A Goofyfoot's Guide To Better Surfing - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 2 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

581 Views

A Goofyfoot’s Guide To Better Surfing

Parker Coffin and Luke Swanson get illuminated in Indo.

cinema // Sep 18, 2023
Words by Ethan Davis
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Every time I’ve met Luke Swanson we’ve been in a different country. 

“Ah, another place I’ve met you,” he delivered matter-of-factly whilst bobbing out The Box in West Oz earlier this year, after two previous encounters in Lakey Peak and Hawaii.

I appreciated his deadpan delivery, for it reminded me of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot — a text set in a post-apocalyptic world in which two bedraggled acquaintances, Vladimir and Estragon, meet by a leafless tree and wait for the arrival of the mysterious Godot, who continually sends word that he will appear but never does. 

As such, the pair, with an undercurrent of existential dread, begin to fill the air with dialogue that asymptotically (always approaching but never reaching) broaches meaning i.e. “Let’s go.” “We can’t.” “Why not?” “We’re waiting for Godot.” 

‘Perhaps Luke is a Godot fan too,’ or so I would like to think. 

Having far more illuminating discussions were he and Parker Coffin — two surf nerds of the highest order — who went on this Monster Energy trip to Indo where they exchanged in trade secrets…

“We’ve known each other for years and we have this perfect synergy of alignment where we go way deep into these ideas and experiences as a surfer,” explains Luke. “He has one of the most analytical minds to pick in terms of technique and mechanics. It’s just been a full on surf camp for me.”

Parker is a student of Wave Ki and has helped launch two of Channel Islands’s best-selling models, the SITD-winning CI Pro and the Fish Beard — you can learn more about his interest in board design here. Luke Swanson is a Stab High veteran and freakishly talented 19-year-old who many claimed to have stomped the best air ever…

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Erin Brooks, Michael Schwab, And A $60M Surf Community In Cabo San Lucas

Is the residential wavepool model actually surfing's future?

Jun 28, 2025

37 Years Old And World #1 — What’s Changed For Jordy Smith?

On rediscovering decades old surfboard templates, having a personality on the CT, and why this…

Jun 27, 2025

Tom Lowe Stars in ‘Let Me Live’

The wild, improbable ascent of Britain’s best big-wave surfer.

Jun 27, 2025

Saq Wrap: Italo Celebrates Mid-Heat, Griff Drops A Freestyle, Jordy + Yago Continue BBQing 20-YOs

Top seeds sow ruin, Final 5 starts to crystallize.

Jun 27, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 2

Our seven surviving surfers confront an oddly large California beach break.

Jun 26, 2025

SEOTY: The ‘Once-In-A-Decade’ Caribbean Swell That Kelly Slater Passed On

Michael Dunphy stars in Jimmicane's 'Blue Veil'

Jun 25, 2025

Who Owns Bingin? Legal Fight To Stop Demolition Begins

Eviction notices served for all businesses built on state land.

Jun 25, 2025

Tony Hawk Just Named Hughie Vaughan’s Internet-Breaking Air Because… No One Else Can

89% of our IG poll respondents claimed the 'stale fish flipper' was the best air…

Jun 25, 2025

German Surfers: AN INVESTIGATION

Truth is the light by which the world can see. 

Jun 24, 2025

“I Lost Everything I’ve Ever Owned, But This Board Came Back”

One month after the LA wildfires, a surfboard washed ashore.

Jun 24, 2025

Shock Therapy: World 1 & 2 Eliminated Early In Saquarema

Gabriela Bryan and Caity Simmers fall victim on Day 1 of the Vivo Rio Pro.

Jun 22, 2025

German University Surf Contest Derails After Local Pushes Competitor Off Wave

The story behind the shove, and why wave-rental politics turned physical in Seignosse.

Jun 22, 2025

An Accidental 90-Minute Chat With Caity Simmers

A Stab Interview on life, individuality, and chimpanzee research initiatives.

Jun 21, 2025

No Tears In Saquarema

Can anyone other than Italo, Filipe or Yago win the Vivo Rio Pro?

Jun 20, 2025

Why Is One Of The World’s Longest Lefts Being Bulldozed?

Pavones residents displaced as excavators move in.

Jun 19, 2025

The Seven Surfing Conspiracies

Inside surfing’s shadow government: what they don’t want you to know.

Jun 18, 2025

Mongrels Flood The Mondrian, Doped Youth Resurfaces in Versace

An autopsy of the Solento Surf Film Festival — and a breakdown of the biggest…

Jun 18, 2025

The Billion Dollar Hole Behind Lakey Peak: Should Surfers Be Worried?

A massive gold mine is being excavated behind the Indonesian surf village, fueled by foreign…

Jun 17, 2025
Advertisement