Michael February Wins Inaugural Off-The-Lip Mo Retro Surf Day

The Inaugural Off-The-Lip Mo Retro Surf Jam took place in fine retro style over the weekend at Casuarina Beach on the KZN North Coast. A total of R8000 was raised for CANSA as over 60 competitors and a large crowd of spectators paid homage to not only mens health, but also the rich history of surfing.

Here are the highlights from a fun-filled day of retro shredding:

Check out the press release below, or see more photos on the event’s official Facebook page.

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FEBRUARY TURNS ON THE STYLE TO WIN INAUGURAL OFF-THE-LIP MO RETRO SURF JAM

Michael February (Cape Town) turned on the style to win the inaugural Off The Lip Mo Retro Surf Jam at Beach Bums.

Casurina Beach, Tongaat – Over 60 surfers congregated at the infamous Beach Bums Restaurant on the Kwa-zulu Natal North Coast on Saturday to take part in the inaugural Off The Lip Mo Retro Surf Jam event. The event was a retro 70’s surf contest conceptualized by Quiksilver and Movember, the foundation responsible for bringing awareness to and raising funds for mens prostate and testicular cancer as well as mens mental health issues.

Surfers were greeted with clean 3-4 surf on arrival, the majority dressed in 70’s surf outfits donning classic retro twin and single fin surfboards, the boards synonymous with the 70’s era. Moustaches were the order of the day while surfers rocked to the 70’s tunes in their short leg boardshorts. Spectators enjoyed the surfing and vibe on the beach as ten six-man heats took to the water. Surfers were judged on style, originality and their use of the old school boards and not necessarily on modern day surf criteria. Legendary surfboard shapers and surfers Spider Murphy and Johnno Hutchison were on hand to assist with judging. A six man final was selected after a round of extremely entertaining surfing filled with beach starts, down-downs, wipeouts and roundhouse swoops.

Finalists of the inaugural Off The Lip Mo Retro Surf Jam – Grant ‘Twig’ Baker, 2nd (left), Michael February, 1st, Ryan Bisset 3rd (right).

The action-packed final got underway in front of a bunch of lively spectators as the tide pushed up the beach and conditions became tricky. It was Michael February from Cape Town who managed to string a series of stylish and flowing maneuvers together to crack the nod over his fellow finalists. “Today was an amazing event, it is such a great concept, there was such a good vibe, everyone had a blast and it was all for a good cause”, said a very excited February. Finishing in second place was big wave surfer Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker (La Lucia) after a superb tube ride half way through the final. Ryan Bisset (Berea) ended in third position ahead of Dan Redman (Durban North) in fourth, Matt Oakley (Glenwood) in fifth and Justin Bing (formerly Cape Town now living in Durban) in sixth place. Other novelty prizes were handed out on the day adding to the fun had by all.

A total of R8 000 was raised on the day through entries and a Quiksilver raffle, all proceeds raised will be donated to Movember’s health partner, CANSA. “The event was a huge success, I’m pretty sure everyone had a good time. It was good to see the boys and girls doing it old school. Our brand was born in the 70’s so it was a perfect fit, we’ve managed to build a great partnership with the guys at Movember and we’re honoured to be behind such a great cause. We were very lucky with the waves and weather, the event will definitely be on again next year, ”

The end of Movember is just around the corner so it’s not too late to make a difference. Get to www.movember.com and grow your mo.

Final Results:
1. Michael February
2. Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker
3. Ryan Bisset
4. Dan Redman
5. Matt Oakley
6. Justin Bing

Speciality Awards:
Best Dressed – Devin Lane
Girl Surfer of the Event – Sarah Baum
Vert Alert – Paul Smith
Wave Waster – Wade Brodowitz
Float The Boat – Michael February
Drop The Wallet Layback – Matt Oakley
Spin To Win – Sydney Boulanger
Toes on the Nose – Justin Bing

For highlights and photos of the Off The Lip, Mo Retro Surf Jam, find the event on Facebook.