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.
There’s a new wave of competitive surfers coming out of Taranaki and they’re taking scalps in national events. New Zealand Surf Journal caught up with the effervescent Kalani Louis after his Under 16 Final at the 2020 National Scholastics Championships held at Kaikoura. NZSJ: Hey Kalani, congrats on a great......
Billy Lee-Pope has just dropped this sweet little edit from The King and Queen of the Point contest where Billy Stairmand and Paige Hareb were crowned. The King and Queen of the Point is final national event of 2020, concluding the shortened New Zealand Surf Series for 2020. It was......
Whangamata surfer Hunter Cooney is the guy responsible for producing Flightless Obsession – that’s the Kiwi surf film that was borne out of our Covid-19 Lockdown. New Zealand Surf Journal caught up with the young creative along the iconic shoreline of Kaikoura. NZSJ: Hello, Hunter. What are you doing standing......
Local Raglan surfer Billy Stairmand was too good for his opponents this weekend being crowned King of the Point alongside New Zealand’s most successful surfer Paige Hareb, of Taranaki, who was crowned Queen of the Point in the Women’s Division. The King and Queen of the Point, which is presented......
Since Surfing New Zealand implemented priority rules into local contests the quality of heat surfing has improved. But is there a dark side to the way we’re implementing it? Any blunder in priority rulings can effectively stop even the best surfer in their tracks. And that has happened at least......
Filmmaker Billy Lee-Pope and Kehu Butler join forces to bring this epic introduction into the life of one of New Zealand’s greatest surfers, Kehu Butler. Greetings from Te Kehukehu Mokoia Ngawhika Patara Butler, or Kehu Butler, follows the 20-year-old Māori surfer and offers a glimpse into his life. You get......
Lockdown forces Raglan surfer Brett Wood to rethink his quiver of international brands. He returns to New Zealand-made boards with the Hughes Surfboards SB19 Custom and opens up a whole new world. His journey may sound familiar to many of us. It’s 1989. Pottz is the champ and every surf......
Kehu Butler stamps his mark on the 2020 Maori Titles, bringing his world-class surfing to one of New Zealand’s most iconic events. Set in a backdrop of Northland’s waves Butler is joined by Natasha Gouldsbury on the top step of the podium. Tauranga Moana surfer Kehu Butler (Ngai Te Rangi)......
In Bask, 19-year-old filmmaker, Isaac Haki Chadwick, captures the essence of life as a student and young surfer set among the raw and tumultuous whims of the southern ocean. It’s rawness is equaled by its honesty, offering a window into something few would otherwise get to see. We caught up......
Just last week Surfer magazine folded. Yes, the seminal work that was started by John Severson in 1960 was suddenly no longer a viable business, according to its publisher, American Media Inc. It was cast aside as easily as you might squish a sand-fly on the West Coast. No fanfare.......