Balaram Stack

Who is Balaram Stack?

Balaram Stack is a native Point Lookout, New York professional surfer. He was born on September 5, 1991. The youngest of three surfing brothers, Stack was born in Sebastian, Florida, where he began riding waves on a boogie board at three. His family relocated to Long Island when he was five, settling a half-block from the beach in Point Lookout. By 11 he developed a reputation as a ripper in local lineups and was sponsored by unsOund, a Long Beach surf shop. When he was 12, Stack won a local contest that convinced him to quit hockey and devote more time to riding waves. The following year, Quiksilver, the surf industry’s top brand, discovered Stack at a surfing camp in Montauk and added him to its team. In 2009, Stack opted for an independent study course load so that he could travel the world and surf. He spent a month on the North Shore of Oahu, surfing the Banzai Pipeline. He tagged along to Tahiti with Clay Marzo, considered the sport’s most creative aerialist. In February, Quiksilver sent him to Australia to train with the surf coach Mick Cain, who used video analysis and mental techniques to improve Stack’s contest readiness. Stack returned from Australia transformed. In April, at the national scholastic East Coast regional championships in Florida, Stack qualified for the finals in four divisions, winning the Air Show and Explorer Juniors divisions. With a repertory of aerials and an ability to ride in the barrel of waves, Stack earned three perfect 10 scores during the tournament, an unprecedented performance for a surfer from the Northeast.