The Walters Brothers: Ocean & Earth’s Gen Z Gambit
Harley on being a goof in the land of right points + riding Taj Burrow’s noughties boards in grom comps.
At the start of 2025, the Walters brothers — Harley, 18, and Dakoda, 23 — were picked up by Ocean & Earth on a head-to-toe deal, slapping the South Coast hardware brand’s stickers on the noses of two prodigiously talented siblings.
It’s the first time O&E has occupied that real estate in well over a decade — or roughly since their current CEO, Phil Macdonald, was giving Kelly Slater grief on the ASP. (Fun fact: in 2003, Phil had a perfect 3-0 record against the GOAT, temporarily denying Slater a much-anticipated 7th world crown. A low-key flex, IMO, second only to O&E inventing the hooded rashguard in 1991, back when the Florence brothers were still swimming in the metaphysical soup of their father’s imagination. A story for another week.)
For those unfamiliar with Australia’s 2,500-mile wave-rich coastline between Cape York and Wilsons Promontory, the sleepy coastal town of Yamba sits just about bang in the middle. With a population of just 6,300, Yamba punches well above its weight when it comes to producing world-class surfers: Nat Young, Bryce Young, Dan Ross, Ben Ross, Laurie Towner, Nav Fox, Morgan Cibilic, Chris Zaffis, Oscar Berry, and the Walters brothers, to name a few. (We’ll toss in our own Stab leader Sam McIntosh, too, who once caught a Shipsterns wave that earned a classic Slater compliment-sandwich: “Not bad for a guy who works an office job.”)
But back to the Walters — O&E’s latest signings, a deliberate play by the brand to inject some Gen Z energy into its legacy. Ocean & Earth, one of the last independent, privately owned hardware brands, founded in 1979 by Brian Cregan (Ferrari Boyz and Rage’s Toby Cregan’s dad) is making moves: dipping into apparel, bankrolling a feature-length surf movie with a hefty music budget, and now, signing two of the most exciting young siblings in the game. It’s a pivot toward youth without abandoning the core ethos that’s earned them silent nods from surfers like Russ Bierke, who doesn’t just slap on any leash when he’s getting steamrolled by Irish slabs.
Harley Walters, at 18, is already a study in contrasts — a lanky six-foot-three natural-footer-turned-goofy, who was catching his own waves at four years old, no push-ins required.
“My nan and pop lived in Angourie, a couple hundred meters from Spooky Beach,” Harley explains. “There’s this little left in the corner, a perfect wave to grow up on. Dad used to push Dakoda into waves, but by the time I came around, he was over it. So I just figured it out—paddling, catching my own waves. Apparently, Dad tried to make me a natural footer, but I switched to goofy and never looked back.”
That early independence translated into a backhand that’s become one of the most fluid in the game, honed on Yamba’s right-hand points. But surfing wasn’t always the sole focus — Harley spent years in the Liverpool Football Academy, training three times a week and playing matches across the Gold Coast.
“I loved it, but the driving killed me — an hour each way, every day,” he says. “Eventually, I just wanted to do what Dakoda was doing. Trying to surf like him, learn from him… that was more fun.”
Yamba’s surf culture, as mentioned previously, overindexes on gifted surfers. But it’s also one that seems to favour humility and manners over cutthroat aggression.
“I don’t know why there’ve been so many good surfers from here,” Harley muses. “Laurie’s one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. Nav, Dan Ross, Bryce, Morgan, Oscar… it’s a crazy list. Maybe it’s the waves, or just the community. We’ve always surfed for fun and kept it pretty low key.”
That grounded approach is something others have noticed. A Ballina heavy who happened to be in the office while I was working on this piece praised Harley for his respect in the North Wall lineup — a rarity in an era where grommet entitlement is a common gripe among older surfers.
“Dad, Mum, Nan, and Pop always drilled it into me: be humble, wait your turn,” Harley says. “I’d hate to be that kid everyone groans when they paddle out.”
