Mikey Feb

Mikey Feb has become a household name over the past decade and rightly so. The world’s favourite surfer, a veritable breath of fresh air into to the world stage. Known for his eclectic quiver of surfboards and silky-smooth style, drawing different lines on the blank canvas that are the world’s premier waves has cemented Mikey as more than a surfer, but a true cultural tour de force in surfing and beyond. Hailing from Cape Town, Mikey is too humble to ever say himself but has been instrumental in growing the African surf scene through inspiring thousands across Africa and beyond to try different boards, draw different lines and be the best version of yourself whilst doing so. His last five years of positively dazzling video parts filmed across the world - but with a heavy emphasis on African waves and culture - has left the surfing community always wanting more. Now a father of two, still learning and travelling the world pursing his passion and inspiring others to do the same, we picked up the phone and checked in with the man himself.

For those of us that don’t know you - introduce yourself.

My name is Mikey February, I’m from Cape Town, South Africa and I’m a professional surfer as well as a father and husband.

Can you give us some background on your journey in surfing – where did it all start for you?

We lived close to the city in Cape Town, my dad is a surfer and so had obviously been surfing a long time before I was born and so naturally as these things come around you always end up following your parents’ footsteps to a certain extent. I started skating quite young, and I remember hanging in the surf and skate shops looking at the magazines and loving it. When I was about seven or eight Dad used to take me out surfing and I think I was rebelling against it and didn’t love it, however my best friend at the time was surfing and I remember going out with him, standing up the for first time and loving it. I met a lot of friends through learning how to surf, which I really valued. I never took it that seriously.

And from there?

I guess I was never really that competitive, but I knew that I wanted to surf and coming from South Africa, the only way to ‘make it’ as a professional surfer was to surf competitively so I guess we were conditioned that way and that competitive streak grew in me. As contests started going better and better, I made it up through the QS and eventually made it onto the CT. As my career progressed, I was able to explore and be exposed to the more free-surfing side of things which really interested me. On my first year on tour when I was with Quiksilver we did a free surf project where we went to Ghana and a few other places that really inspired me, that was my first taste of working on something myself and I kind of got an appetite for it…

From there after my year on the CT, I really started to think of things differently and the competitive side of surfing was something I identified with less and less. The travelling, free surfing side of things was such a nice natural progression that really intrigued me, and I’m really happy that I managed to make that transition.

That’s when I ended up joining Vans and winding down the contests and purely focusing on travelling and surfing for pleasure which is where I am at now and I couldn’t be happier.

What have been some of the highlights of this journey with Vans thus far?

Oh wow, there’s been so many. Even the first year we travelled to the Zambezi River with Stab Magazine and other Vans guys, Dylan Graves and Harry Bryant. That was so far removed from anything I had done before, surfing a river in the middle of Africa. Soon after that I went with Alex Knost and Harry Bryant to north Sumatra in Indonesia, which was a different trip in its own right, on the boat with those two was a super rad experience with amazing waves with two surfers that I’ve always been excited to surf with.

I guess those first two trips really cemented my feeling of being stoked to move away from contests and start this journey that I am on right now. I remember thinking shit, if this is the beginning I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen next.

How do you find having a family and juggling life on the road?

It’s obviously a challenge, to be away, but with that sacrifice there’s a lot of positives as when I am home I can really spend some quality time with the family - as it’s not like there is a 9-5 or whatever to attend. Even when we are away, and travelling together it’s not like we are on the contest scene – we’re going to these amazing destinations where we can post up and surf with no real pressure. I try not to go away for more than two weeks at a time, although maybe that will change now as I just had my second child, so we’ll see how that goes… I will say though it’s such a privilege to be able to go to Hawaii and these Vans events and come with the whole family and that’s work – we’re incredibly fortunate.

We’ve recently relocated to California as it’s more of a convenient base. South Africa is amazing and will always be home, but we’ve decided to give CA a spin as it’s an easier place to do trips from, there’s more of the industry here and it’s nice to have a change of scene so we’re super excited for this next chapter.

Community has always been a huge part of what you do, can you talk us through the scene and community in Cape Town as well as your work with Juju?

Growing up in South Africa, regardless of what you do – you grow up with a big sense of community, there’s that natural feeling of wanting to give back and support each other. I was so lucky to have support growing up, and in Africa surfing is so new that I’m really passionate about doing the most I can do help grow that scene. When things started to go well for me, my wife and I started Juju Surf Club with the express purpose of trying to raise awareness around the different surf organizations in Africa doing such an amazing job of growing surfing as a sport and as a means of empowerment.

