Mike Stewart is no stranger to heavy wipeouts, but this one might’ve been a little heavier than usual. Photo: YouTube // Screenshot
In the wave riding world, there has long been a bit of a divide between surfers and bodyboarders. Within that great divide, there are a handful of bodyboarders who are respected by every surfer because they are wave riding legends. Mike Stewart is one such bodyboarder.
The whole surfer vs. bodyboarder thing is dumb, if you ask me, because we’re all just doing something ridiculously pointless and fun. It shouldn’t matter if you’re standing up or lying down, because in the grand scheme of things, surfing doesn’t matter all that much. Sure, it’s fun, but the world’s not going to end if we don’t slide around on moving lumps of water.
Since the 1980s, it has been clear that Stewart is on a different level. Back then, he was doing things that were so far ahead of the times that no one really knew how far ahead of the times they were.
“I bow down to the greater wisdom of Nat Young, who bowed down to George Greenough,” says surfing’s greatest encyclopedia, Matt Warshaw. “I bow down to the greater wisdom of Tom Curren, who bowed down to Mike Stewart.”
Stewart is no stranger to heavy wipeouts. He’s got decades of them under his belt, but on September 3, he had one that probably ranks up there with the worst. He’s a committed guy, Stewart — but all the commitment in the world can’t help when you find yourself airdropping under the hood of a giant Teahupo’o wave.
