JIMMY - the film guy

Mikey and I were in Hawaii for the late season. It was mid-January and everyone was talking about this giant swell coming to hit the North Shore. So big that there was a chance of the The Eddie running. At the same time, Banting and Andrew Shields were trying to pull a crew together to go to P-Pass and wanted me to come film. The same swell was due to hit there a few days later and everything looked pretty perfect. I asked Mikey if he wanted to come and he was psyched.

There were kind of two crews there: Alex Grey, Davey Cathels, Laura Enever and Asher Pacey. Our crew was Jay Davis, Banting and Mikey. The ambience was amazing. From the boat everyone was just screaming, watching the boys get tube after tube. I’ve done a few surf trips and these were probably the craziest waves I’ve ever seen.

The swell hit a few days after we got there and Mikey surfed for eight hours straight and got all the bombs. He was just patient. He sat in the pack and chatted with the crew, calling a bunch of them in. Even when it was his turn and a good one would come through he would call someone else in. He was out there for one thing, to get the bombs. Alex Grey and Mikey set the standard that day. They took it to the next level. Jay Davis told me after that session that it was the best tube riding he'd ever seen from any 18 year old.

It was a pretty big gamble for us; leaving the North Shore. When you’re meant to be filming the team and you bail to go shoot at another location it's pretty risky. I was kinda stressing. After Mikey got that one wave I knew the trip was worthwhile. He took off so deep and I thought he was gone for sure. It was a mutant one. I always shoot until the end of the wave just in case and Mikey made it look too easy. He just popped up over the shoulder and didn’t claim or anything. It was crazy. After that day he didn’t surf again.

MIKEY

I’ve never seen waves that good in my life. It almost looked like reverse Chopes on a couple. It's crazy. I’ve never been out in the surf where there have been constant perfect waves with 10 people max. That day was the best day of my life. Definitely. It was honestly perfect. Every time you would get one there was always someone coming through on the next wave in a sick pit just standing tall. You’d just be sitting in the channel screaming “Yeahhhhh”.

On the low tide it’s almost un-surfable. It would be so gnarly if you fell off on some of ‘em. You’d go straight over into the reef. I was sitting further out when it started to pick up. It was so strange. All of a sudden you would see this big wall of water appear out of nowhere and all the water in front of it would be getting sucked dry. Pretty much below sea level. The waves caught all of us by surprise. It just kept getting bigger.

It was so fun. I can’t believe how many waves everyone got. Some of them were almost too easy the way they would let you out. It was so sick. The morning session was perfect, but by the end of the day we had all forgotten about the morning session. Coming back in on the boat after that arvo session everyone was quiet and hardly talking, we all just had the biggest grins on our faces but we were all so buggered. I pretty much slept for two days after that surf.

After running round 1 of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, the swell dropped off forcing multiple lay days here at Snapper Rocks. But this didn't seem to get in the way of the crew scoring some fun peaks up and down the coast. Judge for yourself.

We’re already halfway through winter on the North Shore and after a great December, January brought some ugly northerlies, but this didn’t stop our boys from getting out there. The full artillery of young guns have arrived to prep for the Sunset Pro Junior next week so now there’s two team houses on the go – one at Sunset and the other at Pipeline. The final day of the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout will run any day and our team are locked and loaded.

Quiksilver Team Captain and past winner of the Shootout Reef Mcintosh signing his waiver before his first heat. "Compete at your own risk“

No contest jerseys for the Shootout so lots of opportunity to get some great action shots of the boys in empty Pipe. Leonardo Fioravanti getting slotted “

Leo, Kanoa and Kai Warner taking out the honours on the pool table.

Koa Rothman and Dede Suryana deciding what boards to take out for their first end heat of the Backdoor Shootout.

Leo getting patched up bye the Doc after his bounce off the bottom.

Luis Diaz, Riaru Ito, Leo Fioravanti, Kanoa Igarashi, Kai Warner, Mikey Wright.

Before Mikey Wright set up camp in Hawaii, he was getting barreled in France, and before he was in France he was getting shacked in Tahiti – and those are just the trips he did with the Quiksilver team. Check out ‘Cached’ a clip Mikey has just dropped from the France trip. You’ll want to pack your bags, stat.

Photographers shoot 1000's of frames that never get seen. It's just the way it goes. Between our soft-spot for the animated GIF and raw surf action, #SequenceSunday was born. Enjoy a few hundred frames of freesurf action from the past few days.

Mikey Wright battled the crowds just south of the contest site.

