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A tube stall becomes a timeless moment when Michael February applies his unique choreography.

MIKEY FEBRUARY

Surfs like melted butter and has the world at his feet, but all he really wants to do is roam around Africa in search of magic beats. All photos Bosko

From the pages of Tracks Issue No. 566 – Find our extensive archive of premium features, historical mags and premium film here.

If Jordy Smith is the front man for African surfing then Michael February has surely emerged as its spiritual ambassador. Tall, eloquently spoken and languid of limb, February surfs like a lick of melting butter and has rapidly earned a cult following amongst style connoisseurs.

When Tracks catches up with Michael he is grabbing a coffee between heats. As word filters through that the contest has been canned for the day, February is happy to sit down for an impromptu chat about his surfing influences and desire to embark on an African odyssey in search of different waves and distinctive afro-funk beats. February was raised in Cape Town, on the southern tip of the African continent, where the frigid currents of the Atlantic Ocean on the west of the Cape collide with the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean on the east. South Africa’s second most populous city is known for its good wine, nightlife and abundance of quality food. However, when we catch up with Michael the eclectic city is in the grips of a major water-shortage crisis. “It’s hectic,” he proffers. “They have all these stations in Cape Town where you can fill up water. People are fighting over water. It’s nice to be travelling and not have to deal with that…”

While Michael’s early years were spent closer to the harbour, as his surfing talent became apparent the family moved to Kommetjie, on the west side of the Cape. There he drew inspiration from decorated locals likes Damian Fahrenfort and Matt Bromley, and developed his unique style in a challenging mixture of kelp-riddled reefs, swell-exposed beach breaks and meaty, big-wave spots. Although the conditions were not always enticing, February suggests there was never any shortage of swell. He also points out that there is one major advantage in growing up at a location that is often battered by heavy weather. “Whenever you go somewhere else in the world it’s so much easier to get in the water because it’s always going to be warmer than home and most of the time it’s going to be easier to surf.”

So if February spent so much time wrapped in stiff neoprene how did he develop that loose-limbed, nonchalant style that makes you wonder is that how Michael Jackson might have surfed if he grew up on the beach? Michael explains that it took him a while to become comfortable with his own distinctive interpretation of riding waves.

“When I was younger and watching surfing movies, the thing was to be as textbook as possible. Like, mirror your favourite surfer. I tried to do that but I kind of struggled. I’m sort of tall and lanky and awkward, so now I just try and do my own thing.”

For photographers, February’s free-form approach offers welcome relief from the swathe of modern pros who are more textbook perfect than expressive. “I love to shoot with him because he just does different stuff to other surfers,” suggests lensman, Peter ‘Bosko’ Boskovic.

According to Bosko, Feb’s can also ride just about any kind of craft in a way that keeps you guessing. “He’s a chameleon, he just adapts. I’ve seen him on everything – twin fins, bonzers, single fins. He knows how to treat a board; just lets it do its thing and then draws a really good line… Then he’ll jump on a thruster and do big airs and go mad.”

Febs knows how to fly with all the first-class trimmings.

February’s desire for individual expression and engagement with the world extends beyond his relationship with waves. He’s intent on exploring the wildly diverse continent he calls home, shooting footage and marrying his distinctive surfing style with a combusting African music scene.

“I feel like Africa has so much to offer and there’s so many people doing trips to Indo. I feel like for me personally – being from Africa – it’s probably a good way to go. Obviously the culture is so rich and colourful and I reckon it could make for some good content.”

What kind of music can we expect to hear laid over footage of Michael drifting down the line on a glorious African point or bending through a turn on an anonymous beach? “All the Afro-funk kind of stuff’s been appealing to me. It’s really nice, like, vibey music … I feel like in all those places like Ghana and Nigeria, I really love the music. I feel with surfing it will suit it a lot. There’s so much to explore.”

However, in the meantime, as he navigates the volatilities of the WCT, Mikey will have to be content to wear a symbol of Africa rather than roam around it. ‘54’ is proudly stamped on the back of his contest jersey in honour of the number of countries on the African continent. February has also been known to splash ‘Africa’ in giant font on the bottom of his boards.

In person, Michael strikes you as a young man eager to embrace all the good things that Africa and his career have to offer. He’s more the poster-boy for a better future than someone interested in divisive politics, but he’s also aware that he doesn’t have to look far for hard evidence of South Africa’s tumultuous past.

