Nate Florence keeps it real. No fancy editing or overproduced edits, just a realistic look at what it’s like to chase the world’s heaviest slabs, day after day, swell after swell.
In his latest clip, he paddles out with a GoPro tailmount and mixes it up with a local contingent of bodyboarders at 6- to-8 foot Shipstern Bluff. As you’ll see, Florence spends the first hour of his session watching, while waiting for his turn in the rotation. That patience and respect is one of the many reasons Florence is so well-liked and welcomed in lineups all over the world.
Once he gets going, it’s on. Around the 10:50 mark, Florence finally gets his first solid wave — a stepped-out set that he navigates with ease. From the GoPro angle, you can really see the subtle adjustments he makes with his back foot that allow him to successfully navigate a super heavy slab.
Back on land, Florence talks safety, including the R&D Florence suit that he’s wearing, which has velcro padding for the chest, back and legs, a genius idea that will surely save him from injury in the future.
From there, it’s straight to the airport, so Florence can score a swell at The Box in West Oz the next morning.
“How many days can we go without getting on an airplane,” asks Florence’s filmer off-camera while back at the airport.
“Three,” Florence responds. “And we went out to Shipsterns three days in a row.”
No rest for the weary.
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