How have you seen the rise of African surfing?

It’s really beautiful. I mean Africa has aways had a surf culture but it’s growing and growing year on year. I feel like with the rise of social media, these communities and individuals have a stronger platform than ever to establish themselves and show the world their way of doing things. African surfing is so uniquely African which I love, with strong inspirations from wider culture, music and sport. The waves, the way the surfers move and approach surfing – it’s a vibrant, raw take on surf culture. I hope they continue to influence people not just in Africa but further afield

What are some of your favourite waves in Africa?

Africa itself is such a wave rich continent. So much of it has been explored but there is still so much coastline that hasn’t. I’ve been lucky enough to do a few trips on the continent. I really love Ghana, one of the best waves in the world on its day – with no one around. I’ve had fun waves in Senegal, of course Namibia is amazing. Jefferies Bay has always had a piece of my heart. I’ve just come back from Cape Verde and had amazing waves.

What trips have you got in the works at present?

I’d like to go to more mysto places, to try and stay clear of the crowds. I think that’s the future….

Talk us through your latest brainchild, Spearhead Unlimited?

To be honest, we don’t know exactly what it is right now but I kind of like it that way…

Creatively I was always inspired by Dane and his Marine Layer platform back in the day and now what he’s doing with Chapter 11 so that sparked the idea in me of having a ‘platform’. I wanted to have a little more creative freedom and have more of a platform-based premise than it being all about me, to be able to work with more people on a collaborative creative basis. We’ll see where it goes.

You’ve always been really involved on the boards that you have been surfing - talk us through the boards you have been riding recently?

Last year we were working on the Feb Fish with my sponsor Channel Islands. After the Twin Pin we were working out what to do next, it’s kind of overwhelming with the amount of surfboards out there – this one came from an old hand shape that was at the factory, so it was refreshing to go back to basics with a more classic fish template. I’ve been riding it the past year or so in a wide variety of waves and really enjoying it, that’s the fun thing on working a specific board model – you ride one board for a while and get it really dialled. Now I’m living in California I live around 5 minutes from the C.I factory so it’s a great time to experiment. I’ve been riding a lot of twins recently so it’s been nice to jump onto a thruster and ride a shortboard again – I don’t care who you are, surfing a shortboard now and again is always really fun! It’s fun to have a different feeling. I’ve been riding a bunch of Al Knost boards, it’s important to keep it fresh and keep it moving.

Who are your role models outside of surfing?

Of course my parents, now I am a father that’s more prevalent than ever. I’ve learnt that having accountability is really important, people that want the best for you but keep you in check and accountable for your actions – I feel that’s really important to shape you as a person and I’m really grateful to my wife Zelti for that. Having that voice of reason is so important. I want to be the best version of myself I can be.

You’ve always been somewhat synonymous with music and how that has transcended into your surfing and personality, can you talk us through that influence in your life?

I was never musical, I’m not really a good dancer but when I surf I feel the most confident and the ways your body moves, that is really relatable to dancing. I love listening to different musicians and the music that they create, musicians like Miles Davis I relate to as he’s always stayed true to jazz music but with a range of different instruments and genres – I feel the same with surfing and surfboards. Music is like any art form, and when I think of surfing I see it as an art form. The ocean has its only natural rhythm.

What advice would you have to younger surfers from places where it can be more challenging with more barriers to entry to get into the water that are starting out in surfing?

Nowadays there is more of an opportunity for freedom within surfing, I think embracing who you are and where you are, surfing the way you want to and not being too guided by the ‘scene’ or whatever. Surfing in Africa is growing so strongly now that we can draw inspiration from within the continent as well as elsewhere so I think drawing inspiration from your local community is so important. Don’t feel like you have to fit in!

A very stylish man you are Mr Feb, what are your favourite vans shoes?

I like the style 36, a touch more slimmed down from the Old Skool. Wear them anywhere, wear them everywhere.

Any last words, advice to your former self?

No last words, I’m just grateful for surfing and it’s really cool to see how it’s growing – especially in Africa. It’s way more than just a sport and I’m stoked on how brands like Vans are promoting it in different ways and doing different ways. I hope people keep exploring and pushing the boundaries with it culturally.