than me.”

The boys are up to board test #14 now. Let’s peel this one back. Back in 2005, Mikey Mallalieu — now better known by his IG handle, Mallmic, and for being the creative force behind standout surf films like NozVid, Interlusion and Glitch — won a grom comp at Raglan. His prize? A 4’11 Ozzie Wright board, handed over by Oz himself and Vaughan Blakey. Archival footage of the moment made it into the video, and that alone makes it worth the watch.

Above, watch the boys drag a clapped-out board back to life, accompanied by the sound of Toby Cregan’s new music project, Greg.