What Really Happened At Stab High Japan presented by Monster Energy?
A 45-minute mini-doc about one wild weekend in Shizunami.
Will John John Florence compete on the 2025 Championship Tour? What is “the chain,” and why is Jacob Szekely so desperate to escape it? Who is JOB? And what, in God’s name, is Stab High Japan?
Surfing is riddled with unanswerable questions — some destined to remain mysteries until the end of time. But not this one.
“Stab High is the gnarliest collection of rogue humans — on land and in the water,” says Chippa Wilson.
“Let’s go high. Let’s go big,” adds Patti Zhou.
“It’s an air contest,” says Nathan Fletcher.
All true. At its core, Stab High Japan presented by Monster Energy is about who can launch the biggest and fly the highest. And yes, it’s a full-blown congregation of the freaks.
It might seem a little odd to be rolling out a mini-doc on the Shizunami happenings six months after the fact — especially when the world has long since moved on, stories told, memories faded. But as we plan for 2025 (and potentially two Stab Highs presented by Monster Energy there within), we thought it healthy to reflect on our latest chlorinated endeavor, to see where we shone and what edges need refining.
Also, Japan is having a moment. You catch the Backdoor Shootout? Killers — every single one of those polite little bastards. Now, at long last, we present a distilled, 45-minute dose of two days’ worth of Shizunami gymnastics.
Spoilers aside, the results are right there in the title — Eithan Osborne took out Stab High Japan on his final wave. Judges threw 9s and 10s his way, and he earned every point. But there’s a deeper story here. One of sacrifice. One that belongs to Matthew Meola.
We pick up in the final hours of the competition.
Matt holds the lead after stomping a double-grab backside rodeo; his landing polished but his toes reluctant to part with his board. 34 outta 50. A wee anti-climax, perhaps, but Matt would be celebrated by the people as a deserving champion.
A singular wave for each of the finalists remained, but given the difficult conditions, a score that would rival Matt’s 34 seemed improbable.
But then, a final scandal. Rumours of an additional wave for each of the competitors began to surface, which would allow for our aerial flamethrowers to go out blazing. Jacob Szekely salivated at the prospect of another chance at glory; the ferocity of his arousal slightly disconcerting.
Ultimately, the decision was left up to Matt.
“We’ll go for two.”
As Eithan stood for his ultimate wave, his presence appeared to gag the wind. Clicking the board off the lip, he locked in the rotation with a back-hand grab on the heelside rail, sending himself to the flats. After falling four consecutive times on this same stalefish full rotation, Eithan branded the synthetic onsen with the chop-tailed outline of his Neck Beard 2 and rode away clean. Head judge Nate Fletcher threw him a 10, the other judges filed in with 9s, and he easily surpassed Matt.
When Matt’s final attempt faltered, bottles popped, cans cracked open, and Eithan Osborne was crowned the 2024 Stab High Japan champion.
A beautiful story, but the movie’s always better than the book. And as Cleopatra once said, the condensed mini-doc is always, always better than the movie. (If you’ve got 15 hours on your hands, you can also watch the broadcast in full here and here.)
Watch above, and prepare yourself for Stab High Japan 2025 (yes, we’re returning), coming to a wave pool near you — if you happen to live near the Japanese Shizuoka Prefecture.
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