Surfing

There was a storm on Monday 30th May. We met at 6:30am – well, 6:50am for some – and I made coffees. Despite the early hour, Olie Le Noel was no different from the first time I met him: bright, alwayson-the-cusp-of-laughing, fashionably late – everything you’d expect from a 26-year-old...

Control is a fascinating concept, and it’s always interested me. This fascination eventually led me to Epictetus and the rest of the Stoic Philosophers. The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t. When it comes to surfing, this is...

It is difficult to pinpoint when and where modern stand-up paddling really began. But current stand-up has become such a varied sport it defies a strict definition because they are used in so many different ways. The two things that seem constant are people standing while paddling a surf or...

Kiwis tend to be very much ‘one trick ponies’ – “I surf a short board, I windsurf a foil, I paddleboard,” but overseas, especially in places like Tahiti and Hawaii, being a waterman is a badge of honour. Guys like Laird Hamilton and Kai Lenny cover a range of disciplines...

If you've gone to any beach with a bit of surf this summer, you've probably seen a surfer or two rising out of the water and floating across waves. Foiling has exploded in NZ, but for those of us still yet to give it a go, Steve Dickinson provides us...

Surfing arrived in New Zealand looking very different to what we see today. A few clubbies were playing with hollow surf skis but not until 1959 did two Americans come to New Zealand and kick alive a revolution and a culture. Steve Dickinson explains further. Surfing has always been part...

There are giants out there on the sea. They rise toward land and make war on our shores with the full rage and ferocity of the ocean. Steve Dickinson uncovers the global big wave locations and the hardcore tribe of men and women brave enough to chase them. Spectators watch...

When the opportunity came up to do a tradie profile on Logan Dodds and Jesse James Cassrels I naturally did some background research on the blokes. Already familiar with their names as NZ social media personalities, I scrolled through their Instagram posts which resembled scenes from the latest Bond movie...

As a youngster I heard my parents and other adults talking about stress and the worries of life in general. I remember thinking ‘what do they have to stress about? I’m chilled out why aren’t they?’ Fast forward 25 years and holy s#%t! I get it bills, kids, house maintenance,...