We’re literally, somehow, rather deliriously checking in at the airport to leave Japan. 7 days, 3 major cities. DIY spots in the countryside. Robot cafes, underground bars, getting the boot out of numerous epic skate spots. Hotel lobby life, way too much time in a van, copious amounts of time at Lawson, family mart, 7-Eleven, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, our new favorite Yabisu cans strewn throughout the van. Our legs are blown out. Terps is hobbling like an old man after falling on an iPhone. Ishod blowing our mind even further since we last saw him skate in Copenhagen. Arto [Saari] shredded like a boss both on the board and behind the lens. There’s “Fuck yeah Pete!” a good old boy and then Raven is as raw as it gets. It was a blurry event, hours of footage await me in the editing bay, but check out some iPhone snaps from the road for now. Hammers dropping in the distant future, but for now we keep moving. Special shout out to Rip Zinger, the local Lord who graced us with his company and a street savvy tour of the incredible country that is Japan xx. —Kai
So Long Japan A wild seven days in the streets come to an end and the edit bay opens
Beach Goth remains freaky good The Growler’s music festival is the best Halloween party ever
What’s Really Going Wrong… The not-so-forgotten films that shaped us
I woke up on a mattress, on a lawn. The house from the outside looks like something you’d have seen on the news. Trash thrown about, empty beer cans, mattress (and me) on the lawn, a girl looking for her purse in the garden. This is the …Lost house in San Clemente during the mid ’90s….
What’s Bummer? The Internet is a cluttered mess, so we made the Bummer Tab
Ok, so out in Internet land, most websites that exist simply take what other people do, and they re-post it under the illusion that you think they made it. It’s the beauty and the curse of the Internet. At What Youth, we always said we wanted to create and we’d make only original stuff. Then…
I fucking hate the word “content” Picking my Friday night fight
I think I’ve written many emails ranting about this. But today we go public. I hate that word. Content. That dumb buzz word. That stupid, lethargic, lazy, sellout of a word is about as hot to trot in the surf industry as e-commerce (another yawn). There are entire teams dedicated to branding your entertainment, turning…
The What Youth Top 34 This is who’s coming on the very unprofessional What Youth World Tour 2016
So what’s the criteria? Well, it’s a 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 embraced. Their zest and style counting exponentially. There are no numbers, it’s all feeling. Like music. Or poetry. Subjective. Like surfing should…
I just started saying yes to things Great advice from Ozzie Wright
“This year, I just started saying yes. Things I used to hide from or ignore I just started saying yes.” Ozzie Wright told us this as we drove by the Pass in Byron Bay, looking for the ever-elusive parking spot in the tiny lot. We’d surfed all morning, followed it with an afternoon paint and…
John John won a very big contest today The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Invitational
About two weeks ago the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational event at Waimea Bay was called to go. Only problem: the swell didn’t show up. Such is nature. But just to be sure, thousands of people flocked from all over the world only to wake up to rather small surf and no Eddie. But today,…
Tokyo to Bangkok to Sydney to Goldy We’re on the run again
We pulled up the driveway at Chippa Wilson’s house today to 3 brand new boards, ready to rip. Not beat up clunkers from deep in his garage. These were quiver staples of his. 3 completes, right there waiting for us. After a travel itinerary that lasted over 29 hours and 3 countries and 5 cities,…
Kanoa Igarashi Translated Tokyo with the newly qualified 18-year-old who’s got all of Asia behind him
Kanoa Igarashi has been talking non stop. Interviews and signings and Quiksilver and us. Then there are the people stopping him on the streets. It’s pretty exhausting to be Kanoa the last few days in Japan. But he sure doesn’t show it. Smiling, engaging and chatting with everyone. Kanoa Igarashi is having his moment. And…
Japanese Customs Surreal arrival in Japan
We’re here looking for Kanoa Igarashi. Which is funny because he usually lives in Huntington Beach. And our HQ is in neighboring Newport. But Kanoa’s parents are from Japan and he spent a good portion of his life in Japan, actually starred in a reality show about his surfing when he was 11. Needless to…
Dion Agius threw his phone at a wall And you should too (or maybe just hide it)
I wish more people would do this. We all say it. Threaten it. But Dion Agius just did it. Destroyed his phone, right into a wall —and he isn’t getting a new one. Now remember, as you see below, Dion can still be reached. He’ll probably be more engaged. More productive. Texts and info will come…
When the Webcast Doesn’t Go Are we just using them to be lazy?
Yesterday I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little jazzed driving in for work knowing the Eddie was on. That meant no dead moments today. I’d always be able to flip on the webcast and idle there until something spectacular happened, which at Waimea was sure to be the case right? For some the day…
A new Morning, Changing Weather So I guess I’m going to start doing this every day
Yep. Since I can’t quite spread my wings enough on social media and still relay all the rad shit we’re doing AND get my point across, I’m gonna do it here. Every day. Who knows where I’ll be or what I’ll be thinking or writing or doing, but I’m gonna say it and we’re gonna do…