Watch: Jai Glindeman // Welcome

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Reels

You can have your soul arches, jazz hands, and loud body torque, but I'll always abide by the maxim that real style is effortless. By stealth it slips past our eyes with seamless communication between water, board, and body, leaving only the impression of efficiency; that surfing is actually much easier than we all make it out.

There are elements of great surfers in Jai Glindeman's effortless style: Curren, Parkinson, Rastovich. Each of whom carved out their own niche within the surfing world. At just 17-years old, it'll be interesting to watch Jai as he blossoms beyond grommethood into a fully-grown surfer, and to see the path, or paths, he chooses to take.

Comments

spaceman's picture
spaceman's picture
spaceman Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 1:25pm

Lovechild of Parko and Stef. Style personified.

jasper99's picture
jasper99's picture
jasper99 Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 1:30pm

Far out this kid just gets better and better. Effortless is a worthy description.....Could watch that style of surfing all day.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 1:49pm

Jesus! New fave surfer i think! he's unreal.

andy-mac's picture
andy-mac's picture
andy-mac Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 2:18pm

Great surfing!! Effortless style....

tango's picture
tango's picture
tango Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 2:20pm

What a joy to watch. Love to see him run away to Indo on a twinny for a couple of years and see what comes back.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 3:25pm

seen him shred on high performance boards and more alt-fishy shapes.
very much more powerful surfer to watch live.

he throws buckets.

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 3:53pm

So smooth for such a young age.

Is he big for a 17 year old?

Solitude's picture
Solitude's picture
Solitude Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 3:27pm

Note the lack of 'pump'. Pure on rail, top to bottom. No fluff.

Certainly has it laid out for him, well done mate. Wonder where he wants surfing to take him?

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:01pm

Lack of pump is what I noticed immediately and which drives me crazy watching the Brazillas. Watched that Sonic whatevers with Micky February and that guy is effortless on the twinnies but they don't judge by aesthetics.

tango's picture
tango's picture
tango Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 1:44pm

Mind you, you don't really need to pump at Angourie.....just go with that beautiful flowing push down the line....aaaahhhhh.......

ringmaster's picture
ringmaster's picture
ringmaster Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 3:46pm

Impressive!

Kid sure knows how to hold his rail through turns.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 3:56pm

Something to admire and aspire to.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:02pm

If your 17.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:07pm

Never too old to change rails seamlessly and flow from one turn to another.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:12pm

True as long as you can get out there!

vbaaccess's picture
vbaaccess's picture
vbaaccess Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:12pm

I love the way this kid uses the speed of the top carves to project into the fading carving bottoms turns. Plenty of speed on tap. Not boring to watch at all. Roundhouse cutbacks figure eight is such underrated move which this kid does with speed, style and flow. A young modern version of Taylor Knox carving. No boring aerials for change.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:15pm

Yeah getting over them real quick. Watched a local guy doing them the other day and it didn't even register - same talented guy (brain dead) not great on rail in fact not many are which is why Jai stands out.

Finnbob the terror's picture
Finnbob the terror's picture
Finnbob the terror Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 5:24pm

it’s all about rail melmamosa, the cut away rail enhanced by a twinzer is where it’s at even if it looks unconventional

Solitude's picture
Solitude's picture
Solitude Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:23pm

I heard Conner O'Leary once say that Jai never does airs (i'm sure he could). Which makes me wonder is he carving out his own freesurfing path rather than comps? Can't imagine a world now where if you're not doing constant aerials you could compete at that WSL level.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 4:27pm

seems like Bong are grooming him to be the free-surfing kid.

which is a great gig if you can get it.

he's a stocky, powerful kid; probably going to get even more powerful in the next few years.

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 8:40pm

What a Talent...Beautiful surfing
Ripcurl should have hung onto him !

dean maddison's picture
dean maddison's picture
dean maddison Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 6:42pm

Saw some Julian Wilson there .

mredhill's picture
mredhill's picture
mredhill Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 7:26pm

THAT'S surfing in a nutshell. And not an air in sight. Beautiful.

Johan Wohlleben's picture
Johan Wohlleben's picture
Johan Wohlleben Monday, 11 Oct 2021 at 9:19pm

Sooo smooth-and with grunt but you barely notice. Beautiful surfing!

wallpaper's picture
wallpaper's picture
wallpaper Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 7:45am

I reckon you should all chip in and send him a bunch of flowers.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 9:29am

Ha ha!

Gold.

Bungan33's picture
Bungan33's picture
Bungan33 Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 7:55am

Nice thread.....sounds like a bunch of older blokes wistfully imagining that we can change our 30 year old hard wired style to look like the young ones.....
(All getting our sneaky Swellnet quick fix before work)

What is it do you reckon? The pointed down hands, the drop shoulders? The pointing where he is going to carve? The post carve crouch to swooped bottom turn? The standing tall, twin fin sort of pre-swoop high line? If you pause at 1:40 its like something from the 70s.
I agree - nice change from furious pumped bottom turn to air combo (repeat ad nauseam).

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 8:42am

That surfing makes more sense now I’ve realised that it’s a tinny he’s riding.

lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy's picture
lostdoggy Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 9:40am

It’s not all on a twinny.

san Guine's picture
san Guine's picture
san Guine Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 9:20am

Graceful - adj, characterised by elegance or beauty of form, manner, movement, or speech

dean maddison's picture
dean maddison's picture
dean maddison Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 6:34pm

Probably why Rip curl dropped him

Ash's picture
Ash's picture
Ash Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021 at 8:46pm

Just staying connected to the face is old school, but something different for a young talented up and comer, most have a blitzing air game as well. Looked great to me.

Johan Wohlleben's picture
Johan Wohlleben's picture
Johan Wohlleben Wednesday, 13 Oct 2021 at 1:27am

Just good surfing

woody100's picture
woody100's picture
woody100 Friday, 15 Oct 2021 at 11:40am

Just watched the video of young Jai he is a future word champion i the making go for it Jai

muffsic's picture
muffsic's picture
muffsic Saturday, 16 Oct 2021 at 8:49am

Buttons meets Parko. Absolute style master that shreds.
Best short clip I have seen in a long time.
Hope the wozzle does not swallow him up.

inzider's picture
inzider's picture
inzider Monday, 18 Oct 2021 at 3:00am

hot knife through butter surfing, oozing style and power to burn, more please