A clutch of young surf stars have emerged from the shadows of their pro surfer fathers. And unlike Hollywood, where the nepo kids have their career poles greased by famous parents, your surfing doesn’t lie. Following are six cases where the parents are still ripping as hard as the kids – and where the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Josh and Sierra Kerr
“To compete.. in Fiji is so cool. I grew up watching my dad compete at this event, so it’s so cool to be here competing myself, especially for my first Championship Tour event,” Sierra Kerr told the World Surf League on the eve of the Corona Fiji Pro. In her early pre-teen years, Sierra would sit in the channel at Restaurants, as her dad weaved his backside magic towards a series of Top 10 finishes. This week their roles will be reversed. The pair made history by being the first father and daughter to compete at the same WSL-sanctioned event in Nias earlier this year, and with Sierra a once-in-a-generation talent, and Josh remaining as relevant as ever, this is a nepo combo set to shape the sport for the next decade.
Shane credits Jackson (right) with keeping him stoked. Photo: Surf Session//Screenshot
Shane and Jackson Dorian
Whether Shane is known as Jackson’s Dad, or Jackson is known as Shane’s son is a line that’s becoming increasingly blurry. Jackson is now 17 and his youthful promise that’s been visible to the public eye since he was seven has developed into an almost man-sized talent of rare dimension. Shane, meanwhile, having overcome a series of injuries, has burst back onto the scene as fit as a butcher’s pup. Recent footage of him at Teahupo’o showed he’d lost none of the style or edge that has made him an icon of the sport. Shane points to the role of his surfing buddy Jackson as pivotal in maintaining his stoke and enthusiasm. The younger Dorian meanwhile is still taking notes from his dad and biggest supporter. Who rips harder? That’s another blurred line.
Ben and Lucas Skinner
Sixteen-year-old Ben Skinner has emerged as a shining light of the UK and European surf scene. Having won the Under 16 International Grom Search, he claimed second in the ISA World Surf Juniors, before securing his senior Qualifying Series event at home at the Boardmasters in Cornwall. All this was done riding his dad’s boards. Ben “Skindog” Skinner is currently ranked as the number three longboarder in the world after back-to-back semis at Bells and Huntington. Following a decade of elite competition, he’s in a good place to claim a World Title. His daughter, Lila, is also a talented grom. “I feel really lucky that my kids have fallen into the same path and have the same love for surfing as I have,” he said after Lukas won The Boardmasters event. “It just allows us to follow a similar dream and do stuff together, which is really unique for father and son, father and daughter.”
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Dave and Bronte Macaulay
This father-daughter combo has a claim to be the most successful competitive pairing on the list. Dave competed for more than a decade and finished as world number three in 1989 and 1993. After retirement he concentrated on his shaping business, surfing the heavy waves of West Oz and raising his five children. In 2018 he won the World Masters Title and continues to be an inspiration to the West Oz surf community. All the Macaulay siblings surfed, but it was Bronte whose career most closely matched her old man’s. The goofy has spent six years on the CT and is currently well-placed on the Challenger Series to make the grade in 2025.
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Shane and Noah Beschen
Noah Beschen’s The Art of Surfing was a film that properly showcased the 23-year-old’s unique mix of progressive chops and elite big wave talent. Shades of his dad’s style are laced through his surfing – he has the same steeze punctuated with explosive spontaneity. Noah hasn’t gone down the same competitive path as his dad, whose 15-year-career was topped by a runner-up world title finish to Kelly Slater in 1996, but he has made his mark. Shane hasn’t stayed as much in the public eye as some of the other dads on this list, but by being involved in elite coaching and maintaining his long-standing relationship with Matt Biolos of …Lost Surfboards, his surfing still boasts the spark that defined him for all those years.
Summa, learning from dad. Photo: Billabong
Dylan and Summa Longbottom
Apart from DNA, the Longbottom’s share a love of borderline un-makeable waves, at thirst for travel, shaping bays and Jet Skis. Dylan recently turned 50, a feat he celebrated by jumping headfirst into the bottom step of a 25-foot Shipsterns’ mutant. As ever Summa was on hand to witness her old man’s lunacy (he would go back and make an even bigger one), and be towed into a few multi-lipped beasts herself. Summa has logged time, and barrels, at the all the major big wave slabs in the world, whilst also starting a shaping apprenticeship with her dad at Dylan Surfboards. It’s been a unique mentor program, and the pair have no desire to turn down the adventure dial just yet.
