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

A rookie’s year on the run Dear Youth with Quinn Matthews

quinn matthews what youth surfing photography

Editor’s note: Quinn Matthews came on the scene last year and instead of treating him like a grom, we tossed in straight into the madness. He spent a full year on the road and ticked just about every box a young photographer can in a very condensed amount of time: from surfers to locations, he was there — and he kinda nailed it. Here’s a look at a year on the road for a rookie, documented like a pro. —Travis 

Words and photos by Quinn.

2014 is gone now. And a lot of things happened. For me here’s what happened in 12 grocery list sentences and 35 photos.

January: Waves in California were fun, Noa came over for a while. February: I spent nearly every swell up in Santa Barbara shooting with Yadin Nicol, and the other couple days of waves I shot with Kolohe Andino in San Clemente as he prepared to leave for the Gold Cost. March: I went over to West Oz with Yadin and the other Nicols, before the whole tour came through town, hanging out with Dino Adrian and Jay Davies. April: More Margret River WA: Kolohe’s project, Cluster Project, going to the tavern nearly nightly with the local boiz, pickups, women. May: A bit more swell chasing in WA, then Cabo San Lucas, and Salina Cruz (twice!) June: Left for a two week trip to Indo on my birthday (perfect waves), and visited my family in Hong Kong, World Cup. July: Joining protest in Hong Kong, losing photo contest, Bahamas, and officially jumping on board with What Youth. August: More Bahamas (total lobster count 39), on the edge of my seat watching Tahiti event, Hurricane Marie brought the best waves ever to California. September: Hurley Pro, and first week or so in France. October: More France (waves, rain, le bakoua), Portugal (waves, rain, Lisbon, Swag On). November: Time with Family, Thanksgiving, first few days in Hawaii. December: more Hawaii, “Go Julian”, Crispy Grindz, Happy Holidays. 

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Owen Wright and the First day of spring And tomorrow we have a new issue for you

Over the weekend, lots of you probably watched Owen Wright win the Quiksilver Pro. A feel good hit for the spring to be sure. There were times over the past year in which I had conversations with people about whether Owen would ever properly surf again, so I must say it was a pleasure to sink…

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The What Youth Top 34 This is who’s coming on the very unprofessional What Youth World Tour 2017

OK, so this is a few days late. Lots of rum-infused discussions around fire rings to sort the order. But we did it. Just in time to beat the big boys out at Snapper. And so, just to brush up here’s the criteria: A perfectly inexact science that sees the surfers who represent themselves the…

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My favorite new band just got deported Italian Dark Wave band Soviet Soviet just got arrested, embarrassed and sent home before playing in LA

I discovered a rad new band this week. They’re Italian and called Soviet Soviet. Chris Coté sent it to me, and Maya was into it too as was everyone I’ve sent it to. Rad, Italian Dark Wave (my new favorite genre) for my headphones. And I was in luck, they were scheduled to play Sunday night…

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The New What Youth Top 34 We’ll unveil the new list Monday, March 13th

Last year we introduced the What Youth Top 34. The idea being: we wanted a list that gathered a more dynamic group of surfers together. The criteria? Umm, this: The 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…

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Cherry Glazerr at The Smell Backstage and live photos by Tony Accosta

LA darlings Cherry Glazerr recently played a show at the very iconic and incredible venue The Smell, an underground institution for bands in LA. Tony Accosta got to tag along backstage and as they took the stage for this very intimate show. The show coincides with the release of the band’s new Crap Eyewear frame,…

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48 Hours in NYC with Balaram Stack “Finish your drink we gotta go!” Filming a “4 Cities” With Balaram

Balaram Stack’s New York moves really fast. I actually found myself in a full sprint at one point. The visit to the city was a string of finishing what’s in front of you to hurry along to the next place, where whatever is in front of you will be re-filled and your eyes will have a whole…

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Can’t Surf This Pipeline Water, Oil, and Standing Rock: Why the fuck do we wanna destroy the earth?

Editor’s Note: When it comes to water and the environment, we’re all in. We have to be. It goes far beyond politics. It’s life. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good week for either. Once again, we called our political consultant in SF, Heleanor S. Thompson to get some clarity on why anyone would want to put an oil pipe through someone’s drinking…

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Former is here Dane Reynolds, Craig Anderson and Austyn Gillette’s new clothing line is live (and it looks good)

Yesterday I went on a rant. I do that. Wine at night and all. I said things felt alarmingly stale in surfing. Boredom was getting me, I wanted to drown out the real world with my trusty surf world, where anything was possible and you just ride a wave, man. And I wasn’t happy with what…

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Dane Reynolds has been released After being harbored for two days in Portugal for a lost passport, he’s good

Because of the sensationalist potential of this story, it was kinda hard to tell how serious it was. We talked to Dane’s wife Courtney and she said Dane’s being let go now and is OK. It’s been a few very sleepless days and nights for her due to some head-scratching policy in Portugal for a…

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

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…

We Kinda Saw This Coming Soli Bailey Wins the Volcom Pipe Pro (This is why we’re not surprised)

Soli Bailey was born during the biggest storm in the history of Byron Bay. And he just won one of our favorite contests, the Volcom Pipe Pro. It’s our favorite for a few reason, mostly because the commentators don’t handle us with kid gloves, and even better, Red Bull implemented an “Other Guys” secondary commentary booth…

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Are We OK? Some scary clarity on what’s happening in the real world

Editor’s Note: We’re quite certain we’re not your number one political news source. But we’re also pretty certain you know we pay attention to what the fuck is going on. Whether it’s what to eat, drink, surf, skate or listen to — we want you clued in — but it doesn’t stop there. What’s going on…

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