Stab Podcasts

“Everyone wanted to sign John. We just kind of thought, if he was going to start his own thing, now would be the time.” The surf industry has a long-running kink of slapping sticky hickeys on surfers and trying to squeeze them into the shape of a brand. Perhaps less so now, with the stickers losing some of their stick. But just look at our quasi-regular co-host, Dane Reynolds, whose lack of connection to the traditional surf-brand model ultimately led to his split from Quik and the creation of his own company. Five years into the Florence experiment, Sam and Doom sit down with Ryan Hurley, co-founder and creative director of Florence, to discuss the business of building a company around John Florence, the ambition to make it something much larger than a surf brand, and also Michael Jordan. But first, the origin story. When John's contract was coming to an end, the offers were plentiful. Among them was a reported $1 million-a-year deal from Rip Curl. John could have signed with any major surf brand, accepted the full cheese platter laid out for his royalty and continued living the glamorous life of a professional surfer from yesteryear: ride for a company, appear in a few campaigns, help sell its clothes and earn millions of dollars. Instead, he started his own company. Although, as Ryan reveals in this episode, the idea wasn't really John's. It was proposed by Ryan and his brother Dan, who had already built a considerable business at Hurley under the family patriarch, Bob. John had spent most of his career riding for Bob's company. When his contract came up, the Hurley bro's saw an opportunity. Everyone wanted to sign John. Why not build something with him instead? And for that matter, why not name the whole thing after him? Which brings us to MJ. The Jordan brand is the archetype for what Ryan wants Florence to become: a premium sports brand, built around a generational athlete, and eventually expanded into something that exists beyond the athlete's original field. Jordan's playing career eventually petered out in Charlotte, a slightly sad epilogue to the Bulls era. But by then, his name had already become a global sports company. Sidenote: who is the Michael Jordan of surfing? Probably Slater, for mine. John might be LeBron. Anyway, surfing, in this conception, is the point of origin, but it ain't the final destination. Surfing leads to the ocean, the ocean to the great outdoors. And the great outdoors, theoretically, is a considerably larger market than surfing. If anyone can build that kind of bridge, Ryan believes, it is JJF. Ryan also has some fairly pointed thoughts on the current state of the surf industry. He sees the 1990s as its golden era, when surf brands were pushing design and culture forward, and the 2000s, with it's helicopters and billionaires, as a kind of silver era. The present, well. A little light on the old abundance. Strange, then, that Florence is growing. “A lot of the old ways of doing things are broken, and I think it requires new thinking to create a new future,” Ryan says. “But it takes people time to come around to new ideas.” Also included: who is more important to Florence when it comes to selling product? John or Nathan? Find out in Episode 23 of StabMic. Thanks to our partners at Red Bull, Yucca Fins, SlowTide, Devium, TurtleBox, Vaer, and Dome Dust, for making StabMic possible.

What's the best film section of all time? Mikey and Buck believe they've found it. Also in this week's ep: - drama in the latest Surf100 ep - the great fin debate - sharks v ketamine darts - and more!

“I used to just drift through the world and have all these magic moments surfing. Now, I try so hard to make them happen, and it's just so rare. I can't believe how lucky I was.” For those suffering from Dane deficiency, some numbers: in the average StabMic episode, Dane accounts for roughly 15% of the single-camera shots. This time, he's north of 50%. Which is to say: this is the most Dane-heavy conversation we've ever released. For the starving, for the long winter, for the Reynolds romantics, here's your feed in full. First, a few bones from the carcass before we hand you the entire beast. Y2K is out. “It's cool to get inspiration from the past, but to completely replicate it is weird.” On the fear of being stuck in the past: “Sometimes I wonder if I'm playing in a dated format, making surf films. But making 15-second clips for Instagram just doesn't excite me.” On the architecture of a good surf film: “You've gotta create some sort of a narrative or a storyline. A lot of the time I like to edit body positions to match, from frame to frame. It's not like a Marvel movie or anything, but you're definitely carrying the viewer through it. It needs context. In my opinion, what makes a film is carrying from wave to wave, from song to song. It needs some sort of arc.” “I feel like I'm sounding like a kooky artist or some shit. Like I'm making surf films more complicated than they are.” On music: “Say using a Rolling Stones track - the viewer already has that song embedded in their psyche. They already have an emotional connection to it, so the surfing doesn't look fresh.” On the Instagram torture chamber: “It's kind of maddening. Like a hot chick that's having a margarita at sunset at a nice pool… you're just like, cool. Really glad for you. Stoked for you. What the fuck!” On the creative process: “There's no playbook for making things work… you've gotta trust your feeling. It's a lot of feeling.” Alright then. Grab a fork. Dinner is served.

