Matty Wilkinson, Cloudbreak, Fiji

1984 wasn’t only the title of a George Orwell new-world novel, but was also the year that Cloudbreak, in Fiji, was first surfed by a crew of American men. They came, saw, conquered, bought and owned until last year when Fijian military dictator, Frank Bainimarama, decided that the exclusivity was stifling tourism and opened the floodgates. The wave itself can hold anything from two foot to 20, which is very rare for a surf spot. And, even though it’s quite a distance from shore, it never cops too much wind. More shark-riddled than most’d care to admit, Cloudbreak’s a perfect mixture – the perfections of Indo and the raw power of Hawaii, which is fitting since it’s roughly in-between the two, geographically. Cloudbreak ain’t overly-mechanical and breaks in different spots on the reef, which, if you’re lucky, means that the crowd’s kinda spread-out. But, look at Matty Wilkinson here. In this moment, on this wave, do you think he cares about any of that?