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

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

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

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 home to go shoot. He also said:”P.S. Kelly just landed a frontside 540 — the boys are tripping.”
We raced back to Hossegor to find Mitch, Dion, Noa and Chippa sitting on the couch still watching the video on Instagram. On repeat. Holy shit. Fucked up. What can’t he do? Why? Fuck! We’re some of the words used while watching it.
We grabbed our gear and went to the beach. The boys were still tripping. The winds were south and the ramps were big. Huge straight airs were traded for 540 attempts. Chippa came really close to a backside 540. Noa’s attempt looked more like a 720.
Back at the house a little later the boys hovered around the phone again. This time it was a different video angle:
Noa: “Ahhh, it’s a Parko grab.”
Dion: “Fark, that’s crazy but I thought it was a frontside grab…”
Mitch: “Only thing worse than a double grab, is a [Continued After the Jump]double grab on the same rail, that’s the worse grab you can do on a board. But that was one of the sickest airs ever done!!!’
The boys were still baffled. The house quieted. There was a sigh of relief that there is room to move with 540’s…But fuck me.


And then breaking the silence, Kai said: Fuck boys, we got some work to do…” —Nate Lawrence
Editor’s Note: So like a good “journalist” I used my resources to find out what the fuck kind of grab this is because no one I polled at first had a clue. Jimmicane at Surfing Magazine is who I’d consider the authority in surfing on how to translate grabs from other disciplines, so I hit him up and he informed me that some snowboarders often fuck around and do that grab. It’s called a “Stiffy” or “Gorilla Grab” and it’s done in “fuck around” situations only. No skateboarder would ever comment or be associated with this grab, so they were no help. “If a skateboarder had done this he would have died from embarrassment,” Jimmicane told me. “But what he [Kelly] did was fucked up.” And we agree. Kelly aint a skater and stiffy grab or not, that was fucking sick. Bravo. We back at it. —Travis

what youth dear youth outerknown kelly slater fashion surfing

Kelly Slater Announces Outerknown And everyone (except us) freaks out because it’s expensive

I love Kelly Slater. Always have. For all the infinite reasons there are to love him: he’s a great rep for surfing, great surfer, great looking, great, great great. He’s a little conservative (maybe) at times — but not really. He’s open-minded, and that’s all I ask. And let’s keep in mind the dude’s 43 —…

what youth spain dear youth

Live from a little bit of everywhere Spain, Oregon, Bali, SF, Vancouver and maybe more. We’re coming.

I still haven’t found a way to ask for “more red wine” on an airplane without sounding like a mumbling, lunatic alcoholic. The sounds, the letters, the tight quarters and awkward seating arrangements on board. Just can’t get it. But somehow, they decipher my gibberish and continue to fill my glass. We’re currently a little all…

what youth dear youth jack london

Jack London Calling Surfing, Books and Drinking for your long weekend in the sun

Jack London is a writer — rather famous one too. He wrote The Call of the Wild, The Sea-Wolf, Iron Heel, White Fang and tons of other famous novels in the early 1900’s that you may have been told to read and probably didn’t. Turns out London wrote about surfing too. In 1907 he was…

dear youth what youth mitch coleborn

Misguided Men with a Journal The defining “SurfCore” article came out. And it sucks.

Before we get too deep, let’s remember anyone using Men’s Journal as a resource for fashion advice, or anything outside of Creatine dosage, probably doesn’t skate our ramp. But, they spoke about surfing. And style. And fashion. So we must acknowledge. (And talk shit.) So let’s begin. Here’s a sentence in the article, next to a…

Dear Youth Craig Anderson what youth surfing

Craig Anderson at Desert Point Full Gallery Photographed by Nate Lawrence

Editor’s Note: When Nate Lawrence calls and says he’s going to Desert Point with Craig Anderson, I mostly assume that Nate means he will be surfing alongside Craig, because Nate fucking loves surfing Desert Point and he more or less hates shooting Desert Point. But on this trip, he did a bit of both. And…

dane reynolds surfing what youth

Dane Reynolds is World Champ Why Sampler is so much more than a heat win

Why Sampler is so much more than a heat win

“It’s a weird feeling” Brendon Gibbens on being in Cluster

I was en-route back to South Africa from WA when Kai invited me to Europe for the Cluster tour. Without hesitation, I accepted the invitation, spent 10 hours in SA and then flew directly to Spain to meet up with Kai, minus the board bag. It’s a weird feeling to be in a Kai film….

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Humming ((Sounder)) C.S. Louis and the economics of a hangover purchase

Last night I was JD Rockefeller but the Latino version. Endowing the arts, buying kalimotxos, schmoozing Argentine musicians, spinning women and hailing cabs on a winterlike eve. Today I have $9.99. And perhaps more pertinently limited bandwidth, limited patience, fits of anxiety and tremoring hands. I tried to shred it off in two foot onshore slop but…

Friendly advice from a tax man Is this the end of experience?

Information overload

“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…

Noa Deane fuck the wsl what youth surfing

On “Fucking the WSL” We never intended to get them so laid

I’ve got a bone to pick. And it aint with the ASP, WSL, PGA, NFL or any other softball leagues. At least not today. It’s with anyone who’s so sensitive that when Noa Deane (or anyone) “popped the inevitable zit” and publicly de-flowered the WSL that it was deemed so offensive to “surf culture” that he had…

meatbodies what youth

We saw Meatbodies at Thalia’s Wax Ball A sick monthly rock show in Laguna Beach

Keeping Laguna Weird with Thalia Surf Shop

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