The repertoire, the style, the savvy, the look—Julian Wilson is quickly proving to not only to be one of the world’s most exciting and fresh faces, but one of the most dynamic as well. Consider this: He beat Kelly Slater on the Gold Coast last year at the Quiksilver Pro, he won “Best Performance by a Male” at the 2007 Surfer Poll for his high-flying section in Young Guns 3, his freshly made Sushi Roll and various inverts are upping the ante on above-the-lip surfing, and while the world was jostling over Jordy’s contract, Julian was in quiet negotiations with Quiksilver and didn’t fair so badly himself. “All I know is that he was one of the most innovative surfers that came through Bali this year,” testifies SURFER’s ace in Indo, Jason Childs. This says a lot considering the kind of time Childs has spent working with guys like Jamie O’Brien and Ry Craike. “After watching all of the world’s best come through town, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody progress as much and as fast as Julian did this year.” While accolades are all good, the little bugger’s backed it up with some tangibles. His win against Slater should say enough, but Julian himself may have put it best in a recent interview: “I don’t think I’ve ever lost a heat to Jordy…and I wouldn’t feel in anyway intimidated about surfing against him.” When it comes to the next generation, Julian Wilson has emerged as Australia’s brightest star. He still may have some filling out to do to put some more power behind his arcs, but taking into account all that he’s accomplished and the fact that even companies like Calvin Klein are begging to put his mug on a billboard, he appears to be on the right path. All this and he still gives his mom a peck on the cheek before he paddles out to surf a heat.