A Teenage Surfer’s Guide To Getting Filthy Rich

Last weekend, 16-year-old Kyle ‘Bugha’ Geirsdorf won $3million USD for his digital proficiency, beating a field of 99 players (plucked from 40 million potential qualifiers) in the Fortnite World Cup, which took place in New York City and was watched by over a million spectators across all platforms. 

Now, surfers between the ages of 13 and 18 can do the exact same thing, just for a fraction of the audience and prize.

The Quiksilver Young Guns competition has returned in 2019, and it’s looking for the best sub-18 surfers across the whole flat earth. To achieve this goal, they’re recruiting from the mental prison where all teenagers reside when not in the brine—Instagram. 

Kids, pay attention to this part. It’s how you might earn $10k.

Don’t worry, Kael Walsh has graduated from Young Gun finalist (2017) to two-time Stab High competitor and 2018 WSL Wildcard for Margies. It’s safe to worry, however, that the under 18 talent in 2019 is more explosive than burning match in a tank of gas.

Photography

Ryan Heywood

So here’s the deal, this year we (being Stab) are swinging in heavily on the Young Guns comp. Like picking the top 8, analyzing the clips, and we will be coming along for the final in Portugal when it all goes down in a fiery blaze of angst, air revs, hard rail work and, hopefully, some tube shooting. 

Are there rules? Of course there are! Have they evolved? Yep!

Before we break into it, write down this hashtag and don’t forget it #YGSurfContest. 

For further explanation, a PSA from our friends at Quik: 

Want to win $10k and a whole lot of clout? Well then, let’s talk about the 2019 Quiksilver Young Guns Surf Contest. We’re going on a mission to find the four best teenage surfers in the world, then sending them to Portugal and making one of them rich. Want in? All you have to do to win is surf your best — and make sure it’s documented. To enter, post a clip on Instagram, tagging @quiksilver and hashtagging #YGSurfContest. No longer are we looking for specific #YGAir, #YGRail or #YGCombo entries. This year, just put it all into one banger.

There are no guidelines on what to post — it’s up to you. Got a single wave you’re proud of? Fire it up. Feeling a vibey little edit after a few sessions? Cut it up and post. You’ll be judged on technical performance, creativity and flow. You can enter #YGSurfContest as many times as you’d like, but all of your entries will be judged individually.

Feeling inspired, but not sure if you have what it takes to make the Top 4? No worries. We’re also giving $1000 to the most creative entry. The creative entry award isn’t about skill — it’s all about having fun. So get out there and get weird!

One last thing: If you’re not under the age of 18 on November 10, 2019, then sorry, you’re out. On the flip side, you need to be 13 on August 1, 2019 to qualify.

Ever wonder what $10k and endless bragging rights look like? Just ask Sammy Pupo, he’s won this event twice!

Photography

Bosko

Got that? Good. Because at this moment, there are very few entrants for the 2019 Quiksilver Young Guns event, meaning your chances of success are high. And, once the IG submission window has closed, we will personally dissect your youthful thrashing and select our eight faves from the pack. So get to ripping and tagging, kids! We will be announcing our selects on September 5th. 

Oh, and did we mention anyone can enter? Quik didn’t stop calling this “King of the Groms” for no reason. Girls, get in here! 

Right now, we’re in the fetal phase of the “Slam the Gram” part of this competition, but for those who like to look further into the future, here’s a quick brief on the Top 8, Top 4, and Final of this event. 

Top 8: 

Well, not everyone can be a winner, that’s life. We’re only taking the créme de la créme. After the #YGSurfContest entries are submitted, we will be plucking through the foam, searching for the almond milk lattes in a sea of diary. After deep analysis, we will pull our eight favorite submissions from the hashtag (#YGSurfContest). The eight that leave a lasting impression on the collective Stab Staff will have a chance at the European final. But, they won’t be there quite yet. 

Top 4

Next, we will be putting the clips to the public. If you made the top eight, this is when you rally your support group. Quik will be posting the Top 8 clips onto their IG story and opening it up to a public vote. One Young Gun (the one with the most votes, duh) will join three others, who will be hand selected by the esteemed judging panel of Mikey Wright, Zeke Lau and Kanoa Igarashi. Once these four finalists are selected, well, buckle up, kid; this plane is headed to Portugal! You’ll be staying at La Pointe Surf Camp, complete with surf out front, a skate bowl that overlooks the rolling hills of Ericeira and the ocean. Quik will put you up in Portugal and toss you some $$$ to get there.  

The Final

If you’re one of the top four, you’ll spend a week with us and the Quik folk for a few surf heavy days. Best surfing wins $10k. It’s that easy.  

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Get those clips uploaded to Instagram, and for too dense to take note of the correct tag and hashtag by now, it’s #YGSurfContest and @quiksilver. 

One last time…

To enter you must include @Quiksilver and #YGSurfContest in your Instagram caption.  

Whoever said meeting kids on the internet was a bad idea?