Is South Africa Surfing’s Best Untapped Resource?

It’s still all there — just buried under dust and distance. Africa feels like the last untamed frontier, hidden by hostile weather and political fault lines.

To loosely borrow from Twiggy Baker in our How Surfers Get Paid series, there’s a hell of a lot more to the continent than Mick’s Rattlesnake. That was just one of the serpent heads he was willing to let go — and far from the deadliest. 

Even South Africa, the continent’s most celebrated surf destination, feels unscathed. As Jordy Smith put it in HSGP, there’s no real reason to leave J-Bay. Even when it’s firing, the crowds barely register. 

With a stack of near-perfect, relatively uncrowded right-hand points at your feet, it’s easy to forget that the bottom of Africa’s coastline is jagged, broken, and full of waves that mirror its rough edges. 

Adin Masencamp is a South African with a hunger for the CT, and between CS events, he’s compiled a 10-minute edit showcasing the full-smorgasbord of South African waves — kelp ridden, imperfect, frightening. 

It’s worth mentioning that Adin’s mother has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, which has spread to her lymph nodes and bones. The family’s been dealt a tough hand, with the mounting costs of treatments, medications, and hospital visits. In response, Adin’s started a BackaBuddy page to help ease the financial burden. 

To donate, click here.