The surfing world needs Mikey Wright like the planet needs the French to combat global warming via the Paris Agreement. He makes you wanna find a Jimi Hendrix record, put it on a turntable, and turn up that volume till the windows shatter, walk outside and chop a mountain down with the edge of your hand. Yeah, his surfing is a breath of fresh air in the city of Beijing. And of course he made it through both his heats with high scores. Blitzing sections like they had done something to offend him.
The surfing world needs Mikey Wright like the planet needs the French to combat global warming via the Paris Agreement. © Cestari
Jordy Smith showed up on day 4 of the event sick as a dog. But Jordy’s a big man, 6’3 to be exact, that’s about 13 feet taller than the average height of the other competitors, thus his competitors were too afraid to prey on his frailties. He casually made his way through his heat. A coupla hooks and a sneaky barrel was enough to swat the flies from the meat, and Jordy promptly headed home to recover.
Jordy Smith into round 4 of the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong. © Cestari
Rumour has it that Jack Freestone was once asked if he’d rather fight Ezekiel Lau or Ramzi Boukhiam, to which Jack replied, “Ezekiel Lau.” You see Mr Freestone’s a clever man, cause he knows that Ramzi owns a real mean backhand hook, and thus cleverly chose the weaker opponent. And it shows in Ramzi’s surfing, every turn’s like a knockout uppercut punch to the face. And ain’t nobody wanna be found at the receiving end of that hammer. You’ll be out for five days straight. Ramzi’s been shredding all event long, not just hitting the lip, but literally blitzing it and to the absolute delight of the judges who have been flinging high scores at him. We can’t WAIT for this man to qualify, he’ll be the first Moroccan to do so, and like Zeke, he ain’t afraid of nobody.
Ramzi’s been shredding all event long, not just hitting the lip, but literally blitzing it. © Cestari
Apparently, after this event, Mfeb is giving a course called ‘Staying ZEN’ and it includes free yoga lessons. That’s a 100% joke. But here at the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong, you learn that every tom dick & and harry on this tour can surf, and perhaps the key to making heats lies in one’s mental fortitude. When the chips are down, how do you respond. Half way through Mikey’s round 3 heat he was combo’d and had given away priority. Five minutes later he was leading the heat courtesy of one of the biggest airs of the event. When all South African’s had given up hope, Mikey responded with a: oh you of little faith… He then went on to dispose of the high flying Krystian Kymerson in round 4 for a round 5 birth against Griffin Colapinto
Half way through Mikey’s round 3 heat he was combo’d and had given away priority. Five minutes later he was leading the heat courtesy of one of the biggest airs of the event. © Cestari
The smiling assassin Davey van Zyl was probably smiling through the barrel that saw him make it to round 4 of the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong. The man’s a bundle of joy, his smile, intoxicating. But don’t be fooled he ain’t no laugh. Davey snuck round the lineup in heat 4 of round 3 using his electric rail game and barrel riding skills to gather scores. Davey surfs with style and sometimes you get the feeling that people see him as an underdog, maybe cause he smiles all the time. But he’s not, and he most certainly has the ability to beat all them clowns at the circus. Unfortunately he was taken down by Ramzi & Jordy Smith at the start of day 5.
Davey snuck round the lineup in heat 4 of round 3 using his electric rail game and barrel riding skills to gather scores. © Alan van Gysen
Wade Carmichael is probably one of the most recognizable human beings on the QS tour. He’s probably the only human on tour who has a beard, and he rolls round town wearing Jesus sandles. You could totally imagine him hanging out in Byron Bay playing in various drum circles and starring in Corona ads alongside Wilko. But when it comes to competition, he puts those drums aside, puts on a pair of formal shoes and gets to work. He’s a powerful surfer, he pushes hard, and links turns with Championship Tour flair. He’s highly underrated, but he’s making his way through some big names at the Ballito Pro presented by Billabong, so lets see how far the bearded man goes.
Wade Carmichael’s a powerful surfer, he pushes hard, and links turns with Championship Tour flair. © Alan van Gysen
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