Soli Bailey, minimalism, New Zealand

Soli Bailey, pictured here, has been on a hit and run mission in the deep south of New Zealand. “We stumbled on a super fun beach break with only three other guys out, and one giant sea lion,” says the photographer Rambo Estrada. “The locals were happy to share the line-up with us, but the sea lion not so much – later that day it chased Soli up the beach.”

Sea lions aside, Rambo was impressed with Soli’s game. “For a young guy Soli has a solid repertoire, his above the lip game is on point, but it’s his skills on rail that really set him apart from other juniors. The kids got one heck of a carve.”

Stab tends to agree. And before departure, here’s something else worth knowing about the day, which is kinda big picture… “We were expecting it to be cold and rugged conditions, but it was super sunny and light offshore,” says Rambo. “The ozone layer is pretty thin down there and we spent five hours in the water this session, so we all got super fried.”