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Special Guest: Albee Layer's Psychotic Shark Encounter Jul 25, 2026

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Albee Layer and Torrey Meister got water-herded by a shark in Maui, and he's still a staunch proponent of sharks' rights. The same can't be said at Fred Pawle — to some the star, to many others the villain of our currently-running Shark Week. Keep your ears peeled for a snippet of the Great Shark Debate inside. Also in this ep we announce our new EAST surfer (presented by Kona Big Wave and Vans), dissect the financial realities of the Challenger Series, and why tradesmen actually have better surfing lives than the "pros". PS, we're throwing a US Open party with Quiksilver this Saturday night, July 25th at Bungalow in HB. Get there.

JJF vs Dane at the world's best righthander Jul 17, 2026

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What's the best film section of all time? Mikey and Buck believe they've found it. Also in this week's ep: - drama in the latest Surf100 ep - the great fin debate - sharks v ketamine darts - and more!

Why Surf Films Will Never Win An Oscar | StabMic Ep. 22 Jul 13, 2026

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“I used to just drift through the world and have all these magic moments surfing. Now, I try so hard to make them happen, and it’s just so rare. I can’t believe how lucky I was.” For those suffering from Dane deficiency, some numbers: in the average StabMic episode, Dane accounts for roughly 15% of the single-camera shots. This time, he's north of 50%. Which is to say: this is the most Dane-heavy conversation we've ever released. For the starving, for the long winter, for the Reynolds romantics, here's your feed in full. First, a few bones from the carcass before we hand you the entire beast. Y2K is out. “It’s cool to get inspiration from the past, but to completely replicate it is weird.” On the fear of being stuck in the past: “Sometimes I wonder if I'm playing in a dated format, making surf films. But making 15-second clips for Instagram just doesn’t excite me.” On the architecture of a good surf film: “You’ve gotta create some sort of a narrative or a storyline. A lot of the time I like to edit body positions to match, from frame to frame. It’s not like a Marvel movie or anything, but you’re definitely carrying the viewer through it. It needs context. In my opinion, what makes a film is carrying from wave to wave, from song to song. It needs some sort of arc.” “I feel like I’m sounding like a kooky artist or some shit. Like I’m making surf films more complicated than they are.” On music: “Say using a Rolling Stones track - the viewer already has that song embedded in their psyche. They already have an emotional connection to it, so the surfing doesn’t look fresh.” On the Instagram torture chamber: “It’s kind of maddening. Like a hot chick that's having a margarita at sunset at a nice pool… you're just like, cool. Really glad for you. Stoked for you. What the fuck!” On the creative process: “There’s no playbook for making things work… you’ve gotta trust your feeling. It’s a lot of feeling.” Alright then. Grab a fork. Dinner is served.

Slater Swipes The Company AmEx, Cloud 9 Emerges, CTers Stoop To Challenger Mode Jul 07, 2026

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A WSL mid-season update, featuring Stace G and Mikey C. The boys look back at the last six CT events, peer ahead to the next seven, give some world title updates, discuss the CS succumbers and more.

The Man In The Arena | StabMic Ep. 21 Jul 06, 2026

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Why is Griffin Colapinto quoting Theodore Roosevelt? Why did his mother spend his formative years threatening him with homelessness? What are Gabby Medina’s hobbies? And why has Griff's romantic life, at various points, become a subject of interest among anonymous Instagram accounts? This week on the StabMic, we get them answers. Griff occupies a strange place in modern surfing. He's one of the best surfers on Earth, deeply spiritual, relentlessly positive, shares his journal entries on social media, quotes dead American presidents, and has also accumulated an online anti-fanbase. According to Griff, none of it ever really got to him. Years of hard-won self-love saw to that. It did, however, get to his mum, who apparently took the pile-ons personally. Speaking of his mother, she may also be responsible for much of his success, thanks to a particularly motivating parenting strategy: "My mum always told me I was going to be homeless. And I was like, 'No I'm not. Watch this.'" Griff insists he's mostly just a hardworking and genuine person trying to do his best, and sometimes he also likes to party. Somewhere around the halfway mark, after the world tour comp chat runs its course, the post-heat interview version of Griff exits, and we settle into a nice little picnic bro-date with tea and scones and giggles. Also joining us this week is our very own Joey Amico, temporarily occupying Dane's chair. His sustained commitment to taking the piss out of Dooma suggests he understands the assignment.

