1027 Humans Just Paddled Into The Ocean Together - Stab Mag

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A man who spits in the eye of defeat. Photo: blakeyjohnston.com

1027 Humans Just Paddled Into The Ocean Together

Blakey Johnston, the man behind the 40-hour surf session, sets another world record.

news // Mar 17, 2025
Words by Jack O'Neill Paterson
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Blakey Johnston is back at it. Cronulla’s favourite endurance freak and the man who once surfed for 40 straight hours just led another absurdly ambitious mission. This time? A record-breaking paddle out.

The event was organised to raise awareness for mental health, with proceeds going to Find Ya Feet and OneWave — groups that focus on giving young people practical ways to deal with life when it starts closing in. 

“We just want to make sure people are there for each other,” Johnston told local news. 

And the turnout? Massive — 1027 humans. Cronulla officially obliterated the previous record of 511 paddlers (set in Huntington Beach, California, back in 2017) by forming a huge, unbroken circle in the water for at least 60 seconds. While a 2023 paddle out in Port Macquarie reportedly gathered 600 people in memory of Zac Young, this one was official. Stamped, sealed, Guinness World Record–certified.

That makes two world records for the former QS warrior — a training ground, it seems, for testing the limits of endurance and human will. 

“They’ll have to pull an unconscious body out of the water for me not to complete this,” Blakey said before his 40-hour surf marathon in 2023. A statement that could double as a QS slogan — though the QS would probably add a clause about covering your own flights and sleeping in a rental car.

Another community-strengthening initiative by the mental health mogul of Cronulla. Hats off, Blakey.

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