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

Riveting and In Depth Tour Coverage! Live from Bells Beach, Australia (and go Conner)

I’ve already spoken on the poor town of Torquay. And how sleepy it must be as the world’s best are in bed by 8 each night in anticipation of classic Bells Beach. And boy are they getting classic Bells Beach lulls. But I am not here to gripe. I am here to sing.

Sing praise of Conner Coffin who was once let into a bar in Huntington Beach with me by a bouncer who said, “This is the worst fake ID I’ve ever seen…have a good time, kid.”

Classic. And now, all grown up he’s laying down classic Bells carves, smoking Mick, Jordy and Parko like he’s in an NSSA heat with Spencer Regan, Tonino Benson and Kai Barger (all former Conner competition). And it makes sense that Conner do well here. Conner goes to Hawaii (has a house at Pipe) and is not afraid to surf big Off the Wall alone. This has always been a key difference to me in dudes who surf without the same anxieties as many others. It’s a fucking terrifying thing to do and the likes of Mick Fanning, Kieren Perrow, Alex Gray and Michel Bourez are the type of surf pigs you see doing this. Conner too. And it carries over into heat surfing and big right-handers narrated by Pottz and Turpel and Raspberry. Nerves are calm and lines drawn are extra long. No fidgeting. No airs necessary (Conner doesn’t really do airs, nor does he need to). But I must say it’s nice to see Conner do well despite his insistence on playing in strange Hootie and the Blowfish cover bands all over Santa Barbara. Hopefully this surfing thing will keep his mind off that…

Other than that, it’s been a nightmare watching this contest for someone with little time and a pretty girl across from him at dinner because lulls and on and off calls keep one consistently confused and anxious. I’ve yet to watch a full and complete wave live due to inactivity and my new minute-long Instagram videos. But I’d be lying if I wasn’t sitting here on Friday staring at a fridge full of beer and a week of magazine-making in the can hoping I get to watch Conner carve a bell out of these mushy faces today.—Travis

Taylor Steele, Joe Curren, Tim Curran

I’ll never surf the wave pool Even if Kelly Slater invites me, no strings attached, I will very politely decline. Here’s why:

I have the worst taste in music because of surfing. And yeah, I suppose music is entirely subjective, but I spent my formative years listening to a melodic and generic emo version of punk rock that is now married to my obsession with surfing. And I don’t blame Taylor Steele. I thank him. It has been…

what youth kelly slater wave pool caddyshack

Country Club Surf Culture Why I want nothing to do with the WSL and Kelly Slater Wave Co.

All day today there’s been a lot of hype, speculation and excitement around the WSL’s specialty event at Kelly Slater’s wave pool. I’ve spoken to people at the wave and people who rode the wave and people who attended the event — some invited and some not invited. We’ve texted with Kelly (who I must say has…

what youth dear youth discontent travis ferre

Fan the flames of Discontent The Dream Tour is changing and it’s starting at a wave pool

I’ve made it more than apparent that I hate the word content. I hate all of it’s definitions. Content. Content. And content. Fuck ’em all. It’s a bad word. It’s a vanilla plain oatmeal crappy word that encourages status quo and general well being and I’ve never gotten along with it no matter how you’re…

what youth florida hurricane irma

When you’re in the radar of Irma I’ve learned a lot about hurricane culture today

In Florida, everywhere you look there is a television screen bigger than the previous “biggest TV screen you’ve ever seen” and they are all shouting and displaying a massive radar depiction of Hurricane Irma — who deserves to be capitalized and probably deserves an even bigger TV. And I’d be lying if I said I…

what youth thomas campbell movie craig anderson surfing

Thomas Campbell’s Fever Dreams In a world of gimmicks, it’s nice to know there’s a new Thomas Campbell film in the works

“This isn’t going to be like any of my other films.” That was the first thing Thomas Campbell told me about this new project. He then went on to describe his vision a bit — which is always a fascinating journey, listening to an artist describe what they see in their mind over the phone….

what youth julian k

Who is Julian Klincewicz? Well, he’s an underground and prolific part of many things and the subject of an upcoming WY Artist Series

Julian Klincewicz has the kind of name you hope you don’t have to type out too often. There are letters in it that don’t spend a lot of time next to each other and sounding it out just aint gonna work. But it’s one I nail every time now. Without looking. Written and spoken. And…

Leo Romero, Brostyle

Brostyle Pacific Northwest trip We went to Seattle and back with Leo Romero, Dakota Servold, Corey Glick, Dylan Witkin and Aaron Homoki

Well over the past few years we’ve been lucky enough to get to know Leo Romero pretty well. He owns a griptape company called “Brostyle.” And the thing that makes a grip company special and different from a board company or shoe company is the fact that you aren’t necessarily in it to make money…

The guys still going in the US Open Stories behind Kanoa Igarashi, Tanner Gudauskas and Soli Bailey

The early days of the US Open are interesting. It’s a mixed plate of up and comers, some familiar faces and a bunch of dudes you probably just straight up haven’t heard of. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with who’s who in those early days, but now that things have thinned out, we looked at who’s still surfing…

what youth happy hour mitch coleborn us open of surfing summer

When Mitch and Yago stop by “Don’t you wanna fly above the water like a pelican?”

Hi there. Yep, back. Nothing like a nice couple of “Happy Hours” with Mitch Coleborn and Yago Dora to ignite the spirit. Yesterday, both popped in for the afternoon to kick off the completely unofficial and totally unregulated or sponsored “What Youth Happy Hours.” If you don’t know, we have a little store front at…

what youth recommends rip chester bennington

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…

what youth issue 18 lauch party

Come Spread the Gospel with us “Join, or die” with us, Former, Need Essentials and Vans at the Ace Hotel in LA

In 1754 Benjamin Franklin made the political cartoon you see on our flyer and he published it in the Pennsylvania Gazette, an editorial piece about a “disunited state” that existed between the founding colonies of America. And before I get too deep on that — because the fact of the matter is we’re all just gonna check…

what youth ryan burch issue 18

New issue is at the printer, now what? Well, hit the road. And have a party of course.

“Do you know how many times I clicked my fucking mouse to make this thing?” We’ll chalk this up to “shit art director’s say,” but it’s true, ours, Scott Chenoweth, did probably click his mouse a lot of times. And it was all for you, because we made another issue. Number 18! Hot damn. While…

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