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

A quick ode to Uncle Gav Please buy this legend a cold beer. He is a surfing treasure.

03.02.18 – TAGS: , , ,
Video: Michael Cukr and Blake Myers

Yesterday you heard we went to Samoa and got hit by a cyclone before finding blue tubes and cold beers in it’s wake at Salani Surf Resort. You also saw that Gavin Beschen was there. Well, Gavin flew in from Hawaii by himself, and in true Gavin fashion showed up to the camp solo, 8 hours ahead of schedule sipping a 40oz. with all his gear. Grinning ear to ear. Thrilled to be on a surf trip. Normally, of course, the Salani Camp rolls out the red carpet and picks you up at the airport and dials in your gear. But Gavin was able to skip the layover in Fiji somehow (no one actually knows how) and he arrived way early. Instead of calling for a ride or freaking out, Gavin made his way the old fashioned way with some locals, sipped a beer and surprised everyone with his arrival. In the days of pampered groms, Gavin is a breath of the freshest air.

PHOTO: Timothy Ridenour

Once on the trip he surfed and explored and GoPro filmed everything. He is a spirit animal that’s gone missing in many facets of surfing and this post is literally just to make sure you all realize it and appreciate Uncle Gav. Maybe buy him a cold beer if you see him out and about on this planet.

Watch our “4 Cities” Episode of him above with his family on the North Shore, and stay tuned for our adventures in Samoa with him coming in Issue 20, and in our upcoming vids. We love you Gav.

PHOTO: Timothy Ridenour

Why would anyone wanna leave Paris? Donald Trump is making it harder to be a youth on the run

The great Gloria Steinem put it best: In response to Trump’s attempt at pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement: “Too late, we’re already pregnant.” Yesterday Donald Trump announced that the United States was leaving the Paris Climate Agreement. Now, I suggest you do a little homework (always a good idea), but the short of it:…

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What’d you do this weekend? We threw ourselves into the pit with The Murder City Devils

“A lot of our songs early on were about romanticizing places we weren’t. Other places, other towns, things we couldn’t get to” said Spencer Moody, lead singer for The Murder City Devils before a secret show they were playing Saturday night. And yes, this was a place you definitely wish you woulda been. And it…

what youth dear suburbia absurdity

This is Absurd An old note comes back to haunt and hype us

Editor’s note: This was originally published in What Youth Issue 1 (which is now sold out) as an intro to Kai’s film Dear Suburbia,. It recently struck another modern chord with us as we thought of all the impending doom out there. And this kind of reminded us that’s it still, in the face of insanity,…

what youth off beat yago dora surfing

How we met Yago Dora Yago’s success at the Rio Pro is validating something we’ve known for a long time. Let’s recall.

Long before the WSL started with the weird warrior techno hype video things, we were watching Yago Dora. His surfing caught our eye, but it was his vibe, his personality, his approach that really stuck with us. In What Youth Issue 13 we recall his ability to jump in our big white van and road trip…

dear youth wsl

did you see that new WSL commercial? Is Dion right? Is it time we say no to the WSL?

I’m quite depressed right now. There are the sharks. Crowds. Hospitals. Stress. Bills. Work. Marketing. Branded Content. And WSL. And it’s the WSL that’s really getting to me right now. This morning the first thing I read on Instagram was Dion Agius (on Aussie time) calling out the WSL for turning their new promo video…

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Cull Your Fear A spike in shark sightings and an attack in Southern California raise the debate…again

Editor’s Note: Taylor Paul is a surfer. A really good, big wave surfer in fact. Mavericks, Dungeons…all the scary ones, that come with lots of sharks. He has researched this, spoken with experts on shark populations, flown in helicopters to look for them (and found them) and lived in Santa Cruz, Southern California and San Francisco….

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What’s Dane Been Up to? We spent the weekend with the Reynolds family filming for a new Fairly Normal

Dane was home this weekend. A classic California pre-summer day: lots of blue, couple fun waves and lots of traffic. We met up with Dane at Rincon, where he surfed glassy and “1-foot but perfect” Rincon for an hour on a Channel Island twin fin (with a small trailer). He had earlier told me his…

Dane Reynolds, Former, Surfing

Let’s talk about trunks (briefly) We built this industry on them, so why are so few pairs worthy of your thighs?

Today marks the release of Former’s “Control” boardshort. So yes, full disclosure, we back them, and what they’re doing, so there’s the commercial above. It’s really cool. And those trunks look sick on Dane. But I do still retain the right as an editor and one of a few who started this whole blessed mess…

the surfer/hooper index

The Surfer/Hooper Index Craig Anderson is Steph Curry and other ridiculous comparisons to kick off the NBA playoffs

The NBA is probably the most commercialized athletic event in the world. This makes it the most unlike surfing (kinda). But at its core, basketball is like surfing. I’ve been around both types enough to see the personalities, egos, artistry, techniques and grandiosity of both sports. They are completely unrelated — maybe like distant second…

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Does WSL = Christian Youth Group? Conservative and “cool” with really bad music

When I was in high school there were always people trying to get us to join them at their church youth groups. They would meet on Tuesday night and camouflage the underlying church message beneath the prospect of a healthy amount of cute girls and “rock music” on a school night. I would sometimes go (there really…

Tanner And Norwegian Black Metal Bright guy, dark music

We had a sunny surf and followed it with Coronas in a dark bar full of magicians.  There were lots of smiles and laughs throughout our hour long afternoon sit down with Tanner Gudauskas, as you’d expect, but there was also critical analysis of what the hell it is surfers do for a living and existential life…

airport beers, dear youth, what youth, travel

My Fondest Memory: Airport Beers After a week in paradise, it’s the anticipation in those pre-flight bubbles I remember

I just got home from five days in absolute “paradise.” Clear water, boat rides, adventure, diving, nurse shark sightings, couple fun waves, good friends, dark rum and cold mini beers whenever I needed. A quick jaunt to recharge. I read some books, rode some waves, danced in the Third World discotheque, ordered foreign foods in foreign…

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