I’ve never been a huge fan of Jordy Smith’s surfing in smaller waves. Don’t get me wrong, he is an incredible surfer. One of the best in the world, to be sure. But I’ve always had this idea that tall men look funny surfing on small waves (unless they’re longboarding). I am most impressed with a tiny person doing giant things on giant waves – and the smaller the person, the smaller the waves can be for that to happen. Jordy is much taller than most surfers on tour. Put him in overhead J-Bay, and I’m slack-jawed. Put him in mushy, two-foot waves, and I’m looking at an Archie comic.
This video, on the other hand, completely proves me wrong. I feel like an idiot. In mushy, two-foot waves, Jordy Smith, in all his tallness, is able to do things that just don’t seem possible: throwing enormous fans of water that look nearly superimposed. Doing impossibly high airs on impossibly small waves. And he does all of it without that weird, wide-legged poop-stance that most taller surfers adopt on either tiny waves or gigantic ones. Then, of course, there are a few overhead waves thrown in for good measure… and I am slack-jawed again. Welcome to California, Jordy. If you’re throwing buckets like that, we can sure use the water.
