A MODERN COLLECTION OF STERLING KING AKA THE ONE AND ONLY "BATBOY"

After reading this month's issue of ESM(Eatern Surf Magazine), I stumbled across Matt Pruett's(head-honcho editor of ESM) review on the surf film entitled "Modern Collective" by Poor Specimen Productions. Pruett's take on the film encompasses the modern direction in which surfing is moving, which is very much what the surf film portrays. Pruett starts out his review in these exact words, "There's this grom at our local beach who cops a lot of flak from us rednecks for his somewhat metrosexual fashion sensibilities(tight jeans, bird-chest teasing V-necks, fruity hats) and his musical tastes(dancehall and electronica). But everyone knows the kids name, because he refuses to blend in on land, not to mention his backfoot-driven aptitude in the water sets him even further apart from the rest of us old farts. Picking up speed in the barrel or alley-ooping four feet above the lip, this kid is not just another teenage hipster wannabe. He's the best young surfer in town". In this review, "the young surfer's" name remains anonymous, but I think it's safe to say that Matt Pruett is referring to the young, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina surfer, Sterling King... AKA 'Batboy'. Ability picked up Sterling at the age of 14, along with Matix, Electric, DVS, Whalebone Surf Shop, and a slew of other sponsors because of his blossoming talent, which I'm not even sure he was aware of at the time. A few years later, to date... Sterling has recently graduated highschool and grommit-hood, although he'll always be a grom to us "older farts" and will carry the torch of Outer Banks surfing to a level in which his unique "back-foot driven aptitude", "speed in the barrel", and "alley ooping four feet above the flip" will compliment his unique "metrosexual fashion sensibility" because as Matt Pruett states, "The kid's synthesizers and fedoras might take some getting used to, but all that wrap is forgotten once he gets to his feet. Because like it or not, this is what surfing is now. Adapt or die anonymous".

Sterling in all his glory courtesy of facebook.com's
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age 14












age 15














age 16 - Whitney photo













age 17 - surfline.com feature - 2m photo












NOW...