After A Spirited Sermon, Harry Bryant Crowned Champion Of 2025 Martini Masters - Stab Mag

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After A Spirited Sermon, Harry Bryant Crowned Champion Of 2025 Martini Masters

Curren Caples releases his first pro shoe with Vans. A party ensues.

news // May 16, 2025
Words by Jack O'Neill Paterson
Reading Time: 3 minutes

All photos by Jimmy Wilson.

You’ll recall, vividly, that the most prestigious surf contest of 2024 took place on the North Shore last December. From every coastline they came — trained, prepared, and driven by the possibility of glory. 

Of course, we’re talking about the 2024 Mai Tai Masters, won by Holly Wawn, hosted out the front of Turtle Bay, where a warbling right-hander sometimes wraps around the headland.

Naturally, the people cried out for more. The market demanded a sequel. And in 2025, it arrived — not in Hawaii, but reborn in the chlorinated utopia of Palm Springs. From the ashes of the Mai Tai Masters rose the Martini Masters, a wave pool event governed by two sacred rules:

  1. Skull two martinis before you paddle out
  2. Entertain
What it feels like to be the name on the billboard.
Curren, pictured centre, bonding with the shoe that bears his name.

The 2025 Martini Masters was technically a surf comp. Spiritually, it was a pool party. Officially, it was held to mark the release of Curren Caples’ signature Vans shoe. 

Given Curren’s genetic overlap with both skating and surfing, the lineup reflected his dual citizenship. Zion Wright, Lizzie Armanto, Alex Midler — all skate-world royalty — took to the water with alarming competence. The surf contingent featured Harry Bryant, Holly Wawn, Micky Clarke, Noah Schweizer, Karina Rozunko, Jake Kelly, Lola Mignot, Andrew Jacobson, and Evan Caples (Curren’s dad), with the judging panel featuring Jake Anderson and Dane Reynolds.

Zion rips on a surfboard. Proof here.

Eventually, it came down to Curren, Noah, Harry, and Holly.

Harry, riding a boog, was a problem for Dane. “I don’t want to give it to the guy on the boog,” he allegedly said.

Harry responded with a two-minute sermon about wave-riding being wave-riding, that the vessel is irrelevant, and the only metric that matters is entertainment. He delivered it dripping wet, borderline evangelical, and disturbingly hard to refute.

Dane blinked. “Well, shit,” he said. “Can’t argue that.”

So Harry won.

And thus concluded the most important surf event of 2025.

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