Hype Man: Luke Atkinson and the Surge 830 in Western Australia

This feature first appeared in Foiling Magazine issue 29 (August 2026) as "Hype Man", in the magazine's Red Letter Day series. Rider and words Luke Atkinson, photos Shannon Stent. Republished with the magazine's kind permission.

A competition on the other side of the country gave Luke Atkinson the opportunity to drop in on friend, photographer and dependable stoke-broker Shannon Stent, a man who knows exactly where to find a session for the books, even when the forecast suggests otherwise. Western Australia, Friday November 28th, 2025.

Visiting Western Australia was a very specific and targeted adventure. Originally traveling there to compete in the WA Race week, I made sure to pack the prone board, new AXIS Surge wings, and visit Shannon Stent down south. From the day I arrived we knew it was going to be a challenging week of waves, with 25 knot winds and small swell. We had a couple of sessions, doing a lot of traveling up and down the coast looking for the best options.

It was the third day of the trip and things just felt a little bit different… the wind was calmer, it was warm and the wave buoys were showing an increased period. We loaded up the car; board, mast, foils, wetsuit, cameras and tow boogie! A quick coffee and we were gone. After all the traveling we'd already done, we decided to start local, driving 10 minutes from Shannon's house to his local spot. The roads lined with kangaroos, red dirt and bush. On the final approach, we laid our eyes on the ocean and we just knew we were on. Calm almost glassy conditions out at sea and a perfectly groomed set rolling through.

As soon as we parked the car I was getting setup, absolutely pumped to get into it. I grab my AXIS 4'3 29L prone board, 80cm Pro Ultra mast and new Surge 830 paired with a Surf Skinny 300. My perfect setup for chest to head high waves. I ride this with the Advance+ Ultrashort fuselage as I feel this gives the right balance of pitch stability, being snappy but not too unstable that things begin to look and feel wobbly.

The waves were so much fun and really perfect for trying some gnarlier turns and airs. A nice steep, almost barreling section moving into a deeper fatter section. I actually found it was perfect to send big airs as the lip projected you out into the perfect landing spot, but still with enough energy to continue on the wave. I really got to open up on these waves with some big carves, grab rails and big boosts.

However, as I'm sure plenty of people have found out, the harder you push on a foil, the closer you come to messing it up! After a few smaller airs I decided it was time to stop playing safe and really send a couple. That's what we were there for right? Then one jump in particular I screwed up. I knew as soon as I hit the lip I was in trouble… as I've gone to grab the board, the lip has hit the foil into a flip. I'm two meters above the wave and my foil is pretty much directly beneath me as I'm coming down. I got extremely lucky and came down right between the front and rear wing with my ribs hitting the fuselage. One of those moments where you take a deep breath, sit there for a second and just recompose. A good little humbling reminder of what we are actually playing with out there.

After about two hours we wrapped up the session. Tow boogy was dead, memory card full and the legs tired, but we were completely stoked! Having Shannon there in the water to share the froth with was awesome. He really is a great friend, hype man and photographer who captures everything perfectly. His shooting style is so unique and recognizable, blending perfectly with the West Australian coast and bush. We rolled out just as the wind seemed to come up, took ourselves out to lunch and fantasized about what the rest of our day would look like. We ended up exploring a new beach and actually decided to get another session in but right as we did, we saw a shark cruising through the waves. I made an easy decision to pull the pin and simply just observed the shark through the lens of a drone, which was cool to merely observe a predator scoping out an area we so frequently visit.

This trip especially reminded me of how unique and versatile a foil becomes when the ocean conditions are not ideal. Whether it's windy, big seas, strong currents or anything you could think of, the foil always has an option and an open door to get in the water. We played around with tow boogy up-wind downwinders which was a first for me.

Having the freedom to try and ride the ocean in new ways is always exciting and what keeps me in love with the sport, particularly with the new advancements in technology and gear! The AXIS Surge is a great example of this. Ever since I tried them that's all I wanted to ride in the waves and for any surfy application. From downwinding, winging, parawing, prone and tow foil, the Surge really is a standout wing that I'm proud to ride and have been a part of.

The gear in this story

• AXIS Surge 830, from the Surge range
• Surf Skinny 300/45 rear wing
• PRO Ultra High Modulus carbon mast 800
• Black Ultrashort Advance+ fuselage
• AXIS prone carbon foilboards

Read more from Foiling Magazine, and find issue 29 online.