Inspiration
Meet the people who weave life into the fabric of surfing. We profile interesting characters with an amazing story and an obsession with the ocean. Read about up and coming surfers and crusty old locals who smell like billy goats and ride single fins. If they have a story to tell, you’ll find them in here. Come and be inspired by artists, business gurus and thought leaders in our well of inspiration.
Canterbury claims the title with a solid team performance as the 2020 National Scholastics Surfing Championships go down to the wire in Kaikoura. With a clean 3-4 foot swell reeling down the banks at Meatworks at sunrise the lineup was jam-packed. Locals called it a 10 out of 10, but......
Auckland overpowers Canterbury to take the lead on Day 3 at the National Scholastic Surfing Championships contested at Meatworks, Kaikoura. A murky night of cold rain gave way to glossy waves in the 3-4 foot range at Meatworks as the National Scholastics Surfing Championships resumed with Day 4 of competition......
Canterbury takes an early home-water advantage on Day 3 at the National Scholastic Championships contested at Meatworks, Kaikoura. A mammoth day of surfing was required to make headway into the event after a half day on Monday and complete lay day on Day 2. The Under 18 Boys Division got......
Kaikoura turns it on for Day 1 of the National Scholastic Surfing Championships. The 110 competitors were greeted by a small wind swell which was complemented by warm temperatures and light winds. Regional teams from the length of the country posted up on the rocks at Meatworks, Kaikoura. With morning......
Doug Young, Dan Smith and Dave Lyons target an unruly wave on the edge of a reef during the last storm of the season. The ingredients were this: two 180-degree south swells, both 4m at 14 seconds, a west southwest wind that may drop to 20 knots, if we’re lucky,......
The Kaikoura Grom Comp concluded the South Island Grom Series this weekend with the junior event attracting a huge field of surfers and bringing together families from throughout New Zealand. The solid swell that ran up the coast all week finally dissipated overnight leaving only a small swell of under......
The rush to defeat the storm bearing down on New Zealand this weekend, made for an action packed day of surfing at the Sticky Johnson 2020 Primary School Championships presented by Skullcandy on Saturday (26th September). The champs, held at Makorori Beach, Gisborne, was the first national event since the......
Carving a niche at the intersection between glass and concrete, artist and sculptor Ben Young has become world renowned for his incredible artworks. Originally from Waihi Beach and now based in Mount Maunganui, Ben is an extraordinary talent and one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet.......
Flightless Obsession features New Zealand’s elite surfers such as provisional Olympic qualifiers Billy Stairmand and Ella Williams along with dozens of the country’s best surfers in a scrapbook-style edit. It is the first crowd-sourced surf movie that Surfing New Zealand has embarked upon to showcase local talent. It has been......
New Zealand Surf Journal catches up with Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings to discuss broken backs, new constitutions, the Olympic pathway and to find out what he’d do if he had full control of the sport and no resource limitations. The top role at Surfing New Zealand is certainly not......