Stab Podcasts

“It's hard to judge when these guys are progressing the sport that much, in such a short amount of time.” Among the vape stores selling synthetic cannabinoids, packeted magic mushrooms, and aggressively branded T-shirts bearing prophetic slogans like “It's Not Gonna Lick Itself” and “Slippery When Wet,” alongside racks of hyper-compressed shorts stamped with male first names that claimed ownership of the wearer's ass, stood CJ Hobgood. I know CJ works in real estate now, but after a week of bumping into him around the pool, I'd let that man house-sit my dog. Speak to any of the staff and the same name kept surfacing: CJ, everyone's favourite person they met, the most personable, remembered names, stayed warm and curious through the whole thing, just a genuinely nice guy. He was also excellent in the commentary booth. Sharp, articulate, energetic, strangely attentive. At one point he appeared to be analysing the aerodynamic implications of a competitor's hair bun placement. With an eye for detail like that, we thought it important to get CJ in for a full debrief of a week spent inside the beautiful, naturally exquisite civic labyrinth of Virginia Beach. The boys compare Hughie Vaughan's stale backflip with Eithan Osborne's backside-stale-body-varial-late-revert, straight airs versus rotations, Lee Wilson's influence on modern aerial surfing, whether hyper-technical progression actually means better surfing, the changing of the aerial guard, and the important hypothetical of Nate Fletcher versus Kelly Slater in a 50+ air comp. Oh, and Dane Reynolds brought fellow Ch11 gang member / warehouse employee Jake Kelley to the desk with him.

Hard to talk aerial surfing, these days, without coughing up the name Hughie Vaughan. Harder still to believe he's only 19 years old. He's really taken flight, if you will, over the past few years. The original seed for the Bottle Rockets division. Entered Stab High Lakey Peak as a tiny 15-year-old and levitated around the comp-site like a garden bird. Proved he could hang with fully grown men despite weighing the same as a damp towel. Couple years later, Japan 2025, Hughie comes of age and wins the men's title, a spear tackle from Mikey Wright to seal it. Then: the Hughie Flip at The Nines, reshared and baptised by Tony Hawk. Mainstream television appearances in Australia followed; Hughie now a nationally recognised flying object. A day out from the opening horn of Stab High Virginia Beach presented by Monster Energy, and we get the former champ and in many circles, the overwhelming favourite, Hughie Vaughan. He discusses all there is to discuss about aerial surfing, including his current top air guys on earth, what he sees as the limitations of competitive surfing, and a genuinely moving section on family and the lessons left behind by his late mother.

Hughie Vaughan scores a perfect 50 to win Stab High x Monster Energy Virginia Beach, extending the Vaughan Dynasty from Japan and Sydney to the eastern US. Mikey and Buck discuss everything that went down this weekend with sore heads (and throats), the morning after finals day. Stab High is presented by Monster Energy with support from Vans, YETI, Quiksilver, Kona Big Wave, and Sun Bum.

Stace, Mikey and Buck collide under jet-filled skies for our Stab High preview pod. Comp runs May 15-16 EST. Join us in VB or watch on Stab Premium.

While Medina looks the favorite on paper (and perhaps even the warmups), he has a gauntlet to surf through if he wants to make the Raglan final. Griffin, Filipe, and then likely Yago or Italo in the final. One thing's for sure: it'll be a show. Buy Stab High tickets here (May 15/16 in Virginia Beach): https://booking.atlanticparksurf.com/store_19?_kx=Gp3GUxykDoH2PTHVsUs2lg.VBFqD4

Thanks bru. Thanks bru. Thank you, bru. By episode twelve, Jordy Smith had become StabMic's absent father figure. Big Bru was mentioned constantly, looming every conversation. Dooma, especially unable to stop himself, damp-eyed, remembering him. Sooner or later, the spectre had to sit in the chair. So here he is. Jordy Smith joins Dane and Dooma on episode 13 of StabMic to discuss everything from rectal and scrotal trauma, the latter attributed to a swift kick from Andy Irons, the limitations of wavepools, and the mainstream-media–manufactured rivalry that defined their early careers. Among other highly specialised matters of public interest. Enjoy the episode.