A WSL mid-season update, featuring Stace G and Mikey C. The boys look back at the last six CT events, peer ahead to the next seven, give some world title updates, discuss the CS succumbers and more.

Why is Griffin Colapinto quoting Theodore Roosevelt? Why did his mother spend his formative years threatening him with homelessness? What are Gabby Medina's hobbies? And why has Griff's romantic life, at various points, become a subject of interest among anonymous Instagram accounts? This week on the StabMic, we get them answers. Griff occupies a strange place in modern surfing. He's one of the best surfers on Earth, deeply spiritual, relentlessly positive, shares his journal entries on social media, quotes dead American presidents, and has also accumulated an online anti-fanbase. According to Griff, none of it ever really got to him. Years of hard-won self-love saw to that. It did, however, get to his mum, who apparently took the pile-ons personally. Speaking of his mother, she may also be responsible for much of his success, thanks to a particularly motivating parenting strategy: "My mum always told me I was going to be homeless. And I was like, 'No I'm not. Watch this.'" Griff insists he's mostly just a hardworking and genuine person trying to do his best, and sometimes he also likes to party. Somewhere around the halfway mark, after the world tour comp chat runs its course, the post-heat interview version of Griff exits, and we settle into a nice little picnic bro-date with tea and scones and giggles. Also joining us this week is our very own Joey Amico, temporarily occupying Dane's chair. His sustained commitment to taking the piss out of Dooma suggests he understands the assignment.

And an incredible right at that. Perhaps the new best high performance stop on tour? This week, Mikey and Buck discuss the recent Cloud 9 announcement along with the best accessories in surfing, a new Surf100 x Pacifico) ep, crowd control issues at Teahupo'o, the entirely real and globally recognized World Cup of Surfing with special guest Paul Evans.

“This is surfing. The meanest people in the world get into making surfboards.” Surprising, then, that perhaps the most cartoonishly cheerful man in surfing right now also happens to be a board builder: Dan Mann. Dan's been something of a hot industry topic in recent months, following his contentious victory in Stab In The Dark X, when Kelly Slater elected to crown his own shaper the best of the decade, prompting several weeks of the surfing world accusing him of being a self-licking ice cream cone. But Dan would get a chance to respond soon enough. A month later, in the rapidly assembled Stab In The Dark starring Ethan Ewing, Dan's board, the same model, just scaled up to accommodate the mass and velocity of the Smooth Gorilla, made it all the way to the final, narrowly losing out to Hayden Shapes. Place some respect on the Mann's name. This episode also features Stab co-founder Sam McIntosh, filling the chair usually occupied by Dane Reynolds. Before you oil your pitchforks, here's the situation. It's proven difficult to lock Dane down week to week, given the number of businesses, projects, and assorted obligations currently competing for his attention. Frankly, we're lucky we've managed to get as much of him as we have. So, on the weeks Dane isn't around, we're experimenting with a slightly different flavour of StabMic: a more industry-focused edition, speaking with the people who keep the machinery of surfing turning, on both sides of the curtain. Think How Surfers Get Paid-lite. In this episode, Sam and Dooma shake Dan Mann by the shoulders and out fall the following opinions: surfboard shaping is too individualistic and needs more collaboration between the heads of the hydra; shit-talking is good for surfing, though he hates participating in it and especially hates being the recipient of it; PU boards are a bad habit we're collectively unwilling to quit; and the future of surfboard performance already exists, sitting in plain sight, waiting for us to develop the courage or financial incentive to embrace it. For those who still long for Dane, who miss him when he's not around, who've grown used to his weekly opinions arriving after decades of careful rationing, fret not. We've added a weekly Jordy and Dane segment. It will now exist in perpetuity, or until further notice. Alright then. Nature abhors a vacuum. This is episode #20 of StabMic.

We mean the waves, of course. Head high? Double over? 30 ft? 100? An Irish beer brand will be the judge of that, in 3-4 business years. After discussing the new How Surfers Get Paid ep, Mikey and Buck debate whether or not Saquarema is a good wave and discuss the passing of San Diego surfer Patrick Phillips after an accident at Teahupo'o.

