If you were to design a future surfing World Champion and a poster boy for the sport, it would look a lot like Dane Henry. At just 19, he carries himself with a maturity beyond his years. He’s polite, well-mannered and confident on camera. But don’t mistake his kindness for weakness. Beneath the blonde mop and soft smile lies a ruthless competitive edge that he likes to sharpen in any kind of competitive setting. 

“Even when me and my mates go bowling, I have to smoke them,” he tells me. Pair that mentality with his progressive flare and lofty ambitions – landing the first documented double backflip and becoming World Number One – and Dane looks every bit like the champion I asked you to design at the opening of this piece.

Before 2024, Dane was a relatively unknown fixture outside his Fingal Head base and the surrounding Gold Coast area. That changed during a routine summer training session at D-Bah, when he landed the two biggest airs of his career – a sun-tickling full rotation and a backflip, a manoeuvre he has since become synonymous with.

Surfing Australia filmer, Owen Milne, captured both waves and shared a clip of his camera screen into a group chat. By the time Dane paddled in and checked his phone back at the car park, it was already lighting up. Both clips went viral online and the likes of Joel Parkinson, Noa Deane, Kolohe Andino and Mick Fanning all chimed in, heaping praise on the teenager.

One of the viral airs in question. Photo: Swilly.

 “I know that those two airs really put me on the map,” admits Dane. “I had about 7,000 followers on Instagram at the time and after those clips, alongside winning the ISA World Juniors, I ended that hype …

Miyazaki is a small city on Japan’s southeastern coast that feels a little like the love of Margaret River and Byron Bay – chilled, scenic, and surf-focused. When I first arrived over 20 years ago, I was straight off the plane from a stint in Bali and hit six-to-eight-foot, uncrowded perfection. I was hooked on the place from the get-go.

Some of you might remember Miyazaki as the site of one of pro surfing’s most fabled sessions, back in 1992. As the ASP contest went down at Kisakihama, Tom Curren, Tom Carroll and Kelly Slater grappled with thick, grinding 15-foot typhoon surf at nearby Uchiumi. The session, which featured prominently in Tracks, helped a young Kelly earn big-wave cred’ amongst his peers, while the wave was re-named Curren’s Point in honour of Tom’s mythical surfing in that swell.          

Driving down the coast in Miyazaki, you can’t help but notice how many set-ups there are. On their day, they absolutely pump. Over the years, I have picked up bits of the language – enough to navigate local conversations – but you really learn from immersion when it comes to surfing here.

The editor asked me to elaborate on a few themes topics. Hopefully, the photos and words below help give you an insight into an eclectic surf town with deep roots in the fishing industry.  

Two like minded local fisherman take a break during lunch.

Yakuza myths and truths

The ‘full Yakuza’ image — tattoos, sunglasses, hanging under beach umbrellas — is largely an urban stereotype. Out in country Japan, it’s more about tightly-knit groups and local codes, a sense of hierarchy and respect that governs behaviour rather than intimidation.

Locals only, respect, and surf etiquette

Back in the day, before online shopping, surfers shopped at just one surf store, and …

Northern Beaches fireman, Tommy Myers, is running hot but it’s got nothing to do with fighting a summer blaze. When we chat on the phone, the part time carpenter and father of three has just returned from L.A. with a Big Wave Challenge ‘Ride of the Year’ award in his top pocket, a Florence Marine deal on the make, and Nathan Florence on a social chat, eager to line up a swell. Tommy concedes he is still grappling with the whirlwind success that has come on the back of two waves ridden in his proverbial backyard at Queenscliff Bombie.     

“It’s just surreal. I think it’s going to take a bit of time to get used to the fact that I actually won that award, let alone doing it right at home on a wave that I can see from my house.”

In case you missed them, Tommy’s, two huffing peaks at Queenscliff Bombie came in the space of five months. Not once but twice, he hucked into 12-foot of vertical blue and speared his Nick Blair 8’6” through cavernous portals of Pacific. These were waves distinguished as much by their girth as their height. On both occasions Tommy took off ultra-late, picking critical lines that seemed to redefine the way Queenscliff Bombie could be ridden. You can split hairs to determine which is the better ride but if you asked Tommy, he’d probably give a nod to the first one – Good Friday 2025 – the wave that won him the XXL ‘Ride of the Year’. However, he was as surprised as anyone by his brace of rides.  

Marinating in the afterglow of his accolade at the XXL awards, Tommy traded beers with big-wave luminaries like Kai Lenny and Albee Layer and wondered how a fireman from Freshwater, had suddenly …

Surfers basically work on the assumption that any lump of ocean is fair game. You could go so far as to argue our fundamental belief system is permeated by a spirit of piracy. We make treasures of waves and feel entitled to plunder any hint of broken water we can find. On land we’ll accept denial of access to all kinds of institutions, clubs and organisations, but out in the water we expect no barriers to entry, and the right to roam as we please.

