On October 10th, A Great Day in the Stoke will bring together Black surfers from across the US and the globe for its fifth annual event at Huntington Beach, California.
Founder Nathan Fluellen described the event: “[A Great Day in the Stoke] is the largest gathering of Black surfers in history,” he said. “Bringing in surfers from around the world—we’ve had surfers compete from South Africa, Senegal, Jamaica, Canada, and our goal is to have more surfers because there are surfers in Barbados, and there are surfers in Mozambique who want to come. I just found out there’s surf in Egypt!” Fluellen added.
Ismail Samb, out of Dakar, Senegal, placed third at A Great Day in the Stoke in 2025, spending time in California after the event and returning to Senegal with an Outerknown sticker on the nose of his board. The event is an important opportunity for exposure for surfers who may not otherwise have the chance to get in front of potential sponsors and media.
“The US is a hub because there are so many surf competitions, and economically getting to the US is the cheaper route than trying to go from Africa to Asia or Australia. So the US is an important part strategically… From an athlete sponsorship standpoint, everybody’s based here, so it would make sense to be able to meet with the athletes in person here,” Fluellen said.
In the history of the World Surf League and ASP, there has only been one Black African surfer on Tour, Mikey February in 2018, and Ramzi Boukham became the first African surfer from a country outside of South Africa to make it to the CT when he qualified in 2023. Senegal leads the way as the next rising surf nation on the continent, with surfers like Cherif Fall, who is based part-time in California, pioneering the path for Senegalese professional surfing.
The 2026 edition of the event is set amongst a difficult political climate. With the introduction of travel bans for people from much of Africa, including rising surf nations of Senegal and Angola, according to Fluellen, it might just be a time to think more creatively to keep supporting and growing the sport.
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“We just have to put the thinking caps on and continue to push forward and figure out ways to be able to provide these surfers with opportunities and get creative. Instead of the surfers trying to get over here, when it comes to these brands, they take those trips over to Africa and go meet with those people and see the investment in that.
“We’re in a position where we could sustain, but I’m all about growth. To figure out how to assist getting other surfers from Africa to be able to get visas is going to be a challenge moving forward for at least the next three years.”
“Look at it as a long-term investment to be able to support them and get through this storm, and then know that on the other side of the storm will be a beautiful rainbow because they made the investment right now, and then they will see the value in this emerging market, which is the continent of Africa.”
Travel to the US remains difficult for many, with some who hold valid visas detained and turned away at the border in the last 12 months. Mass deportations have placed thousands of people across the country at risk, and policies for visiting the US have become increasingly restrictive. Some surfers have shared that they have opted not to transit through the US due to safety concerns, and some living in the US on visas or Green Cards have expressed fears of travelling internationally for risk of not being allowed to return.