The raw story behind the Taieri Mouth drowning tragedy of April 2021 and the team of surfing doctors who discovered the fateful capsize. Doctor Will Allen takes us back to a day that still haunts him – but a day that has inspired him to teach other surfers to save......
New Zealand Surf Journal is excited to launch our nationwide Search For New Zealand’s Underground Chargers … powered by Emerson’s Brewery, of course. Yep, you read that right. We’re on the hunt for those surfers in New Zealand who drop tools when the swell starts maxing out. We’re talking big-wave......
I’m standing in the garage with him as he sniffles back the taps and shuffles through a rack full of surfboards, his long hair hanging flat. He pulls one after another out and they’ve all got stories: he’s made a bunch of them, rode others to world titles and has......
With more than 36 years experience shaping surfboards out of Whangamata, Pete Anderson is one of the most humble and well-respected surfboard manufacturers in New Zealand. In this film he shares his journey from growing up in the heyday of Whangamata’s board-building industry to his insights, his hopes and most......
Raglan surfer and artist Aaron Te Whanatangi Kereopa chats about his journey, following his mischief, taking the risky road and how his talent has guided him into an incredible place in his art and life. Since that first day he picked up a knife and surfboard more than 20 years......
New Zealand Surf Journal asks the New Zealand surfing industry to rank our 10 best surfers. The concept is simple: include not just the best competitors, but also our very best free surfers and underground chargers. This is who they came up with. THE CRITERIA Surfers are assessed based on......
A late-season swell offers one last roll of the dice for New Zealand’s big-wave riders and the stakes are high. As the winds swing through the ideal bearing the focus falls on a reef on a remote corner of coastline. Four teams of surfers get the session of a lifetime.......
The 2022 Krui Pro QS 5000 sees two huge opening days of competition at Ujung Bocur, Indonesia, with Billy Stairmand and Daniel Farr both advancing to the Round of 32. Competitors in the opening rounds of the men’s met with pumping waves in the three-to-six foot range for the first......
The O’Neill Coldwater Classic surf contest was held on the Friday and Saturday of Queen’s Birthday weekend with Levi O’Connor and Poppy Entwisle taking out the premiere open divisions. Waves of cold southwest rain accompanying small one metre waves off the Mangamaunu urupa on the Friday, building to sloppy two......
The 2022 O’Neill Kaikoura Coldwater Classic taps into some fun waves as the first bite of winter chews it’s way through the field. Local lad Levi O’Connor and young rising star Poppy Entwisle ride to the top in the Open Men’s and Women’s fields. Kaikoura has a way of charming......
This was the scenario: There’s a 50-50 chance a marginal swell forecast might be enough to lure a fickle reef break to life. It’s a hell man slab that few can really do justice to. Do you roll the dice? We did (but one of us paid the price). I......
It’s not every day you get to share eight-foot caverns with your mates with less than 10 people out, but given the right circumstances and location, it’s still achievable here in New Zealand. Luckily this was us recently at a fickle beachbreak deep in the Catlins. Ollie Charlesworth had just......
At the Nationals this year in Westport one surfer stood tall among so many. It wasn’t just because of the seamless lines he’d take on his waves, or his ability to surf a variety of craft, but for his consistency in his heats, and as a great human. At 15,......
The Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Surfing Championship titles coincided with a fun-size swell to create the perfect canvas for some of New Zealand’s best surfers. Here’s 40 Frames to capture the moments as they unfolded …...
Over three days at the end of April surfers across Canterbury battled it out for Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Surfing Championship titles. With Daniel Farr, Caleb Cutmore, Taylor Hutchison, Kalani Louis and more North Island surfers joining the fray on the heels of the South Island Champs, the stage was......
You know the drill: 40 Frames that capture the essence of the 2022 Emerson’s South Island Surfing Championships held at St Clair, Dunedin, over Easter. If you were looking for the results then they’re right here. But otherwise you’re in the right place. Here’s 40 Frames of Southern goodness: ...
Pumping waves, high tides and some brisk conditions brought a little bit of everything to the 2022 Emerson’s South Island Surfing Championships held at St Clair, Dunedin, over Easter. With so few SNZ-rated events on the calendar in 2022, the South Island Champs attracted most of the North Island’s best......