NXT 
Today marks one of my favorite days of the year: the end of the Vans US Open. It’s the first sign of many things that I love as a newly transplanted Huntington Beach resident. The crowds will soon dissipate, vacationers will retreat back to their beloved homes, kids will soon again be scribbling waves in notebooks from behind a desk instead of prowling the local lineup (sorry dudes), and most importantly: Fall, my favorite season is rapidly approaching. Today is a picture perfect example of this, the scaffolding is coming down, there is a new swell building and not many people out on the glassy wedges either side of the pier.
Huntington Beach cops get a bad rep from time to time, but when you live here it’s possible to see it’s brighter side more often than the dark that occasionally spills over from the east. Cheers to the combo swell, thinning crowds and a lot more sunshine that will grace Huntington Beach for the next few months. —Scott
What a difference a day makes Collected Thoughts 051
Who’s that British madman? Collected Thoughts 135: The first time Nate Lawrence saw Tom Lowe paddle past him
Editor’s Note: You know we’re up to something when a dude like Tom Lowe’s name starts coming up. The British surfer smiles in the face of horror, and he’s been on our radar and in our inbox. Here’s some scary info from Nate Lawrence about him. Stay tuned for what we’re up to.—Travis This might…
There was a fight on a surf podcast Collected Thoughts 134: Nate Lawrence on the near violence on Surf Splendor
It’s 5 a.m. and I’m sitting on the couch at WY’s Scott Chenoweth’s house in Long Beach — wide awake because I just heard a car getting broke into right outside. I can’t sleep so I end up in the vortex of my phone and find myself hitting a link to a podcast featuring Beach Grit’s…
Jordy Smith, West Oz in trunks Collected Thoughts 133
Jordy is one of the easiest guys to take photos of surfing. He lands most of his airs and always entertains. On this day, Jordy was surfing in board shorts in the chilly waters of West Oz. O’Neill needed board short photos and instead of flying somewhere warm to do the shoot, Jordy just surfed…
Garut Widiarta at Padang Padang Collected Thoughts 132: More Indo gold with Nate Lawrence
Garut Widiarta has been surfing out at Padang Padang since he was a little kid. And while he still looks like a little kid, his surfing does not. Recently it turned on for a few hours with only a handful of guys out and Garut was doing turns like these… ? —Nate Lawrence
Deserted Deserts Collected Thoughts 131: Nate Lawrence checks in from the road with Ian Crane and Evan Geiselman
There’s no shortage of swell. And there’s no shortage of hype. People love to talk about the next swell….But how’s the one out the back?! After surfing in Bali with 93 other guys, Evan and Crane rented and car and drove straight to the ferry. No sleep and some bed bug bites later they saw…
More of the Same Same Collected Thoughts 130: Year of the fucking drone.
“So here we are. 2017. Year of the fucking drone. We’re pretty far behind schedule, according to Marty McFly. But finally every single person in the world owns a drone. Yay! And now we get to look at even more of the same same. Same beach. Same angle. Different caption. (insert grammatical error here) The…
Mitch Coleborn in Indonesia Collected Thoughts 129
“Surfing will always have those off-moments that make you pause and really appreciate the place we get to play.” —Nate Lawrence
The Inside Section Collected Thoughts 128: Nate Lawrence is at it again
Editor’s Note: Nate doesn’t realize how messed up this is, sending us these insane, casual lineups from the weekend when we’re in the sharky doldrums of summer, and he’s running through race tracks like this. That being said, might be time we join him, back on the road… “The inside section, looking oh-so fun on a…
A John John Florence Prediction Collected Thoughts 127: Nate Lawrence chimes in on the sporting side of things
“There’s been plenty to talk about with the WSL recently. Most of it about the horrible advertisements and even worse music coinciding with the WSL. But I got to thinking after watching the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs and how un-competitive it has been — it’s almost like the WSL. Kelly Slater was Michael…
My Indo Dream Wave Collected Thoughts 126: Nate Lawrence and the wave that started his Indo Obsession
“For the better part of my teenage years I drooled at photos of this wave. I still do today” —Nate Lawrence Editor’s Note: Nate Lawrence was there to document this wave when it was new. Timmy Tuner and Brett Schwartz and Travis Potter would venture to the jungles of Indo, get dropped off and wait for…
New Swell in Bali Collected Thoughts 125
“The swell is filing in and we found a nice right all to ourselves. Bali bagus.” —Nate Lawrence
John John Florence, 14 for Five years Collected Thoughts 124
Looking at this photo, it seems like so long ago. John John was this young, long haired blonde kid who surfed Pipe. I remember seeing him paddling out in pretty big conditions and thinking that he was going to drown. But he didn’t. And then he caught one of those big waves. But that’s all…
