New Zealand
You don’t need to leave New Zealand to have an adventure. Explore the backyard with our featured stories on some of New Zealand’s best surf towns and coastlines.
Like it or not, we are living in a world that has waged a war on style. Hank Bilous is deep in the thick of it, aiming to strike the right balance between technical skill and self expression. The professional freeskier, turned surfer, turned nurse explores and challenges these dynamics......
Budding filmmaker Fernando Jara teams up with Jack Tyro, one of New Zealand’s best young surfers in his short film Gone Wild. Filmed in and around Jack’s home breaks near Christchurch, the film’s ethereal visuals and immaculate sound design, paired with his mastery of the surf – on both shortboard......
The Backdoor Team of Billy Stairmand, Paul Moretti, Jay Piper-Healion, Caleb Cutmore, Taylor Hutchison and Darren Celliers immerse themselves in southern waves … and marathon sessions. Filmmaker Isaac Chadwick and photographer Derek Morrison are on hand to capture the antics, fin blows and air revs … and they hardly miss......
At the start of winter Taranaki surfers Tom Butland and Jarred Hancox made their way south to compete in the O’Neill Coldwater Classic being held at Kaikoura. They went 1-2 and decided to stay on. Wellington photographer Belinda Brown decided to see the swell out with them. Traveling together, Tom......
Spencer Rowson and Anna Brock win the premier Under 18 divisions at the final round of The Connect Group SISA South Island Grom Series. The fourth and final event of the The Connect Group South Island Grom Series concluded at Meatworks, Kaikoura at the weekend. The event took place with......
Ava Henderson and Jai Earnshaw prove too good in the solid waves for Westport’s 32nd Edition of the FT Dooleys Cape Classic. A new south swell filled in on the heels of the Westport Grom Comp to see the FT Dooleys Cape Classic staged at Tauranga Bay. With waves in......
Nine Mile turns it on for the Westport Grom Comp, Round 2 of The Connect Group SISA South Island Grom Series. The West Coast is developing quite a reputation for delivering quality surf conditions and contests that thrive on the charm of the local surf community. Buller Boardriders combined with......
Ava Henderson and Rakiatea Tau win the premier Under 18 divisions at Round 2 of The Connect Group SISA South Island Grom Series. The second event of the The Connect Group South Island Grom Series was held in Westport on Friday. The event took place with beautiful weather and a......
The Sub-Antarctic islands are a strange and mysterious place. A place where sea lions roam the mountain peaks, where penguins waddle through the remains of failed settlements, and where megaherb fields give you the feeling of being in the middle of a Dr. Seuss world. If you have ever felt......
The concept is simple: take a bunch of Backdoor’s best team surfers and put them into the best waves we can find in the south. Covid has other ideas. The lineup is impeccable: newly crowned national champion Daniel Farr, Under 18 national champion Ava Henderson, inaugural Super 16 champion Taylor......