It's a Queensland sweep at Snapper Rocks, with Eth and Steph on the podium and DHD back in his rightful throne. Stace G and Mikey C break down everything that happened on the Superbank... and at the dueling afterparties. Get Stab High Virginia Beach tickets here: https://booking.atlanticparksurf.com/store_19?_kx=Gp3GUxykDoH2PTHVsUs2lg.VBFqD4

“I wanted to get some CI's, but Kelly wouldn't let me.” No one man should wield such power. But for a while, Kelly Slater did. Or, allegedly did, at least.  Back in his early tour years, Taj Burrow had lined up a batch of boards from Channel Islands Surfboards. Order placed, path clear. Then, abruptly, not happening. After some digging, word came back. Kelly Slater had intervened. No rival rides the king's horse. Why arm the threat?  We seem to get the best out of our quasi-regular host, Dane Reynolds, when he's got some shared history with the guest. Something to look back on. Taj Burrow fits that perfectly. Both studs of the mid-to-late 2000s, same stretch of tour years, Dane essentially passing through Taj's established timeline. The two met ten times in heats, Taj taking seven. Dane three, including a Puerto Rico exchange that featured a near-perfect Dane turn but mysteriously avoided every camera lens. Fresh off his stint as the voice box of Ethan Ewing in Stab in the Dark, and a recent run on the WSL broadcast, Taj Burrow is this week's StabMic guest, calling in from his home in the West. The panel discuss being ageing surfers and dealing with the body refuting the mind's will, sharing private jets with Paris Hilton in Vegas, and the feeling of needing to protect Ethan Ewing from the Stab in the Dark production machine. We're at episode 12 already. Enjoy.

We're back with a double-header ep. First up, Buck & Mikey cover general surf news, including Stab int eh Dark insights and a breakdown of our audience's favorite surfers in 2026. Then Stace G joins the pod to give his Snapper preview live from the Gold Coast — spoiler: it's gonna be cooking. Also, Stab High x Monster Energy returns on May 15-16 in Virginia Beach, USA. Get Stab High tickets here: https://booking.atlanticparksurf.com/store_19?_kx=Gp3GUxykDoH2PTHVsUs2lg.VBFqD4

Stace catches up with the man on the ground Tom De Souza to talk all things Margaret River Pro. Mainly who not to film in the car park. Thanks for dropping in.

“You'll see some guy run a Slayer track at Emma Wood and you're like WTF. The music has to match the energy of the surfing. The energy of the music has to lay just below the surfing. It has to lift it up, not eclipse it.” As far as tastemakers go, no one's warped surfing's Spotify playlist quite like Dane. In this episode of Stab Mic: we learn da rules (loose). Pairing. Energy matching. Matt Biolos' rockstar licensing loophole. And whether Chief Keef or 21 Savage belong in surf edits. Our guest this week is Timo Simmers. Former and Sun Bum-sponsored surfer, who speaks to: Scoring the best waves of his life as a 16-YO on Surfline's Maps to Nowhere trip. How hard Caity charges and her meteoric, but hardly surprising, rise to World Champ. How young people consume surf media. Why he was surprised the Chpt 11 squad were “nice and normal”, not emos. Machete wars at Stab High. Sharp Eyes.  And other topics… like Jordy selling his yellow jerseys for cold hard cash.

“My ego and my common sense still argue with each other.”  For someone who's spent decades stress-testing the edge of what's survivable, Nate Fletcher talks about his surfing career like it was mostly something that just happened around him. His impact on surfing is undeniable, across airs, big waves, and board and fin design. And though he carries it like a man overdue for a cigarette, nursing a permanent headache, each sentence beginning with a reluctant exhale, he also seems largely without ego, even as he admits it still tends to argue with his common sense.  To muse on the impact he's left behind is to treat his career as a finished painting, something to step back and admire, as if he isn't still out there at 50, dragging a wet brush across the canvas. He does, however, admit to being done with big wave surfing, after a life spent learning intimacy with death, including being towed into one of the heaviest waves ever at Teahupo'o, and producing one of surfing's more deranged frames: suspended for a second, then gone. “I have nothing left to prove,” says Nate. “The only reason I did it was for the rush. I don't get that rush anymore. At some point you've got to ask why you're doing it. I don't really care what people think. I helped set the bar, but you can't do it forever.” Nate has never seemed to care much what people think. He was laughed at for riding colourful boards and for experimenting with four fins, even by Kelly Slater, who later ran the setup in competition and said he hoped it might stand as his legacy.  “I like colour,” Nate says, simply. This week, Dooma and Dane talk to Nate about the state of surfing and its drift toward wealthy hobbyists, how he became a pro surfer by accident, the debt he owes his mother for surviving him and Christian, and the generations of background misogyny she endured, the impact of social media on kids, and his continued admiration for Kelly Slater. We also debut a new segment with a WSL insider. Enjoy the episode.

