Stab Mag Full Frame | Brendon Gibbens

BRENDON GIBBENS CHEWS AT FARMER BURGERS, WEST COAST SOUTH AFRICA. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAN VAN GYSEN: “When Pat and Wingnut explored this stretch of coast in South Africa for Endless Summer II some decades ago, they most certainly weren't hoping for sideshore, ramp-like conditions like the schoolers of new,” says photographer Alan Van Gysen of this chopped-out playground. “On the contrary, it was all about offshore barrels and staying on the wave, gliding and carving.” Yeah, that was then, but in 2014 peppy little spices like Brendon Gibbens are constantly hunting for the right wind and wave combination, the idea of which has truly shifted in the last decade from offshore and groomed to cross-shore and sectiony (for many). But if you’re Brendon Gibbens, surfing in South Africa, there’s another bonus about taking to the air in places like these. “For a few split seconds, you aren't worrying about the big thing that just bumped you a moment ago,” says Alan. “This is Brendon in post-paranoia, moments after exactly that had just happened.”