The Drop

What surfing's shadow government doesn't want you to know... Also: Pavones and Lakey Peak are being threatened by development, a WSL insider overshares, and we've got a new film with Caity, Steph, Coco and Frankie!

Four consecutive 17ths don't bode well for the soon-to-be father, who started the year dripping in gold (and yellow!). Now sitting fourth in the world, Italo would be well aware of the fact that Griffin, Jack, Ethan and Filipe are all within one result of his place in the Final 5. Can he hold on through the last three events? In this ep of The Drop, Stace G and Mikey C dissect the recently departed Trestles CT, including controversial heats between Griff & Fil + Joel & Italo. Later, they make their picks and predictions for the upcoming Brazil CT, but not before dissecting a recent Stab Interview with WSL Tour Prez Graham Stapleberg.

Spoiler alert: We will be discussing Surf100 Presented by Pacifico episode one here — including a brief chat with our first challenge winner. If you haven't watched it already, check out the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UANKtsKLW1M&t=2s Meanwhile, Mikey and Buck get into some controversial news: the WSL canceled a Pro Junior event in the Basque country after local groups promised to protest if Israeli surfers were allowed to compete. Yeah... it's complicated. The boys also discuss why Kelly Slater's favorite wave isn't producing CT surfers, Tom Lowe's second near-death incident at Teahupo'o, and the flannel-clad enigma that is Keith Malloy.

Stab co-founder Sam McIntosh joins the pod to talk about his recent stint on the Gold Coast filming (or more often, waiting) for Kelly Slater's Stab in the Dark. Sam also unearths hidden truths from the last How Surfers Get Paid ep and answers the burning question: is Laird just a handsome asshole? Before leaving, Sam reveals the unlikely inspiration behind Stab's latest series, Surf100 presnted by Pacifico.

Fresh off a Newcastle red-eye, Stace G returns to The Drop in hopes of correctly pronouncing the name "Matthew Mc-Gill-i-vray". The boys also chat briefly about the CS and CT. Can a wildcard win Lowers? Let's discuss.

A major announcement from the WSL, and another from Stab. Mikey and Buck break down everything happening this week in surfing. Email him for Mikey's leash — buck@stabmag.com.

Stace G and Mikey dissect a hedonistic stint at Stab High Japan presented by Monster Energy, including winners, losers, Monster Airs, wife-swapping, judging discrepancies and more. Also, a brief chat about the recently-concluded Margaret River Pro, where the big fella Jordy Smith just became the best surfer in the world at 37.

Stab High Japan presented by Monster Energy is finally here! The event will be broadcast live on stabmag.com and the Stab Premium app at 5 pm on May 23rd and 24th (PDT), or 10 am on May 24th and 25th (AEST). In this ep, Stace, Mikey and Buck dissect everything they've seen, heard, and felt in Japan on the eve of Stab High qualifiers day.

There have been exactly 0 CT events run at the box since Kieren Perrow departed his role as Championship Tour Commissioner. We don't believe that's a coincidence. In this ep, Stace G and Mikey C dissect the 2025 Margaret River Pro, including whether or not we're likely to see carnage and glory at Main Break's feral little sister. Also: forecasts, picks, and a detailed analysis of the mid year cut — who's safe and who needs to dust off their CV.

Who should have won the Filipe v Julian Burleigh final? Well, 69% of @stab poll respondents believe the judges got it wrong — that Julian was the rightful winner of last week's Gold Coast Pro. However, when we polled a list of true surfing experts (Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Jake Paterson, Doug Silva, and Leo Fioravanti), they had a slightly different opinion. This week on The Drop, Stace G and Mikey C dissect everything that went down at the Gold Coast Pro, and eventually we're joined by Julian Wilson to hear his thoughts on a heroic return to Championship Tour surfing.

Stace G and Mikey C meet in a dark, dank Gold Coast parking garage to trade betting tips in the lead-up to the Men's Round of 32 and Women's Round of 16 at Burleigh Heads. Caity v Steph, Jules v Italo — who are the boys taking?

The WSL dropped a bomb on the surf world this week, and like Swedish captives, we all collectively cheered. On this episode of The Drop, Stab's co-founder Sam McIntosh is joined by the WSL's new CEO Ryan Crosby to discuss the League's major (and widely lauded) around for the 2026 CT season. Here's the TLDR version, ICYMI:
- The Final Five is dead.
- So is the mid-year cut
- So is the non-elimination opening round
- The 2026 Championship Tour will feature 12 events — with a late season ‘playoff’.
- It will start at Bells Beach in April and end at Pipeline in December, where points will be weighted at 150%.
- World Titles will once again be decided by cumulative points, not a single-day shootout. After that, Mikey and Buck hop on to discuss a few other stories from the week, including an incredible Greg Browning eulogy, a piece on lineup personalities, and an academic excuse for surfing more.

After carefully dissecting the late night, soggy McDouble that was Bellls Beach, Stace G and Mikey C break down everything they purport to know about the CT's long-awaited return to the Gold Coast. With the event moving from Snapper Burleigh (blame Set — the Egypition god of deserts, chaos and storms), Stace breaks down a venue we haven't seen on the CT since 2002 — or 2000, depending on who's counting. Overdogs, underdogs, and Stace's social security number can be found inside.

Mikey is in jail so Big Dick Power Surfer and Stace Galbraith *officially* announce next month's Stab High in Japan and talk No Contest, billionaires, underdogs of the year, the ABB, and Tweed's ongoing suss-ness.

Someone's gotta clonk that thing around. In this episode, Stace recaps El Salvador with Holden TRNKA and then chats all things Torquay with former Top 5 surfer and current lord Morgan Cibilic.

'Snapt' creator Logan Dulien has lived nine lives in the space of 40-odd years. Surfer. Filmmaker. Manager. Husband. Father. Addict. Caregiver. Vigilante. Surfer (again). In this chat, we learn about his early years hanging with Andy and Bruce, becoming a band manager for Mickey Avalon, getting addicted to prescription opiates, then finally crawling back from the depths of hell and reinvigorating the independent surf film.

Surfing and politics don't mix... until a set of fins costs $400. This week, Mikey and Buck break down the economic debacle facing many of the surf world's biggest manufacturers — Pyzel, Mayhem, Haydenshapes, Futures Fins, and Creatures of Leisure. And more importantly, how it might affect our pockets. They also discuss the even in El Salvador, including the backstory behind a Raegan-era military helicopter that couriered CT surfers to a nearby point. Next up is the CT's move from Snapper to Burleigh, and finally Jai Glindeman's Stab Edit of the Year.

Reporting live from the El Salvador Pro, we hear from our correspondent Holden Trnka on everything happening in Surf City this week — including but not limited to: Filipe's blow-up on the judges, Sally's fin debacle, and some insider tips for your personal surf bets. Later, Mikey and Buck discuss a giant hole at Snapper that could wreak havoc on the upcoming CT event, a new Best Surfing I've Ever Seen ep, and some of the worst losses in WSL history.

Recent Stab Highway winner Balaram Stack joins The Drop for this week's Stab Interview, focusing on his biopic "Hail Mary' — now playing exclusively on stabmag.com.

Matt Biolos suing Lady Gaga was not on our 2025 bingo card... but here we are. The craziest part? He's probably going to win. After talking with Matt about his copyright infringement case with the mega pop star, we chat about surfing's new kiddie pool (Pipeline), hear from the world's oldest CS qualifier (Josh Kerr), discuss the latest CTer to pull out of the tour (Tatiana Weston-Webb), and finally make our El Salvador event predictions.