With our destination decided, we had to pick a cast. Picking a crew for any surf trip is a shit-storm, let alone a surf trip with a specified agenda. Case in point, BKII. Guys who didn’t necessarily carry the surfing skill sets wanted in and blatant contest grovellers wanted to sponge up the high levels of media exposure reaped by the concept. Shit, even the office phones ran red-hot with team managers eager to get their boys’ credentials down our traps. However, we wanted a well-rounded cast who:

a) Photographed well; b) Would ham it up for the camera and bring their A-game for the BKII TV series that airs on Fuel TV this year; c) Would cover off most sub genres of freesurfing (big-wave chargers, aerial kings, all-rounders, goofys, naturals); d) Would improve on the efforts of last year’s BK contenders.

With that in mind, we thought it would be in the best interest of readers and viewers to get an eclectic mix of surfers with different varieties of humour. First in line? Sometime World Qualifying Series warrior and full-time Lennox Head humorist James Wood (allround shredder); next was Cooly natural-footer Brent Dorrington (charger and small-wave wizard); then along came Saffa-cum-Novocastrian Craig Anderson (goofy and sick aerialist); Goldy big-wave maniac Ryan Hipwood (big, err, waves maniac!); little-known Lennox ripper Stephen Walsh (small-wave tearer and solid in the juice); En Zed legend Richard Christie (sick punter and awesome pit surfer); and last but not least Cooly prankster Shaun Harrington (charger and epic tube rider) rounded out the seven-man contingent.