“We could never pay back Kelly Slater for what he did for Channel Islands. That's the truth of it. What does he want? The whole company?” As you'll remember in SITDX, Britt Merrick spoke to the fracture left by Kelly's departure from CI – something that registered, at least to him, as something of a betrayal, and perhaps one he felt more acutely than his father ever did. Kelly, when given the space to explain himself, offered a different version of events. He'd spoken to Al, there was a blessing, and, by his account, even affection on the way out, and an “I love you” to seal it. Britt claims it wasn't Kelly leaving that broke his heart, that part he understood, but rather the Firewire business approach, the offshore model, and the way it has diminished domestic board building, eroding the respect that once sat alongside it. Britt, in his typical calm and considered tone that softens the edges of everything he says, phones in from Torquay to join Dooma and Dane at the desk. They move through Medina ordering CIs, his rivalry with DH, his belief that Ethan Ewing is the best surfer in the world, first memories of Dane, and, of course, the question of the age: whether or not Kelly knew. Enjoy the episode.

Mikey C has been axed, Josiah has been relegated from StabMIC to the Drop. Another week, another contest! Lets drop in to everything that is the Margaret River Pro.

Stab in the Dark with Ethan Ewing Episode 1 is now live, and it raises an important question. Not who he will pick as the winner — that will come — but whether a better surfer has ever existed. Mikey and Buck discuss this point, along with several other headlines from the past week: - Should Griffin have won that Dane Henry heat? - The innermost workings of Kelly's mind. - Does it matter more how a board looks or feels? - Stab High tickets for sale (for Premium members only!)

Dane is back. Mercy. Things resume. To watch along visit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krloTW3PL1k Dane has become almost synonymous with anti-competition, his exit at the peak of his powers romanticised, mythologised even, into a Reynoldsian legend. An episode dedicated to the start of the WSL season, then, seems an odd fit. But Dane was a competitor once, which gives him a rare vantage: an outsider's mind once lodged inside the system. His eyes are sharp and wisened from walking the floors himself, which makes talking competitive surfing with him an interesting experiment. Josiah and Dooma sit him down and prod for his take on the Aussie Treble, what competing at every stop taught him, why shaper non-monogamy is weird, trading boards with Andy Irons, and more.

It only took us 7 years, but The Drop has finally gone to Youtube! For pre-event eps, at least. And the best part is, you don't need to look at our ugly heads the whole time — live Bells warmups are the real star of the show. Listen on your standard podcast app, or watch the full show (preferred method) here: https://youtu.be/wSuxjOW02qs

Stace G and Mikey C give their long-awaited 2026 CT season preview, including: - Changes to the Tour - Rookie class analysis - Shaper Rankings favorites - World title picks and darkhorses

Little Weeds winner, Stab High champ, and surfing's master technician Chris Wilson joins the pod to discuss his favorite aerialists, a new sponsor and that time he nearly died surfing for a Stab film. This is Stab Mic episode 07, hosted by Damien Fahrenfort and Josiah Amico.

A wave that killed a friendship. Another that tormented our writer. And an interview with an Israeli CT rookie that ruffled many a subscriber's feathers. Mikey and Buck discuss.

15-year old snow/surf phenom Patti Zhou and 3-minute tube-hunter Koa Smith join Josiah and Dooma in the StabMic studio. This ep is sponsored by Sun Bum and Roark.

Stace Galbraith is joined by recent CS grad Oscar Berry to chat about his ascension to the CT, Newcastle carnage, and who he thinks will be the Rookie of the Year.

