Oscar Langburne is very aware that he has a distinct style. He knows if people want to see a surfer fly around above the lip then they’ll look elsewhere. But he won’t say his style is even the only style he enjoys. His new HEADS WILL ROLL, a three-minute edit made in his recent post-injury physio downtime, is slightly different from his norm but it’s still uniquely Oscar Langburne: knock-kneed, swooping turns rather than snappy ones.
“It’s a bit more fast-paced, I guess, and little different from my more complete wave type of linking turns,” he tells The Inertia. “…stuff that I really enjoy, and what some people think is all I like. I actually think all types of surfing is sick…but not all types of attitudes.”
The “not all types of attitudes” remark is likely a nod to something else the young surfer’s been focusing his energy and time on. Since the Black Lives Matter movement has been reignited worldwide over the past six weeks, Langburne’s been busy making and shipping out what he calls his anti-racist t-shirts; simple tees with a direct note. They display messages like “IF YOU HAVE A RACIST FRIEND NOW IS THE TIME FOR OUR FRIENDSHIP TO END” and “DESTROY RACISM RACIST PEOPLE ARE NOT MY TYPE OF PEOPLE.” The notes are simple and straightforward. They aren’t complex, which is part of why they stand out, similar to his own style in the water.
“I appreciate all surfing,” he says. “At the moment, I really dig watching clips of Lee Wilson and Kalani Ball. Oh, and Jai Glindeman. Fuck, he’s so good, he’s already one of the best surfers in Australia, regardless of age.”
We’d argue the same thing about this kid with the long hair.
