The wait is over. Natural Selection Surf is finally live — and this time, the proving ground is South Africa.
Twelve of the world’s most fearless freesurfers have spent 10 days travelling up the South African coastline, chasing whatever waves Mother Nature decided to throw at them.
No fixed venue. No priority. No predictable conditions.
Instead, the crew were faced with long point breaks, heavy slabs and barreling beach breaks, with the surfers having to adapt to every session and every wave.
And there’s a strong local connection. South Africa’s own Eli Beukes is in the mix, lining up alongside returning champions Milla Coco Brown and Soli Bailey, as well as Kirra Pinkerton, Noah Beschen, Eithan Osborne, Eden Walla, Sanoa Dempfle-Olin, Balaram Stack, Hughie Vaughan, Jarvis Earle and Mikey Wright.
The concept is simple: find the best waves, surf them as hard as possible and see who can make the most of whatever is on offer.
As Head Judge Nathan Fletcher puts it, the goal is to find “the guy and girl who surf the best overall.”
From big airs and deep barrels to broken boards and the kind of unpredictable conditions South Africa is known for, Natural Selection Surf has taken a very different approach to competition surfing.