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Current Australian Champion and Molokai hero Lincoln Dews has just signed with JM Paddleboards, giving the boutique Aussie brand their first major stand up paddle star outside of founder Jamie Mitchell.

Lincoln announced the deal on Instagram last night, looking in frighteningly good shape ahead of the upcoming race season.

While Linc is only ranked #33 on our World Rankings leaderboard, it’s only a matter of time before this kid finds a permanent home inside the top 10. He’s got genuine talent. The Queenslander had a relatively light competition schedule last year (which explains the ranking), but a top three finish at Molokai definitely turned some heads.

Lincoln also won the Aussie Titles surf race last year (repeating his win in the same race from 2013), while he’s collected several medals from the ISA Worlds in addition to a top five finish at the Salt Creek BOP.

However it was his performance at Molokai 2015 that helped defined Linc as a top-tier paddle athlete.

Going into that race, everybody viewed it as a four-way battle between Travis, Danny, Connor and Kai. But Danny pulled out on the eve of the race and Connor retired mid-channel, which left it as a David and Goliath battle between Travis and Kai. Lincoln, however, refused to follow the script, holding pace with Trav for the first two and a half hours of the five hour marathon. His fellow Aussie eventually paddled clear, while Kai also finally reeled him in, but Lincoln’s finishing time was only a couple of minutes behind the Maui superstar.

Lincoln won a lot of fans on that big day, while anyone that’s ever spent time with the guy will know he’s one of the nicest and most mature young athletes you’ll ever meet.

I guess it’s quite fitting that a standout Molokai performer joins the JM Paddleboards team, considering the brand was founded by 10x Molokai prone champ Jamie Mitchell, and that their previous star signing was another Molokai world beater (and fellow ‘JM’), Jordie Mercer.

The brand, based on Queensland’s paddling mecca of the Gold Coast, is looking to punch above its weight after having welcomed outside investors (see: “Jamie Mitchell Looks to Take JM Paddleboards Next Level“), and no doubt Lincoln’s signing will help them out in the ring.

Lincoln’s former team was Lahui Kai/SUP ATX, which seems to be pulling back from the racing scene this year and may shed more team members in the coming weeks.

We’ll be able to see Lincoln on his shiny new JM boards at the Saucy Jack Classic next month (set to be one of Australia’s biggest events), and then on the international stage at the massive Carolina Cup in April.

In the meantime, let me be one of the first to congratulate both Lincoln and JM Paddleboards on the big signing. Exciting times ahead.