According to a recent WSL profile, Michael’s father, Isaac, who is a keen surfer, was kicked out of surf-breaks on multiple occasions because of the colour of his skin. Then there is the story behind the origin of his family name. “I don’t really have too much of a tribal background,” explains Michael. “I guess if you go super-far down the line the way I think my family got their surname from back in the day was from all the slavery. I think it was the month that they came in on the ships that was how they got their surname – so, February.”

A little research indicates it was common practice for Dutch settlers in South Africa to use month names to identify slaves imported from other parts of Africa. Given the loaded connotations of his surname, there is perhaps a sweet irony in the fact that it was in the month of February that Michael found out he would be granted a berth on the WCT.

When Mick Fanning announced his retirement in late Feb, Mikey knew he was first in line for an upgrade into surfing’s top flight (once Mick was done with Bells). It was a welcome reprieve for the young Cape Town surfer, who admits he was psychologically scarred by his near-miss on officially qualifying at the end of last year. “It was a pretty weird experience. Coming so close, pretty much missing out by one heat. I’m not going to lie and say it was easy. It was a bit hard dealing with that reality that you have to start from scratch and deal with all that stuff.”

After Kelly went AWOL for the Quiksilver Pro, February got the call up to the WCT earlier than expected. He glided past the more favoured Matt Wilkinson in round one and then missed a big opportunity against eventual contest winner, Julian Wilson, in round three. Chasing a meagre 3.2, February rolled into the wave he needed, but failed to hit the lip with sufficient conviction. After he stumbled on his last turn, the judges left him agonisingly shy of the total he needed. At Bells, a challenging wave for any rookie, February again looked like he was struggling to find form and lost in round two. In a re-match against the formidable Frederico Morais (who beat him by a nose at Bells) at Margaret River, all that physical charisma seemed to return for Michael. However, after a confidence-building win in the second round, the cancellation of the contest denied him the opportunity to convert his rhythm into a meaningful result.

Arriving at the events early and becoming familiar with waves he’s never surfed could prove crucial if February wants to ratchet up the ratings and capitalise on the opportunity that he’s been given. Mikey will also need to invest some time in decoding exactly what it is the re-booted WCT judges are looking for. A unique approach to riding waves facilitates engaging free-surfing clips and marketing options, but the term ‘Style’ doesn’t appear anywhere in the official, WSL scoring criteria.

If a lack of familiarity with the waves on tour puts him at a disadvantage there is one event where Mikey will be expecting to do well – J-Bay. Sitting opposite me, he reflects fondly on his first trip to the hallowed right when he was seven.

“Our family didn’t know too much about surfing so we had one of those books that had all the waves all the way from Cape Town to Durban. We took a road trip up and read about all the different spots.” When seven- year-old Michael eventually paddled out at J-Bay he realised his ambition had perhaps exceeded his ability. “I paddled out at Boneyards and went to Supers and I was too scared; it was like four or five feet and I made my dad paddle all the way down to The Point with me so that I could get out.”

Since then February has developed a well- documented affinity with South Africa’s most famous wave. Last year the WSL bequeathed him a wildcard into the main event because of a hot streak on the South African WQS series, which included three victories and a semi-final finish in the 10,000 event at Ballito. In a disappointing showing Mikey didn’t make it past round two, but expectations will be running high at J-Bay this year. One might expect there to be a huge local turn-out, given it will be a symbolic moment for African surfing when Michael paddles out as a fully-fledged member of the WCT.

Whatever happens on the WCT this year, Michael February will travel the world and build his profile as the face of African surfing. In a continent much in need of positive role models who are making an impact on the global stage, it’s an important part to play.

South Africa has recently undergone a leadership change, the controversial Jacob Zuma replaced by Cyril Rhamphosa; a political change-up February believes is a significant step forward for a country still facing major economic and social challenges.

“I’m not always on the pulse of what’s happening in politics, but I think this is a good thing and I think it’s a very positive time for South Africa. It’s pretty exciting, the last couple of years have been really hard and I think it’s a good time.”

And when the competition sirens go quiet, Mikey will hopefully allow a different sound to dictate the direction of his surfing. “I’m not really looking for the most amazing waves, just hoping to find a place with some good music and some good culture. Nigeria and Ghana are the two places with the biggest music history, especially with the kind of music we’re kind of looking at…”

Undoubtedly, Michael February will change the way future generations of African kids look at surfing. Meanwhile, if he gets to travel his home continent equipped with a quiver of different boards and a camera crew; then marries that eye-candy style with the right local beats, he might just open up Africa to the rest of the surfing world.

We’re counting on you Mikey. We sure as hell need somewhere other than Indo to visit.

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