Meet Orion Miller
Cold-water river surfer, filmmaker and Eisbach Riders ambassador.
Orion first started surfing living in a van in Australia for a year, traveling from coast to coast with a water-logged shortboard missing the centre fin. Fast forward to today, Orion surfs any wave he can find (most often with fins), whether it's forty above or forty below, on river waves in Quebec, storm swells of the Great Lakes, the salty swells on both Canadian coasts or distant tropical destinations.
Montréal's river waves and Orion's cold-water evolution
Originally from British Columbia, Orion moved to Montréal with his prog jazz/hip-hop band, The OM Sound, to explore the city's vibrant arts scene, and he was stoked to discover a plethora of world-class river waves close to his new home. Nowadays he is best known for braving the extreme cold, frequently seen winter surfing the rapids of the St. Lawrence River and dodging icebergs with a thick ice beard.
What Orion Rides
“ORION”: award-winning short film on Montréal's ice surfer
In 2025, Orion's story reached global recognition with the release of ORION, an award-winning short film that offers a rare glimpse into the life and mind of Montréal's "ice surfer." Winner of Best Short Movie at the 2025 International Surf Film Festival Anglet, the film follows Orion as he surfs year-round in the St. Lawrence River, facing temperatures colder than -30°C in search of landlocked waves among drifting ice floes.
Orion's Setup
The fins Orion runs for cold, shallow river waves — a rapid-focused thruster set paired with a knubster centre fin for extra hold.
More Fins for River Surfing
A more conventional setup when there's enough depth.