Matt Banting getting his wildcard game face on for an audience of one.

Local rider Marc Lacomare doing his thing on home breaks.

Ramzi Boukhiam is all about power jams right now.

Jeremy Flores with his patented nosepick grab in Round 1.

Dane Reynolds being Dane.

On the plat du jour at the #QuikPro France were nothing but good vibes and both the WCT guys and freesurf crew were scoring both in and out of the contest jersey. Mikey Wright and Craig Anderson have been getting busy down the beach from the contest site while Dane Reynolds, Aritz, Freddy P, Jeremy Flores, Tiago Pires, and company enjoy small but clean contestable surf. The word was to look the other way at Les Culs Nus beach, a hot spot for naked dudes beach fishing.

All eyes were on local favourite, Jeremy Flores & with the added pressure of a tough season and some needed results and he was stoked with today's performance:

“This is a big event for me,” Flores said. “I have had a tough year and I am fighting for my life on tour in these last three events. I’ve never had a strong result here in France and I’m hoping to change that this season. Getting a win over Mick (Fanning), who I respect so much, in these conditions gives me great confidence for the week ahead. I appreciate all the hometown support I’ve received.”

Carrying on the good vibes, The Dedicated Nothing rocked out this year's concert along with Lee Ann Curren's band, Betty the Shark, and a DJ set down in Hossegor. Here's a peek at last night's madness and as usual, we'll be posting behind the scenes snaps through out the day so follow us on instagram and Twitter for updates.

Before the CT circus arrived some of our team riders flew to Tahiti for boardshort research and development. Between testing our latest AG47 performance boardies, getting shacked off their melons, product photoshoots and fighting with slow wifi, the team somehow managed to show us what they were up to. Follow too many kooks on insta? Don't worry, here's only the best.

Jezza scored some bittersweet barrels but like us he was left imagining how he would’ve scored in the comp.

Turning up and embodying the commitment of all adventurers out there was Leo Fioravanti. He got kegged straight after flying in from Los Angeles to Tahiti (11 hours in transit), then left Tahiti flying directly to France (racking up another 25 hours in transit) to take out 2nd place in a 5 star QS event.

Unfortunately Travis Logie had to pull out of the Billabong Pro Tahiti due to injury. Before making it official, Trav couldn't help but remind us why he is one of the funnier guys on instagram. Apparently he was injured while shooting this #PussyCat selfie.

The biggest blatant Quiksilver plug would have to go to Brandon Smith who shared how stoked he was with his new black board stickers and quiver of new wetsuits.

Tiago came in a close 2nd sharing the kit he was taking to Tahiti: Thongs, Tees and Boardshorts (literally all you need).

Follow us on insta to check out the latest happenings first hand.

Want more Tahiti? Click thru to last Thursday's blog "Tahiti Vibes".

Call it what you will – getting shacked, pitted, slotted, canned – Mikey Wright grabs the lion’s share of head dips in-between surf trips at his home break in Lennox Head.

If you missed Mikey getting experimental and taking a finless sled for a spin, check it out.

First there was Derek Hynd and recently Brad Domke taking on Puerto Escondido. It seems more and more surfers are having a crack at riding finless boards. Why? Why not.

Recently Mikey Wright met shaper Matt Yeates and an afternoon was spent talking boards and watching finless surf clips.

Check out the clip to see Mikey take his new finless sled for a spin - you can feel the stoke as he embraces a new way of riding.

Mikey had found ‘something totally new and different to what I have ridden all my life’.

Can you imagine this finless style incorporated into competition surfing? Stranger things have happened.

Photo: Wade Carroll

Follow Mikey Wright on Instagram here and follow @Quiksilver here.

Surfing with power, finesse and maturity well beyond his years, Mikey Wright's clips keep getting better and better..

The Australian contingent and Quiksilver team riders put in a solid effort in Japan this week. The Quiksilver Open Japan, ASP 4 Star event was surfed in 3 to 5ft surf at Tsurigasaki Beach, Ichinomiya, Chosei, Chiba .

It was an all Australian affair in the semi finals. Mitch crews took down Cooper Chapman in the first semi and our own Mikey Wright took out Davey Cathels in his first ever ASP Star event!

Crews was the better surfer on the day in the wind effected conditions. Gracious in defeat, Mikey was stoked to be in the final of his first ASP Star event. “I had such a great day! I can’t complain with second, just to make the final in my first ever ASP Star event makes me so happy. Thanks to my support team and a massive congrats to Mitch Crews.”