Details are still a bit blurry, but according to eye-witness accounts, big-wave hellions Rusty Long and Grant “Twiggy” Baker have broken the 100-foot barrier, catching and surfing a sky-scraper-size wave off the coast of Chile’s Isla Alejandra Selkirk, several hundred miles off the coast of mainland Chile.


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By Jeff Mull

It was an event that left the surf world’s gaping maw on the floor. Julian Wilson, the young towheaded phenom wildcard had pried Kelly Slater’s vice-like grip from the throat of the rest of the tour in Round Three of the 2009 Quik Pro. Now that he’s had a few weeks to digest the accomplishment, we caught up with Julian in the wake of the upset to get his take on the slaying of the emperor. 

Going into the Snapper event, you got a lot of media hype as being the best guy surfing in the water before and after heats. How were you feeling?
I wasn’t really aware of that but I definitely felt good. I was happy with my equipment, plus I was feeling really confident and ready after my ankle injury.

Did you have a game plan going into your heat against Slater, or were you going to surf the heat as you would against anyone else?
Yeah, I definitely had a game plan going into the heat. It wasn’t anything different to any other heat, though. I just wanted to get the best waves in the heat and try to put him on the back foot from the start. I knew he would ride one of those little boards so I felt a little more confident about that also.

Was it at all intimidating for you to surf against Kelly?
Yeah, it was a little. I just really wanted to make it past that third round, so I was going to do whatever I possibly could to achieve that. The people on the beach were actually more intimidating to me than Kelly…I was determined not to look in and get rattled!

Once you realized you beat Kelly, can you recall what was going on in your mind?
Actually, it felt like I had just won the biggest contest of my life. There were all those people on the beach.  You know, words just can’t describe.

I know you were coming off of an injured ankle, but it didn't look like it was affecting you too much. How's the injury coming along?
Yeah, my injury is definitely behind me now. I feel really good and confident with it.

So what's in store for the rest of the year for you?
I'll be traveling the world making a profile movie while doing a few events and having the time of my life.

Watch Video Of Julian vs. Slater At The 2009 Quik Probr /> 

Mike Losness, recently won the ASP WQS 2 star Van’s Pier Classic at Huntington Beach, Ca over the weekend in challenging beach break conditions.

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Teaser for the upcoming surf video Picaresque. Check out highseasfilm.com for more information. Music by Discovery.

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It was a morning of falling stars as a host of surfing's big names had their stay cut short at the O'Neill Coldwater Classic Tasmania.

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Watch insane rides from Bryan Conley, Ryan Hipwood, James Holmer-Cross, Greg Long, Garrett Mcnamara: the 2009 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards Ride of The Year Nominees.

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The third day of competition at the O'Neill Cold Water Classic called for a third location in as many days. Watch Jordy Smith, Cory Lopez, Gudauskas Brothers and more in this highlight clip.

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The wildest, coldest contest series on the planet. Cory Lopez and CJ Hobgood turn on for day two of the O'Neill Coldwater Classic.

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Yassine's unique style superimposes unlikely scenarios with otherworldly settings.

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We all deserve a photo of ourselves ripping—be it strategically placed in an iPhone to show off to friends or draped above the household mantle and framed in scented pine or, if we’re lucky, splashed on the pages of a glossy surf mag. With that in mind, we’re launching a monthly giveaway, awarding the surfer with the best shots on SurferHot100.com with prizes, plus a few choice words from the boys in the photo department. This month, we’re throwing some fresh Nike 6.0 gear at the winner. So keep your photos crisp and sites updated, because the keen minds and eagle eyes of the SURFER photo department are already on the look out, and they come bearing gifts.

This Month's Winner
Blake Sands
Home Town: Abaco, Bahamas
Photo: Mez
View Blake’s profile page here.

After an attention-grabbing video of a cute blond making a bikini from SURFER Mags spread through the office and was subsequently banned from YouTube for being too risque, we had to get the skinny from the source: Nikii Swiss.

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The Hurley/Pacific Wave Spring Fling allows Santa Cruz locals to test their mettle in a one-day contest at Steamer Lane. Check out highlights from 2009.

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Nine-time ASP champion Kelly Slater joins lifelong eco-crusader, Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, to announce the recent launch of a Quicksilver Australia/Sea Shepherd partnership.

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By Jeff Mull

No longer a sport dominated by brawn, grit, and talent alone, professional surfing in the 21^st century has morphed itself into a thinking-man’s game full of enough tactical wit and guile to make Kasparov jealous. Kelly didn’t his win nine titles on sheer aptitude alone and Mick didn’t earn his just because he surfs ridiculously fast. Rest assured that between the swooping turns and speed floaters, that for every jersey you see bobbing in the water, there’s a game plan carefully unfolding in the mind behind it. For the lowdown on the intricacies of heat dominance, we thought it wise to speak with the current ASP World Junior Champion Kai Barger. 

