Rangi Ormond, Forster, Australia

“It’s a beach that doesn’t even break,” says photog Matty O’Brien, who shot this frame. “I don’t even know what it’s called. I’ve never seen it break. It’s like a novelty wave. That’s why I was stoked to shoot it.”

During the recent cyclone Yasi, Matty happened to be in Forster on Australia’s east coast, shooting with Thom Pringle, Warren Smith and Rangi Ormond (pictured here). Howling northerly winds and a pushing north east swell meant spots to shoot were limited. The swell wasn’t big by any means, just messy and, for lack of a better description, not photogenic. Most spots were outta control – even Treachery, which is usually the go-to spot in the area during a northerly, was tiny. The posse eventually found the little cove you see above, which wasn’t too windy and was one of the only places catching the swell. Bizarre, considering this wave never breaks.

Rangi, the 22-year-old New Zealander hucking a rodeo in the above shot, is in town ’till early March, at which point he’ll fly back to NZ. Matty didn’t need to say much about Rangi to get his point across: “Rangi’s New Zealand’s most unique surfer. He dresses well and surfs fucken amazing. He does really big turns and even bigger airs.”