Unafraid to paddle out no matter how serious the conditions, this nuggety goofyfoot from Umhlanga Rocks fits into the ‘charger’ category. He also slots into the ‘stylish’ and ‘powerful’ categories too. Not to mention the ‘good guy’ one as well. Basically, he ticks all the boxes on our Surf Ninja admission form.

Meet this week’s featured wave assassin, Mike Frew…

NAME: Mike Frew – aka “Frewbru”
AGE: 40
LOCAL SPOT: Umhlanga Rocks, KZN

BEST THING ABOUT SURFING?
The stoke! Few things come close to that feeling after a good surf, when you can’t stop smiling despite jelly arms and salt water pouring out your nose.

WORST THING ABOUT SURFING?
Onshores, fireweed and bluebottles.

TO MAKE A LIVING I…?
Run a sales agency business from my home in Durban.

THREE TRACKS THAT HELP YOU SHRED?
Dakoda Motor Co. – “Wind An’ Sea”
Rage Against The Machine – “Calm Like A Bomb”
Leftfield – “Open Up”

BEST SURFER IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW?
That’s a pretty tough call between John John, Julian and Jordy – the three J’s! Kelly’s also still right up there for me.

DAWNIE OR ARVO SESH?
Dawnie all the way, especially during winter in KZN.

WHICH SPOT DO YOU HAVE TO SURF BEFORE YOU DIE?
The Namibian desert left, or I’d love to give Tahiti a go.

WHEN YOU ARE NOT SURFING, YOU CAN BE FOUND WHERE?
With my wife Chantel and our two boys, Tristan (7) and Damien (5), they’ve both just started surfing.

BIGGEST FEAR?
Car accidents.

BEST SURFING MEMORY?
So many come to mind. Most recently was 2013’s late swell in J-Bay, early one morning with just Grant Baker, Mikey Venter and myself in the water at 12ft Boneyards. It was pretty crazy paddling into those waves with Twig on your outside shouting “GO!”. That week had rides from in front of Cheron’s house all the way down past Point. Otherwise I scored cooking G-Land a few years ago with a rad crew from Cape Town, and any trip away with the Zululand team is memorable!