Though not quite as internet-breaking as Kim Kardashian’s bare-cheeked, gravity defying Paper Magazine shoot back in 2014, nor inspiring quite the same conspiratorial energy as the great Slater-Mann affair of early 2026, the first episode of Harry Bryant’s EAST produced a similarly divided response. Some hot and bothered, taking a long, appreciative look at the unusual shapes, admiring the more exaggerated features; others left jostled by the jarring exhibit, muttering that they’d seen enough. Not entirely dissimilar from Kimmy, actually. Before filming, Haz was our most requested EAST pilot, and in episode one he certainly came in hot. Direct and matter-of-fact, he offered his opinions on boards with the bluntness of a mechanic telling you what’s wrong with your car. It was the kind of thing Mikey Feb was heavily criticised for in the opposite direction: being too polite with his feedback. Haz, well, he’s certainly on the other end of the spectrum, and the comments section was quick to let him know. “It doesn’t always have to be brutal, but the best boards I’ve ever had, and the best relationships I’ve had with shapers are when you provide them with honest feedback,” Haz says here. “If you just say the board goes good, then they’ve got nothing to go off.” Viewers also took issue with Harry’s refusal to ride the fins the shapers had supplied specifically for their boards. One submission came with a 2+1 setup rather than a thruster. Harry, having been handed the diminutive rear fin, chose instead to trust his own theory, replacing the dwarf with a fully grown one. The decision was particularly spicy because the board had been submitted by Tom Morat, with whom Harry has some history, including a rather uncomfortable exchange at the Palm Springs wave pool last year. To his credit, Harry addresses the whole thing here. He says he had no idea the board was Morat’s when he made the call, and insists his fin decision had nothing to do with their previous beef. He also concedes that he may have got it wrong, while making clear that he respects shapers who supply fins with their boards — a gesture, he says, that shows care and consideration for how the board is meant to be surfed. All of which, plus considerably more, makes for a rather different Harry Bryant from the one the comment section spent the past week flogging. Affable, thoughtful and refreshingly willing to interrogate his own behaviour, Haz gets his chance to make his case. Thanks to our partners at Red Bull, Vaer, Dome Dust, Colby +, TurtleBox, Visit Dominican Republic, and Devium, for making StabMic possible.
