We Shouldn't Be Friends

We’re abject pro surfing fans over here, and when something like what’s about to happen in Fiji comes along, there’s no way we’re letting it just slide by. The WSL’s ten best surfers, vibing each other and themselves into one of the world’s best surf zones, with a world title on the line? One way or another, pretty much everyone’s eyes are gonna be on this madness, so we’re putting together a special two-episode collector’s series of WSBF just to rip it all to pieces. First up, Nick and Hannah are joined on the couch by none other than Nick’s little brother and self proclaimed “source”, Tom Carroll, for a ruthless and completely imaginary heat by heat analysis — and a shot at predicting the titles.

Surf-lit is a wobbly field at the best of times, mostly because the writer tries to turn surfing into something it sorta isn’t. Something kooky your daughter’s doing on her summer hols (“Gidget”)? Psycho B-Grade movie cheese (“Point Break”, “The Surfer”)? Scary death metaphor (“The Dogs Of Winter”)? Erin Hortle is a glorious exception to this dismal rule. Erin is one of Australian literature’s rising stars, and in her outstanding second novel, surfing plays out just as it does for most of us — as part of her key characters’ lives. In a very special episode, the Tasmanian author of “The Octopus And I” and “A Catalogue Of Love” tells Nick and Hannah about Nigel the gannet, writing 40,000 words on a broken ankle, and how she decided to write about surfing in such a clear and unaffected way.

Presenting yourself in public is not as easy as it seems. When you’re simultaneously presenting as a manic super-frother, a cool headed CT analyst, a party-time ringmaster and  a semi rock star, it could easily turn pretty pear-shaped. Yet Vaughan Blakey contains multitudes, and there’s a very calm and considered person in the centre of this Swellian/mag editor/film producer/extraordinary Australian character. Nick and Hannah sit Vaughan-o on the other side of the mic for a fascinating trip behind the froth. Plus! A ridiculously simple tip on how to self-check your surfing style from the inside — no video required.

The first week of August was fantastic wherever you looked. Indonesia, Tahiti, south shore Hawaii, and the whole east coast of Australia — where wasn’t pumping. But what happened next left us feeling vaguely ick. These amazing surf zones were mined mercilessly for clicks: single-ride superwaves dumped endlessly on top of each other across social media, till it felt like you’d seen too much of something you shouldn’t. Is surf culture unintentionally reducing gold to lead here? Is this surfing or just cheap pornography? Nick and Hannah semi-seriously rip through a trend as grating as it is understandable.

“The Big Sea” is one of the surf culture’s films of the year. It’s won awards, most recently at the Noosa Film Festival, for its harrowing portrayal of the toll taken on a Black community in Louisiana, USA, by a nearby petrochemical factory that makes the base ingredient for neoprene. “Cancer Alley”, it’s called. The implication that surfing is somehow connected to Cancer Alley is clear: according to film-makers Chris Nelson and Lewis Arnold, this is “surfing’s dirty little secret.” But when we watched the film, we were surprised to find no direct, on-the-record link being made between the Louisiana nightmare and any surf wetsuit maker. Did anyone make you a wetsuit from the stuff that’s killing people in Cancer Alley? What actually happened here? Chris volunteered to explain some of the facts behind the film.

In this episode, Hannah and Nick go super-nerd on the WSL CT’s big-hitting Teahupo’o event. This is the last straight up CT of 2025, and nothing is quite as it seems! While the top women seem to have sorted out who’s who, they face an extremely dangerous wildcard in Vahine Fierro. And on the other side of the gender gap, things are all over the shop. At least eight surfers are in the hunt for the final five, none of them have really owned the year, and THEY face not just one wildcard in Olympic champion Kauli Vaast, but the terrifying spectre of likely injury wildcard Gabriel Medina. It’s a car crash waiting to happen. We also reflect on a couple of other grand finales: Jack McCoy and Clyde Aikau, and the meaning of the paddle-out.

It’s a difficult situation, for sure. You’re the only world professional surfing champ from your country in HISTORY, and a kid 30 years your junior is not super far from a shot at the title. No wonder Shaun Tomson weeps when Jordy Smith loses a heat! But that’s far from the only thing on the mind of this legendary king of tube riding. While our last guest, MR, cuts blanks for a living, fellow ‘70s superstar Shaun spends his life encouraging people to be the very best they can — including Hannah, who is given an awful task to complete! Plus: the vexed moral issue of the double pump bottom turn, and more.

We asked the great Mark Richards to join us because it suddenly struck us: here’s someone who won four world titles in a row with no coaching, no diet advice, no personal strength trainer, and a bunch of self-shaped twin-fins. How many might he have won with all of that?? But there’s so much more to MR than coaching or any of that stuff. In this, his very first podcast appearance, the humble and clear-minded Mark explores the Cone of Silence, Gerry Lopez’s artistic power planing skills, his two week apprenticeship with Dick Brewer, why he loves wave pool contests, his lifelong surf trip jinx, and sends Nick and Hannah away convinced that he’s their favourite world champion ever.

A Special Live Podcast from Seas The Day

“Hey mate, I’m a 66 year old woman and I’m struggling! And you’re taking my wave!” Here’s how the fantastic Toni Sawyer describes calling an errant hassler to account recently on a small day at Cabarita, NSW. Toni is part of one of Australia surfing’s great generations — think Pam Burridge, Pauline Menczer, Jodie Cooper — and she’s been finding her place in lineups for over 50 years. Be enthralled as she and the equally fantastic Liliana Bowrey join Nick and Hannah at the recent Seas The Day festival, and clamber through a huge time of change in the water.

One of the great surfing lives recently came to an end with the passing of Hawaii’s Clyde Aikau. On the eve of his memorial paddle-out ceremony at Waikiki next week, Nick and Hannah recall their encounters with the amazing, larger-than-life Clyde, and his astonishing efforts over many years to share the legacy of his brother Eddie with the world, through the Eddie Aikau Invitational, the greatest surf gathering of all time.

You can honor Clyde’s legacy wherever you are, on ceremony day, June 26, just by catching one last wave for Uncle Clyde.

Please post your ride, memories or special video tribute to social media on the day using this hashtag:

#LastRideWithUncleClyde or email your clip (Please limit to 15 seconds) to [email protected] . By submitting or tagging clips on social media you are granting permission to the Aikau Family to include your content in Uncle Clyde’s tribute video.