This podcast is also a video, watch along here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_uNAACqhF0 Subscribe to Stab Premium: https://stabmag.com/pricing/ EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Two thousand and twelve. Kony. The predicted apocalypse didn't come, as foretold. Spewing. 18-year-old John John Florence and 26-year-old Dane Reynolds meet in Japan for Dear Suburbia, scoring what they both still swear are the best waves they've ever seen. “The perfect combination of power and shape,” says Dane. “It felt like you could do anything you wanted.” “It was barreling off the takeoff, and you came out with so much speed and just had this perfect bowl bending at you,” adds John. It was the first and only time they ever went on a trip together, and possibly the last time they talked. John chalks it up to them moving through time at different paces — John getting on tour the year after Dane had already left it behind. Dane dove into filmmaking, John grew into the world title chase. Nevertheless, Dooma's question, “why don't you guys do trips together?” leaves them both a little quizzical. Now, 14 years later, both have left the tour. Both left the mainstream surf industry's big payouts to launch businesses that speak to their own vision of what surfing should be. Both of them now reunite on a one-hour talk show, StabMic, to discuss all of it. Except, John's on a boat. A fancy new one, too. There are, of course, many differences in their paths, different choices and conflicting visions of the surf industry. They get into it, though, talking about Dane's time on tour and their shared aversion to certain aspects of competition. Some of it might surprise you, like Dane admitting his favourite part was the attention, and then there's this quote from John: “I just wanted to destroy everyone and win everything.” Almost Machiavellian, don't you think? This is Episode 5 of StabMic. Enjoy.

Mikey and Buck break down the 2026/27 CS changes, Stace and Vaughan Blakey preview the final event of 2025/26.

How long can Kelly Slater, star of Stab In The Dark X and, less famously, the greatest competitive surfer of all time, remain the topic of conversation at stabmag.com? Indefinitely, one suspects. He is, after all, the most fascinating and formidable of lab rats. But for our fragile neural circuits, let's linger on Kelly one last time, in all his scheming, elegant, slightly terrifying glory. This week, Stab co-founder Sam McIntosh joins Dane and Dooma at the Stab Mic desk. They start where the conversation had no choice but to go: Kelly's selection of his own shaper, Dan Mann, as the shaper of the decade, and the fallout that ensued. Though Sam encouraged him to cut his own shaper's board, which is the gentleman's agreement for every previous edition of SITD, Kelly was naughty. He raged against the system and left his Mann in play. Sam defends him: deceptive, mercurial, infuriating, sure. But a liar? Must be a brilliant one. We're treated to SITD marginalia: Sam marooned on the beach counting Kelly's 147 waves, navigating the small cruelties of doing business with Kel, while Dane recalls a Hawaii heat where he had Kelly on the ropes, head held to the flame, until Kelly conjured a buzzer-wave and clipped him anyway. The lads also muse with perverse delight over Kelly's body, debate his T-shirt size, his multiple invites and refusals to Diddy parties, the possibility of his name in the Epstein files, and the tale of Sam getting slept by a former pro surfer. Enjoy the episode.

Watch the latest episode of Stab in the Dark X starring Kelly Slater here https://stabmag.com/stabcinema/watch-... Any genuinely endearing conversation might hinge on seating Dane Reynolds next to someone improbable and letting the room do the work. Last week: the reigning world champ. This week: Kelly Slater, calling in from New Zealand. Four months post hip replacement, the greatest surfer of all time admits he can barely lift his knee into a car some days, but he insists the robo-hip already outperforms the real one, which had been dragging him through agony for the last four years. He'd been surfing through pain the whole time. Laird Hamilton personally rang to convince him to get on the operating table. A wellness check, from one absurdly fit old-boy to another. He also reveals that during Stab In The Dark X, his back seized up for four days straight. Bedridden and unable to walk without looking like a pretzel. But you can't keep a good goat down. He still paddled out, still tested six nearly identical boards, all while wrangling Snapper crowds and soft Gold Coast walls. Remarkably, Kelly admits to not having watched a single episode of SITD X. Not one. Just the Instagram clips. That's it. Is this the surf equivalent of Johnny Depp claiming he's never seen one of his own movies? Similar star power, frankly. On the topic of SITD, Kel talks candidly about the awkwardness of judging shapers while owning a board company himself, and why he never publicly burned a design, even when it deserved it. More interesting is his philosophy: shapers shouldn't try to guess what Kelly wants. He wants what they actually make, otherwise it's just pasteurised performance foam. From there, the gents get into lineup politics, snowboarding double blacks, and the simple economic reality that waves are limited, egos are not, hence grown men hissing over them. The ISA's new Olympic qualifying system gets a light public flogging. And yes, Kelly is a believer in the machine. Put Olympic surfing in a wave pool. Standardise it, industrialise it, flip the switch and hear the system roar.

