Zigzag Magazine

Features

All Hail the King of New Pier!

by zigzag / posted on 14 hours ago

ALL HAIL THE KING OF NEW PIER by Antonio Bortoletto It’s the year 1995 and Richard Sills and I are riding our BMX’s to school along the Durban beachfront. George Campbell Technical High is near New Pier. We live in apartments on South Beach, so a morning cruise is the start of our day. Every [...]

Avuyile ‘Avo’ Ndamase – Future Stars Champion

by zigzag / posted on 3 days ago

This is an interview with a surfer who’s faced great personal adversity to reach a goal and become a surfing champion. Avuyile ‘Avo’ Ndamase tragically lost his brother Zama in a fatal shark attack at Port St Johns’ notorious Second Beach in 2011 – the fourth fatal attack in three years. A tragedy that would [...]

SHARKSAFE – Behind the Eco-Friendly Shark Barrier

by zigzag / posted on 4 days ago

A team of Stellenbosch University (SU) researchers have developed an eco-friendly shark barrier, known as “Sharksafe”. They are heralding the barrier as an alternative for shark nets “which result in the death of thousands of sharks and other sea animals every year”. Prof Conrad Matthee, Head of the Department of Botany and Zoology and member [...]

Surf Ninja – Jaco Steyn

by zigzag / posted on 17 May, 2013

After making name in junior events across the country during his grom days, this week’s Surf Ninja apparently disappeared from the scene (at least from the eyes and ears of the uninformed). Of course this weskus local didn’t just disappear, he was simply off the radar of those that follow surfing media or contest results [...]

Welcome to Balliehood: The Surfer’s Midlife Crisis

by zigzag / posted on 17 May, 2013

THE BUILD-UP: When does grommethood end and balliehood begin? There’s no line in the sand or magical barrier you reach, just a cold slap in the face once you realise you’ve crossed over. Human beings are resilient when it comes to accepting and then adapting to change, but it’s a long road ahead and full [...]

Dropping in on Slade Prestwich – Defending Quik Pro Jnr champ

by zigzag / posted on 15 May, 2013

18 Year-old Slade Prestwich is one of this country’s most talented young surfers – of that there is little doubt. If you don’t believe us, just watch him surf and you’ll see that the Scottburgh local has all the ingredients to make it huge. To outsiders it may have appeared that Slade, who now lives [...]

Dropping in on Shaun Joubert – ISA World Champ

by zigzag / posted on 15 May, 2013

It can’t be mentioned enough – the South African Surfing Team put on an exceptional collective performance at the 2013 ISA World Surfing Games in Panama to become World Champions – making us all proud Saffas back home. The cherry on the top was Shaun Joubert’s individual win in the Open Men’s division. The Mossel [...]

Future Stars and Country’s Best Juniors To Battle It Out This Weekend

by zigzag / posted on 13 May, 2013

This coming Saturday sees the start of the Quiksilver Pro Junior and Quiksilver King of the Groms at Durban’s New Pier. The bulk of the country’s top juniors have already descended on Surf City after competing in this past weekend’s Volcom VQS Championship Cup. It’s no secret that the banks at New Pier are as [...]

Surf Ninja – Justin Stevens

by zigzag / posted on 13 May, 2013

With two baby girls to train in the art of being a Surf Ninja, this week’s wave assassin doesn’t get as much time to perform as he’d like, but that doesn’t stop Justin Stevens from killing it every time he hits the water. Dominating along with his homies in and around his Muizenburg playground, Justin [...]

Honeymooner Killed By Shark In Reunion

by zigzag / posted on 9 May, 2013

What was supposed to be a romantic getaway for a newlywed French couple ended in tragedy on Wednesday. The honeymooning pair were enjoying a day at the popular Brisants de Saint-Gilles on Reunion Island when the 36 year-old husband was attacked and killed by a shark while surfing, his distraught wife watching on from the [...]