Surfing, Skateboarding, Music, Photography, Travel, Culture and general antics of the youth on the run.

Arto Saari shooting Peter Ramondetta in Copenhagen Collected Thoughts 050

Arto Saari shooting perter ramondetta for what youth by scott chenoweth the copenhagen project

So you may be wondering: just what the hell are we doing in Copenhagen? And we’ll have you know that that is no longer something we ask ourselves. It’s more a question of: why haven’t we been here sooner — and more often? I was just talking to a new friend who is one of our local guides and he told me that the government here calls the skateboarders in the community when they put in any new infrastructure to make sure it has “skate-friendly” features. And from what we can gather, skaters and business men and tourists and the beautiful girls who blanket the city, all coexist peacefully in a well-balanced ecosystem of appreciation and understanding. And a lot of that amazing vibe can be attributed to the crew of hard working, rad people who put on the event we’re here covering: The Copenhagen Pro.

The Copenhagen Pro is hardly a “contest” in a traditional senses — it’s more a gathering of like-minded people who like to skate and do rad shit, all going down in a location that seems to be the epicenter for appreciating a variety of cultures and subcultures who are more or less allowed to flourish as opposed to being shut down for being illegal. Beers, fires, skating, families, groms, pros, locals, babes and tourists all mingle together enjoying the never-ending daylight however they please. And it’s all good.

Arto is a unique photographer. If he points his camera at you, it feels like an honor and you don’t want to let him down. Every skater from Pierre-Luc Gagnon to Peter Ramondetta (seen above) gladly give it their all for Arto to snap a few. And he does it all with the sickest style. He’s friendly and exciteable, and when he shoots, he points his camera at everyone and everything — still managing to make it feel like an honor. It’s really all just beautiful here. From concrete to the sea to architecture to women. And we just heard there may be waves tomorrow. Yes, waves. Dion Agius and Brendon Gibbens are psyching. There must be something in the tap water here — which I’ve actually heard there is. Like it’s good for you and makes the women beautiful. I’m not kidding. It’s as pure as tap water gets.

Tonight the festivities really begin here in Copenhagen, starting with the infamous rings of fire in a few hours. Which reminds me that we have to get going. It’s nearly 10PM and still daylight. We back at it. —Travis

Tom Lowe, British Surfer, Nate Lawrence

Who’s that British madman? Collected Thoughts 135: The first time Nate Lawrence saw Tom Lowe paddle past him

Editor’s Note: You know we’re up to something when a dude like Tom Lowe’s name starts coming up. The British surfer smiles in the face of horror, and he’s been on our radar and in our inbox. Here’s some scary info from Nate Lawrence about him. Stay tuned for what we’re up to.—Travis  This might…

what youth ryan burch punching a rock by nate lawrence

There was a fight on a surf podcast Collected Thoughts 134: Nate Lawrence on the near violence on Surf Splendor

It’s 5 a.m. and I’m sitting on the couch at WY’s Scott Chenoweth’s house in Long Beach — wide awake because I just heard a car getting broke into right outside. I can’t sleep so I end up in the vortex of my phone and find myself hitting a link to a podcast featuring Beach Grit’s…

what youth jordy smith surfing in west oz photographd by nate lawrence

Jordy Smith, West Oz in trunks Collected Thoughts 133

Jordy is one of the easiest guys to take photos of surfing. He lands most of his airs and always entertains. On this day, Jordy was surfing in board shorts in the chilly waters of West Oz. O’Neill needed board short photos and instead of flying somewhere warm to do the shoot, Jordy just surfed…

what youth surfing indonesia Garut Widiarta

Garut Widiarta at Padang Padang Collected Thoughts 132: More Indo gold with Nate Lawrence

Garut Widiarta has been surfing out at Padang Padang since he was a little kid. And while he still looks like a little kid, his surfing does not. Recently it turned on for a few hours with only a handful of guys out and Garut was doing turns like these… ? —Nate Lawrence

what youth collected thoughts nate lawrence ian crane surfing indo

Deserted Deserts Collected Thoughts 131: Nate Lawrence checks in from the road with Ian Crane and Evan Geiselman

There’s no shortage of swell. And there’s no shortage of hype. People love to talk about the next swell….But how’s the one out the back?! After surfing in Bali with 93 other guys, Evan and Crane rented and car and drove straight to the ferry. No sleep and some bed bug bites later they saw…

what youth nate lawrence collected thoughts

More of the Same Same Collected Thoughts 130: Year of the fucking drone.

“So here we are. 2017. Year of the fucking drone. We’re pretty far behind schedule, according to Marty McFly. But finally every single person in the world owns a drone. Yay! And now we get to look at even more of the same same. Same beach. Same angle. Different caption. (insert grammatical error here) The…

what youth mitch coleborn nate lawrence surfing

Mitch Coleborn in Indonesia Collected Thoughts 129

“Surfing will always have those off-moments that make you pause and really appreciate the place we get to play.” —Nate Lawrence

what youth collected thoughts Bali Nate Lawrence

The Inside Section Collected Thoughts 128: Nate Lawrence is at it again

Editor’s Note: Nate doesn’t realize how messed up this is, sending us these insane, casual lineups from the weekend when we’re in the sharky doldrums of summer, and he’s running through race tracks like this. That being said, might be time we join him, back on the road…  “The inside section, looking oh-so fun on a…

what youth surfing john john florence

A John John Florence Prediction Collected Thoughts 127: Nate Lawrence chimes in on the sporting side of things

“There’s been plenty to talk about with the WSL recently. Most of it about the horrible advertisements and even worse music coinciding with the WSL. But I got to thinking after watching the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs and how un-competitive it has been — it’s almost like the WSL. Kelly Slater was Michael…

what youth indo nate lawrence surfing waves

My Indo Dream Wave Collected Thoughts 126: Nate Lawrence and the wave that started his Indo Obsession

“For the better part of my teenage years I drooled at photos of this wave. I still do today” —Nate Lawrence Editor’s Note: Nate Lawrence was there to document this wave when it was new. Timmy Tuner and Brett Schwartz and Travis Potter would venture to the jungles of Indo, get dropped off and wait for…

what youth nate lawrence bali surfing waves

New Swell in Bali Collected Thoughts 125

“The swell is filing in and we found a nice right all to ourselves. Bali bagus.” —Nate Lawrence

what youth john john florence photographed by nate lawrence

John John Florence, 14 for Five years Collected Thoughts 124

Looking at this photo, it seems like so long ago. John John was this young, long haired blonde kid who surfed Pipe. I remember seeing him paddling out in pretty big conditions and thinking that he was going to drown. But he didn’t. And then he caught one of those big waves. But that’s all…

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