The Drop

It would take a lot to kill Chippa Wilson. But 90 hours of travel + 90 degree heat + a night out in Miami nearly did it... and that was just day 1 of Stab Highway East Coast (USA) presented by Monster Energy. This week we meet the 16 characters in our newest road trip challenge series, take a hot lap around Japan with Red Bull No Contest, discuss the 30 world titles leaving the tour, new sponsor updates, Nazare forecasts and so much more.

Paul Evans & Stace G bring all this weeks news live from La Union. Plenty of news to catch up on and lots of highlights to break down here in the Philippines. Thank for tuning in!

Long or short period — which type of surfer are you? That's one of many questions asked and answered in this week's episode of The Drop, where Mikey and Buck discuss: - the surfers helping to tame the LA fires - 2025 sponsor changes - how to survive as a freesurfer - Nazare no longer has the biggest waves - what the hell is a kilojoule? - and more!

Nathan Florence won Stab Surfer of the Year in 2023. John Florence won Stab Surfer of the Year in 2024... with Nate in second. How is it possible that two brothers, who took completely divergent paths in the surf world, have found themselves sharing the throne? Let's discuss on this episode of The Drop — the first of 2025.

In a special post Rip Curl Eddie Aikau Invitation pod, we are joined by the chillest psychopath in surfing, Reef McIntosh. After a career of packing oversized meat lockers all around the world, Reef had the best seat in the house for the Rip Curl Eddie Aikau Invitational in his role as Surfer Liaison to the Judges. As a 2011 Wave of the Winter winner, 2016 Eddie Contestant and big wave surfer for the past 3 decades, Reef was asked by comp director Liam McNamara to join Davey Shipley's 7-strong scoring panel in the booth for the entire day. Reef's perspective in this space is highly valued and we are grateful to have him on the show, we hope you enjoy!

We're closing out 2024 with a star-studded, action-packed episode of The Drop. This week Mikey and Buck break down the recently concluded Vans Pipe Masters and reveal their winnings from the event. We also hear from two our first Stab Surfer of the Year voters, Matt Biolos and Mason Ho. Then we're joined by competition director for the Eddie Aikau invitational, Liam McNamara, who assures us all systems are go for Sunday. Finally, we reveal the best surfboard model of 2024, as chosen by the Stab Premium audience. Last ep of 2024, enjoy the new year!

Stab co-founder Sam McIntosh explains why the Vans Pipe Masters has no "official" webcast, live from the North Shore of Oahu — along with competition updates and a potential finals day call. Sam and Mikey also dissect recent surf industry news, with ABG pulling its North American Volcom/Bong/RVCA/Quik licenses from Liberated Brands, potentially sinking Liberated in the process. How will this affect pro surfers, lineups, and the culture at large? Finally, we reveal the top 10 surfboard brands and 10 of the most magic boards on the market today, according to the Stab audience. Is yours on the list?

LAST CHANCE CYBER MONDAY DISCOUNT: Use code 'dropwallets' at checkout for 30$ off a year of Stab Premium: stabmag.com/get-stab-premium/ — available this week only. This week, Mikey, Buck and Dave Wassell make their Vans Pipe Masters predictions. Later we hear from Raimana Van Bastolaer, the man who invented screaming at people from a jetski. We also talk about the birds and the beeswax, in terms of new (green(ish)) surfboard contructions. Then we visit Honolulu with JOB and finally discuss the Best Wetsuits of 2025.

HUGE BLACK FRIDAY DISCOUNT: Use code 'dropwallets' at checkout for 30$ off a year of Stab Premium: https://stabmag.com/get-stab-premium/ — available this week only. This week we hear from the proud-to-be-oldest surfer in the Vans Pipe Masters draw, Jamie O'Brien, after his incredible double-tube with bodyboard god Mike Stewart this week. Buck and Mikey also dissect the latest sponsor news, our hypocrisy toward surf cams, the tragic comedy of Nazaré, and so much more.

