Story and photos by Mike Latronic – Sixteen-year-old Nao Clifton just put his name on the map. Clifton recently took...
All
Features
By Mike Latronic – I first caught a glimpse of Caity Simmers years ago, battling it out with the junior...
Ten Years in the Making
Richard Marsh, Leo Fioravanti & the Long Road to Punta Roca
By Mike Latronic – There’s a moment in every athlete’s career, if they’re lucky enough, if they hang around long enough, when everything they’ve ground through finally crystallizes into something beautiful. For Leonardo Fioravanti, that moment arrived on June 13th, 2026 at Punta Roca, El Salvador: the 28-year-old Italian became...
Maui’s 22-year-old Jackson Bunch is in the middle of what might be the hottest streak of his career, and if...
Kiki Kaneshiro
Old School Roots, New School Progression
By Mike Latronic – In Hawai‘i, surfing is more than a sport—it’s a cultural and recreational standard for many families...
Coach Rainos
Ambassador of Aloha
By Mike Latronic – There are athletes who chase trophies and there are athletes who understand what trophies are really made of. Rainos Hayes belongs to both categories, but his true calling is for the latter. Raised on the raw, powerful stretch of O’ahu’s North Shore, Rainos has spent nearly...
By Mike Latronic – Tiger Abubo from the island of Kauaʻi is by far one of the most powerful junior...
The Hawaii Surf Team (HST) Junior program remains the definitive proving ground for the islands’ most elite young talent. Under...
From Diamond Head “Surf Rat” to Pipeline Powerhouse By Mike Latronic – Freesurf Magazine is always looking to spotlight colorful personalities, extreme athletes, and champions who live for the chase. One young man who has transitioned from a frothing amateur to one of the most respected new faces in the...
By Mike Latronic – When Kala DeSoto claimed victory at last month’s Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, it felt like more...
By Mike Latronic – In the wet and wild world of professional surfing, there are few stories as raw and...
Hawai’i Surf Team Journeys to Punta Rocas, Peru
2025 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship
By Mike Latronic – A cool current flows through the morning air and it’s still relatively dark, with just a glint of light and color barely visible. Visually it’s another somber morning in Punta Negra, Peru. I say that without malice the landscape is just flat and barren compared to...