We Shouldn't Be Friends

Allegations of sexual assault involving now-suspended CT pro Al Cleland Jr, several other men and a young Australian girl in Tahiti two months ago have stunned many of us worldwide. Those allegations are now being investigated by French Polynesian authorities. One day they may be tested in court. In the meantime, how does a culture that prides itself at times on ignoring the wider world come to grips with the hard reality of sports stars and sexual consent? Nick and Hannah asked Catharine Lumby, Professor of Media at Sydney University and a former consultant on consent issues within the NRL, to help us understand more about this tough issue—and suggest some ways forward for all involved.

Note: This podcast covers subjects that may cause distress to some listeners. If you or someone you know has experienced domestic, family or sexual violence, you can call 1800RESPECT (1800 737732) for counselling, information and support. 1800RESPECT is an Australia-only service—if you are in another country you may want to research its equivalent.

Surf films, even quite short ones, are not simple things. Especially if you want them to actually be interesting. Dav Fox is one of the finer cinematographers in the game, yet Dav takes it a few steps further, into the realm of story. The Illusion Of Control, his recent work with Craig Anderson and SW’s cover star James Kusitino, sows us just what happens when Dav gets a sniff of the gold behind the action. Nick and Hannah put Dav very gently on the rack as he explains the minor nightmare of creativity, his early life as a bodyboarding film star, and why he dreads entering the editing bay.

This year’s been a deeply sketchy one for many residents of the Hawaiian islands. The warming eastern Pacific has triggered numerous hurricanes near Mexico and sent a number of them skittering toward the islands. Cue gale force winds, floods, and repeated destruction across the chain. Nick and Hannah asked Kauai’s Rochelle to come tell us about how this is playing out, and somehow unleashed the force of nature that is this fantastic woman: ex-elite ‘90s pro, original Blue Crush star, yoga teacher, retreat runner, and mentor to many of the modern Hawaiian generation. Rochelle’s all of it, and she’s all here for us.

San Clemente, California, has two town centres. The first and most commonly known is a shop-lined street leading down to the pier. The second is a slightly tangled old industrial area not far from the railroad — the dusty home of some of the world’s great surfboard companies. Right in the middle of it is Matt Biolos, who after 40 years in the business has turned his labels Mayhem and …Lost into icons known to surfers worldwide, an achievement he refers to as “Revenge of the Nerds”. Matt is nothing if not dryly witty, so Hannah and Nick invited him to explain just how this all happened, and what it’s like to be  badgered by seemingly a quarter of the CT for their quivers.

Sometimes things happen. Sometimes they just blow up. This week pretty much the whole sporting world — including surfing — was blown up by an ad for an American sports prediction site featuring one of its key investors, the actress Sydney Sweeney, nude except for various pieces of sporting equipment. “Just sport,” cooed no-clothed Sydney, gazing down from a basketball hoop. The appeal was naked, the response was instant. But while it was kind of epic seeing so many champion women athletes telling Sydney what was sport and what wasn’t, was sport even the point? Nick and Hannah turned to the ultra-sharp Dr Rebecca Olive to help untangle the carnage.

Great surfing, like we just watched at the WSL CT Fiji Pro, can seem like magic to the rest of us. What are they DOING out there? All that timing, power and flow, coloured by small yet unmistakable flashes of individual style — it doesn’t come out of nowhere.

Matt Grainger, Manly surf school and Surfers Gym owner and high end pro coach, has been fascinated by this craziness pretty much all his extensive surfing life. Here he joins Hannah and Nick for a deep dive into the skills that define elite surfers — and how he helps the groms along that path. 

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The better half of the WSBF team is on site at what might prove to be the CT event of the year. But there’s so much more to Teahupo’o than terrifying competitive angst and the most Instagram-worthy barrels in human history. This place has been seducing people for a millennium or more. Following an afternoon on the pre-contest beers, Hannah tortures Nick with some lyrical descriptions of the South Pacific vibe, the way the ocean draws off the reef, the little fishies darting about the lineup, and gives us all some insight into how the surfers are gathering themselves for what lies ahead.

“Sorry, Mr Pipeline!” Imagine surfing at a psychotically high level for 50 years, then being run over in a two foot beachie by an unsteady grommet. This is what happened to Tom Carroll, just a couple of days before Nick and Hannah put him on the spot to follow up Shane Dorian’s awesome take on ageing. What lessons do you learn in your mid-60s from stuff like this? What do you give up, and what do you gain? Is there some sort of weird trick involved in surfing extremely well into the last third of your life, or is it just a crapshoot? And possibly more important: what’s a Pro Turn, 2026-style, and can Tom still do one?

There’s never been a time quite like this one. Since Surfing World published issue 428, “Shark Country”, there’s been three shark fatalities around the nation and one very seriously injured swimmer at a Sydney metro beach. Drones are being dispensed to boardriders clubs, shark bite kits are common sightings on coastal trails, and surfers — including Hannah and Nick — are being chased out of formerly safe waters on a daily basis. There’s a lot of shared concern out there. In this episode we get into some of what we’ve learned since the magazine hit the streets, and try to answer some smart questions from the readership.

Does anyone really think they’ll get old some day? The whole notion of ageing seems to run counter to surf culture’s obsession with youth — after all, at some level, maybe staying young is what it’s all about. But how do you manage that as your body and mind begin the inevitable process of change through mid-life and beyond? Be like a modern tech-bro and obsess instead over immortality? Kick back on the couch, add a few kilos, and reminisce? Or just try to do the best with what you’ve got? The fabulous Shane Dorian, now unbelievably 53 years of age, joins Nick and Hannah to explore this modern dilemma.