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

Forced Creativity In a Musty Place Or, the art of throwing empty pint glasses at a laptop and expecting results

what youth dear youth

“Writing is the flip side of sex — it’s only good when it’s over.” —Hunter S. Thompson

 Editor’s note: Here’s something(one) new. James Royce is a young surfer/writer dude from California who’s been submitting and writing a few things here and there for us. Just another one of us trying to navigate all this shit we find ourselves in and make sure there’s a surf or two mixed in. I liked this. Probably because he went into a bar and left with something more than just a good buzz. Anyway, meet James. —Travis

 I’m writing this from a dark spot. Literally. The light above me is flickering. I’m at my local dive bar. A place walking distance from my house. It has all the classic characteristics. Cracked red booths, clientele that could be easily be Beyond Thunderdome stand-ins, a general air of destitute. You’d be forgiven if you mistook it for a truck stop with a liquor license. But the beer’s cold and cheap so I’m happy.

I promised myself I’d have a completed article by now. Five-hundred or something words on something. Anything. A short story perhaps. Maybe a science-fiction drama. Something about a man who invents a time machine just so he can fuck around with the course of history. Give Krotons a bunch of steroids to freak out the Spartans during the first Olympics. Hand Bruce Brown a RED camera then surprise Mike Hynson and Robert August at Cape St. Francis by paddling out on a thruster. Kidnap Joseph Stalin and make him watch Vines Clockwork Orange style. But then I hated that idea as soon as I opened up a word document. There’s no glory sounding like a discount Philip K. Dick.

So I looked elsewhere. Towards surfing. I watched Turtle Bay Resort’s premier awards show. (Hey, Chapter 11 won movie of the year — that’s a bit epic.). But I couldn’t find anything to get fired up about between all the backslapping. Then I remembered Pipe is coming up. But then I realized I barely know who’s in the world title race as I haven’t watched a contest since Lowers (RIP) and apparently a lot has happened since then. Ideas, dead ends, what’s allowed to live and die on the page all meshed into one. Anxiety started creeping in. I was stuck. Frozen. Was it finally time to drive out to the middle of the desert with a suitcase stocked full of various stimulants, hallucinogens, and libations? Do I go for a hard reset?

No. Dramatics never solve a thing.

And that’s how I ended up in the local haunt. This mildew ridden place. Where amenities like color TV, surround sound, and air conditioning are proudly advertised on a sign out front. One man’s daily conveniences are another’s technological triumphs. It’s funny, I’ve lived down the road from here my whole adult life yet have never made a conscious effort to drop in until now. The only reason I decided to saunter in three beers ago was because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Escape the stress. And now I don’t have any desire to leave. There’s no wifi — thus no distractions. The music’s good (new wave hits on heavy rotation) and I have a booth to myself. No one’s shot me a weird look while I pound away on my laptop. I have neither any complaints nor any intentions of leaving anytime soon. Hell, slamming an empty glass onto my keyboard and expecting results might be my soundest plan at this point. Going nuclear on the piss worked for Faulkner, Joyce, Bukowski and a slew of other greats. It’s worth a shot. And once I snap back to reality and realize I’ve failed spectacularly to get a thing done, home is just a short walk away. But I did leave with this in my laptop. It’s just as useful as it is useless. See ya soon. —James Royce    

 

 

austyn gillete what youth part friend skateboarding

Dear Youth Our weekend with Austyn Gillette and Part Friend

Austyn Gillette was down in San Clemente for physical therapy on Friday. He said he’d be back to his house in LA around 2:30 and invited us to meet up. His band Part Friend was playing with Swimm. all was well until I arrived and Austyn was at the Emergency room with his friend who…

Ian Walsh and John John Florence what youth Eddie opening ceremony

Dear Youth Ian Walsh and John John Florence at the opening ceremony for “The Eddie”

“I don’t understand them, but I sure do respect them.” Nate Lawrence told us that last night after attending the opening ceremony to the 30th Annual Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event with Ian Walsh, John John Florence and the rest of the world’s best big wave surfers — including DEKKA author/photographer Derek Dunfee…

derek dunfee what youth dear youth

Dear Youth DEKKA Journals by Derek Dunfee

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Dear Youth European Photo Diary of Quinn Matthews

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Dear Youth France, you son of a bitch

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Dear Youth Damp Jeans and the wave of your life

I’ve been in Portugal for about two weeks, and it’s been sunny all of two days. The rest of the time it’s been gale force winds and rain. All of my clothes are wet, cold and dirty from the rain and mud everywhere. I tried to do some laundry the other day, but we don’t…

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

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…

Noa Deane guitar what youth surfing

Dear Youth France House

Every one knows now that the best camera in the world is the one in your pocket. And hell, we all have one in our pocket! The only difference with these photos and yours, is Blake tends to wander around France with the world’s best surfers. He’s with Kai filming Cluster. Eating baguettes, drinking latte’s…

John John Florence in France Photographed by Quinn Matthews What Youth

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what youth issue 9 deadlines dead lions what youth

Dear Youth Dead Lions Suck

Can we start planning the party yet? Holy shit. Issue 9 deadline nearly made us dead. And we need to start party planning. It’s time. And while shit aint confirmed, we need this man. Let’s just say, mark your calendar: Thursday, October 23 Something is going down. If you’re in the greater CA area, we’re…

Dane Reynolds, Craig Anderson, Dion Agius and Noa Deane surfboards in france surfing what youth

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Today I drove past a little Russian gypsy stall and there were a bunch of old cameras on display. I noticed a vintage 35mm Leica, brass plated with a slick wood grain wrap. It had this Nazi emblem etched into the brass. I managed to heckle them down to 120 Euros. It was a relic,…

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