Yes, the IG comments are true — John Florence's new edit 'Here' is playing exclusively on Stab Premium until November 25. Apologies to anyone this has affected emotionally, financially or otherwise. Meanwhile, Mikey and Buck shed new light on the Vans Pipe Masters news that ignited IG this week, along with event format, dates, and other details. Finally we hear from a former Drop host and the man largely responsible for Rasta's 'Electric Acid Surfboard Test', Danny Johnson, who provides some BTS morsels from the series that was.

This past Wednesday at The Northern in Byron Bay, Australia, we premiered the fourth and final episode of Dave Rastovich's Electric Acid Surfboard Test. Among those in attendance were Rasta himself, defending EAST champ Simon Jones, and several of this year's finalists. After chatting boards on stage with host Stace Galbraith, Rasta selects the winning board and invites our new EAST champ on stage for a chat.

Before making an argument for total gender parity on tour, Mikey and Buck dissect the final episode of EAST (without spoiling the winner), break down wave height discrepancies per region, and discuss the new wavepool coming out of Arizona. Also, go Mike Tyson.

This week on The Drop, we hear from Mitch Crews — former CTer and current Senior Director of Surf Abu Dhabi. Mitch breaks down what life is really like in the Middle East and gives his take on the WSL controversy around LGBTQ+ athletes traveling there for an event. Mikey C and Buck also discuss the current state of the surf industry (with the help of Evan Slater), dissect our greatest learnings from EAST (with the help of Rasta), learn how Mason Ho got into filmmaking (with the help of Dane) and so much more.

This week on the Drop, we learn about Dave Rastovich's paint job theory that is so seemingly obvious, yet nobody had bothered to state it before. Also, Mikey Feb proves that fish(es) can go backside. And an Aussie surf traveler becomes a (well-paid) Chinese Olympic surf coach. Yes, it's another fantastic week in surfing. Let's drop in.

Who's getting (re-)signed, who's getting dropped? It's that time of year when contracts either expire or renew, and we've got the inside scoop on some of surfing's most prominent figures. Also in this ep we discuss the reluctant return of Nick Rozsa, the truth about "sustainable" surfboards with Gary McNeill, and when it's okay to post about a swell on Instagram.

Former pro surfer and renowned surf writer and podcaster, Jamie Brisick, joins us for a discussion about one of surfing's most polarizing if fascinating figures — Peter Drouyn, aka Westerly Windina. Before that, Mikey and Buck break downs this week's biggest stories in surfing, including that crazy surf circus event in Waco and our best-ever ep of Electric Acid.

Brazil had 5 of the top 6 surfers on the men's Challenger Series this year and 6 in the top 10. As a result, they'll have 11 surfers on the CT in 2025, which is nearly one-third of the tour. However, Brazilians often fall off the CT only to requalify again the next year, reducing the amount of would-be rookies joining the tour. Why is this, and what does it mean for surfing? Following Saquarema, Stace G and Mikey C break down all things CS with the help of Jake Paterson and Matt Myers.

First and foremost, apologies for the distorted audio — we found this new AI tool that we thought had resolved our amateurish sound design — turns out it just makes it back in a different way. But the show must go on! In the first half of this ep, Stace G and Mikey C dissect the recently released 2025 CT schedule and preview the final CS event of the season, which kicks off this weekend in Brazil. Later, we hear from Taj Burrow about the wave of his life (he rode it this year) and his honest thoughts on the new 'Trilogy' film (now screening exclusively on Stab Premium). Mikey and Buck also break down gear week on stabmag.com and all the other happenings in the surf world, before making their betonline.ag Dog of the Week picks.

Electric Acid is officially in orbit, and Dave Rastovich is its star — this week we hear from Rasta at the world premiere of ep 1, along with his shaper Gary McNeil on the futuristic surfboard construction that encases all of our EAST crafts. Later, JOB remains how he's stayed relevant all these years, we discuss how much it costs to qualify for the tour in 2024, and Nathan Fletcher has some important words for surfing's youth.

We're back after a three week hiatus!  Mikey and Buck break down everything that's been happening lately — Stab Highway, Stab Con, the Quik Fest — before Sam McIntosh shares his exclusive post-Finals chat with John Florence. Get the full JJF interview plus other news at stabmag.com