The kid is all froth. Photos: Marcus Paladino
Is there a potential Championship Tour competitor emerging from the froth of Tofino’s less-than-perfect beachbreaks? The road to surfing’s highest level of competition is never a sure thing. But with first, second and fifth-place finishes at three separate WSL events this year, Canada’s Reed Platenius just claimed the North American Overall Pro Junior title.
What does that mean?
“There’s only two people that qualify [for The World Junior Championships] from the North American region, which is the U.S., Mexico, Central America and Canada, so he won that entire region,” explains longtime friend and Rip Curl Team Manger Noah Cohen. “When you take a step back and think about what that looks like, that’s everyone under 21 in the entirety of North America that he just beat.”
The result marks the first time that a Canadian has risen to the top of the international rankings. And while making the CT is arguably the top of the mountain for competitive surfers, Platenius might just have a shot at the summit.
“If things go well, I see him competing for a spot on the World Tour, if not on the World Tour,” says Canadian Surf Association head coach, Shannon Brown.
“It’d be such a dream to be the first Canadian on the CT,” adds Reed. “It’s still so far away but just to hold the flag up there would be insane.”
At 19, Reed just reached British Columbia’s legal drinking age. He’s still a grom in the truest sense of the word. But after a lifetime of growing out of wetsuits every six months, the goofyfooter has topped out at a lofty 6’3″.
Reed’s had no shortage of mentors from the Canadian surf scene. And Marcus Paladino, one of Canada’s most prolific surf photographers, has certainly helped shape him into the shredder he is today.
“When I was shooting Reed, maybe when he was 15 or so, and he was starting to try to do airs, he’d text me to go shoot or film and I would tell him ‘OK, I’ll come film you but only if you try airs on every single wave. If you do one turn, I’m leaving,’” recalls Marcus with a laugh. “We used to call it ‘Air Camp’ and yeah, he’s got some wicked airs now…You’re welcome Reed!”
Heavy water on an international tour will not be a problem for Reed. Photo: MP
And while everyone in Reed’s corner cites his unshakeable stoke as a key to his success, they all mention his dedication as well.
“He treats it like a job,” explains Cohen. “His work ethic really shines through across the board, not just competitively but for all aspects of being a pro surfer.”
Canada’s not normally associated with producing surf champions, but there are definitely a few exceptions. Peter Devries, Canada’s undisputed GOAT, has made a successful career out of surfing that’s spanned decades now. The Olin sisters, Mathea and Sanoa, are also posting excellent results in WSL Junior events, and the Bruhwiler family has established itself as Canada’s multi-generational surf dynasty.
So maybe there’s more to the Canadian surf scene than meets the eye, especially on the western shores of Vancouver Island. Maybe it’s actually the ideal breeding ground for world-class surfers?
“Cox Bay is the best training ground for the QS, like all summer it’s onshore and small and mushy,” laughs Reed. “And I was just a frothing grom growing up, so I would always want to go surf no matter what and that really helped me grow my small wave game.”
Airs? Yeah, not a problem for this guy. Photo: MP
“But then in the winter Tofino gets really good,” he adds. “So once I break into bigger waves on the North American QS and hopefully on the Tour, I think the slabs around here will definitely help as well.”
Reed’s a standout in any lineup, whether it’s one-foot windswell or a cold, heaving slab out in the Canadian wilderness. But as with any pro athlete at the top of their game, there’s more to it than that.
“I think for me it’s just his sense of adventure and that he just loves surfing for surfing,” explains Devries, who’s watched Reed grow up on Tofino’s beaches. “He’s really all in, all invested. He’s all over the place, driving up-island, down-island looking for waves, and I think all that has added up over the last couple years to lead into such a good season this year.”
Being from Tofino definitely has its advantages, and being able to take notes from someone like Devries is one of them. Just ask Reed who is favorite surfer is…
“It’s hard not to say Pete because I’ve looked up to him my whole life!” says Reed. “He’s been a mentor for me and he’s such a nice guy. He’s been so open to helping me, like I bug him with so many questions about sponsorship deals, or what swell I need to go to whatever wave up the coast. He’s always been super helpful.”
Tofino boasts a year-round population of around 2,500 humans. It’s isolated, to be sure. But with a healthy mix of easily accessible beachbreaks, a handful of not-so-easy-to-access point breaks and surf virtually every day out of the year, there are few better places in the world to hone your craft.
“It’s a pretty cool spot to grow up surfing for sure if you want to be a competitive surfer,” explains Coach Brown. “It’s really tough conditions. You really have to learn how to read the ocean and how to find power in even the softest, crappiest waves. If you can do that here, you can do that anywhere.”
“[Tofino’s] different from other places with grom hazing and all that stuff,” adds Devries. “Like in California, groms are kinda put down the pecking order where I feel like here in Tofino, kids are lifted up because we’re just happy to see them do well and it’s nice to see them working on their surfing and accomplishing things.”
Reed echoes that sentiment.
“The mentors here are insane. Everyone in the town is just so supportive, no matter what you’re doing. You could go off and be a logger and everyone’s like ‘that is so sick, good for you.’”
With Reed’s success this season, that community support is definitely helping. Of course Reed’s been figuring things out on his own as well. Another huge part of his success this year came from traveling by himself, making friends and realizing that his competitors are actually just like-minded kids who he gets along with really well.
“The first year competing I would get rattled by a big name, like if I had Jett in my heat,” explains Reed. “I’d be like ‘it’s Jett Schilling, I’ve watched him compete my whole life, he does well in every event, he’s gonna beat me’. But now it’s like ‘I just had dinner with him and laughed with him and we had fun. Now I’m in a heat with him and we can just go do the same thing: go have fun and just surf’.”
Reed’s Junior Title speaks for itself, especially considering his first stab at the regional qualifiers didn’t go so well (he finished 28th last year). But there’s a point in every prodigy’s career where they recognize that their idols are actually their peers.
So, back to that question, will we see a Canadian, namely Reed Platenius, on the CT?
“I don’t really know where Reed wants to go,” says Paladino. “I just know he’s going in the right direction.”
