Watch: Expert Level Chandelier Negotiation From A Kid Too Young To Buy A Lotto Ticket - Stab Mag

Live Now — New Episode Of How Surfers Get Paid — Agents & Managers

376 Views

Watch: Expert Level Chandelier Negotiation From A Kid Too Young To Buy A Lotto Ticket

Koldo Illumbe soul-bonds with a lonesome Greenbush reef.

cinema // Oct 30, 2023
Words by Holden Trnka
Reading Time: 2 minutes

You may recall Koldo Illumbe as the charmed trilingual teenager whose father is an OG Mentawai boat captain.

You may also remember him from our Stab High stint at Lakey Peak.

In the above edit, he pools his aero-tubular dichotomy of resources, piecing together a collection of mirror-clean reef maulers and knee-crunching fin throws which resonate far beyond his 17 years. 

“We filmed most of this video last year,” Koldo tells me. “We got really good Greenbush in February, with no one out, for like two or three days — after that, we realized we should probably do a clip.”

One of the standout waves in the edit is the quintuple-chandelier, sideshore tunnel which Koldo somehow navigates at 1:20.

When I ask him about it, he laughs, “That was crazy actually, pretty funny story. It wasn’t a big swell, and there were a few boats there, plus a couple of guys from the HT’s resort. We were sitting in the water for probably an hour, without a single wave coming through. I had priority, and I knew I had to wait for a good one. I saw this set and was like ‘oh my god.’”

“As soon as I took off I pulled in, I didn’t even think about it. And then I couldn’t really see anything — I thought there was no way I was making it. I was so surprised when I got spat out — and then, that was the only wave all day. Nothing else came. All the boys were freaking out. I was happy with that one,” he grins.

After recovering from a minor ankle fracture sustained in Iceland last winter, Koldo has now just received his invite to the Vans Pipe Masters.

“My first time surfing Pipe was last winter. I only got like two good ones,” he says quietly.

That’s two more than the rest of us.

Click above to watch Roots, and envy an adolescence well spent.

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

The Italo Has Landed

And Cloudbreak got its tour card punched through 2029.

Aug 25, 2025

Surfing In The Age Of The Climate Collapse

Dave Rastovich and Pacha Light reckon with the hypocrisy at the heart of surfing.

Aug 25, 2025

We Asked Five Experts Who Will Win The WSL Finals 

Doug Silva, CJ Hobgood, Dooma Fahrenfort, Mateus Herdy, Parker Coffin — all gave different answers. 

Aug 23, 2025

Stab Interview: Who The Fuck Is Sebastian Williams?

Our first Surf100 finalist is a surf prodigy with one hell of a story.

Aug 22, 2025

Cheat Codes: How To Love A Board That Hates You With Mason Ho

An expanded guide to surfboard fun, physics, and a little self-sabotage.

Aug 21, 2025

John Florence’s Preferred Foam Manufacturer Halted Production — Is A Buyout In The Works? 

Rumor: Arctic to be bought by Cobra.

Aug 21, 2025

Take Stab’s 2025 Audience Survey, Win A New Surfboard + Kit

Fins, boardshorts, and Premium subscriptions also up for grabs.

Aug 21, 2025

Puerto vs. Barra: The Price of Development

A tale of two Mexican surf towns.

Aug 19, 2025

Come Party With Us And 100+ E.A.S.T. Boards In The Desert

Secure your tickets for an electric vision quest at Palm Springs Surf Club.

Aug 18, 2025

Will The Real Sea Shepherd Please Stand Up

The house Paul Watson built — and the board that locked him out.

Aug 18, 2025

Introducing Seven Of Planet Earth’s Hardest Charging Children

Are the kids going bigger, smaller, earlier? Shane Dorian offers perspective.

Aug 17, 2025

Morgan Maassen’s 2025 Post-Teahupo’o Power Rankings

"My greatest global economic indicator is the rental car scene in French Polynesia."

Aug 16, 2025

How Grant “Twiggy” Baker Secured A 3-Year Rip Curl Deal… At 52

Knowledge is power.

Aug 15, 2025

Surfing Won’t Pay the Bills? A Million On Red Might

When surfers don't get paid.

Aug 15, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 6

The first spot in our $100K finale goes to...

Aug 14, 2025

Jack Robinson Needed To Win The Tahiti Pro To Make It To Fiji… And He Did

+ Molly Picklum puts on tube riding clinic, looks the one to beat in Fiji.

Aug 14, 2025

Foiling: The Infinite Wave (+ Money) Glitch

Kai Lenny, Adam Bennetts and Eric Geiselman blow the whistle on pro surfing's dirty secret.

Aug 12, 2025

And Our 2025 E.A.S.T. Surfer Is…

Tall, spontaneous, and remarkably qualified

Aug 11, 2025
Advertisement