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

creed mctaggart surfing what youth cluster

The What Youth Caption Contest Photo captions are dead. Let’s reinvent them.

Photo captions suck because they’re easy to write instead of great to read.

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Miki Dora on Surf Competitions Sage advice from “Da Cat”

Editor’s Note: Just a little magic for your day. Miki Dora, from Surfers: The Movie: “The competitive part of it all is a whole different ball game, a whole different camp. What I’m involved with, I don’t even think about it. I don’t wanna think about. It destroys for me the whole purpose of riding waves….

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This is Yago Dora We couldn’t love him more, and you will too

We met Yago Dora on this trip. The ever-smiling “Yogs.” Without much formality, we Instagram-directed him an invitation to come on the trip because we love his surfing and we’d heard he’s just a great dude to be around (he is). He changed a few plans and tickets and just like that he was in….

Gallery California Quinn Matthews first submission from a swell happy coastline

Editor’s Note: California is a magical place. Especially if you’re a photographer…right? Well it’s trickier than you think. Even with trains of NW swell stacking up in the Pacific. To get gold it takes a lot of homework and a good amount of luck to get the classic imagery you’re after — or maybe you should…

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North in a big white van Yago Dora, Brendon Gibbens, Andrew Doheny and Dillon Perillo road trip to SF in This is Us: North

It was Wednesday morning when we picked up the big white van in Orange County. Planes took off from the nearby airport and the hustle of 8 a.m. was well underway. Donuts and smoothies were being consumed. People driving with eyes glued to their phones as we ticked the box on the rental agreement for…

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Why this is so great Sending our love to Adriano de Souza’s WSL World Title

Yesterday I watched one of my favorite surfers (Mason Ho) surf against Adriano de Souza in a heat that would decide the WSL World Title — and I found myself rooting for Adriano. I posted my feelings about it on Instagram at one point and was immediately berated for the opinion, which is fine, but…

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Once the Testosterone Settles A little behind-the-scenes glimpse at Beau Foster’s new movie Shitkicker to ease the tension

There is a lot of testosterone in the air right now. People are SHOUTING. Good and bad. Tears are flowing and emotions are really raging. So let’s take a deep breath and remember how fun surfing is. Which is what Beau Foster’s new film “Shitkicker” is. And yes, we are very proud of Adriano DeSouza…

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Deadline Done Issue 13 is currently being covered in ink for you

Every deadline has a personality. Traits that distinguish it from the last one faced, and this issue was no different. A temptress of the late night, our next book is lubricated with midnight oil, covered in many moon’s light, but in our experience, that’s where the good shit comes from. After a few weeks on…

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On Yesterday Evan Geiselman, Billy Kemper, Andre Botha, Jaws, John John Florence, Greg Long…damn dudes.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in California. It was calm. Sunny. The waves were 3-foot. Football was on and mama was cooking chicken all across the land. But if you were a surf fan — like an online surf-watching Instagram-hound type of surf fan — yesterday was fucking stressful and emotional. The morning was high-octane. Greg Long…

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Do Surf Magazines still matter? Our own Nate Lawrence on then and now

Do surf magazines still matter? I’ve been asking myself this question for the last few months. It’s probably my growing older and wondering if kids these days think the same as I did. When I first had a dream to get a photo published, magazines were everything. Everything I would work for and spend money and…

We Are All Bruce Irons Our case for the feel good hit of the winter

[UPDATE: November 23, 2015]: Kieren Perrow and the WSL have officially awarded Bruce Irons the Wildcard for The Billabong Pipeline Masters. Bruce had this to say: “I’m so honored to be given the opportunity to compete in the Pipe Masters in memory of my brother,” Irons said. “I reached out to Kieren (Perrow) a couple of…

Spilling Condiments on your shirt Unfiltered moments from the road with Droid

This is a little bit ridiculous, but I’m writing from a log on the beach surrounded by sand dollars while tethered to Internet from my futuristic iPhone. I’m watching Andrew Doheny, Dillon Perillo and Yago Dora rip a reform somewhere near the center of California. It aint perfect but it’s pretty damn fun and the…

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