Stab Podcasts

When the sun sets on one lineup (Lowers), it rises in another (La Graviere). This week, Mikey and Buck discuss the last CT event before the post-season plus the non-sanctioned event that is currently taking France by storm (Quik Fest). Also: Ageist theory from the latest EAST ep + how many hours you need to improve at surfing, according to Nate Florence.

“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to tell this story… But I’m gonna do it anyway.” The best stories tend to live on the wrong side of the velvet rope, and every so often a gentleman must ignore the bouncer and let the public in. Parko, being a gentleman of considerable repute, has brought several such stories with him. Bisous! Fresh off the Surf100 $100k Finale, where the public judges may have been a touch less charitable than the man deserved, Parko joins Dane and Dooma at the StabMic desk to unpack the experience of putting a jersey back on, and what he’s been doing since hanging it up for good in 2018 after almost two decades on tour. There’s an obvious bit of crossover here, too. Joel spent the entirety of Dane’s relatively brief CT career on tour, before Dane left the building and Joel eventually did the same. Between them, they’ve seen enough of the institution from the inside to have developed some opinions on how the thing is constructed. It’s a good old-fashioned trip down the rabbit hole. The contents of said hole: waking Adriano De Souza from his slumber for the traditional Namotu Skulldrag onslaught, the night before a heat, only to face Dane Reynolds in that very heat; rescuing Kelly Slater; the early days of the Cooly kids; Joel’s diagnosis of what the modern tour has lost; and a tantalising hint at a new film project in the works with Mick. Thanks to our partners at Red Bull, Dome Dust, TurtleBox, Visit Dominican Republic, and Devium, for making StabMic possible.

Surf100 spoilers + a Lowers preview. Mikey C is joined by Buck and Stace.

Cloudbreak just concluded with more questions than answers... Who was actually surfing well, and who was doing the bare minimum? Who gets priority when skis are involved? And how does the Abu Dhabi news affect the world's best surfers? Stace G and Mikey C investigate.

Coming into this year’s Surf100 Challenger Series, Zeke Lau’s reputation preceded him. Part of the calculation in casting him was that his history of hyper-competitive, occasionally confrontational surfing might make for good television. Zeke as antagonist, Zeke as disruptor, Zeke as villain. But, as anyone who’s been keeping up with the show knows, Zeke doesn’t really seem to be that guy anymore. He was also only a kid when he was on tour. Now he’s a dad, humble in defeat, generous with the other contestants, and enthusiastic about drinking beer. Josiah even wrote an essay about how much he loves him. Here, in episode 30 of StabMic, Zeke revisits both the John John incident at Bells and the Jacob Willcox incident at Margaret River, offering previously unknown context around what led to each, alongside a little insight into his upbringing and psychology that might explain why he did what he did. And looking back eight years on, does anyone even still have a problem with Zeke big-dogging John? Sport is, after all, a ritualised form of conflict. The old human appetite for competition, dominance and spectacle, with most of the blood taken out. We’ve agreed not to kill anybody these days, but the appetite hasn’t changed. Conflict creates stakes, and stakes are what make us care. Every good story needs a bastard, and Zeke, for a while, seemed happy enough to volunteer. We could certainly use one on tour now, eh? Thanks to our partners at Red Bull, Vaer, Dome Dust, TurtleBox, Visit Dominican Republic, and Devium, for making StabMic possible.