Luke Cederman
Coming in at number seven is Raglan’s Luke Cederman. He’s best known for his powerful surfing style and inability to transfer it completely to competition arenas. Those of you with dreadful TV-watching habits may also know him from his appearance in the cringe-worthy Married At First Sight, New Zealand. If you missed it, well done. But it was an important segue to Luke’s other venture: The Raglan Surf Report, where he turns the dial right up and walks a tenuous line between cringe and comedy.
If you find it cringe-inducing, then you’re probably taking life way too seriously. No one is spared his wrath, even Kelly Slater uses The Raglan Surf Report to dispel rumours. Luke takes a satirical potshot at everyone from tourists to local heroes, surfing culture and even black sand gets its face rubbed in it.
But The Raglan Surf Report, as good as it is for all of us, isn’t why he made this list. And he wasn’t always bombing out of competitions (he has an impressive haul of trophies from his career), but when it comes to free-surfing, without the weight of a competition vest on his shoulders, Luke has always been and remains to be one of the most powerful and fluid surfers in a line-up.
He’s knocking on 35 now, but that hasn’t slowed him down one bit. He’s still surfing at the pointy end of any competitive field. He’s one of our most talented commentators in New Zealand, super funny and has his heart committed to seeing a better future for surfing in New Zealand. That’s pretty awesome in our book.
