Stab Podcast: Filipe's Rightful Fury - Stab Mag

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Stab Podcast: Filipe’s Rightful Fury

The darkest losses in surfing history + El Sal ramblings from our on-the-ground correspondent.

news // Apr 6, 2025
Words by Jack O'Neill Paterson
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Ask any surf-obsessed kid, still a stranger to the nuances of geography, where they want to end up when they grow up. Give them three choices: The Mentawais, The North Shore, or Surf City. Odds are, they’re picking the city, no hesitation.

This week on the podcast, we walk those streets, vicariously, through the voice of Holden Trnka, who’s on the ground, mic in hand, reporting on every little detail he can find in El Salvador.

The political situation? “Complex,” he says. With the war on gangs and the war on traditional currency after crypto became a payment option, it’s a bit of a minefield.

“You just don’t really feel on edge at all,” says the correspondent. “It’s got that classic surf tourism thing, which means it’s more crowded.”

Make one thing better, and something else will get worse, says Mikey. The nature of balance. 

What’s also complex, apparently, is predicting the surf at Punta Roca. When they say good, it’s bad. When they say bad, it’s it’s good. The boys also chew over disappearing fins, how to make them stick, and the inevitable, volcanic eruption of Filipe Toledo after being awarded 7 points for the best wave he’s surfed all year. 

Also rotting on the fridge shelf this week: a nasty crater at the Superbank — is the upcoming CT event about to take a hit? A new contender for Best Surfing I’ve Ever Seen, and Paul Evans rambling about bike riding before swerving into the darkest losses in surfing history. Oh, and, of course, some obligatory surfboard chatter. 

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