The WSL's New Stop... Is A Right? Jul 03, 2026

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And an incredible right at that. Perhaps the new best high performance stop on tour? This week, Mikey and Buck discuss the recent Cloud 9 announcement along with the best accessories in surfing, a new Surf100 x Pacifico) ep, crowd control issues at Teahupo'o, the entirely real and globally recognized World Cup of Surfing with special guest Paul Evans.

The Spectacular Vindication Of Dan Mann | StabMic Ep. 20 Jun 29, 2026

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“This is surfing. The meanest people in the world get into making surfboards.” Surprising, then, that perhaps the most cartoonishly cheerful man in surfing right now also happens to be a board builder: Dan Mann. Dan’s been something of a hot industry topic in recent months, following his contentious victory in Stab In The Dark X, when Kelly Slater elected to crown his own shaper the best of the decade, prompting several weeks of the surfing world accusing him of being a self-licking ice cream cone. But Dan would get a chance to respond soon enough. A month later, in the rapidly assembled Stab In The Dark starring Ethan Ewing, Dan’s board, the same model, just scaled up to accommodate the mass and velocity of the Smooth Gorilla, made it all the way to the final, narrowly losing out to Hayden Shapes. Place some respect on the Mann’s name. This episode also features Stab co-founder Sam McIntosh, filling the chair usually occupied by Dane Reynolds. Before you oil your pitchforks, here’s the situation. It’s proven difficult to lock Dane down week to week, given the number of businesses, projects, and assorted obligations currently competing for his attention. Frankly, we’re lucky we’ve managed to get as much of him as we have. So, on the weeks Dane isn’t around, we’re experimenting with a slightly different flavour of StabMic: a more industry-focused edition, speaking with the people who keep the machinery of surfing turning, on both sides of the curtain. Think How Surfers Get Paid-lite. In this episode, Sam and Dooma shake Dan Mann by the shoulders and out fall the following opinions: surfboard shaping is too individualistic and needs more collaboration between the heads of the hydra; shit-talking is good for surfing, though he hates participating in it and especially hates being the recipient of it; PU boards are a bad habit we’re collectively unwilling to quit; and the future of surfboard performance already exists, sitting in plain sight, waiting for us to develop the courage or financial incentive to embrace it. For those who still long for Dane, who miss him when he’s not around, who’ve grown used to his weekly opinions arriving after decades of careful rationing, fret not. We’ve added a weekly Jordy and Dane segment. It will now exist in perpetuity, or until further notice. Alright then. Nature abhors a vacuum. This is episode #20 of StabMic.

How Big Is It? Jun 24, 2026

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We mean the waves, of course. Head high? Double over? 30 ft? 100? An Irish beer brand will be the judge of that, in 3-4 business years. After discussing the new How Surfers Get Paid ep, Mikey and Buck debate whether or not Saquarema is a good wave and discuss the passing of San Diego surfer Patrick Phillips after an accident at Teahupo'o.

How Not To Start A Surf Brand, With Craig Anderson & Dane Reynolds | StabMic Ep. 19 Jun 22, 2026

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Prerequisites for riding for Former: – Must be able to hang on trips – Must be willing to sleep on the floor of a warehouse That’s about it. Before you volunteer your soul, there’s also the unspoken requirement that Dane Reynolds and Craig Anderson respect your surfing. Yep. It’s alright. Sit back down. There’s a seat here, still warm, right next to me. Since this weekly chat began, we’ve been trying to pry the story of Former out of Dane. He usually gives us a few scraps before laughing about the various ways the business nearly imploded. This week he’s joined by longtime friend and business partner, Craig Anderson, a relationship that stretches back to the Modern Collective days, before the birth of their long-running creative alliance at Quiksilver. The pair unpack the many occasions Former almost failed, did fail, or found itself staring directly at the abyss. At one point the company was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and operating out of Dane’s garage. Despite a career spent brushing up against extinction, Former is still here today, more air in the lungs now, beating harder than it ever has. They also discuss the future of the brand, the makings of their new film, Defect, signing Elijah Berle following his online spat with Austyn Gillette, and the lasting impact of the late Dylan Rieder on the brand, the business, and the people around it. Episode 19. One of my favourites, for whatever that’s worth. Thanks to our sponsors, Rationale, Yucca Fins, Patagonia, and SlowTide, for making StabMic possible. Also, we had a slight audio syncing issue with Dane and Dooma’s mics this week. Hopefully it’s not too offensive to the ears. Apologies all round.

Saquarema Picks & Why Brazil Runs The Surf World Jun 18, 2026

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A Saquarema CT preview featuring Stace G and Mikey C. Make your surf picks here: https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/surfing/surfing-futures

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