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

Let’s be together When all goes numb, the numb need to get together

what youth scott chenoweth ny illustration

I spent the end of last week careening through the perfectly lit and temperate streets of early autumn New York. I ran around with beautiful Hawaiian princess Kelia Moniz and we drank rice wine margaritas, shopped for jewelry and watched golden hour illuminate over the bustling streets as we ate oysters and sipped Stellas. There was a stranger at the bar who we helped with the New York Times crossword puzzle. We rode the subway across town. We eavesdropped on conversations. A day of human interaction and dancing together that only NYC can provide. Then the following day we climbed through elevator shafts in Brooklyn with artist and friend Jason Woodside as he showed us his studio and then where the world’s best sandwich is (spoiler alert: it contains anchovies). I was high. High on people. On diverse, radical, creative, friendly people. Three days surrounded by every single odd walk of life there is: creative, beautiful and diverse people. Something was restored inside my oft-confused little heart.

I returned home on early Saturday and immediately surfed in front of my house, got juiced from the buzz that that provides, then loaded my car with the same suitcase and drove to Los Angeles to watch the band that I like to think re-routed my potentially generic (college, corporate career, house, 2.5 cars and kids etc) life and truly showed me that music was deeper than the few punk bands I was into. It could be thoughtful, morose, uplifting and dark and light all at once. The band was Interpol. A group of art students from NYU who created the post-9/11 soundtrack to a generation of New Yorkers and young people. It provided sentiment and tempo for living in this new world. I don’t think they even meant it. But they did it perfectly.

I left that concert Saturday night the same way I’d imagine everyone in Las Vegas would have left their show: euphoric and inspired and truly happy. I had picked apart songs and tapped emotions from them I’d never felt even after listening to them no less than 5,000 times. That’s what live music does. I had “the new” in me. A new everything: new outlook. New depth. New thoughts.

And then Sunday night and Monday morning came.

And I’m really having a hard time with this one. I just don’t have words. Music, writing, crying, not crying, anger, yelling, surfing, drinking, running, hiding, creating, sleeping, panicking…none of it is having the usual impact or therapeutic effects they do for me. All I have are people around me. And It was a person who did this to people. And I think it’s gonna be people who will make this feel OK eventually. And I’ll tell you right now I’m going to need a lot of you to get through this one. Probably all of you. So let’s be together. That’s all. Let’s just be together in this fucking berserk new place that’s been created. —Travis

PS: RIP Tom.

Copenhagen Pro Project Ring of Fire Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth We have a lot to learn about competition

What we’re witnessing right now in Copenhagen is redefining the meaning of “contest” forever. From the ceremonial “Ring of Fire” at the outdoor skate park last night, which officially kicks off the Copenhagen Pro, to the non-stop highfives and good vibes and incredible skating and living going on all around us, it’s clear that Copenhagen…

Dear Youth Happy fourth of July

“Those of us not in France just spent all our lunch money for the month at this fireworks stand. Please standby while we light it all off and run around our neighborhood drinking CL smooths and enjoying the day. We’ll be back tomorrow with your regularly scheduled programming, including a teaser to our upcoming Fairly…

Bali Surfing Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth A psychedelic trip in Bali

There is some trippy shit going on in Bali right now. We were going to edit this dispatch from Dion down, combine it with some information about the trip and why it’s going down, pull quotes out, etc, but this note we got from Dion last night does a way better job of relaying what…

Brendon Gibbens Dane Reynolds Owen Wright Surfing Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth Every wall a door and don’t say shark

I have a friend who lives in South Africa. He ends all his e-mails with the statement: Every wall a door and don’t say shark. It’s a mix of local folklore from the group of laborer/friends he surfs with, mixed with a bit of his own philosophy. Apparently surfing in a community known for having…

Jake Burghart Vice HBO Surfing Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth We talked to our good friend Jake Burghart about filming for the new HBO/VICE show

That’s him, in a photo taken by a hidden camera, wearing a What Youth shirt, in Pakistan, about to interview some militant freedom fighters. First of all, for those of you who haven’t seen the show, you can check out episode 1 here, and a new episode on HBO every Friday night, and we reccomend that you do,…

Dillon Perillo Chippa Wilson Skating Australia This is Us Surfing Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth Chippa Wilson and Dillon Perillo filming for This is Us: Australia

There was a skatepark next to the bowler’s club we ate dinner at during our recent trip to Australia. It was empty all the time and every evening before dark (and often into the dark thanks to our Subaru’s headlights) we would eat chicken schnitzel’s, grab some beers and roll around for a few hours,…

This is Us Ryan Callinan Creed McTaggart Dillon Perillo Chippa Wilson Surfing Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth The making of a new What Youth original series

We’re currently in Australia filming for a new What Youth film series called This Is Us. So far, in the first two days we’ve survived the 50-year storm. Had a late night skate session fueled by the lights on our cars, searched every nook and cranny along this section of Australian coast and met some quality…

Chippa Wilson Creed McTaggart Dillon Perillo Surfing Drinking Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth Fuck Henry Miller

There is a beautiful home in Australia that is now inhabited by us. Nine of us. It has several bedrooms. A beautiful deck. A gas Weber barbecue. Kitschy photos of Waikiki, Santa Monica, Tahiti and other surfing “meccas.” We are here surfing, drinking, skating, talking, grilling, and reading poetry together because we saw a film…

Traveling LAX Surfing Australia Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth A note from LAX

There’s a small bar in this terminal and it’s filled with all those sad looks that people usually have in airports, bad sandwiches and ice cold beers. I’ve just met up with What Youth filmer and team psyche-leader Victor Pakpour. He travels with the most hideous piece of luggage you’ve ever seen. He says it’s…

What Youth Issue Three Skating Surfing Dear Youth

Dear Youth What Youth Issue 3 is Available Thursday, February 14th

After a weekend filled with late night brainstorms, ticket booking and game planning for our next run of films, magazines and videos we’re very happy to announce the official release date of What Youth Issue 3. This Thursday, February 14th you’ll be able to order What Youth Issue 3 in the What Youth Shop, and…

Creed McTaggart Surfing Dear Youth What Youth

Dear Youth New man on the scene: Creed McTaggart

Meet Creed McTaggart. Creed is from Western Australia and we’ve just realized he has quite the presence in our third issue (coming soon) and that you should meet him. Creed recently spent two weeks on the road filming alongside Mitch Coleborn and Dion Agius as he just signed with Epokhe. He is extremely well educated…

Lauren Hastings What Youth dear youth

Dear Youth Read Bukowski – it’s like a text message, I swear

I’m not going to lie. The boys are busy at the moment. Half of us are literally on airplanes to Africa, another half just got home from a wedge hunt in eastern Australia, and the other half  (yeah, we are one and a half to make a whole), are on deadline making What Youth Issue…

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