Stu Nettle Writer

Stu Nettle is the editor of Swellnet, an independent surf forecasting and media website.

He joined the site in 2009 after founder Ben Matson spotted his writing on surf forums – a fairly unconventional recruitment process that reflects the unconventional outfit he ended up working for.

Raised in Cronulla but now based in the Illawarra, Stu has spent fifteen-plus years writing across formats that don’t sit neatly in any one category: long-form features, bog-standard news, interviews, newsletters, photo gallery copy, and the occasional piece that’s hard to describe but seemed like a good idea at the time.

Swellnet’s audience comes primarily for surf forecasts, which means Stu’s editorial runs alongside – and is perpetually overshadowed by – a wave modelling service. Stu has made peace with this.

His editorial interests run toward the margins: board design and innovation, coastal science, surf industry, history, and the people who do interesting work without much fanfare. He’s written about shapers, oceanographers, fin makers, and tag team surfing inventors, often finding that the further you get from the mainstream, the better the stories get.

Before Swellnet, Stu studied philosophy at the University of Wollongong – a degree he didn’t finish, but which probably explains some of the longer sentences.