When you hear the name Jim Heim, a surf pioneer whose life intertwined with the rhythm of African coastlines and the fight for local surf rights. Also known as the quiet voice behind Zulu Surf Riders, he didn’t just ride waves—he helped build a movement that gave voice to communities often left out of global surf narratives. Jim wasn’t a flashy pro athlete with sponsorships. He was the guy showing up at dawn in Durban, teaching kids how to stand on a board, then staying late to argue with city officials over beach access for Black surfers. His work didn’t make headlines overseas, but it changed lives right where it mattered.
Jim’s story connects directly to the heart of Zulu Surf Riders, a grassroots network of surfers, journalists, and activists documenting how ocean culture shapes identity in South Africa. This isn’t just about surfing—it’s about land rights, environmental justice, and cultural survival. When the G20 Summit shut down Hendrik Potgieter Road, it wasn’t just traffic chaos—it was another layer of exclusion for coastal communities trying to reach the sea. Jim understood that. When Ruth First was silenced for speaking truth to power, her spirit lived on in the same spaces where Jim’s surf kids now paddle out, knowing their stories matter. And when Nigeria’s Eric Chelle names a World Cup squad, or Cameroon’s Bakary declares victory amid chaos, it’s the same energy: people claiming space, demanding recognition, riding against the tide.
What you’ll find here aren’t just articles tagged with Jim Heim’s name. You’ll find the echoes of his work—in the way a young surfer in Cape Town fights for clean water, in the way a musician in Kenya asks for a second motorbike after being gifted one, in the way a Nigerian independence day shifts from parade to diplomacy. These aren’t random stories. They’re all part of the same current. Jim didn’t start a brand. He started a lens. And through it, we see Africa not as a backdrop for global sports or politics—but as the center of its own powerful, messy, beautiful truth. Below, you’ll find the stories that keep that lens sharp.
After a second U.S. military strike killed survivors clinging to debris in the Caribbean, lawmakers demand release of classified video. Over 80 have died in similar Trump-era operations.
