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

Dear Surfing, Anyone out there? What I’d do to watch a surf vid that mattered right now

what youth chippa wilson surfing

I’m still awake, watching music videos, trying to recreate the nostalgia that late night MTV2 once provided. Right now it’s Radiohead’s “Karma Police” music vid on YouTube.

This is what you’ll get when you mess with us.

I’ve had enough wine and a long enough day not to care anymore. I’ve just finished a perusal of the Internet’s modern surf landscape and I must say it is desolate. A barren wasteland of odds and ends and poorly executed web clips. And yes, it is the “the offseason” for the surfer “athlete,” — and maybe I should just chill and recharge and wait for the new surf season to kick off. Interview a skater or something, I know, I know. But I can’t get that excited for this WSL rookie class, the waves have been good at home and I wanna be hyped! But not even a peep from Joe G is on the horizon at the moment. Help!

There’s kind of some stories. Dane’s in an airport in Lisbon without a passport, there was another shark attack in Reunion (not good news at all) and Owen Wright surfed a heat (good news), but other than those headlines there’s just a surplus of subpar, rushed out videos. Nothing with any moxie! No sick shit! Straws are being grasped at. And hell yes, maybe we are to blame too, the landscape of the surf entertainment culture is in a strange place, and sure, by the end of this we’ll have to go ahead and pick up the slack and vow to fix it, but until then, let’s’ take a look at the latest online offering:

Surfing Magazine: Gone. Although still serving the same banner ads as Surfer Magazine…worth the CPM?

Surfer Magazine: Voiceless. Literally an SUV ad with pictures of waves. Now a quarterly magazine I think, with more pictures of waves. Bible of the Sport, very Old Testament.

Stab Magazine: PSA’s and product reviews, couple cool vids. Have more shark stories written than Peter Benchley.

Beachgrit: So fun! But it is such a slow time of year!

Surfline: Great surf check cameras…

Kook Slams: I literally just wiped tears out of my eyes because their captions are so good. Finally, someone has the good enough sense to use an internet platform properly. God love you Kook Slams. We’re hiring.

Surfing Magazine’s Facebook page: Just turned into Surfer Mag Films Facebook and POOF! All is well! I think…:/ (and yes we clicked that link that says this page is offensive).

Other than that, you’re either a surf brand, caught between a rock and e-commerce hard place. Or us! But fear not. We’re here.

We’ll make something worthy of throwing a party for you. Let’s start with a new short film starring Craig, Chippa, Yago, Lee Wilson, Eric Geiselman and Dillon Perillo called Hello, Sea. Let’s put it out a week from today. After that we’ll give you said party, a new magazine and once we wake up from that, we’ll give you what you really want: A new full-length movie announcement. And we’ll promise that it’s only the beginning. Fuck this boredom. We’re here. —Travis

what youth dear youth lost surfboards surf films

What’s Really Going Wrong… The not-so-forgotten films that shaped us

I woke up on a mattress, on a lawn. The house from the outside looks like something you’d have seen on the news. Trash thrown about, empty beer cans, mattress (and me) on the lawn, a girl looking for her purse in the garden. This is the …Lost house in San Clemente during the mid ’90s….

what youth bummer what youth recommends

What’s Bummer? The Internet is a cluttered mess, so we made the Bummer Tab

Ok, so out in Internet land, most websites that exist simply take what other people do, and they re-post it under the illusion that you think they made it. It’s the beauty and the curse of the Internet. At What Youth, we always said we wanted to create and we’d make only original stuff. Then…

what youth travis ferre andy irons content

I fucking hate the word “content” Picking my Friday night fight

I think I’ve written many emails ranting about this. But today we go public. I hate that word. Content. That dumb buzz word. That stupid, lethargic, lazy, sellout of a word is about as hot to trot in the surf industry as e-commerce (another yawn). There are entire teams dedicated to branding your entertainment, turning…

what youth top 34 surfing world tour

The What Youth Top 34 This is who’s coming on the very unprofessional What Youth World Tour 2016

So what’s the criteria? Well, it’s a perfectly inexact science that sees the surfers who represent themselves the most authentically through their surfing and living at the top. Their creativity rewarded. Their flaws embraced. Their zest and style counting exponentially. There are no numbers, it’s all feeling. Like music. Or poetry. Subjective. Like surfing should…

what youth dear youth ozzie wright

I just started saying yes to things Great advice from Ozzie Wright

“This year, I just started saying yes. Things I used to hide from or ignore I just started saying yes.” Ozzie Wright told us this as we drove by the Pass in Byron Bay, looking for the ever-elusive parking spot in the tiny lot. We’d surfed all morning, followed it with an afternoon paint and…

what youth surfing

John John won a very big contest today The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Invitational

About two weeks ago the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational event at Waimea Bay was called to go. Only problem: the swell didn’t show up. Such is nature. But just to be sure, thousands of people flocked from all over the world only to wake up to rather small surf and no Eddie. But today,…

Tokyo to Bangkok to Sydney to Goldy We’re on the run again

We pulled up the driveway at Chippa Wilson’s house today to 3 brand new boards, ready to rip. Not beat up clunkers from deep in his garage. These were quiver staples of his. 3 completes, right there waiting for us. After a travel itinerary that lasted over 29 hours and 3 countries and 5 cities,…

Kanoa Igarashi Translated Tokyo with the newly qualified 18-year-old who’s got all of Asia behind him

Kanoa Igarashi has been talking non stop. Interviews and signings and Quiksilver and us. Then there are the people stopping him on the streets. It’s pretty exhausting to be Kanoa the last few days in Japan. But he sure doesn’t show it. Smiling, engaging and chatting with everyone. Kanoa Igarashi is having his moment. And…

what youth dear youth travis ferre

Japanese Customs Surreal arrival in Japan

We’re here looking for Kanoa Igarashi. Which is funny because he usually lives in Huntington Beach. And our HQ is in neighboring Newport. But Kanoa’s parents are from Japan and he spent a good portion of his life in Japan, actually starred in a reality show about his surfing when he was 11. Needless to…

what youth dion agius panama

Dion Agius threw his phone at a wall And you should too (or maybe just hide it)

I wish more people would do this. We all say it. Threaten it. But Dion Agius just did it. Destroyed his phone, right into a wall —and he isn’t getting a new one. Now remember, as you see below, Dion can still be reached. He’ll probably be more engaged. More productive. Texts and info will come…

what youth travis ferre dane renolds surfing

When the Webcast Doesn’t Go Are we just using them to be lazy?

Yesterday I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little jazzed driving in for work knowing the Eddie was on. That meant no dead moments today. I’d always be able to flip on the webcast and idle there until something spectacular happened, which at Waimea was sure to be the case right? For some the day…

what youth travis ferre

A new Morning, Changing Weather So I guess I’m going to start doing this every day

Yep. Since I can’t quite spread my wings enough on social media and still relay all the rad shit we’re doing AND get my point across, I’m gonna do it here. Every day. Who knows where I’ll be or what I’ll be thinking or writing or doing, but I’m gonna say it and we’re gonna do…

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