You’re pretty good at this whole “winning” thing, being the current ASP World Junior Champ and all. How’d you get your start in the competitive surfing realm?
Well, I’ve been surfing pretty much my whole life. I think I entered my first contest when I was six. It was this longboard classic event at my homebreak on Maui.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that you won the event.
Yeah, [laughs] first event ever and I won. Pretty cool.

As you got older and more into surfing contests, did you develop any pre-hit routines that helped you win?
I know a lot of guys have these set things that they do before heats. But for me I don’t really do anything out of the ordinary. I listen to my iPod sometimes if I remember to bring it with me, but for the most part I just study the lineup and the conditions and make sure I know as much about what’s going on in the water as possible.

How important is it to understand the conditions?
I’d say it’s pretty much the most important part of winning…just knowing what’s going on the water, how many waves to a set, how many sets are coming in every 15 minutes, and then setting yourself up for getting all the right waves. That’s really huge. I’d say that being able to get the good waves in a heat is like, 60 to 70 percent of winning. There are plenty of guys on the ’QS, in my mind, that aren’t that great of surfers, they’re just really good at knowing how to win.

So knowing the conditions well enough to ensure that you actually get the best waves of the heat is crucial. What about once you actually get a set wave? How would you surf a wave in a heat vs. surfing a wave in a freesurf?
For me, it’s all about setting up your first turn to be as critical and progressive as possible. If you don’t have a good, solid first move, then your wave is gonna be blown. You might as well just kick out, because you’re not gonna get a good score.

What about the old “three to the beach” adage?
I don’t really see that as being true today. No one wants to see people play it safe and milk a wave to the beach. That’s boring and everyone knows it. Plus, if you ask me, it’s bad for the sport. People would way rather see someone blow up a wave and risk it than just do three boring turns and catch a wave all the way to the sand. That’s boring. You also want to finish strong with a solid move, too. Sort of bring it all together.

So once you get a good wave under your belt, what’s next?
Once you get a good one, you want to back that up with another solid score to keep you in the heat. From there, you can start catching more waves and trying to improve on your first two scores for the rest of the heat. That’s pretty much it.

How about training. How important is that to being a good competitor?
Some people are really into training and that’s great. But for me, I’ve trained some in the past, but I get the most improvement out of just surfing a lot. The more I surf, the better I surf.

What about having a coach?
I’ve never really had a full-time coach or anything. I’ve worked with Rainos Hayes a little bit in the past and whatever advice he gives me I take. I’ve done some work with Dave Riddle too, but no, I don’t have a full-on coach training me 24/7. Just me. I think if you’re serious about it, you can do it own your own. Actually…I’d say a good cameraman is your best coach. Watching yourself surf is the best way to get better. That way you can pick apart what you’re doing right and wrong yourself

What advice would you give a young surfer who wants to start competing?
I’d say just go for it. It’s a lot of fun. There are the tricks to doing well that we just talked about, but for the most part it’s not too difficult. Just go for it and give it a shot./p>

Julian Wilson has opened auction on one of the pink boards from his performance at Snapper Rock last week in an effort to raise money for breast cancer research and treatment.

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Explore traces the rich history of lifeguarding, going back to the legendary Duke Kahanamoku and Eddie Aikau, in this moving tribute to Hawaii’s "guardians of the sea." The team then jumps to modern day Pipeline, where highly skilled lifeguards protect surfers from the ocean's powerful swells.

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Highlights from the final day of the 2009 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast held in pumping Kirra. Watch Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning, Adriano de Souza, and Taj Burrow go nuts for the first finals of the ASP World Tour season.

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Kirra ignites and local boy Joel Parkinson beats Fanning and De Souza to claim the 2009 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.

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By Jeff Mull

With the collective eyes and minds of the surf world glued to the start of the ’09 ASP World Tour at Snapper, we can’t help but let our enthusiasm for all things heat horns and singlets bubble over to some of the other upcoming events. That said, we’ve found ourselves eyeing down the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships in Ecuador, slated to take place beginning March 28. As far as junior surfing goes, if you’re looking to see who’s going to be headed for the World Tour and who’s headed for a desk job, there’s no better market than the ISA Games. With a pedigree dating back more than two decades, the World Junior Games have been a proving ground for the best young surfers to test their mettle against one another for generations. In case you’re not up to speed on the whole international junior surf scene we’re gonna give you the lowdown on two hometown teams that hold our eye in the weeks leading up to the games: Team USA and Team Hawaii.

