Nate Lawrence: “After a few months in California [Nate is originally from Santa Cruz and still spends about 5 months a year there], it’s so good to be back in Bali. The crowds aren’t too bad and there are waves all over the island. But it’s hot. Really hot. It’s the kind of heat you can’t go outside in the middle of the day in. Which sucks because at bout 12pm the wind goes really glassy. But if you’re smart, like Mega Semadhi (pictured here), you’ll wait just a little bit. The sun will get golden and you’ll be able to surf all afternoon. You’ll get the best set of the day and go in on that wave. You’ll order a few beers and watch the sun go down. Then you’ll offer a cute little Swiss babe a ride home on the back of your motorbike. She’ll say yes and you’ll say, “It’s good to be back in Bali.”
Dear Youth Mega Semadhi, Bali
Dear Youth Creation > Curation
“It’s easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It’s a lot more difficult to perform one.” ―Chuck Palahniuk
Dear Youth The adolescents are coming
Tomorrow we’ll be unveiling a new series we’ve been working on called The Adolescents. The idea behind the series is to illuminate and introduce you to some of the younger surfers we’ve been watching and getting psyched on. Kai Neville has been grooming and documenting the elite in surfing through his filmmaking for a while…
Dear Youth: The Wishkah Bridge A pilgrimage to find Nirvana by C.S. Louis
There are probably several fanatical accounts citing the significance of the Wishkah bridge on the Internet. And hopefully this will inspire you to check them out over a can of beer alongside some righteous tunes. I am not capable of delivering as thorough a report because I have not yet done such research, and arrived…
Dear Youth We back at it
“Well, I’m out of here on Saturday,” Nate Lawrence just told me. Another round of trips are leaving and waves of new projects are hitting the road. 2013 was incredible. And if you want you can see for yourself here, but we can’t stay idle for long. Kai and Nate have plane tickets, rental cars…
Dear Youth: Prepare for Panther Vision
I’d say that’s all we can do. Attempt to prepare you. Although there’s not really any way to do that. But this is your warning shot for our new monthly series of celluloid called Panther Vision presented by Volcom. The series was created exclusively for What Youth by Jamie Heinrich — who’s a creative freaking…
Dear Youth The Copenhagen project today at noon
This is a photo snapped by Blake Myers of Kai Neville shooting film of Arto Saari, who is shooting a photo of Kai, while a tourist takes a photo of all of them. Rad. The Copenhagen Project will begin streaming right here today at 12:00 noon PST. Tonight we’ll be premiering the film, releasing What…
Dear Youth From the terminal
These artifacts detail a long-winded sitting. With an interesting man. Who had a lot to say. The setting was perfect. The lighting signifies that it was conducted in a place where the mind runs more freely, spurred on by caffeine and nicotine. The latter not something we condone, but something we realize is a necessary…
Dear Youth: Taj Burrow, Creed McTaggart and Jay Davies farewell session in the West
We made our beds at Taj’s house this morning. Packed up and toasted the forever legendary one himself for his hospitality, gracious pours of red and for sharing his home break this week. Taj, Creed, and Jay spent most of the morning trading pits in the cerulean blue that you’ll only find in the western…
Dear Youth Be present
“A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him.” The surrealist sexual painter/photographer Man Ray said this. And we think it’s important to remember today especially. As we all drown in our own inboxes, gasping for validation and appreciation amongst the swarms of hornets online and in social media, it’s nice to remember that a…
Dear Youth More friendly advice for a lot of young men (and women and iPhone users)
“We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.” John Steinbeck wrote that line in his essay “Paradox and Dream”. I’m sure you’ve read it. Anyway, we like that line. It relates to our lives in the water. In America. On the Internet. In this industry. We’re all searching, battling…
Dear Youth: Take us back to Pinnytown
Last month we went to Copenhagen, Denmark to film The Copenhagen Project. The boys at Monster put us up at The Tivoli hotel (which is pretty much like the Disneyland Hotel) and let Arto Saari be our guide. We spent 8 days traveling like a wolf pack on bikes to all the known and unknown spots…
Dear Youth: Noa Deane in the French flats
This day got away from us a bit. It was the last smidge of swell during our trip to France and we had to milk it for everything we could. Only problem was that we dipped into the wine a bit early. 16 hours of daylight leaves one a bit discombobulated with regards to things…