This is the sort of beautifully incredible footage that shows all the forces at work involved in big wave surfing. It also shows that, damn, skateboarders and snowboarders got nothing on a true Waterman. Insane work by Chris Bryan via Surfing Magazine.

Next up in the WTF files comes Aussie genius Harrison Williams who decided it would be rad to try to surf a dead whale but had to bail when the whale got surrounded by sharks. Ok surfing a whale actually sounds pretty rad but c’mon man, at least make the attempt on a live one! Via Gawker.

Our never not grinding columnist Deka Paupaw just went on a trip to Haiti for an upcoming documentary project he’s working on for the Global Empowerment Project where he ran into none other than surf legend Damien Hobgood who was on the island to set up water filtration with Waves for Water. The result of this chance meeting is another rad edition of Deka’s Why We Shred. Read the complete interview here.

On the other end of the surf spectrum comes photographer Cole Barash’s new book Talk Story which turns the lens on the Waterman culture of Hawaii’s North Shore especially as its personified by John John Florence. We doubt these dudes are too stoked on wave pools. See more photos at WeAreTheGoodLife.

It’s pretty rad to know that once the oceans are just one giant radiated stew of garbage and genetically mutated fish we’ll still be able to surf to our hearts content on artificial Disney waves as this recap of Oakley’s 2014 Surf Shop Challenge will attest. Congrats to Sunrise Surf on the win tho.

Dakine, a company who’s more or less known for their packs and bags, is expanding with an all new surf apparel collection for Spring 2015. Taking style cues from traditional Hawaiian surf heritage the collection will be found at specialty shops and online starting in February. Take an early look after the jump.

Haven’t seen Volcom’s epic new video True To This? Well today is your lucky day, they’ve decided to put the full length cut online for 24 hours before sequestering back behind the impenetrable wall known as iTunes where it shall never been seen again without payment. Or until someone else puts it on the internet. Either way, enjoy.

Irish pro surfer Fergal Smith lives a life vastly different from what you would expect, which is exactly why we’re enjoying his new web series so much. Check out Episode 2 of Growing and see what we’re talking about.

Having to bring mad shoes with you when you travel sucks. While they aren’t the most helpful if you have to go anywhere that gets colder than 60 degrees, the new etnies Scout Mason Ho colorway are definitely a rad addition to the beach hopping lifestyle. Get a closer look after the jump.

This interesting new web series follows the life of Irish pro surfer and aspiring botanist Fergal Smith. In the first episode of “Growing” Fergal travels back to his family home in County Mayo to show where he both learned to surf and picked up his green thumb.