Mick Fanning Takes On The Stab High ‘Air Guys’

Stab High, our attempt at our first surf contest, is less than a month around the bend. We’re sharpening our rulebook and solidifying our list of ’16ish’ surfers (read: it’s looking more like 20), but while we narrowed down the best aerialists to invite, we encountered some throwing shade at these so called air guys.  

Mick Fanning’s retired from the jersey but we threw him a line anyway because we knew the alpha male in him would have some fun on the Stab High Hotline. 

Alpha males are competitive in more ways than one: office antics, overt bar advancements, and for surfers, an unrestrained competitive drive. These non-competitive ‘air guys’ might be specialists in the air, but as Mick points out, how much do they know about the demands of competition?

As expected, Mick threw the right amount of light-hearted shade. 

“It takes them six months to make an edit, how are they going to do an air in three hours?!”

“Good luck to ’em!”

And he’s got a point: Will these Life Without Jersey folk bend and crumble under the pressure of a boozy crowd and live webcast? 

But being able to land an air within a three-hour window isn’t the only worries fermenting in the minds of our competitors. They’re also having some fun with gnarly, redneck locals, and that’s why Harry Bryant called up first to confirm that it was “okay”.

“I’m coming to do that air show in that wave pool in a couple of weeks and was just ringing to make sure that was okay with you. Maybe give me a ring back when you can. Thanks, bye.”

Stab High will be landing in Waco on September 22, so if you want to attend buy a ticket here.

Live music act, judges and commentary team all to be announced soon…