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 owen wright surfing snapper rocks

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…

the what youth top 34 surfers

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…

Ozzie Wright, Surfing, Byron Bay

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…

what youth dapl

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…

what youth chippa wilson surfing

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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