You couldn’t really ask for a better way to end the World Surf League season proper than what we saw at Teahupo’o last week, although Ethan Ewing, shunted out of the final five in the quarter finals, might beg to differ.
But for the surfer from Straddie, everyone’s favorite stylist on tour, the takeaway from 2025 would be that you can’t win a world title on consistency (three thirds, five fifths) alone. Witness Jack Robinson, who between stunning victories at Bells and last week at Chopes, had a shocker of a season, but when it really counted, Jack delivered, bringing his zen focus into finals day, lost in another world in every post-heat interview, and absolutely charging up the ladder to finish fourth in the final five. That means he will have to win at least five heats at Cloudbreak next week to clinch his first world title, but Jack owns that break, and the bigger the better.
The same could be said for Molly Picklum, who was absolutely fearless in taking out reigning world champ Caitlyn Simmers in the women’s final at Teahupo’o. Mind you, Caity, despite her diminutive build, doesn’t hold back in waves of consequence, and I won’t be surprised to see the same two chargers battling it out at Cloudbreak.
Back on the men’s side, Griffin Colapinto was a standout at Chopes, stylishly and methodically threading barrels deeper than his opponents, all the way up to his meeting with our boy Robbo, who simply chose the best two waves that popped up and ripped the bag out of them. See, that’s all you need to do.
While we all want to see Pickles and Robbo emerge as the champs in Fiji, let’s also spare a thought for Australia’s Ethan Ewing and Isabella Nichols, both finishing sixth, both out of the finals by a whisker after surfing so beautifully all season. Next year, guys.
Go Blakey go!
“His feet bloody and ulcered, ear infected, frame ten kilos lighter, last night Blakey Johnston rode his final wave for July. Only lasted 10 seconds yet it’s the arithmetic that’s impressive. It was his 4,097th wave of the month, caught over 253 sessions at Sydney’s URBNSURF wave-pool.”
So wrote Swellnet editor Stu Nettle a few weeks back. Just let those numbers sink in for a bit: 25 days of surfing over a month, averaging 10 hours and 160 waves a day. Okay, Blakey is a bit over 40 and I’m a bit over, well, never mind. But my daily average is about 30 minutes and five waves. And this month of torture is not a one-off for the former pro surfer and coach. He was already in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest single surf session – 40 hours and seven minutes and 707 waves ridden – and earlier this year, as an aside he organised the world’s largest paddle-out of 1000 people at his home break of Cronulla on Sydney’s southside.
Why this obsession? Well, Blakey’s not in the biggest-longest business for the sake of his ego, although if it gets a boost or two along the way, so be it. He’s in it to save lives, to draw attention to the hidden mental health problems of so many young and active people, and specifically suicide, which claims nine Australian lives per day.
Blake Johnston knows a bit about this. He lost his surfing mentor Andrew Murphy and his surfer dad Wayne in this way, people who loved what he loved but just couldn’t cope with life. I was part of the global Quiksilver camp when “Murph” took his life and I can vividly remember the grief of that time. Here was a young guy who was well-loved and who seemingly had everything, talent, looks, charm and a very big heart, but it wasn’t enough.
Blakey writes about all of this and shares his own experiences in battling the black dog of depression in his first and excellent book Swell-Being, to be published in October.
I’ve been given a sneak preview and I can tell you it’s a riveting read, with a helpful “tool kit” accompanying each chapter. Here’s a taste from the intro:
“Hey humans,
I’m a dad, a husband, a surf school owner, a surf coach, a mental health advocate, an endurance athlete and a dual world record holder. Here’s the thing. If you’d told me as a young grom that one day I’d be writing a book [like this] I would’ve 107 per cent shrugged it off and said, ‘Nah, I’m gonna be a pro surfer.’ But we all have a story, right? And no-one’s story is more important or valuable than another person’s. We each have our own experience – and that’s what makes us unique. As surreal as it feels to be writing a book, I know I’m doing it for the right reasons. I’m not a mental health professional. I’m not a spiritual guru. I’m not anyone special – just someone who lives in gratitude and who’s deeply curious about his own potential and the impact it can have on the people and the
world around him.”
I’ll be talking to Blakey at length at the Noosa launch of Swell-Being at Sunshine Beach Surf Club on 30 October from 6pm. Bookings are essential so phone 5448 2053 or email info@anniesbooks.com.au
I’m so looking forward to this one. As Blakey says: “Everyone deserves to feel awesome!”
