How Zeke Lau Became Surfing’s Villain | StabMic Ep. 30

How Zeke Lau Became Surfing’s Villain | StabMic Ep. 30

From Stab Podcasts by STAB

September 5, 2026 · 1h 26m

About this episode

Zeke Lau discusses his evolution from a controversial figure in surfing to a more humble competitor.

Coming into this year’s Surf100 Challenger Series, Zeke Lau’s reputation preceded him. Part of the calculation in casting him was that his history of hyper-competitive, occasionally confrontational surfing might make for good television. Zeke as antagonist, Zeke as disruptor, Zeke as villain. But, as anyone who’s been keeping up with the show knows, Zeke doesn’t really seem to be that guy anymore. He was also only a kid when he was on tour. Now he’s a dad, humble in defeat, generous with the other contestants, and enthusiastic about drinking beer. Josiah even wrote an essay about how much he loves him. Here, in episode 30 of StabMic, Zeke revisits both the John John incident at Bells and the Jacob Willcox incident at Margaret River, offering previously unknown context around what led to each, alongside a little insight into his upbringing and psychology that might explain why he did what he did. And looking back eight years on, does anyone even still have a problem with Zeke big-dogging John? Sport is, after all, a ritualised form of conflict. The old human appetite for competition, dominance and spectacle, with most of the blood taken out. We’ve agreed not to kill anybody these…

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Host: STAB

Guest: Zeke Lau

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