Prerequisites for riding for Former: – Must be able to hang on trips – Must be willing to sleep on the floor of a warehouse That's about it. Before you volunteer your soul, there's also the unspoken requirement that Dane Reynolds and Craig Anderson respect your surfing. Yep. It's alright. Sit back down. There's a seat here, still warm, right next to me. Since this weekly chat began, we've been trying to pry the story of Former out of Dane. He usually gives us a few scraps before laughing about the various ways the business nearly imploded. This week he's joined by longtime friend and business partner, Craig Anderson, a relationship that stretches back to the Modern Collective days, before the birth of their long-running creative alliance at Quiksilver. The pair unpack the many occasions Former almost failed, did fail, or found itself staring directly at the abyss. At one point the company was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and operating out of Dane's garage. Despite a career spent brushing up against extinction, Former is still here today, more air in the lungs now, beating harder than it ever has. They also discuss the future of the brand, the makings of their new film, Defect, signing Elijah Berle following his online spat with Austyn Gillette, and the lasting impact of the late Dylan Rieder on the brand, the business, and the people around it. Episode 19. One of my favourites, for whatever that's worth. Thanks to our sponsors, Rationale, Yucca Fins, Patagonia, and SlowTide, for making StabMic possible. Also, we had a slight audio syncing issue with Dane and Dooma's mics this week. Hopefully it's not too offensive to the ears. Apologies all round.

A Saquarema CT preview featuring Stace G and Mikey C. Make your surf picks here: https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/surfing/surfing-futures

Buck sits down with the recent CT winner from Rome to dissect the 28-year-old's competition mindset and broader thoughts on modern-day surfing. Later, Mikey C joins Buck to discuss the new episode of Surf100 x Pacifico, Tom Lowe's near-death experience, and two Film of the Year nominees. This ep is presented by Slowtide and Pacifico. Shop the new Steph Surf Shop collab towels here: https://slowtide.co/collections/steph-surf-shop-x-slowtide

If you ain't the one, you the prototype. Every institution has its creation myth. Rome had Romulus and Remus, Apple had the garage, The Beats had the 1944 murder. StabMic, in its larval stage, had no posters, sponsors, or Danny from the booth. It wasn't even StabMic yet. It was just an idea, and perhaps the defining idea of the modern male condition. We should start a podcast. This was sometime around the end of 2024. Dane and Dooma never got around to settling on a name, though several contenders emerged from the primordial soup: Shit Salad, Off The Pulse, Sucking Dick For Beer Money, Unemployable, and Nonsense. Fine names, in my opinion, if slightly difficult to monetise. History is written by the victors and unfortunately, so are algorithm-friendly podcast titles. On moving day at the old Chapter 11 store in Ventura, they filmed a pilot episode, an early hominid in the StabMic evolutionary timeline. Consequently, the recording is punctuated by customers wondering if the store was still trading, people searching for the new location, and team riders intermittently raiding the fridge for beer. The production values were also slightly lower than our current Ventura dungeon. One camera, a couple of microphones Dooma paid for himself, and several Coors Lights for social lubrication. Civilisation has been built on less. Many ramblings ensued. The conversation meandered through Dane's fascination with inland America, from the magic of Idaho to the hoax of Wyoming, before eventually arriving at a number of his hotter takes. On the success of the Florence hood: “It pisses me off that he was able to do that.” “I'm not pissed off at John John, he rules, but it pisses me off how quickly he was able to connect with his audience, and that we weren't. It's a jealous thing.” On the financial mistakes of his career: “I was just an idiot. I wouldn't do anything if I thought it was whack. I was very ungrateful. Money just wasn't a tangible thing to me at the time. What they were paying me, and what they expected out of me, and how I was always just like, ‘fuck you!' I was not grateful at all. Pro surfing doesn't set you up for much humility.” “I didn't think I was cool or rad or anything like that. I just didn't see the transaction of money meaning anything.” “Money didn't mean anything to me in my 20s. I'd only spend money on donuts and surf trips, and my sponsors would pay for those. With Monster, I was an idiot. I rode for them for a while, but when it came to re-signing, I was like, ‘Uhhh, I don't really like Monsters, so I don't want to ride for them anymore.'” “I would have been such a failure if I was growing up in this era. It's so cringey to me to be self-promotional, and now you just have to be.” Dane also admits to turning down significant money from sunglasses brands because he hates wearing them. They make him feel like he's wearing a mask, he says. Like he's pretending to be somebody else. An hour-long experiment was all it took for the suspicion to form that this might be something worth continuing. Dooma got chatting with Sam Mc. One thing led to another, and roughly a year later, StabMic arrived. We're now four and a half months into the project. Long enough, we thought, to revisit its awkward adolescence. This is the first recorded episode of StabMic in chronological time. Episode 18 in the order of release. Enjoy. This episode was filmed by Kevin Janson. Big thanks to our sponsors, Rationale Brewing and Yucca Fins, too.