Vintage Boards, Wheelie Bin Science + Bingeworthy YouTube Content
Harley’s path forward is still taking shape. He’s won Pro Juniors and State Titles, spent a bunch of time at the High Performance Centre for surfers-who-surf-good-but-want-to-surf-better, rehabbing knees, flipping into foam pits on skateboards and learning the secret sauce to competitive surfing. Still, he’s equally drawn to free-surfing and film projects.
“If I could qualify for the CT, that’d be a dream,” he admits. “But free-surfing and making cool shit looks just as fun. This year’s CT schedule is insane—Snapper, Tahiti, Pipe, Cloudbreak. It’s way more high-performance than last year. But then you see guys like Mikey Wright just doing their own thing, and that’s just as appealing to me.”
He’s also developed a penchant for riding vintage boards — ’90s shapes, yellowed and battered, in National Grom Search finals.
“Those old boards go just as good,” he grins. “I rode one of Taj’s old sticks at Urbnsurf in a contest. It was a 5’11” or something. I was winning after the rights (you get two waves on each side) then nose-dove my first two turns and lost, but it was sick. Then I took an old board of Parko’s down to the State Titles but ended up snapping it the day before the comp. I feel like they force you to draw different lines and have a different feel — but it’s fun to mix it up in that serious contest setting.”
That obsession with experimentation isn’t just a solo affair — it’s spilled over into the Walters’ YouTube channel, where they’ve turned board nerdery into a spectacle. Between clips of Harley’s backhand gouges and Dakoda’s air game, you’ll find them geeking out over crusty old shapes: Rod Dahlberg’s chewed by time, a Greg Webb Manta Ray-inspired monstrosity that looks like it was shaped after consuming too much beetle nut, choady ’90s Ozzy Wright blade that belongs in a museum (or a bonfire, depending on who you ask).
Their makeshift volume test performed by Pops dunking old totems into a wheelie bin, then measuring the water displacement, is endearing backyard science to say the least.
Harley, unlike many other borderline-toxic sibling rivalries, is quick to clarify that his relationship with Dakoda is more warm and supportive than competitive, though they’ve faced off in heats twice — once in Taiwan (“I lost, felt horrible”) and again at Newcastle (“we both made it through, so that was sweet”).
“Dakoda’s one of the best high-performance surfers coming up,” Harley says. “Watching him do crazy shit, trying to reverse it in my head since he’s regular and I’m goofy… it’s inspiring. We’re mates first, rivals second. Fuck, I reckon he looks so much better as a goofy though…”
Speaking of which, ever noticed Andy Irons looks like Cory Lopez when you flip him? Strange one was often teased for having a crabby, unbecoming style, which led Taj Burrow to quip, “Some guys look like they’re painting a masterpiece out there. Cory looks like he’s wrestling a bear. But he’s winning,” in the bonus interview footage of Bustin’ Down the Door (2008).
Still in the midst of filling out (“I don’t wanna get any taller”), Harley’s in that turbocharged phase of physical development where boards are outgrown faster than they’re broken.
“I haven’t hit the gym much lately — just rehab for the knee,” he explains. “But seeing guys like Ethan Ewing, Rio Waida and Griffin Colapinto, how jacked they are… it’s noticeable. If you can be that strong and still surf that well, it’s an advantage when the waves have poke.”
As for O&E, the Walters represent a new chapter — one where the brand’s legacy meets Gen Z’s appetite for both performance and creativity. Whether it’s through contests, films, or just surfing their way, the brothers are a fitting addition to a brand that’s spent decades earning its stripes the honest way.
“I’m just stoked to be part of it,” Harley says. “O&E’s always been core. Now they’re trying new shit — movies, music, all of it. It’s a fun time to be involved.”
Oh, I almost forgot: both Harley and Dakoda will be in this year’s Stab High Japan — perhaps we’ll see some six-channel Byrning Spears floating above the Shizunami firmament…
