7 Of The Best GoPro Clips You’ve ever seen

Words by Lochie Gill The GoPro dropped in on our worlds back in 2006. Back then, it was a contentious item to fix upon your steed, as it came with a side of salted vanity and pickled narcissism, cue: returning of christmas presents. But, 2007 rolled in and the GoPro made a significant upgrade – it got sound. This being the Digital Hero 3. Why was this such a big deal? As any blue tack free surfer would know, the crack of fins or vacuum of a tube are sounds that you just can’t find anywhere else. They’re gratifying to the soul and keep you coming back for more. Such are the idiosyncrasies of the surfer’s brain. Maybe it was fate, maybe it was popular culture, but the status quo had changed when the GoPro became your co-pilot. Fast forward seven Christmas times and you’ve got the best-selling camera in the world. A publicly traded company valued at more than $8 Billion and offices on almost every continent. To top it all off, when Kelly Slater is drawing your logo on his board in permanent marker, you know you’ve fucking made it. But, this isn’t a GoPro business case. No. This is popping bottles kind of shit. A celebration of the best GoPro clips to ever grace the screen because, well, sometimes a selfie goes viral. **Requirements for viewing: – HD on. – Volume up. 7. Kelly Slater, Teahupoo During his round three heat against Jadson Andre at the Billabong Pro, Teahupoo, Mr. Slater went and put four nine point rides on Jadson before the yellow/white flag was up. Amazing and not at all surprising, tbh. He then decided to really fuck F.U.T.W by mouth mounting a GoPro, swinging into a west bowl and delivering us vision that will likely never be seen again. Pause this just before take off… yikes. **** 6. Mark Healey, Mavericks Mav’s is a wave that has claimed the lives of two Hawaiians, and gave claiming a third a real good try. This isn’t the kind of clip that’ll make you want to surf – it’s quite the opposite, actually. But when you watch this back for the second time (which you will) you’ll notice the relatively calm breathing despite not so calm facial expression of Healey as a 30-footer blocks out the sun. The GoPro takes you along as a VW collides with a city bus. **** 5. Filipe Toledo and Gabriel Medina, Fiji As we regain our breath from the previous clip, let’s nestle into the palms of two of Brazil’s finest, Gabriel Medina and Filipe Toledo. On a small day in Fiji, as any two pals would, Gabs and Filly traded the same wave recording all the way. Clip hunting, maybe. Fun, most certainly. Stick close to the whitewash and watch as the two trade air revs B/S and F/S – with ease, mind you. **** 4. Shane Dorian, Teahupoo How did this not get more attention? There’s plenty of reasons why this is straight-gnar. If you’ve seen this wave before, you know what kinda size it needs to properly break, and GoPros don’t quite do waves of this magnitude justice. If Mr Dorian is hooting when he pulls off a wave, you just know it was a stomper. Drink in the spit of this, and the second throw, and the pull off before the death closeout on the inside! **** 3. Anthony Walsh, Indonesia Job-quitting stuff within. And we mention job because it’s Mr. Walsh’s gig to travel the world for GoPro and make videos like this possible; your job > mine, Anthony. Any semi-travelled or Stab Cinema-loving surf dog will know this wave and won’t be surprised that it’s produced a clip of this length. The particular cavern that draws a shriek of pure joy is almost enough to give city life away. **** 2. Benji Brand, Namibia A very close number two, may we add, but this wave of Benji Brand’s is something out of another world. It’s cold and dark – but goddamn is the vision handsome. This is a wave that, 10 years ago, nobody knew existed. Now it’s the setting for the two best GoPro clips to ever be captured atop foam. **** 1. Koa Smith, Namibia Well, it is. This is the best GoPro clip ever captured. It has everything; the sun, the sand, the spit. It’s a clip that hypnotises and dazzles on the screen. And that’s what gets it the GoPro crown, wethinks. **** The new, kinda-newly-released Hero4 is extra badass. The audio bangs. And, we’re doing a little promo: Order your GoPro Hero4 Silver over at Dive and Fish, use the promo code STAB, and you’ll get free delivery plus a surf mount. Oh… the price is reduced, too.