Stab Magazine | Blair Conklin Is Switched The Fuck On

Live Now: Cheat Codes With Coco Ho

2461 Views

Blair Conklin Is Switched The Fuck On

Meet Laguna Beach’s UC Berkeley-educated environmental science and 4’6 foamy enthusiast.

style // Nov 29, 2018
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 5 minutes

It’s 11:30 PM in Central Texas. I’m standing on a balcony, overlooking a milky green wave, watching a man with a curly blonde head of hair and sunken eyes, toting a tiny board bag that looks like it belongs to a 9-year-old NSSA warrior.

He takes in his warm, and muggy surroundings.

“Hi, I’m Blair,” he says in a confused tone. 

Before we can be properly acquainted, Puerto Rican elfi Hector Santamaria jolts upright from his reclining position on the floor with a spinning kick, the beautiful weirdo, and clasps Blair’s hand with two of his own.

“You’re like a sunflower, man,” Hector gushes. “You’re yellow! I can see.” 

I offer Blair a beer. He accepts. “Oh, you’re Morgan.” 

“Yeah, sorry for the late hit…” 

action 02

Blair rides Catch Surf’s Blair Conklin Model, 4’6″

280

Wearing Catch Surf’s ENSIGN S/S STRIPED KNIT – NAVY/WHITE and PONTO PANT – WHITE.

Shop the ENSIGN S/S STRIPED KNIT – NAVY/WHITE, PONTO PANT – WHITE and CALI PALMS HAT – NAVY

Blair Conklin is fresh off a 50-plus-hour jaunt from Tonga. Stab had interrupted his visit to a friend’s freedive/snorkel tour with humpback whales, with the news that the world champion skimmer had earned a crowdsourced spot into Stab High, our surf contest “held mostly in the air.” He cut the trip short; in fact, he was only in Tonga for 24 hours. 

Mr. Conklin was but a blip on our radar in 2015. He’d released a clip riding a foamy in Mexico doing some very impressive leaps. We hadn’t seen anyone surf a sub-five-foot foamy like that, ever. So, we ran it. 

A year or two later, the same man would slip into a hefty Wedge sider, a dead-ringer for two-time world champ John Florence’s finless twin, his back knee slightly cocked, his tube riding, effortless. We also ran it. 

See, Blair isn’t your average pro surfer; actually, he’s not a pro surfer at all. He is, in fact, a three-time world skimboard champion, what he calls, “probably the jankiest tour of all time.” 

281

Wearing Catch Surf’s IVAN S/S POLO – HEATHER GREY/MAROON and PONTO PANT – WHITE.

Shop IVAN S/S POLO – HEATHER GREY/MAROON and PONTO PANT – WHITE

While discussing the Skimboard World Tour, which has seven stops, three on the West Coast of the US, three on the east, one in Cabo San Lucas and the occasional international event in either Europe or Brazil, in San Francisco a few months following Stab High, I asked him the simple question, “What’s your occupation?” 

He laughs, “I’d guess I’d call it more of a hobby than an occupation. But at the moment, I’ve been skimboarding and surfing a lot. Actually, recently I’ve been surfing more than I normally do.” 

“So, are you a professional skimboarder—is that a thing?” 

“Umm… yeah,” he pauses. “I’ve been skimboarding for 18/19 years, it’s what I started out doing and is by far my first love, surfing came second. I’ve been competing and traveling around for skimboarding on a more frequent basis than surfing.” 

282

Wearing Catch Surf’s RANDY L/S WOVEN – GOLDEN PALMS and THE PARTY PANT – GOLDEN PALMS.

Shop RANDY L/S WOVEN – GOLDEN PALMS and THE PARTY PANT – GOLDEN PALMS

Blair lives in a house on the bluff overlooking Tablerock and West Street beach with two close friends. The house is huge, slightly decrepit and is million dollar real estate. The interior has not been modified since the 60s. It has the vibe of a college crash pad (patterned wallpaper, shag rugs) and a view reserved for the rich and famous. A choice set up for any 23-year-old recent college grad. “Living in Laguna Beach, especially South Laguna, it’s much better for skimboarding than for surfing. It’s really all shore break. It’s an easy way to have a whole lot of fun, and you get more waves.” 

To our knowledge, Mr Conklin is the best in his weird little surf niche. His Catch Surf Pro Model is four-foot-six-inches and the surfing he does on it is jaw dropping. He can tuberide with aplomb, grab-rail cutty, high rotate and shuv-it. And although his skimboard accolades are interesting, the work he does on his “surfboard” is what piqued our interest. On the topic of his Stab High Wildcard inclusion, he’s still a bit taken back. 

“I did not expect to get into the event [Stab High], especially after hearing all the really talented surfers going for it. I figured there was no chance, but I think the skim community had a big role in getting me the spot. It’s a small community but it’s a very tight knit group of friends.” 

