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

RIP Chester Bennington The Linkin Park frontman apparently had a bigger impact on all of us than we thought

Editor’s note: This a weird one. Linkin Park might not be a band you’d anticipate seeing us report on after learning about lead singer Chester Bennington taking his own life today. But Linkin Park is interesting.  They are probably the first band that somehow has had a weird impact on every single person and age demographic in What Youth. Maybe because it’s secretly all our guilty pleasures from adolescents. Which leads me to Ben Kwock, who penned this immediately after we got the news. Ben is usually the man behind all the headless chickens that make up our team on a daily basis. He is our rock, our sturdy chair leg, our designated driver. And today we saw a new side of him: The emotional side. Enjoy. And RIP Chester. My favorite song was “A Place For My Head” because it was in a Chris Ward video once. The one he made while on Rusty for that hot minute. —Travis 

Pain. One of the first words I can think of describing Linkin Park and Chester Bennington’s lyrics. When Hybrid Theory landed there was so much new going on. Blink was coming onto the scene. Rap was slowly about to change with Eminem. And Pop music was king. And that created every sub-genre imaginable.

Linkin Park became the most legit of these hybrids. Their album Hybrid Theory represented exactly that, a mixed concept. With hip hop influences and edgy beats from Mike Shinoda balanced nicely with Chester’s more familiar heavy metal and hardcore influences. It created a sound never heard before. And it worked.

The angst and chaos that we all experience in life was where Chester thrived. He had such a natural ability expressing his emotion to us. Songs like “In the End”, “Faint”, and “Numb” share the pain we’ve all felt. He captured it perfectly. Because apparently he had felt it, and a childhood full of torment, drugs, alcohol and sexual abuse buried him.

And unfortunately today, at the age of 41, Chester Bennington took his own life. Yet another artist struggling to live. We were so thankful to have an outlet like Linkin Park to share in our frustration, rage, sadness, and ultimately happiness. Chester was the heartbeat and he will be dearly missed. —Ben Kwock


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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