Keiki Shorebreak Showdown & East Coast Winter Stoke
Let's dive into two tales making waves right now—literally and culturally. First up, Jamie O'Brien took his new Fun Day surfboards to one of the planet's most notorious breaks: Keiki shorebreak in Hawaii. Jamie doesn't mince words—he calls it 'the heaviest shorebreak in the world,' and for good reason. We're talking waves exploding on basically dry sand with brute force. Jamie put his boards through the ultimate stress test, and while he snapped a leash (always a good sign when testing gear), the boards held up against the pounding surf. 'The board held up well overall,' Jamie noted. 'It didn't break.' If you've ever wondered how tough surf gear truly is, just watch Jamie tackle Keiki—you can see the whole test drive over at The Inertia.
Meanwhile, back on the East Coast, surfers are getting their fix despite winter's chill. Consistent south swells have kept waves lined up across the Atlantic, giving East Coasters plenty to celebrate in what can otherwise be a slow season. But the real chatter? It's all about the surf slang evolution. That Gen Z term you've been hearing—'six seven'? Officially dead. Say hello to 'chopped,' 'cook,' and 'glaze' as the new wave of lingo takes over. It's a timeless cycle: kids pick up phrases from TikTok, parents roll their eyes, and the cycle repeats. Remember when we were the ones driving our folks crazy with 'he he he he he hey ... butt monkey'? Or yelling 'You got knocked the f*@!* out!' after watching 'Friday'? We've all been there. So while Jamie's charging in Hawaii, East Coasters are embracing the new vocab and nailing winter sessions. You can catch the full winter swell report and slang breakdown here in The SandPaper.