How do you keep surfing fresh, after years in the game? Of course there’s skill progression, new gear, new destinations. But when you’ve been at it for a lifetime, even those run the risk of becoming familiar.
Not for Shane Dorian, though. Even after a decades-long career that has taken him to every conceivable corner of the globe, he still has the same old enthusiasm for the search.
“Surf trips are rad just for the adventure,” he sums up at the beginning of a new Billabong video, appropriately titled Strike Mission. “A lot of times, no matter how much planning, no matter how much forecasting, no matter how much anticipation you have, no matter how many times you’ve been on a plane or on strike missions or surf trips – you just have to wing it and not know what to expect and not have too many assumptions or expectations.”
“At the end of the day, you’re going on a surf trip and enjoying yourself and having fun. You just need to make the most of it, no matter what Mother Nature provides.”
Those wise words kick off an energetic edit that follows Shane and his son Jackson on a trip to (and through) an endless series of crystal clear warm-water tubes. “Barrels never get old,” he sums up. “Barrels are like the fountain of youth. You get barreled and you get younger when you come out. Just a little bit, like tiny little bits you get back.”
