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Take a head-dip inside the issue.
Classical Leanings
How Matt Chojnacki arrives at the past in style. Interview by Luke Kennedy
From a young age Matt Chojnacki became enchanted with the surfing history of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, where he grew up. Matt’s classical leanings saw him embrace the ‘Ride Everything’ philosophy and thrive as a competitive longboarder and freesurfer. Known affectionately as ‘The Waxhead’ Matt funds his salt-crusted life by restoring classic cars. It’s the kind of complimentary double-life many of us would love to lead.
Young Brave Hart
Seventeen-year-old Ned Hart’s abrupt ascension into the big-wave spotlight. By Anthony Pancia
Teenage, West Australian Ned Hart has already won the ‘Young Gun’ prize in the New Big Wave Challenge Awards, where he also received a nomination for the prestigious ‘Ride of The Year’. Embracing a surname that readily lends itself to Hollywood wordplay, young Ned is living up to his moniker and already nudging his way into the ranks of the elite, big-wave fraternity.
The Indo Motorcycle Diaries: The Wild West
Where itinerant Indonesians work in the goldmines, while travelling surfers jostle for hollow treasures. By Tom De Souza
Tom De Souza’s beatnik bike tour of Indonesia continues. In this chapter he heads to Sumbawa, where surfing pilgrims plunder Supersuck’s funnelling lines. Meanwhile, Ozi expats seek a more removed existence and workers from around Indonesia arrive to make their living in the local gold mines. Once again, an insightful picture of the different forces at work in the Indo archipelago.
Pam Burridge:
An Immortal of Australian Surfing. By Phil Jarratt
Phil Jarratt’s excellent new book ‘Immortals of Australian Surfing’ features 12 surfers. We chose to sample the chapter on Pam Burridge because her story has so many intriguing facets – posing as a boy in her early surfing days, the adored prodigy, fronting a rock band, a battle with anorexia and of course a decade long fight to become World Champion. In Pam’s dynamic journey through life and surfing there seems to be something we can all relate to.
Christa Funk: Let The Light In
How a land-locked mainlander chased ocean dreams to the North Shore lineups and beyond. Written by Lauren L. Hill • Photos by Christa Funk
After pursuing competitive swimming as a teenager and then doing a sting in the military, Christa Funk decided she wanted to focus her energy on being in the water at Pipeline with a camera in hand. Plucky, courageous and f*&^ing funny, Christa has honed her craft to become a world-class surf photographer.
Lahaina, Now and Then
Searching for the rainbow bridge in a town torn apart by wild-fires and political agendas. By Casey Dyson
Former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Lahaina, Maui was levelled by fire in August 2023. The wreckage exposes issues of political corruption and environmental degradation. The surf community’s support for an area anchored in Maui surf culture pulses through it all.
Love vs Like: Koa Smith and ‘The Source’.
How Koa Smith’s social media-inspired meltdown forced him to find perspective. By Isis Flack
Whether it’s on the North Shore of Oahu or Namibia’s Skeleton Bay, Koa Smith has a knack for snuffing out the looniest tubes and capturing them from every angle. Instead of trying to make it on tour, the Hawaiian-raised surfer has invested a heap of energy in the social media matrix. Koa watched his Instragram ‘likes’ and You Tube views soar, but at the end of it all was left wondering if he’d lost the ability to enjoy surfing minus the obsessive documentation.
SURFING IN CONFLICT
‘When a surfer finds himself in a warzone, again.’
By Iva Daniels
In the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, a surfer and musician finds himself in Israel trying to process the horrific events, and figure out if riding waves has any role to play in the peace process.
On The Pleasures of Being Haunted
The surfing obsessions that follow us through life. By Wesley Glover
Most of us have a wave that sits just beyond our reach. A snarling slab or a sky-tickling peak that we can’t quite will ourselves over the ledge on. Despite our open-dodge of its consequences the break still haunts us, dragging us ever-closer to a screaming take-off, if only to put our minds at rest.
