When the circus comes to town, all eyes are on the show. Put down your popcorn and your soft drink, cause this show ain’t no game, this is real life. Contracts, sponsors, careers, it’s all on the line heading into the first, (lets be honest here) event of consequence on the QS roster, the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong.
Day one saw Ballito local, Richard Kidd discount his competitors by taking ’em down regardless of their higher QS ratings. Reading his local break like a university graduate reads a children’s book, the Kidd made it rain.
Richard Kidd read the conditions like a university graduate reads a children’s book to dispose of his competitors. © Cestari
Now we all know Mikey Wright, his older sister’s the current world champ, his brother, Owen, is a world title hopeful and he’s the homie who’s sponsored by Quiksilver and rolls with a filthy mullet. And his surfing’s no different, raw and unadulterated, it feels like it comes from a different period entirely, just like that deep south hairstyle he’s got going. And his heat was no different, he’s not here to get a 5.78 to make the heat, he’s here to blow minds. Who cares bout scores?
Mikey Wright surfs like his hair style, raw, unadulterated, filthy. © Cestari
The next South African, the forever stylish Mikey ‘freestyle’ February. Mikey decided to lay anchor out the back, maybe he couldn’t find a wave hot enough for his liking, or perhaps there was no suitable match, but while Krystian Kymerson went crazy on anything that moved, claiming a 9.0 for a crazy rotation, Mikey sat and waited. And he waited, and finally while all the South African’s hands grew clammy, and beads of sweat emerged on their foreheads, Mikey made a move, kicking his heat off with a 7.0 and backing it up with a 6.83 to take the win.
Mfeb has a superb backhand. His timing, impeccable. He used it to blitz CT surfer Frederico Morais. © Cestari
Davey van Zyl was the first Saffa on day two of the event to make it through. And his heat was a grind. It was slow, and the waves battled to make their way to shore. But Davey’s a stealthy young man, and he snuck round the lineup, like a camouflaged preying mantis, striking anything that moved and made it through the heat despite an attempted buzzer beater from Aussie contender Davey Cathels.
Davey’s a stealthy young man, and he snuck round the lineup, like a camouflaged preying mantis, striking anything that moved and made it through the heat. © AVG
For the sake of this write up, one must mention California’s Griffin Colapinto. No he didn’t win his heat, but something has to be said about this brother’s surfing. Cause it’s good. It’s damn good. If it wasn’t for the kids reading this article, that ‘damn’ may have been something else. But lets keep it clean. The lines he draws are mature beyond his years, and he, without fail, picks the perfect maneuver for each section.
Griffin Colapinto eyeing out the pit. © AVG
Beyrick de Vries, ahhhh. What can we say. A valiant effort indeed. Beyrick found his back up against the ropes, but he used Mohammed Ali’s famous rope-a-dope and climbed his way outta there. First he busted an extremely stylish straight air, and then he backed it up with another, even bigger, straight air. But it wasn’t high enough, and Beyrick was pulled right back down to earth with a knockout blow courtesy of Ezekial Lau.
Here Beyrick busts that man-sized straight air. And there’s nothing like an air sans rotation. It just wreaks of style. © AVG
“Nothing like a QS guy to keep you on your toes…” stated Jordy when we interviewed him. And that’s what it’s like for Jordy. He eases his way through QS heats and prowls the lineup like a hungry lion searching for an easy target. Even his competitors are too afraid to sit on him, lest he rips their head off with a 9.5 and devours them alive. In the end he made Round 2 look easy. It wasn’t.
The action continues all this week. Watch this space for all the news…
Report by Cyle Myers.
