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 parties

Wanna Go Out with Us? We’ve got a lot of parties coming up including sneak peeks of a new vid, Miami cocktails, World Premiere’s and Amsterdam shows

Ok, we’re full on into summer now. We’ve made the calls and now it’s time to really get lathered up and into it. Starting this week, hell starting today, we’re going out. So we hope you’ll join us. Below is just the warm up to get you into early August and having a hell time…

what youth andy irons kut u up

Under the Kut U Up Influence Remember the Andy Irons part in Campaign to their song?

Tonight at the Belly Up Tavern in San Diego may be the final time Kut U Up play together. I remember the first time I saw them I was pretty young and pretty drunk and so were they. It was at an Elks Lodge somewhere in San Diego and featured old bartenders pouring the deepest whiskey…

what youth south swell

Sitting through a south swell California summer is off to a pretty good start

This is the first time I’ve had to sit out a swell because of an injury. And as hard as I’ve tried to be at ease with it, this fucking sucks. So far, the first south of the summer months has brought out the good parts of summer: glassy conditions under gloomy skies, warm water and…

what youth darren ankenman photography paris

The first sunny day in Paris in a month Darren Ankenman photography from Paris

Los Angeles based photographer Darren Ankenman is one of our favorite photographers. His ability to capture both the mundane and the insane and the eclectic faces of a city captivate us more and more with every submission. After the Artist Series we shot with him last year we’ll get random email updates of his travels…

International Surfing Day, Now What? How I feel when we get our own day

So a little background: I’ve been on both sides of this “International Surfing Day” thing. Participant and now personal protester. While working at Surfing Magazine long ago, we were more or less the inventors of it, so I was very involved at one time. It was presented as an ocean awareness, beach cleanup, Surfrider Foundation…

kim and the created tour

On the Road With Kim and The Created Through a week of sold-out shows opening for The Kills

Kim and The Created, LA’s own rock explosion fronted by the Iggy-inspired, space-age jumpsuit wearing Kim House, are pretty seasoned when it comes to playing shows. But opening for The Kills this past April through Nashville, Louisville, Philadelphia and two nights in Brooklyn to sold-out shows might’ve been their biggest splash on the scene yet….

Mitch Coleborn in Bali

Linking up with Mitch Coleborn in Bali Not as easy as this looks

When there is purple all over your screens, sometimes you have to quell the anxiety and let it just come to you. Opt for the path of least stress and avoid the over-hype. We said “fuck it” this day and let’s just stay close to home, sip lattes and kick it with friends. Maybe surf maybe…

Traveling through Norway and Sweden with Chippa Wilson, Keegan Valaika, Jake Blauvelt and Louif Paradis

Scandinavian Wanderlust Getting closer to the Gods with Chippa Wilson, Keegan Valaika, Jake Blauvelt and Louif Paradis in Norway and Sweden

Drinking gets you closer to the Gods in Norway. Or so they say. And we just got up close and personal with them. Because we continue to be like Ozzie and just say yes. And our most recent “yes” led us to Norway and Sweden with Adidas. To surf and skate and even ride snow….

Cosmic Creek, The Allah-Lahs

The Allah-Las at Cosmic Creek Salt Creek turned Cosmic on Saturday and Sunday

Prom was not the coolest thing that happened this Saturday. Every year at Salt Creek Beach, which is nestled in my sleepy hometown of Dana Point, we get blessed with a touch of coolness in the form of rock ‘n’ roll. The 15thth Annual Cosmic Creek surf festival made its way into town with a…

We’re in Norway With Chippa Wilson Adidas brought us to Stockholm and Riksgränsen to hang with Keegan Valaika, Louif Paradis and Jake Blauvelt

We said yes again. And now we’re in Scandinavia. Adidas invited us to join them on a trip to Norway and Sweden with Keegan Valaika, Louif Paradis, Jake Blauvelt and let us bring our friend Chippa Wilson. Cole Barash is shooting photos. We spent a few days in Stockholm skating with Adidas Europe team. The light was…

what youth dear youth travis ferre

Bored to Death by Surfing The Olympics, wave pools, Reef calendar’s and the WSL. Is that all we got? I hope not.

Maybe it’s the antibiotics. A bug bite gone wrong (the venom aimed at my heart and made a bee-line for it via my circulatory system) has forced me to stay on the sand and off the drink this week, which, as you may know, is what I usually use to ignite and direct most my thoughts onto…

Brixton Broadcast, Chicago

Us and the Brixton Broadcast Chicago Blown away in the windy city with Natural Child, The Half Rats — and a city guide of sorts

You’ll remember we achieved the perfect three beer buzz upon arrival in Chicago. But we thought we’d make sure you knew where we took it from there. We marched it down the cold and breezy streets of Chicago and into the front row of The Empty Bottle to see Natural Child, The Half Rats, The…

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