NXT 
We had a sunny surf and followed it with Coronas in a dark bar full of magicians. There were lots of smiles and laughs throughout our hour long afternoon sit down with Tanner Gudauskas, as you’d expect, but there was also critical analysis of what the hell it is surfers do for a living and existential life pondering from a very smart dude. A great conversation. Not to mention we were subject to a consistent barrage of magicians happy to do tricks on camera between our questions at the Red Fox Lounge in San Clemente, CA. Once we wrapped and walked to the parking lot, Tanner saw our filmmaker Michael Cukr’s truck, and asked about the black “V” sticker on the back.
“It’s a Saint Vitus sticker,” Michael said.
To which Tanner responded: “Do you like Norwegian Metal?”
“Yes, I love it…”
Michael does love it. He’s pitched me a documentary on the Norwegian Black Metal scene several times and I’m very excited to see it executed.
Tanner then rattled off a bunch of bands from the scene and revealed that he had recently seen the burnt Churches of Bergen in Norway and the band Wardruna and had an insane amount of knowledge about the scene, partly thanks to Vans team manager Scott Sisamis. The Positive Vibe Warrior dropped a healthy amount of knowledge on the scene in a short minute, blowing Michael’s mind, then got in his black cargo van and drove to his house. It was a nice surprise. —Travis
Stay tuned for a new Afternoon Interview with Tanner, coming very soon and below just peruse some of the darkest music being made.
