Despite growing up more than 8,600 miles apart, Asher Pacey and Victor Bernardo have had remarkably similar surging trajectories. Both Asher, from the north coast of New South Wales, Australia and Victor, from São Paulo, Brazil, grew up riding thrusters and attempted to make a living on the contest circuit.
Yet through a confluence of circumstance, luck and undeniable talent, they’ve both arrived at a vaunted space together. Both are the figureheads for Album Surfboards and have earned their paychecks by absolutely ripping the bag out of their twin fins.
The above footage shows the two friends surfing around Asher’s stomping grounds in southern Queensland and northern NSW. There are Kirra and Snapper sightings, but most of the turns happen at lesser-known nooks and crannies.
Related: Watch: From São Paulo To Oceanside, The Good-Natured Journey Of Victor Bernardo
And my god, these turns are worth watching. Asher has an uncanny knack for sliding his tail out seemingly at will. Victor can go fully vertical, release his fins and flow into a full-rail carve without any hint of a bobble. The WSL should never have co-opted the term “speed, power and flow,” because this surfing is the embodiment of those attributes. No check turns, no double pumps. Everything is connected in seamless poise.
There is nothing easy about the carves and hacks Victor and Asher do, but there’s an effortlessness and easy speed we can all aspire to. Smooth, stylish and powerful, “Austral Eden” is another feather in the cap for Victor, Asher and Album.
Related: Watch: Asher Pacey X Album Surfboards Is a Beautiful Thing