Heading into Ecuador is a USA Team with enough stardom and competitive savvy to rival basketball’s ’92 Olympic Dream Team. Coached by Joey Buran and featuring surfers like Kolohe Andino, Nat Young, and Courtney Conlogue, it’ll be hard to discount Team USA as a contender for a spot on the podium. Last year, at the ISA Junior Games in France, the Americans took a copper medal back to the States and a few lessons learned.

Coach Buran admitted that although it was nice to earn a medal, copper isn’t gold—and that’s something he’s eager to correct. “This year’s team is really fantastic…a very talented group with a lot of experience. They’re really competitively savvy and aware of how to win a heat. Last year, we did a lot of training and mock heats to get ready for the games. This year, we’re not doing as much of that. Like I said, these guys are really talented and they know what they need to do to win. In some cases, I’ve talked to a few of the kids individually and told them what they should work on and they’re doing it. I’m really looking forward to Ecuador.”

In a sharp contrast to Team USA, the team representing Hawaii is in full-on training mode these days, running camps along the North Shore as well as a few outer-island weekend jumps to keep their game sharp. Coaching the Hawaiian contingency is North Shore legend Rainos Hayes. Team Hawaii, who also drips talent with the likes of Keanu Asing, Kaimana Jaquais, and Alessa Quizon, looks to be a top seed in the upcoming games.

According to Hayes, “One of the unique things for the Hawaii team is that we come from a close-knit ohana background. A lot of the kids on other teams may be more spread out and not know each other. Hawaii has always had it’s own team. There’s a lot of pride in Hawaii and for the kids that represent our unique island nation. This is their chance to operate as a team and get away from surfing as an individualistic sport, to be mindful and support each other.rdquo;

Jordy Smith, Jay Bottle Thompson and friends snag solid surf at South Straddie.

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By Jeff Mull

There are few things in surfing that get the old arteries pumping faster than seeing that perfect ramp set before you, just begging for a launch. But sadly, for most of us, our airborne attempts seem to crash and burn more often than not. There’s the dreaded chop-hop (is that really even an air?) that’s become ever so frowned upon by those in the know. Then there’s the gruesome, horizontal-punt-with-your-ass-and-body-positioned-40-degrees-south-of-your-board version of the maneuver that we’ve all seen committed with far too much impunity. So, why are these things so damn hard to do properly? To pin down the aerial, we thought it best to talk to a pro. Recently, we got Blake Jones, one of the East Coast’s most promising young jets, to talk us through the physicality of the proper punt.

So what are most people doing wrong when it comes to airs?

Ha! There are a lot of mistakes to be made when you’re going for an air. They’re not easy, that’s for sure. But I’d say double-grabs are the biggest mistake people are making. Those things are for the birds.

You’re getting way ahead of us here. Let’s keep it simple: Can you walk us through a few points of your standard frontside air?

Yeah, for sure. So the first thing you want is speed. But somehow guys like Dane do these massive airs with, like, no speed. I’m still trying to figure that one out. But that’s Dane. Anyway, yeah, you want to be going pretty fast, but no so fast that you’re gonna be out of control when you hit the section.

What kind of a section are we supposed to be looking for?

You can punt off a lot of different places on the wave. Ideally, you want something like a closeout section when you first start off. Something with enough off a lip to push you out a bit, but also with a soft landing.

So we need a solid amount of speed, a closeout section with some lip to it, and a soft landing pad?
Yeah, pretty much.

So once we make it to the section, what do we do then?

I like to approach the section by getting pretty low. That way, when you hit the section, you can use your legs for extension and kinda launch yourself.

How similar is punting an air to doing an ollie?

Yeah, they’re pretty similar. It’s a bit different, but if you think of it like that you’ll start making some progress. Like I said before, you’ll fall a lot in the beginning and hit the section wrong and land on your back. The only real trick is to just keep doing them.

So let’s say that we’ve managed to do everything right so far. We’ve got enough speed, found a good section, got low, and then launched off the section. What next?

Well you want to stay over your board. I like to widen my stance right before I try to go for an air. Distribute my weight a little bit. That helps me stay over my board so I don’t do a flyaway or anything.

What about landing?

That’s a huge part. It doesn’t really count unless you pull it. There’s a lot that can go wrong here. In the beginning, look for a soft, foamy part of the wave to land…just to feel it out for a while. As you get better, you can try and land in the flats a bit.

Is there anything else we’re missing?

Probably. Just remember when you’re trying airs, it’s a work in progress. Some people get them faster than others. But just keep going for it and work on your mistakes and it’ll come. I promise.nbsp;