‘Freedom’ is often mentioned in the same sentence as surfing, but this connection hinges on the notion anyone can stake their claim to a rolling swell if they have the ability and the courage to take it on. Sure, there are basic rules, and localism serves as an unofficial form of regulation – to varying degrees at different breaks – but the idea we might legally be denied the opportunity to enjoy a particular surf zone is at odds with our entire ethos.

Riding waves is pleasurable, but a big part of surfing’s appeal is based on the understanding that once we hit the waterline no one can really tell us what to do. Clubbies, and any other kind of beach-related authority, are frequently met with stern disapproval if not disdain. 

However, it’s worth noting that wave restrictions have been part of surfing history from the start. Amongst the ancient Hawaiians certain breaks (and boards) were off limits to all but the royalty and nobility. The aliʻi, as they were known, had the tribal mandate to slide across the best waves, but for regular folk many of these breaks were ‘kapu’ or forbidden. Violating the rules made by chiefs about surfing and ocean resources could be met by severe punishments like clubbing, drowning, or exile.

…

So it was for a 16-year-old Dylan Wilcoxen who went all-in on his young dreams early last year. Achieving the dream of all teen hopefuls. In the perfect right hand tropical barrels of Lagundri Bay, Dylan won the 2025 Nias Pro QS event. And then he won the Nias Pro Junior Title in the same barrels the very next day. And in doing so, at 16 years old, was well on his way to qualifying for the 2026 Challenger series. That the waves happened to have been tailor made for him to win at Nias is no mystery at all. A rare bird, Dylan is no stranger to daily perfection, having grown up in a fantasy surf setting. The son of the owner of the famed Kandui Resort in the Mentawai, this young heir can paddle out from his front yard into the Rifles lineup, one of, if not the premier wave in the Mentawai. And Kandui lefts is just a short buzz around the corner on his own surf- rigged Jet Ski. Still, though it may seem dreamy, this isolation can become a double-edged sword for an aspiring young pro; the curse being living so far from the epicentres of modern pro-surf training programs, and the blessing being able to surf in perfect waves and develop into an instinctive surfer all your own.

Rather than interview a 16-year-old on such subjects, I turned to Lost Surfboard’s, Matt Biolos. In this exclusive conversation Biolos offers his experienced perspective on his young team member and explains why he feels that surfers like Dylan Wilcoxen provide essential meaning to the future of our sport. 

Dylan, sky-walking beyond the Indian Ocean. Photo: Mawa.

On First Tracks

Matt Biolos: I first saw Dylan surf in the Mentawai in the fall of 2020. He was …

The story of how tabloid journalist Graham Cassidy’s vision for professional surfing had its first realisation with the debut of the 2SM Coca Cola Bottlers. Surfabout in Sydney in May 1974 is well known, but what is less known or documented is the story of the prime time television lifestyle series which took Surfabout to the next level and created the model for mainstream sports marketing more than four decades before Drive To Survive got the world watching Formula 1.

It’s a story that brings two wildly eccentric genii together to create magical and award-winning television moments which show that not only are surfers human after all, but they can be quite entertaining in and out of the water. The Nine Network’s six-part series ‘Surfabout’ only lasted two seasons, 1978 and ’79, but we were lucky to have even that, because it was a deal borne out of desperation.

Nearing the end of the summer of 77-78, television producer, David Hill, sat in the empty studios of TCN 9 in Sydney’s Willoughby smoking cigarettes and wondering when the axe would fall, as it surely must. After all, at the conclusion of the disastrous first season of Kerry Packer’s rebel World Series Cricket, for which he’d been hired as executive producer, an enraged Packer had sacked just about everyone associated with it, planning for a fresh start the following summer. Everyone that is, except for ‘Hilly’, the last man standing, or sitting as it were. 

David Hill revolutionised the way we watch sport and his coverage of surfing was an integral part of the journey.

Forced to stage their unofficial ‘Super Tests’ and one-day games at non-cricketing venues like the Sydney Showground and Melbourne’s VFL Park while the official Australian Cricket Board hosted a test series against India at the traditional …

Over the last decade, Tru and Jesse Starling have become one of surfing’s most influential sister acts. Whether competing, commentating, coaching or launching skincare brands, the duo’s success is underpinned by a confident and professional approach to anything they undertake. 

Growing up in Narrabeen, Tru and Jesse had to figure out the ruthless ‘Northy’ lineup while claiming their place in a boardriders club that proudly surfs under the Jolly Roger, pirate flag. The competitive Narrabeen arena combined with a healthy dose of sibling rivalry saw them become formidable competitors and both enjoyed contest success.

However, Jesse and Tru were blessed with talents beyond blasting lips, and their passion for surf culture led them to create their own online women’s surf publication, ‘MurMur Mag’. In recent times their paths have grown more divergent as Tru (24) pursues an honours degree in psychology and a coaching role for Surfing Australia, while Jesse (23) is investing more energy in top-flight commentary and surf media. Although regularly on the road, they both still live at home with mum and dad (now on the NSW north coast), and work on Mureco Skin, the company they co-founded. Below, Jesse (JJ Noodles) and Tru (Boots) discuss how their unshakeable bond has helped them navigate the volatilities of the surf industry and different phases of their lives. 

