Everyone is a product of their environment, but some wear it on their sleeve more than others. For Kael Walsh, a 26-year-old from Yallingup, his upbringing on Western Australia’s world-class slabs, heavy points and oversized beach breaks has morphed him into a well-rounded weapon in the freesurfing realm.
He’s one of those guys who isn’t afraid to do a big turn on a big wall, huck a large air on a large section, or stall under the lip where most surfers would run for the channel. But we don’t see his work often. He’ll sit on A+ clips for months, even years, then release them all at once in a high-impact and highly entertaining montage.
This is exactly the case in “Strung,” a 15-minute video expertly stitched together by renowned Australian filmmaker Wade Carroll. It’s really good surfing paired with really good cinematography and really good music. Kael goes to work in waves near and far. The featured locations include South Africa, Namibia, Indonesia, Western Australia and a solo session at P-Pass, Micronesia.
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While the entire video is worth playing on the big screen, there’s a back-to-back moment that underscores, highlights and bolds Kael’s versatility. He lands a clean backflip at 9:36, then immediately follows it up with an outrageous paddle wave at huge Shipsten Bluff. I don’t know how many surfers in the world are capable of doing both of those things, but it’s not many.