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

Dear Youth The fun that leads to sleep paralysis

Surfing road-trip dear youth what youth

“Never trust a thought that didn’t come from walking.” That’s a quote by an old madman by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche. He’s an existential pioneer and had one hell of a dark passenger throughout his life. But the man sure did drop some wisdom while he was here.

I bring this up as a bit of a postmortem from a pretty serious “walk” we’ve just returned from. A car was driven from our current location in Orange County up to an island off British Columbia. Along the way we skated, surfed, forgot, remembered, danced, drove, brooded, exclaimed, drank and moved ridiculous distances without sleep just to see what it would feel like to not know which side of consciousness we were on.

While nature bloomed and whizzed by outside the window, our brains swelled with too much alcohol and no computer screens to save us. But now we know what it feels like to skate Burnside and Orcas. Surf frozen Canada and wash it down with Lucky beer served by friendly small town granola girls.

At times we must have looked like miserable bum fights, at other times we were wetsuit clad with big stoke grins, alive and leaving frozen tracks on frozen waves we’d never knew existed. And we found all moods that exist between those two extremes along the way.

And now we’re back from the north and we’ve mopped up all the blood from our elbows, thawed our frozen toes and faces enough to remember what happened…somewhat. And just to be sure we did it right, upon return, your current scribe was stricken with two instances of sleep paralysis (which is very much a thing) on night number one in his own bed after two weeks without it, and can report with certainty that it feels not unlike a demon pulling a sheet over your face while you watch, unable to do anything about it. But stay tuned for issue 3! The creative juices flow. Kai is rolling film, Victor is rolling film, Nate is snapping stills and a variety of surprises are brewing. Let’s just say we had a good “walk.” The new magazine will be out in early February. —Travis

 

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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…

soviet soviet

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…

what youth cherry glazerr and crap eyewear

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,…

what youth balaram stack

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…

what youth dane reynolds trapped in portugal jail

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…

what youth

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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