Head East, Young Men (and Women)

We’re pretty dame liberal with the use of the word “frontier” when we talk about surfing. We wax on about big-wave frontiers, aerial frontiers, and new frontiers in female surfing on a monthly basis at this magazine alone. Truth be told, it’s all a lot of hyperbole, something to whet your palette and hook you into feature. But I’m about to hit you with some literal next world stuff here—an all caps, honest FRONTIER.

Clay Marzo
Clay Marzo, molding his own version of Paradise.

Reignition

Interview by Casey Butler

Kekoa Bacalso know what it’s like to win, but more importantly, he also knows what it’s like to lose. With a newfound fire burning inside of him, the one-time World Tour Rookie of the Year turned self-sponsored ’QS warrior has adjusted his sights, altered his perspectives, and found solid footing and is orienteering himself for a comeback.  

Six titles ago, Kelly made history. What he’s done since then has made him nothing short of a legend. In early November, on the one-year anniversary of the passing his greatest rival, Andy Irons, Kelly did what most of us would have once deemed unthinkable: he won his 11^th world title. Take a moment to think about that. Michael Jordon had six titles, Koby Bryan five—only lumped together could they compare to what Kelly has accomplished. Hell, he’s amassed 30 percent of all world titles in the sport, and from all accounts, he’s showing no signs of stalling. So we’re taking this moment to salute not just the most dominant surfer of all time, but perhaps the most dominant of athlete of all time. Well done, Kelly. Here’s to 11 more.

Bobby Gumm and the Ride of His Life

By James Stone

The very nature of surfing has us staring down danger on a daily basis, and I’m not just talking about a winter on the North Shore or the latest “Code Red” storm in the South Pacific. Every now and then, you’ll hear whispers of a shark in your local lineup. And while the majority of the time it’s nothing more than a baby reef shark straying a bit too close for comfort, we all can’t help conjure up images of the worst-case scenario. But thankfully, our collective anxiety seems to fade with the first sew wave. But that’s not always the case.