Clay Marzo, trunks in the West Oz Winter

Uh, yeah, it’s not so warm in Western Australia right now. It may be the final month of winter but the chill is still strong. Which makes Clay Marzo surfing in the brisk morning offshores wearing nothing but trunks all the more wild.

Clay hates wetsuits with a passion, regardless of how cold or windy it gets. He couldn’t be bothered pulling on rubber. As the photographer, Mike Riley tells us: “Clay says “it looks way better for shots, bra,” and I do tend to agree with him. It makes all our waves look almost tropical at times.”

Clay’s been in WA since May, and plans to stay til the end of winter. “He really likes it here,” says Mike. “Just surfing, shooting hoops, fresh fish and hanging with his girlfriend (local bombshell) Jade Barton.”

And, how about this session? “The swell was picking up really fast today and the tide was starting to drain out on us. It was so shallow out there and Clay was taking off on a few deadly ones. He has a very different approach when it comes to taking on a wave on his backhand. Hardly ever grabbing rail he’ll stand up under the lip and somehow come flying out of almost everything. He’s truly amazing to watch! Cortney brown was out there as well and smashed his elbow on the reef and got a few scratches.”

So, aside from the chill, Clay’s also missing the added padding of rubber over the reef. But growing up surfing over Hawaiian reef will do that to a man.