Currently sitting at number three in the world after a semifinal finish in Rio, Josh Kerr dominated in conditions ranging from dribbly lefts to heaving closeout beachbreak. And now, for the first time in his career, he's in world title contention.

Kerr met up with his filmer Matt Kleiner on Australia's Gold Coast for two days and was greeted with great weather but very minimal surf. Given that Josh is one of the most versatile surfers around, he had no trouble standing out in the slow conditions.

Phenomenal lensman Matt Kleiner has been traveling with Josh Kerr for part of the year, gathering footage for an upcoming signature film. Here is Matt's edit of Kerrzy's winter on the North Shore. His outstanding performance in hollow lefts, big rights, and even bigger Waimea make it hard to deny that Josh Kerr is about as well-rounded a surfer as anyone.



JOSH KERR // HAWAII from Matt Kleiner on Vimeo.

How do you pluck a happy young Australian lad from his beloved home, and his mates, vegemite, and meat pies?

The answer may not surprise you, as it's the same answer to many of life's difficult conundrums: a girl.

No matter how happy you are with your life, how carefully laid your plans are, add a girl to the equation and buckle up, cuz you may be in for a ride.

For Josh Kerr, that ride took him from the Gold Coast of Australia all the way to San Diego California, where he now resides with wife Nikki and family.

Luckily for Josh, his lady just happens to be from one of the meccas of hi-fi surfing, so I doubt he was bummed to trade those meat pies for mexican food.

Our buddy Matt Kleiner is working with Josh on a new film project, and sent us this clip from their recent escapades...


JOSH KERR // HOME from Matt Kleiner on Vimeo.

To give you an idea of just how good Peniche's Supertubos is, the day started with Jordy Smith and wildcard Bruno Santos trading 6 gaping barrels back to back until one of them finally fell on a wave. Not all of them were scoring rides, but when's the last time you surfed a wave where you can get 6 tubes in ten minutes?

Round 2 was given the green light early this morning, in building swell and stellar conditions. With the swell peaking, today was a marathon of action, running a whopping 20 heats in ten hours.

Absolutely every competitor got barreled off their head today, which begs the question, did anybody really lose?

Well yes. Jordy Smith, Mick Fanning, Josh Kerr, and almost every single Brazilian, 5 of 7 in the draw, including a rampaging Gabriel Medina. In fact, Heitor Alves is the only Brazilian to make Round Four, with Adriano yet to surf Round Three. Typically the Brazilians dominate in the beachbreak events on tour, as their country is as famous for gutless beachbreak surf as thonged buns. Unfortunately for the passionate peoples, this is no ordinary beachbreak. As the name implies, Supertubos is far heavier than most sandbars, breaking almost right on dry sand with every bit of raw Atlantic energy intact when the wave detonates. It has even earned the nickname of 'Portuguese Pipeline.'

Keeping this in mind, it should come as no surprise that all 3 Hawaiian surfers in the event are slicing through the draw like butter. Freddy P took out World Number Three Jordy Smith in Round Three, with a masterful tuberiding display. Dusty Payne also looked very at home in the gaping pits, easily out surfing Jadson Andre. Not to be out-done, super-rookie John John Florence turned in one of the best performances of the year against poor Ace Buchan. His 19.53 heat total is almost as incredible as the fact that he threw away a 9.5, a 7.67, and a pair of 7's. His throwaway scores would have won every heat in Round Two. The youngster will now face title contender Owen Wright in heat 12 tomorrow.

Also of note, Kai Otton and Julian Wilson has an absolute slug-fest in their round 3 clash, with both surfers dropping 9 plus rides all heat before Julian was able to seal it with a 9.7 at the end. Poor Kai had a near perfect 18.40 heat total and still lost.

The swell is forecasted to taper off over the next three days, so look for another marathon day of tuberiding tomorrow.



RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 2 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.74 def. Bruno Santos (BRA) 10.97
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.10 def. Francisco Alves (BRA) 6.57
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.83 def. Justin Mujica (PRT) 8.64
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.77 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 15.23
Heat 5: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.43 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.90
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 19.53 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.97
Heat 7: Heitor Alves (BRA) 15.50 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.20
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 16.04 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.87
Heat 9: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.97 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 13.93
Heat 10: Dusty Payne (HAW) 16.63 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.27
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF) 16.43 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.76
Heat 12: Taylor Knox (USA) 13.73 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 9.30

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.57 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 8.43
Heat 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) 16.33 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 15.30
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 19.13 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 18.40
Heat 4: Chris Davidson (AUS) 14.10 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 5.10
Heat 5: Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.77 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.20
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.86 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 16.37
Heat 7: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.06 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.90
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 18.33 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.17

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 11: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. John John Florence (HAW)

Filmmaker/Genius Matt Kleiner has done is again. You may recall some of Matt's work in Way of the Ocean, and his incredible show reel that got me all worked up. Here is his latest effort, a beautiful short film about a short trip down south of the border with aussie pilots Josh Kerr and Asher Pacey. Enjoy...