Unlocked: Kael Walsh’s 2025 Stab Edit Of The Year Entry ‘Strung’

It’s hard to make sense and make a proper surf edit at the same time. 

They ain’t cheap — we’ll get into that below — and the return is hard to justify. Say it goes good, and you get over 100k views. Sweet. Ben Garvy and Jacob Ezekiel can surf behind a ferry and double you. And randoms are getting 1M+ for showing off his dumb fucking abs while changing in and out of his wetsuit on TikTok. 

Still — whether it’s just out of habit or truly for the sake of the art — some surfers still devote their lives to making them. And we are truly fortunate that they do so. 

That’s why we created Stab Edit of the Year back in 2022. And, today, we present you with another entry from the man who took out the inaugural edition. The prize has been downgraded slightly from a Bitcoin to a complementary meal at Pizza Hut (see above about ROI), but Kael Walsh is still here to crank up the heat with ‘Strung.’ 

Locations include: South Africa, Namibia, Indo, West Oz, and P-Pass, which he scored alone. Kael also treats us to cameos and credit roll clips from Rolando Montes, Eithan Osbourne, Brendon Gibbens, and his holiness Matt Hoy. ‘Strung’ was edited by Wade Carroll (who does not miss) and is brought to you by Quiksilver. Surfing-wise, we’ve got a bit of everything. Airs. Tubes. Turns. All very good.

Let’s get him on the horn. 

Stab: We gotta start by talking about your Bitcoin. What have you done with that thing? 

Kael Walsh: I’ve still got it. Most people tell me to hold onto it, so that’s what I’m trying to do. Every now and then I think that I should maybe sell it, but then it just feels like another thing to worry about right now. I try not to think about it too much. It’s just sitting there — out of sight, out of mind. I haven’t bought any more crypto or anything like that. But I do check the price every now and then, especially if I hear it’s doing well. 

What did you do after you finished ‘Idiot Box?’

I definitely cruised a bit. I think after a big project, you need some downtime to celebrate or rest. Plus, right after that, Quiksilver was doing ‘Saturn’ and ‘Repeater,’ so I started working on those. I started working on ‘Strung’ in 2023, and last year, I tried to go harder at it — but it’s been a lot of back and forth with filming and juggling other projects. ‘Strung’ took longer because I wanted to go beyond the usual places, not just Western Australia. 

How often do you film when you’re at home?

I only really film when the waves are good. If the conditions aren’t great or I don’t expect to get a solid clip, I won’t call the crew to shoot — I’d feel bad asking them to come down for nothing.

You got some fucked up waves in ‘Strung.’ Are you a forecast shaman? 

A lot of it was luck, but I also spent a ton of money traveling to places to figure them out. I feel like you kind of have to go to a place once, learn the spot, talk to locals, and get it dialed in before you can really figure it out and score a swell. That approach helped a lot with ‘Strung.’

I always check in with a few people who know the zones well, like Dav [Dave Fox] and Jenno [Tom Jennings]. They’re tapped into a lot of places and have such good advice, so it’s helpful to get their input. But in the end, you’re still making a call and hoping for the best. You’ve got to be prepared to take a gamble. I’ve had trips where I got nothing, including one to Mozambique when I was working on this. I also had to go to P-Pass twice, because the first time I went, I only got one wave that we ended up using — and it was just a whatever 16mm clip. 

How much did you spend on this thing? 

I spent somewhere between 80 and 100 grand (Australian) over two and a half years. It adds up, especially if you don’t score every time. I’ve tried to be more strategic about it — planning trips with other crew or linking up with local people to save costs, but sometimes you’re just on your own program and it’s super expensive. I went solo quite a bit this past year. But ideally, you’d want to plan trips with others. If you’re trying to get something done on short notice, people aren’t always available, which makes it challenging. For the next project, I’m planning to be a bit more organized and try to bring people along to cut costs.

Tell me about scoring P-Pass. 

Well, the first time I went, I spent nearly $10k and got skunked. It’s an expensive place to visit.  But I felt like I’d learned more about what makes it work so I was keen to go back. Then I was in Japan on a snow trip with some of my friends and saw things lining up. The experience was kind of trippy though — you’re out there alone, surfing for hours, and sometimes missing waves or going on one to see the next one behind it was way better. There were long lulls and you start to get in your head. I think it would have been way better to have someone surfing it with me, but it was still sick. 

Was there anyone else out there?

A couple of surfers watched one day, but the best day was just me and the filmer, Rex. He had gotten super sick, so he was laying on the boat most of the time. It was hectic.

And you ended up getting hurt shortly after finishing ‘Strung,’ right?

Yeah. I was in Ireland, and I guess I went on a pretty big wave for the slab we were surfing. I air-dropped and slapped the water really hard with my head. I didn’t think it was that bad, and I actually stayed out a bit longer. I kinda tried to just push through it and kept surfing that trip. I felt alright, but not 100%. It was hard for me to judge. It wasn’t that bad, but I also wasn’t getting better. Over time, it can put you in a pretty dark place, though. I saw a few doctors and got some advice from other surfers who’ve gone through it and realized I had to slow down, which was hard. I’m feeling pretty good again now, though. I’ve been doing airs and shit again, which is fun.”

Remember when you surfed a CT? Do you still think about comps? 

Yeah, I watch them whenever the time zone is right, especially if my friends are in heats. And watching JJF and the top guys is sick when the waves are good. I think it’d be cool to do that, but with the new WSL system it would take three years to even have a chance. I spoke to Eithan [Osborne] about it in France briefly. It would be sick to just show you can do it — once you’ve ticked that box, it seems like you’d be have more credibility even as a freesurfer. But it would be such a big commitment for me. Do I really want to burn three years of my life to maybe have a chance? 

Making surf films is a tough path, especially with how much it costs. Why do you do it?

It’s easily what I’m most passionate about in life. Growing up, watching good surf videos got me psyched. If I’m not psyched, I’m probably not going surfing. You take away something from them — they can just make you feel something that you didn’t feel before. And now, as someone who makes them, they’re what keep me connected to the surf community and push me to be creative. I think we need more of them.