Shellharbour isn’t just home for Lennix Smith; it is the proving ground. “Not just the best waves on the South Coast, the best in the world,” he says. Earlier this year, a low-pressure system marched ten-foot swell lines right to Lenno’s front door, hammering his Barrack Point childhood home. The session that followed is what you see in the 2-minute clip above. Lennix paddled out solo, took wave after wave on the head, and only found reprieve when he heckled his younger brother Kashy to launch the ski before school.
“My brother was on the balcony and was about to go to school. So I was like, ‘Oi, go get the ski! I'm sick of paddling, go get the ski, we’ll whip a couple.’ He tried to chicken out and shoot off to school, but I convinced him. We whipped into a couple, and I saved him from going to class; he saved me from getting flogged, win-win.”
It hasn’t all been dreamy 6–10 foot pits. Prior to leaving for Japan, the swell tap turned off. Japan was the perfect example. “I was lucky going into that QS. The week before I’d been doing a board test on Mark Occhilupo's (Occy) new JS model, the Bull Run. We surfed everywhere from north of Wollongong down to Bendalong, and the waves were that bad it was almost a joke. But I reckon that sharpened me up for how doggers Japan was. Hands down the worst waves I’ve ever surfed in my life. No one would ever free surf waves like that — it was like wind chop on a lake. But that’s the QS. I scraped through and ended up with a third-place finish, which gave me the points I reckon I need to make the Challenger Series. That’s been the dream since I was a grom at Barrack, and to finally feel like I’ve done enough this year is unreal.”
Whilst travelling on the Qualifying Tour this year, Lennix has been keeping an eye on the trends and culture around surfing. When asked what is the hottest thing in surfing right now, he chuckles. “Funny you asked that. TikTok. We were in Japan tripping out on how many blokes are doing TikToks. Me and my mates were like, are we the losers because we’re not doing that?” For a surfer who thrives on raw sessions, the idea of dance moves and choreographed clips feels worlds away. “Honestly, TikTok’s the hottest thing right now and I’m not even on it. Maybe I’m blowing it. If I can get the chassis in shape and run a couple with the boys, maybe it’d be a hit, or maybe I’d lose all my sponsors,” he laughs.
Through all this, the design team here at Ocean & Earth has been keeping Lenno busy, working on his upcoming tailpad and other assorted top-secret projects. Lennix has been testing new pad designs that match the grit and high-performance demands of his surfing. “The Lite-Trac's have been game-changing, soft, snug, proper kick. If we can bring that into my own pad with the tweaks I have in mind, it’ll be epic.” With new gear in the works, Lennix is ready for the next chapter of his surfing journey. “Looking forward to travelling with the crew next year on the changas, travelling to Africa, Portugal and the rest. Scoring hell waves with my mates and having a rip at the after parties, it’s not all about surfing!”
🤝 TRUSTED by surfers for a lifetime.
🦘 Born in Australia.