Watch: Unscrew Those Anchors And Throw Away The Fin Key

The stigma around finless surfing is that it’s a gimmick. You undress your board when the waves don’t merit your Sunday best. Indeed, strange things happen when you take off those dangling contractions.

But for all its preconceived notions, there are moments that happen that could never be replicated on a “traditional” board and deserve to be recognized. Some folks, like Beau Cram and Ari “Krooky” Browne, have made names for themselves on these unorthodox shapes. All signs point to Jordan Rodin as the next in line. 

“Head in the Clouds” is a selection of Jordan’s best work in Western Australia — and it’s right on par with the best finless boys in the biz. Jordan slips, slides, and glides his way around anchorless foam with style and grace. And not just on the safety of the shoulder, but right there in the belly of the beast. 

Jordan’s clearly enrolled in DHU (Derek Hynd University). One of the boards comes from Hynd’s line FFFF (​​Far Field Free Friction). The others are his own design. I’ll come clean: I’m not a finless connoisseur and have no idea which is which. Sorry. 

The whole thing is aesthetically pleasing with good tunes to match. We can thank Billy Cervi for documenting Jordan’s spills and thrills for the past few years. Though he only started filming seriously in 2018, the visuals and feel of this clip have the look of someone much more experienced. 

“It’s been an interesting journey for Jordan Rodin, watching him grow and progress in his surfing and board shaping skills,” Billy says. “Experimenting with what works and what doesn’t. Jordan’s a working-class man so he doesn’t get to surf for a living but he makes do with what he’s got quite well I think.”

Watch Jordan bounce around Western Australia sans fins and consider how much yoga you’d have to do to stay that low for so long.