283

Wearing Catch Surf’s DESMOND HOODED FLEECE – HEATHER GREY and PONTO PANT – LIGHT KHAKI.

action 01

Blair rides the Catch Surf Blair Conklin model, 4’6′.

Shop DESMOND HOODED FLEECE – HEATHER GREY and PONTO PANT – LIGHT KHAKI

While those from South Orange County, particularly Laguna Beach, can get pigeonholed into a stoner/slacker persona, Blair is not. Yes, the gent enjoys a beer and occasional puff, but he’s incredibly switched on. 

Last year, Blair graduated from UC Berkeley, the number one ranked public research school in the United States, typically reserved for those with a high school grade point average of straight A’s. 

“I worked fairly hard in high school,” quips Blair on the subject. “I was lucky to get in, I didn’t have my sights set on Berkeley. I kind of surprised myself when I got it.” 

“I studied environmental science,” he continues. “The way humans interact with the environment and the trails we leave behind is something that interests me. In the coming years, I’d like to get into sustainable agriculture, maybe take a bit of a farm route. Who knows? I’ll assess that when it comes. I’m going to ride out the skimboard and surfing thing as long as I can, because if I can do this for a bit, then why not?”

284

Wearing Catch Surf’s IVAN L/S POLO – BLACK/WHITE and PONTO PANT – LIGHT KHAKI.

Shop IVAN L/S POLO – BLACK/WHITE and PONTO PANT – LIGHT KHAKI.

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

From ‘Blue Ribbon Cross Country Runner’ to Vogue – How Steph Again Is Back With A Rip Curl Remix

Everything we know about the she-GOATs sponsorship boomerang.

Mar 18, 2024

Stab Interview: Darren Handley On Why You Can’t Buy The Winning Stab In The Dark Model

And his decades-long standoff with Slater.

Mar 17, 2024

Griff Embraces Portugal’s Eternal Time Loop To Vanquish Medina + Ewing, Defay Delays The Inevitable

A redeeming closing act at Supertubos.

Mar 16, 2024

The Secret Behind Lungi Slabb’s Inconceivable Greenmount Funnel

Six broken boards, one leaking forehead, and five days of Superbank mysticism.

Mar 16, 2024

Cheat Codes: 2,000 Hours Worth Of Travel Advice From Coco Ho

Hard-earned wisdom from 989,000 miles in the troposphere.

Mar 15, 2024

Dane Reynolds On The Best + Worst Surfboard He’s Designed, Why The ‘Neckbeard’ Is A Misnomer, And How To Appear Cultured When Sizing Up A New Stick

Plus, an introduction to the newly-minted CI Dumpster Diver 2.

Mar 14, 2024

The Most Cinematic Surf Film Since ‘View From A Blue Moon?’

The best wave of Noah Beschen's life at sinister Chopes and 540s with Tyler, The…

Mar 13, 2024

Watch: ‘Vacation 2’ Presented By Monster Energy

Stab Highway Europe winners visit House of Somos, Costa Rica.

Mar 13, 2024

DHD Wins Stab In The Dark With Kolohe Andino

Plus, which Orwellian Premium members best prophesied our Stab In The Dark winners?

Mar 12, 2024

The Shortest Day At Supertubos

Early bird gets the skunk.

Mar 12, 2024

Watch: Kelly Slater Bails On Onshore Portugal, Gets Supertubed at Kirra Instead

“No ski. No runarounds. No snaps.”

Mar 12, 2024

Rumor: 8x World Champion Stephanie Gilmore To Leave Roxy For Another Legacy Surf Brand

The woman who Kelly Slater called 'God's gift to surfing' ignites a bidding war.

Mar 12, 2024

The Longest Day At Supertubos

Much to love, little to hate.

Mar 12, 2024

Joel Parkinson, Jay Davies, And Mark Zuckerberg Jog Into A Jingoistic Surf Biathlon…

An American's POV of the Australian Boardriders Battle.

Mar 11, 2024

No SuperToobs Today, But We’ll Never Turn Down A Rippable Wedge

Any port in a storm.

Mar 10, 2024

The Serendipitous Tale Of A Barnacle-Encrusted 10’0” That Survived 300 Days + 700kms On The East Australia Current

Paddy Power’s big wave gun was lost at Wedding Cake Island, Sydney and collected (by…

Mar 10, 2024

Was Fiji Last Week As Special As The Thundercloud Swell Of 2012?

“I’ve never seen so many people get so many good ones,” said 2023 SSOTY Nathan…

Mar 9, 2024

SEOTY: Hughie Vaughan Discovered A New Wave In Indonesia — But He Doesn’t Know Where It Is

Watch 'Nibbler' — the 17-year-old's bite-sized 2024 Stab Edit of The Year entry.

Mar 9, 2024
Advertisement