Is It Tomorrow Already?

Superkids have been a thing since forever. 

Kelly Slater. John Florence. Carissa Moore. Etc. 

But in the age of the wavepool, they’re popping up at an unprecedented rate and surfing at levels that are formerly unfathomable.

Last year, the Stab High Ladybirds brought us Sky Brown, Sierra Kerr, Caity Simmers, and Bella Kenworthy. While all of the girls showed promise as elite aerialists, it was hard to look past Sky, an 11-year-old skate/surf crossover athlete who was sticking “backside ollies” with greater consistency than the main event winner, Chippa Wilson.

Sky ended up losing to Sierra in a surf-off, but her technique and body positioning were unparalleled. 

Then we have 13-year-old Jackson Dorian, who is far and away the best-ever aerialist for his age. A large part of that comes back to the repetition with which Jackson has been able to practice these maneuvers and perfect the movements associated with them. 

In the past two years, it could be argued that nobody has sampled a wider variety and greater quantity of artificial waves than Jackie D, the results of which are on full display above.  

This is what the future looks like. And it’s kind of terrifying.