Stab Podcasts

Everything we know (for now) about the allegations against Al Cleland Jr, and a Rip Curl Pro Portugal preview.

The sun never sets in the EAST, and New York City never sleeps. A match made in insomnia, and we figured the two ought to meet.

Last week, we gathered at Vans Skate Space in Brooklyn for the finale of EAST starring Harry Bryant, where we crowned Ashton Pickle heavyweight champion of the weird.

The next day, we took the party to 90th Street, where attendees got to test drive Haz’s EAST quiver.

Having made a day of the beach, we made an evening of the bar. Ashton, Harry and Dooma took the hot seat at Bungalow Bar retired for a live StabMic, with special appearances from Mikey Feb, Danny Johnson and Dugong breeder, Will Solly.

Our thanks to Kona Big Wave and Vans for bringing EAST to New York, and to Red Bull, Dome Dust, TurtleBox, Visit Dominican Republic, Devium, Yucca Fins, Roark, and Vaer for making StabMic possible.

Who said it?

If you watched the EAST finale with Harry Bryant, you already know the answer.

If not, have a listen here as Mikey and Buck discuss the spectacular way in which our annual alt board fiasco concluded. Genuine shock and awe thanks to the wizardry of Danny Johnson (and a bit of Haz).

Also in this ep:

- Does Japan have the best localism?

- How many rails is too many rails?

- Which surfer is owning 2026?

And more.

In Episode #33 of StabMic, Hunter Martinez, Dane Reynolds, and Jake Kelley sit down with Dooma to talk through the making of DEFECT.

We let the film run, and we let the boys talk to it. Stories of great value ensue: misadventures in an Indonesian corner named after the phallic appendage of one sailor-surfer, the music choices, the trips, and an additional clip of Dane running shirtless through a cemetery, narrated by Chris Hemsworth.

This is DEFECT, explained by the chefs themselves.

For those keeping score, we missed a week. DEFECT was meant to be Episode #32, but music licensing issues threatened to consign it to the dustbin of digital history. Happily, the threat has passed, and DEFECT shall remain on the internet for eternity.

Thanks to our partners at Red Bull, Dome Dust, TurtleBox, Visit Dominican Republic, Devium, Yucca Fins, Roark, Colby +, and Vaer for making StabMic possible.

What's off limits in 2026?

Mikey and Buck discuss our members' response to Steko's divisive new film 'Fudo'— namely, the "crimes "of IP theft and sex appeal.

Also on the docket: a Quik Fest review, an EAST Fest pump up (more below), a Stab High announcement, interviews with the Lowers winners, our first 2028 Olympians and more.

PS: If you're in NYC, join us this Friday, Oct 2 and Saturday, Oct 3 for EAST Fest with Harry Bryant, Mikey Feb and Mason Ho.

October 2 is the world premiere of Harry Bryant’s EAST finale at Vans Skate Space 198. Doors open at 6 pm. Live music to follow, and Kona Big Waves available for those 21+.

October 3 is a group surf day at 90th st. in Rockaway Beach, followed by a live Stab Mic recording. Times TBD, check our IG for more info.

“I look back on that moment as the single most important moment of my life.”

Quite a thing to say about the day you died.

On December 21, 2012, Greg Long suffered a three-wave hold-down at Cortez Bank and clinically drowned.

Greg was wearing the first iteration of the flotation vest developed by Shane Dorian and Billabong. He yanked the trigger, but it didn’t inflate. He tried again. And again. Nothing. No air came. The vest was faulty.

His team found him, and he was brought back from the brink.

The vest emerged around 2012, as paddle surfing began pushing into territory that had previously been reserved for tow surfing. Sion Milosky’s death made the risks harder to dismiss. If the pursuit was going to continue, they needed a way out when things went bad.

Greg eventually began working with Patagonia. After years of R&D, they released the first PSI vest to the public in 2017. Nobody has drowned while wearing one. Now, nearly a decade later, they’re releasing its second iteration.

Alongside the new vest, Patagonia and Stab are releasing Inflation Point, coming soon to Stab Premium. Greg joins us at the desk to talk about the new film, the experience of drowning, the importance of safety, and the paradox of the PSI vest: the safer you make something, the more tempting it can become to push further.

Greg says more people are paddling out underprepared, convinced they’re harder to kill than they are, with the vest as a kind of guardian angel. It was never meant to be used that way.

We also hear from fellow big-wave surfer Izzi Gomez, who recently released Chrysalis, a film about her own journey with big-wave surfing and mental health.

Thanks to our partners at Red Bull, Dome Dust, TurtleBox, Visit Dominican Republic, Devium, Yucca Fins, Roark and Vaer for making StabMic possible.

When the sun sets on one lineup (Lowers), it rises in another (La Graviere).

This week, Mikey and Buck discuss the last CT event before the post-season plus the non-sanctioned event that is currently taking France by storm (Quik Fest).

Also: Ageist theory from the latest EAST ep + how many hours you need to improve at surfing, according to Nate Florence.

“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to tell this story… But I’m gonna do it anyway.”

The best stories tend to live on the wrong side of the velvet rope, and every so often a gentleman must ignore the bouncer and let the public in. Parko, being a gentleman of considerable repute, has brought several such stories with him. Bisous!

Fresh off the Surf100 $100k Finale, where the public judges may have been a touch less charitable than the man deserved, Parko joins Dane and Dooma at the StabMic desk to unpack the experience of putting a jersey back on, and what he’s been doing since hanging it up for good in 2018 after almost two decades on tour.

There’s an obvious bit of crossover here, too. Joel spent the entirety of Dane’s relatively brief CT career on tour, before Dane left the building and Joel eventually did the same. Between them, they’ve seen enough of the institution from the inside to have developed some opinions on how the thing is constructed. It’s a good old-fashioned trip down the rabbit hole.

The contents of said hole: waking Adriano De Souza from his slumber for the traditional Namotu Skulldrag onslaught, the night before a heat, only to face Dane Reynolds in that very heat; rescuing Kelly Slater; the early days of the Cooly kids; Joel’s diagnosis of what the modern tour has lost; and a tantalising hint at a new film project in the works with Mick.

Thanks to our partners at Red Bull, Dome Dust, TurtleBox, Visit Dominican Republic, and Devium, for making StabMic possible.

Surf100 spoilers + a Lowers preview.

Mikey C is joined by Buck and Stace.

Cloudbreak just concluded with more questions than answers...

Who was actually surfing well, and who was doing the bare minimum? Who gets priority when skis are involved? And how does the Abu Dhabi news affect the world's best surfers?

Stace G and Mikey C investigate.