And Our 2025 E.A.S.T. Surfer Is…

Last year, we released our seventh Electric Acid Surfboard Test (E.A.S.T.).

Filmed with the inimitable Dave Rastovich through the duration of a swell rich 2024 on Australia’s East Coast, the project marked a distinct change in our approach to the alternative board testing series. 

Namely, it was the first time we succumbed to the cacophony of internet commenters begging us to invite an ‘alternative’ surfer onto the project. Historically, we’d aimed to weave tension and a collision of perspective into the series by having traditional three-fin purists dive into the fringes of surfboard design (see: Dane, Steph, Mason, Coco, Noa Deane.)

Dave Rastovich was the first E.A.S.T. surfer with a deep well of alternative hydrodynamic experiences — and his unmatched, passionate articulation left us with the realization that we might need to change course. 

We know, we know… you told us so. 

The other salient realization? When we take months to film a surfboard testing project, the depth of exploration increases exponentially, when compared to the week or two that it typically takes to shoot these projects. 

Of course, keeping a professional surfer’s attention for half a year is an almost unattainable luxury — unless they happen to have a profound passion for surfboard design and new feelings. 

Luckily, for 2025, we’ve stumbled across a surfer who is passionately curious, deeply involved in the realm of alternative surfboard creation, AND has spent a portion of his career as a high-performance Championship Tour thruster guy. 

As you may have guessed by the header image, our 2025 E.A.S.T. surfer is Mikey February — thanks to Kona Big Wave and Vans.

What can we tell you about the project so far? 

To start, we’ll say that Mikey was so excited about the series that he insisted we didn’t trim down our list of shapers to the usual 8, 10, or 12 boards. Instead, he started the project with 16 surfboards — each one from a different shaper.

Another twist is that this year, Mikey helped choose the shapers, and hopped on the phone to order a custom from each of them. 

If there’s a person we trust to curate his own surfboard test, it’s surfing’s very embodiment of jazz. It’s a new approach, and we’ll be curious to see how it plays out on-screen. 

“Mikey’s whole approach was that he wanted to open the aperture, and get unique feelings out of what each shaper experiments with,” says this year’s E.A.S.T. producer and longtime Quiksilver creative maestro Nat Johnsen. 

Typically, Stab is the middle man between the shapers and the surfer — but because Mikey reached out and ordered every single board, he’s been fielding questions, curiosity, and competitiveness from 16 different surfboard craftsmen.

“It’s like balancing 16 girlfriends,” laughs Mikey. “I feel like I’m on the bachelor show,”

Now, four months and three countries into the project, M-Feb has developed a deep connection with some of the boards and a mild disdain for others. He’s broken a few, and spraypainted all of them. 

The team is currently filming in Hawaii, and the project is on track to be released on October 23rd. 

In the meantime, we’ll be working on our first ever E.A.S.T. Fest, which will be hosted by Kona Big Wave at Palm Springs Surf Club. Click here to read about it — we’re inviting you to come party and test boards from previous and current E.A.S.T. series in the pool alongside some of your favorite pro surfers. We’ll also be giving away over $25,000 worth of surfboards the help of Kona Big Wave and Vans. 

And, while you wait, watch all previous E.A.S.Ts here.