Has Fernando gone too far, or are CT surfers being petulant little children? Mikey and Buck share their thoughts on the recent ISA/WSL kerfuffle, along with: - a SITDX ep 3 breakdown + finale update - an industry report with more sticker changes than a used car lot - Italo's secret sponsorship trick - One of the world's best waves' sale price - and more!

The reigning world champ gets grilled by his childhood hero on all things surfing and life. We listen in like Watergate. This is episode 2 of the Stab Mic — watch the full video version on Stab Magazine's Youtube channel.

The first (aired) episode of StabMic is here, and with a massive guest to kick things off. Watch the full show with visuals on stabmag.com or the Stab Premium app.

The week of Holden Trnka is upon us. Buck and Mikey discuss the Pipe CS event (which Holden covered from the tent), a wildly under-rockered boat storming the Steamer Lane lineup (which Holden not only witnessed, but assisted in the life-saving efforts that followed), whether or not Instagram reels are killing our surf boners (Holden says they are), and oh yeah, a few hints about the NEW EPISODE of Stab in the Dark X starring Robert Kelly Slater.

Massive three-part ep incoming! Not only did John Florence sit down (exclusively) with Stab's co-founder Sam McIntosh to chat about his recent departure from the tour, and what he'll be doing to grow his brand(s) in the meantime... This ep also features a Kelly Slater Stab in the Dark ep 2 breakdown, where Mikey and Buck discuss board theories, shaper rivalries, and the first elimination (spoiler alert!). Finally, we chat with our guy on the ground in Hawaii about what's been happening in and around the Pipe CS event.

Is John John really leaving because of Raglan? Depends on who you believe... Stace G and Mikey C break down all this week's WSL news, plus provide a forecast + picks for the upcoming Pipe CS event.

The GOAT and the Stab's cofounder in one podcast? Yeah, we got that! Kelly Slater and Sam McIntosh join this edition of The Drop to give some behind-the-scenes details of our new Stab in the Dark series. Episode 2 drops this week, and reveals Kelly's first bite of the apple. Historically, a forbidden fruit — but in this case, oh so sweet. SITD X release schedule: Episode 1: Jan 13 Episode 2: Jan 27 Episode 3: Feb 10 Episode 4: Feb 24

We've never made anything like Stab in the Dark X with Kelly Slater. Mikey and Buck break down episode 1, alongside some 2026 predictions, a golf v surf turf war and a quick trip to Ukraine.

Breaking: Episode 1 of Stab in the Dark with Kelly Slater premieres this Tuesday. This. Tuesday. And yes, it's as good as the teaser implies. We also missed a lot over the holidays. Shall we recap?

The last Drop of 2025 is a heavy one. A reigning world champ parts with his headline sponsor. The WSL calls off the day of the event at Pipe. Stab gets in a bidding war with a major surf brand (and loses, then wins). And Stab Surfer of the Year gets a facelift.

Where does localism end and insanity begin? Particularly in the Canary Islands, where a crazed, scooter-riding, rock-wielding man just went full Joe Namath on a visiting surfer. Buck and Mikey break this down along with an exclusive Kolohe Andino interview, Nate Florence's Austrian torture chamber, Mikey Feb's broken board theory, the world's best artificial wave and some exciting news from Hawaii.

Sorry we're late, tech difficulties! And if you missed last week's ep, that's probably our fault as well. Something happened where it didn't upload to Apple pods until yesterday, so now we've got two eps in two days which I guess is better than nothing. Maybe? I'd say it won't happen again, but it probably will, so thanks as always for coming along for the ride with us. For now

Depends who you ask. If it's Mikey C or Buck, well, the answers still vary. This week the boys break down 14 more titles returning to the CT, a new ep of EAST, and a couple real thinkers: 1. Is Chat GPT ruining surf culture? 2. Who has the right to protect a wave? It's a heady ep, one that might come up in your next (therapy) session. But in the end, it's only surfing. Don't think too hard.

At 33, Carissa Moore will be the first mom to return to the CT since the mid-2000s. Mikey and Buck discuss her legacy and chances of winning another world title against today's new class of champions. Also, the boys get wrapped up in a wavepool imbroglio that took Billy Wilson 4 months to investigate. Our apologies to anyone named Nick. Snapt5 dropped exclusively on Stab Premium this week, along with a note from Sam McIntosh about what we've been up to and where Stab is heading in the next six months.

