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

“It’s still not on!” The WSL learning surfing is still a shit show

While I’m quite certain Samsung Galaxy’s products are not for anyone, the WSL and Samsung may be learning the hard way that surfing is definitely not for everyone. A 9th 10th straight lay day has forced the WSL to extend the waiting period for the Quiksilver Pro until Friday the 13th, in turn costing them a lot of money, forcing us to watch more average commercials disguised as “content,” giving us even more “lay days” to track our favorite surfers on “social media,” more commercials and more sound bite quotes like this from Kieren Perrow: “We’ll continue to monitor conditions and make another call at 11:30 a.m.”

Makes you wonder if “It’s on!” was the best slogan for the tour, when that essentially is only uttered a maximum 36 times all year out of 132 attempts. Might be time to field test: “WSL: We are off for the day and we’ll come back tomorrow and reassess conditions!”

Maybe this is just the first sign of the WSL and it’s list of corporate sponsors and big executive teams back in Los Angeles realizing: wow, surfing is a damn shit show! Maybe we should have stuck to softball. Or golf. Or hockey. Because who in their right mind would think you could package this all up SportsCenter-tight, add some carefully-curated polo shirts and cliche and sell it to the masses? Apple sure as hell wouldn’t.

Surfing doesn’t package neatly for us or the masses, and I don’t think many of us really want it to anyway. —Travis

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^^This is what happens when you quit hanging with Dill. 

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Peter Mel and Strider Wasilewski hanging with Dill in NYC. PHOTO: Oblow

 

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Dear Youth Our weekend with Austyn Gillette and Part Friend

Austyn Gillette was down in San Clemente for physical therapy on Friday. He said he’d be back to his house in LA around 2:30 and invited us to meet up. His band Part Friend was playing with Swimm. all was well until I arrived and Austyn was at the Emergency room with his friend who…

Ian Walsh and John John Florence what youth Eddie opening ceremony

Dear Youth Ian Walsh and John John Florence at the opening ceremony for “The Eddie”

“I don’t understand them, but I sure do respect them.” Nate Lawrence told us that last night after attending the opening ceremony to the 30th Annual Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event with Ian Walsh, John John Florence and the rest of the world’s best big wave surfers — including DEKKA author/photographer Derek Dunfee…

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Dear Youth DEKKA Journals by Derek Dunfee

Editor’s Note: For those of you who don’t know Derek yet, you’re in luck. Basically this is like getting to ride shotgun to some of the world’s scariest places and waves, with one of the nicest, most talented dudes there is. He shoots photos, surfs the world’s biggest waves, travels at the slightest breath of wind…

The Anxiety of On the Road’s Original scroll After reading On the Road (Twice) I feel different

I’ve read Jack Kerouac’s coming-of-age novel On the Road twice now.  First the heavily edited, Penguin Edition and now the racier, much more raw original scroll edition. I’ve also read most of Jack’s other books including Big Sur, The Dharma Bums, Tristessa, Visions of Cody, Mexico City Blues, The Sea is My Brother, and Satori in Paris…

Julian Wilson what youth surfing

Dear Youth European Photo Diary of Quinn Matthews

Editor’s note: It’s well documented what a national treasure photographer Quinn Matthews is. And while his Europe tour of duty wasn’t without it’s hiccups and we thought we lost him, or he’d lost it, or both, he did manage to come back with some gold. The gallery and story below by Quinn are proof that…

Kai Neville Cluster France What Youth

Dear Youth France, you son of a bitch

Chip nearly stomped a huge backside slob. Noa came so close I vomited on the beach. Dion lost his credit card, got a new one, and lost it again.

Quinn matthews in portugal waves surfing what youth

Dear Youth Damp Jeans and the wave of your life

I’ve been in Portugal for about two weeks, and it’s been sunny all of two days. The rest of the time it’s been gale force winds and rain. All of my clothes are wet, cold and dirty from the rain and mud everywhere. I tried to do some laundry the other day, but we don’t…

Kelly slater 540 surfing air photographed by quinn matthews for what youth

Dear Youth: Kelly Slater’s 540 sequence Processing Kelly’s air at the Cluster House in France

Kai, Blake and myself went down to Bayonne to pick up some film from a French lab. We had moules and frites on the river (just like Chas suggested) and were enjoying a warm Fall day in France when Mitch Coleborn texted us and said the waves were firing and to hurry the fuck up…

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Dear Youth France House

Every one knows now that the best camera in the world is the one in your pocket. And hell, we all have one in our pocket! The only difference with these photos and yours, is Blake tends to wander around France with the world’s best surfers. He’s with Kai filming Cluster. Eating baguettes, drinking latte’s…

John John Florence in France Photographed by Quinn Matthews What Youth

Dear Youth Deep Frence sand and currents with Quinn Matthews

France has been fun. Like, really fun. But like I think I said earlier, it’s a lot colder than last year, and I didn’t pack properly. There’s been a bunch of stuff that’s gone on but I’ll just get right to it and rattle off some observations and experiences in the past week or so….

what youth issue 9 deadlines dead lions what youth

Dear Youth Dead Lions Suck

Can we start planning the party yet? Holy shit. Issue 9 deadline nearly made us dead. And we need to start party planning. It’s time. And while shit aint confirmed, we need this man. Let’s just say, mark your calendar: Thursday, October 23 Something is going down. If you’re in the greater CA area, we’re…

Dane Reynolds, Craig Anderson, Dion Agius and Noa Deane surfboards in france surfing what youth

Dear Youth Scenes from Europe: Part 2

Today I drove past a little Russian gypsy stall and there were a bunch of old cameras on display. I noticed a vintage 35mm Leica, brass plated with a slick wood grain wrap. It had this Nazi emblem etched into the brass. I managed to heckle them down to 120 Euros. It was a relic,…

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