An inseparable duo. Jesse on Tru

Inseparable Siblings

Tru and I did everything together growing up and we really had each other’s backs. Whether it was surfing, parties or going to mate’s houses, we even played in the same basketball team at one point. My parents always drilled into us, “Stick together and never leave a man behind”, we still hear this saying to this day before every night out. Growing up, Tru was everything I wanted to be, you know …

As Tavarua’s oracle, Jon Roseman, said, “Nothing like April in Tavarua”. When an open week with no bookings popped up the group activated – Shane Dorian, Ross Williams, Joel Tudor, Jeff Booth, Pat O’Connell, Timmy Curran, Keone Watson, Brad Gerlach and Donovan Frankenreiter. Not too shabby a crew. Plus, Lyon Hamilton (Laird’s younger brother and a great surfer) was working as a boatman on Tavarua and hung with us the whole trip. Aside from Gerr, most were still in their early 20s in the fledgling stage of their careers; Timmy being the grom of the crew and Joel being the sole longboarder.

The island was still trying to fill spots; 24 was a full camp for a week. We had nine surfers and a photog. Six average Joes wanted to book but were stalling, wondering if there would be any waves left for them given the calibre of the company. In the end they hit the trigger and by the end of the week they walked away stoked. The all-star crew proved to be extremely generous in spirit, giving the regular folk waves, offering them tips to help improve and giving plenty of encouragement.

Shane ruling in A Plus Cloudreak conditions.

By the time of our Saturday arrival, Surfline deflated expectations with a forecast of a long, flat week, but heck, a week in Fiji on Tavarua was still not a bad deal. A few days in the surf forecast was spot-on. But miraculously, we woke one morning to a firing, six-10-foot, Hawaiian style swell. By Thursday, conditions were perfect for Cloudbreak. Sheet blues skies and not a breath of wind; long period swell with plenty of waves for everyone. Stayed that way all day until early arvo. Great friends, who happened to be world-class surfers, sharing a magical day …

“She hasn’t shaped herself to fit anyone else’s mould” – Russell Ord

Surfing has always revolved around one elusive word: core. It’s the heartbeat of our culture — the measure of authenticity. Once, that word defined the very soul of surfing. Lately though, its meaning has waned, scattered by hashtags, hype and trends. True ‘core’ has become something rare, almost mythical. Then along comes Ruby Berry, a reminder that purity in surfing still exists, and she has ‘it’.

From the wild, wind-carved coastline of Western Australia emerges the story of a girl; beautiful, bold, and utterly her own. Introducing Ruby Berry and her world, told through the voices of those who’ve shaped her journey, and the lens her new film ‘Pilgrimage’ — a reflection of the places, people, and purpose, that continue to guide her path. Oh, and did we mention she absolutely charges? You’ll see.

To appreciate the present and to dream of what’s still to come, we first have to look back to the women who paddled out before there were crowds, before there was recognition. The ones who made ‘core’ mean something. From the rugged coastline of Western Australia, generations of women have raided the lineup with quiet defiance and undeniable grace. Names like Jodie Cooper and Mel Redman, who blazed their trails long before the world was ready to follow, to more recent torchbearers like Bronte Macaulay, each has shaped the story of what it means to be a West Australian surfer, and in turn, shaped Ruby’s journey.

As Bronte reflects:

“Jodie Cooper is an absolute legend, coming all the way from Albany, a tiny town on the south coast, to becoming one of the best in the world. I remember listening to her on ‘Conversations’ and just loving her story. She really paved the way …

“Style is everything to me,” says Mason Ho in a laidback tone that echoes with island time and stoke. The funnest guy in surfing is all about style, from the way he rides treacherous conditions with reckless abandon to his use of Jimi Hendrix riffs in his rock-dodging edits. Whether it’s in hulking Waimea Bay or dreamy summertime Ala Moana Bowls, Mason Ho appreciates aesthetics and knows when to throw in a hand-jive or a head-flick for dramatic effect. 

Underpinned by Hawaiian influences and honed by a wave-count bigger than Warren Buffet’s bank account, Mason choreographs his rides like an improvised dance. It’s style on the fly, where you feel the moment and let your body respond to the vibe. 

What does style in surfing mean to you?

Style is what represents you in surfing and on the wave. You don’t really get to talk to everyone [in the lineup] but maybe everyone will watch you ride and they could kind of judge you based on that. They might not even know you but say, “I know that guy,” based on style. It’s also you representing yourself. It’s how you feel. Between Uncle Derek, my father, and a lot of my other uncles, like Gerry Lopez, I feel like I grew up around the style masters. Style is everything to me.

Who were your style influences in surfing?

How much time do you have? I got so many. My father and my Uncle Derek. I grew up watching them and it’s in my blood. They have a really special and cool style and always have looked a little different from everyone else. I am loyal to them, to the blood.

I take pride in trying to copy some of my friends. I can kind of chameleon out with whoever. Like …