In the same week, Joel Tudor took on a major airline (and won), Jaleesa Vincent wrote an explicit rap song about her Pussy (surfboard), and a world junior champ put his life savings into a luxury sunglass brand. Just when you thought surfing was gonna be just fine, Paul Evans joins the pod to excoriate children and tell us when, precisely, our little hobby went tits up. Buy Veia boardbags (with wheels) if you, unlike Paul, prefer convenience to chaos.

What really happened at the GB Cup this week? Mikey and Buck do their own research and reveal the truth behind the headlines. We also ride shotgun with Mick Fanning, drive deep into the Atacama Desert, and find ourselves face-to-face with surfing's most digitally-inept superhuman. If you listen to this pod, you can support us by supporting: Veia, FCS, Living in Sunshine.

One man's miracle is another man's marketing ploy. It was kind of a dark week in surfing, from fake pregnancy announcements to brain tumors to death, but at least we have a little EAST sugar to help it all go down. Mikey and Buck break it all down and give away a new Veia leash to one lucky listener (who we hope is not an incel).

Tya Zebrowski recently became the youngest-ever CT qualifier at 14 years old. But just quietly, another surfer is on track to become the oldest CT qualifier in the same graduating class. By all accounts, a far more impressive achievement. Also this week: Mikey and Buck rank the greatest surf towns, steal leashes, get up & stand for Jamaican beach rights, and a whole lot more. VEIA GIVEAWAY Do you live in Europe, and want to win a Veia leash or a Stab towel? Send a picture of your worst surf rash (or any rash really) to buck@stabmag.com.

That's a wrap for Stab High Sydney. If you live under a state-imposed media blackout: Joel Vaughan and Sierra Kerr took out the Men's and Women's divisions on their very last waves, while Skai Suitt and Loci Cullen won the Ladybirds and Bottle Rockets. World champ Yago Dora owned the Monster Air for a massive late spin. Mikey and Buck break down the event and some BTS moments fresh out of a deranged after party.

Yago Dora joins our little pool party alongside fellow world champ Molly Picklum to face off against the reigning Stab High Champs Hughie Vaughan and Sierra Kerr. Mikey C and Stace provide White Claw-fueled insight and some sneaky picks from our practice day.

We're currently en route to Sydney for our first-ever Stab High on native soil. We'll be at URBNsurf Sydney on October 10th and 11th, so join us if you're around — all info (including tickets) here: https://stabmag.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-stab-high-sydney-2025-presented-by-monster-energy/ The current women's world champ is already locked in to battle against reigning Stab High champ Sierra Kerr (+ Mill Coco Brown, Sky Brown and Bella Kenworthy), and there are whispers of another recent world champ joining us on the men's side. Have a listen and see if you can figure out who. Buck and Mikey also discuss some recently completed events: EAST Fest, Stab Con and Quik Fest 2025, as well as some surf news. Namely: Nate Florence signed by Red Bull, why Soli Bailey has been out of the water for nine months, and how OnlyFans has been quietly funding surf careers. Link for 15% off Living in Sunshine products: LivinginSunshine.com/stab

Surf100 California x Pacifico is complete, and we have a (somewhat) controversial winner — at least if you ask Kelly Slater (nobody did, but he gave us his thoughts anyway). What's not controversial is that Mike Stewart is one of (if not THE) greatest waveriders in human history, so Mikey and Buck break down some of his career feats tube theories. There are also two major sponsor updates this week: Chippa Wilson leaving his 10-year partnership with Brixton for an Italian wingbat brand, and ANOTHER surfer being signed by Nike. Buck also gives us a live report from the Quik Fest in France, where partying is obligatory and tops are optional. Link for 15% off LISS products: LivinginSunshine.com/stab

We finally got the GOAT. What does he really think about the modern state of surfing — you're about to find out. But first, this week's surf news with Mikey and Buck.

Bula vinaka from Tavarua Island, where we just finished interviewing the 2025 world champions of surfing — Yago Dora and Molly Picklum. You'll hear that toward the end of the pod, but first, Stace G and Mikey C dissect their very different views of Finals day in Fiji, including peak performances and surprise letdowns.

Better late than never! Joey T, Vaughan, and Ron join Mikey C on the sand to discuss warm-up sessions and hot tips from Tavarua Island. Sparknotes: Dogs: Italo and Caroline Faves: Yago and Molly