Can anyone stop a one-legged Italo? Doesn't seem like it, but we'll find out soon. Before dissecting the elite surfer massacre in El Sal, Mikey and Buck get into this week's news: - Surf100's first loser - The truth about El Niño - An (actually) unbiased wavepool review - When it's ok to paddle in (never?)

Round up a dozen of the world's best shapers. Lock them in their respective sheds and ask them to solve the same problem twelve different ways. Gather whatever they create, paint the rails blue and ship them off to Sumbawa. Acquire Ethan Ewing. Clear his schedule, handle him with care. Ship him to Sumbawa too. Point a few cameras at him, put him in warm water, let him loose. Set the Smooth Gorilla free. Make a film about it. Actually, make a TV series. Market him as a man inconvenienced by language itself. Send along Taj Burrow to help translate. Let him surf too. Then crack the whole thing open. Let the kid talk. Show that we're all bags of meat with galaxies inside, even the quiet ones. Ask him to pick a favourite board. Don't discourage him from choosing outside the aristocracy. Not one of the big dogs, in his words. Let him repeat it, too. How cool, he says, for an underling to win. Follow his travel schedule, hold premieres in its wake. Let the people gather in dark rooms and watch. Then, finally, sit Ethan Ewing and Dane Reynolds down and ask them to talk about all of the above, and a whole lot more. This is episode 17 of StabMic. Enjoy.

World number 1 just copped another surfer's fin to the knee and received eight stitches(!). Will he be well enough to compete at Punta Roca? Time will tell, but for now, Stace and Mikey pontificate on everything else around stop number five on the 2026 Championship Tour.

Our new Stab in the Dark winner is surprising to say the least. Mikey and Buck break down Ethan's final ep with all its twists and turns, explain the new Surf100 season, discuss Gabriel Medina's foam infidelity, announce the best boardshorts in the world (according to you) and more.

How do you measure success? Money? Conquests? Desires fulfilled? You know you've really made it when your name ends up in the dictionary describing a certain type of behaviour. An eponym is what we'd call it, if we were trying to sound intelligent. Which we are. So that's what we'll call it. Machiavellian, from Niccolò Machiavelli — describing someone willing to do nasty things in pursuit of an outcome. The end justifies the means. Real serpent behaviour and definitely nothing like the current moment we live in. Orwellian, from George Orwell — used to describe authoritarian control, surveillance, dystopian systems, and definitely nothing like the current moment we live in. Eithaning, from Eithan Osborne — coined by Dane Reynolds. A more contemporary addition to the discourse. Not yet recognised by major dictionaries, though give it time. Used to describe a specific type of erratic lineup behaviour that creates mass irritation, destroys all peace, and makes surfers question their instincts, positioning, and basic understanding of waves. We've long said Dane is at his best in these podcasts when he's comfortable and sharing history with the guest, and this episode might be the clearest example yet. Fellow Ventura local, Chapter 11 affiliate, Stab High, Monster Air winner + Surf100 champ Eithan Osborne joins Dane and Dooma at the desk this week. The gents discuss Dane joining the local YMCA and being spotted curling his biceps, Former offering Eithan a deal before being outbid by Billabong, Eithan opening a wellness centre to repair his broken body, and plenty more. Whole lotta laffs in this one. Ep 16, enjoy.

What is happening on the CT right now? We're a third of the way through the season, and there are four Brazilian goofies atop the men's rankings. On the women's side, no one seems to have found the world champ pace. At least we got to see the CTers go left for once. Stace G and Mikey C break down everything from the recent event at Raglan, before Buck comes on to bash seals, drag boy band members, and reveal a few state secrets from the Stab camp. PS, come watch Ethan Ewing's Stab in the Dark finale with us: When: Thursday, May 28th at 7 pm PST (finale starts at 8 pm). Where: Salud Studios at Tremont Collective, Oceanside, CA (602 S Tremont St Suite 104, Oceanside, CA 92054). Or online, only on Stab Premium.

“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