Celebrity surf news roundup edition: Prince Harry. Jason Momoa. John John Florence. And U.S. Ski & Snowboard

We’re going to only do this once. A celebrity edition of our weekly surf news roundup.

No time to read? There’s a micro-pod for that.

prince harry still has some money left for surfing

The biggest story this week is that Prince Harry went out surfing at Kelly’s Ranch to the tune of $50,000 for a day.

We love this write-up from BeachGrit: “Put aside the tragic moral conflict of Prince Harry’s life and even the hardest heart must concede, the Duke of Sussex and fifth in line to the decaying British throne ain’t so bad when it comes to downward balancing, as surfers call it, when riding the tube.” In short, the princeling can surf. And thank you for introducing us to another bit of surf lingo: downward balancing. More on this later.

Prince Harry stepped out with surf coach to the stars Raimana van Bastolaer on the six-foot barrelling wave that can last for up to 2,300 ft. He surfed there a few years ago and has also been seen cheering on his son Archie while he took a surf lesson in the Santa Barbara area.

We should do a best celebrity surfer ranking at some point. Who’s a better surfer—Chris Hemsworth or Jack Johnson? See, this is fun.

jason momoa—a surfing royalty?

When I read the headline, I got all excited thinking Jason is a somehow forgotten descendant of Duke Kahanamoku or King Kamehameha. You see, I read “royalty” literally.

In a recent episode of This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Momoa shared that he’s related to Richard Keaulana, better known as Buffalo Keaulana, who is often considered one of Hawaii’s most legendary watermen.

“My family is some of the last living legends of surfing,” said Jason Momoa about his relationship with his great-uncle, Buffalo Keaulana.

According to the Encyclopedia of Surfing, now 90, Keaulana worked as a Waikiki beachboy in the ’50s and earned the nickname “Buffalo” for his generously proportioned head and shaggy reddish-brown hair. Keaulana was appointed head lifeguard at Makaha in 1969, a post he held until 1995. A statue of Keaulana was erected in 1972 in front of the Waianae Public Library, not far from Makaha.

Royalty. Close enough. I would just like to point out that the only photos I ever see of Jason Momoa are of him paddle surfing.

john john florence quasi-retires from pro surfing

I can’t keep up with all the pro surfers, but this name I do know. Just last week, John John announced that he would not be returning to the Championship Tour in 2026.

John John is a three-time champion and has been surfing professionally since he was 13 years old. He was given a wildcard entry to the Vans Triple Crown, becoming its youngest-ever competitor. Stab Magazine wrote about him: “Kid doesn’t surf with the restrictions of most. He doesn’t care about dizzying heights, hell-sent barrels, or knee-break landings. And everything stays so buttery smooth.”

John John’s decision to step back from professional surfing comes from a very good place. He said: “This past year exploring with my family reminded me why I fell in love with surfing in the first place. New places, new waves, early mornings, and figuring it all out together. We woke up most days excited to see what was next. We’ve decided to keep following that path in 2026—crossing oceans, pushing my own surfing, becoming a better husband and father, and trying to make a full lap of the world as we take on all the challenges that come with that.”

u.s. ski & nnowboard doesn’t give up, does it?

This is not a celebrity story, but it’s funny, so we’ll run with it.

After pursuing surfing for nine months and ultimately failing to get it under its wing, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is now going after skateboarding.

Same rulebook: as it did with surfing, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has petitioned the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to take over skateboarding after it lost its Olympic certification status in 2020.

Early days, and we haven’t seen the skateboarders’ response yet, but somehow we feel it will be: Nah.