Australia’s Slab Kingpin Surfs Ireland’s Sketchiest Wave

The above video features Conor, Russell and his good friend Sean Mawson scoring several waves along the Irish coast. Some known, some best left unsaid. It’s worth noting that Russell has been investing long stints in this part of the world for years; the results have paid off with jaw-dropping waves in “Outer Edge of Leisure” and “Inner Mechanics.” This clip, presented by Aussie-based surf accessories brand Ocean & Earth, is a continued reflection of that time spent on the Emerald Isle. 

Russell’s integration with the local Irish surf community is a class act. He’ll post up for weeks at a time, with hardly a whisper or social media post, enduring the elements at their worst to earn the best. “This last trip, we had a handful of good days over two months, but also had two weeks where we couldn’t even get in the water,” Russell shared. “But when the payoff happens, and you score world-class waves, it is so worth it. It’s such a challenge and, so you get a great sense of achievement. You’re battling the elements, not the crowds.”

Keen observers will know the video's final act, that notorious left slab that lures many a surfer and bodyboarder to the obnoxiously shallow rock shelf. Conor gets vaporized into another dimension at 5:50, and how Russell handles this thing on his backhand, both paddling in and on a tow rope, is beyond me. 

But, as Russell told SURFER contributor and surf scribe Jed Smith, it's the daunting, near-impossible waves that mean the most to him. "It’s the fact that no two waves are the same, and then if you do get something weird like a weird little double up or something on those waves, they can make something incredible that won’t happen on a perfect Indo reef or something like that," he said. "It never really gets boring in those kinds of waves.