Even ‘Flawless’ Shipstern Bluff Shouldn’t Be Taken Lightly

The group sharing the 50° water was a diverse crew of Australian watermen. Russell Bierke, arguably the best slab surfer alive today, traded waves with locals Zeb Critchlow and bodyboarder Cohen Thomas. There’s Tom Myers, a firefighter who has become a celebrated underground hero for getting two of the best waves ever ridden at his local bombie in Sydney this year.

And I love that 18-year-old up-and-comer Lex O’Connor is riding Australian stud Laurie Towner’s old model, a Dylan Longbottom blade with multiple creases. As Matahi Drollet recently demonstrated on his Dylan inside that psychotic Teahupo’o tube, magic boards should not be easily tossed aside. 

But it was Russell who found the thickest tube of the day (see the 13:08 mark). The soft-spoken charger from the South Coast of New South Wales has affectionately been given the nickname, “The White Walker,” a reference to the malevolent, inhuman zombie-esque Game of Thrones characters. By all accounts, Russell is a chiller, someone who'd be great to grab a beer with. So the nickname is presumably because he does not outwardly show human emotion when squaring up with the planet’s deadliest waves. His wave here is one of many examples to back up the claim.

“It was one of those waves that anyone could have probably stroked into, but I don’t know whether anyone would have just turned around and gone,” Tassie surfer Zeb Critchlow said of the gem Russell found. “It looked large. It looked perfect. And he had the lineup to himself. The lighting was perfect. It was late afternoon. It was an honor to witness such a beautiful wave come together with a graceful surfer.”