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

Curren Caples kickflip in Sweeden Collected Thoughts 072

curren caples shot by arto saari in sweeden what youth skateboarding

About 3 years ago I ate sushi with Curren Caples. We had just surfed the pier in Huntington Beach (where Curren somehow dominated the session, stomping backhand air reverses repeatedly). Earlier that day Curren had discovered that he was basically allergic to everything, and especially everything on the menu at this restaurant — but the waitress had a crush on him and she practically re-wrote the menu to help feed the grom. It’s good to be good. And polite. As Curren is.

Cut to a year later and somehow we were all on a plane to Copenhagen with Curren Caples, Arto Saari, Shane O’Neill and Ishod Wair to film The Copenhagen Project. While we were there, Curren took a liking to this park in neighboring Sweden. And as a surfer, his transition game was as stylish, detail oriented and rebellious as a Dane Reynolds “Fuck You” hack. There were similarities. Smooth but reckless. Maybe it’s the Ventura in them.

This photo was taken by Arto Saari of Curren kickflipping this bump.

Tomorrow, in his brand new Fairly Normal, we take a look at where Curren Caples is now and going next. Premiering right here at What Youth.

what youth collected thoughts nate lawrence indonesia

“Lucky Enough to be in the right place at the right time.” Collected Thoughts 099

If Nate Lawrence’s lens could talk…..Indonesia.   

what youth mason ho photography nate lawrence surfing bali

Be Like Mason Ho Collected Thoughts 098

“Why can’t everyone just be a little bit more like Mason Ho?” —Nate Lawrence

what youth surfing collected thoughts nate lawrence raph bruhwiler

Raph Bruhwiler, Canada 2011 Collected Thoughts 097

“Raph is amazing. Canada is amazing. This wave is amazing.  And drinking Iceburgs at Shelter is amazing” —Nate Lawrence

what youth collected thoughts mikey wright surfing pipeline

Mikey Wright, Pipeline 2014 Collected Thoughts 096

“In 2014 I only knew Mikey Wright as Owen’s little brother. Even though he was doing stuff like you see in this photo pretty consistently. Now Mikey is his own brand. He’s not Owen’s little brother anymore. The surfing he is doing is unique. It’s fresh. And pretty soon we could be referring to Owen…

what youth jordy smith surfing in indonesia

Jordy Smith, Indonesia, 2013 Collected Thoughts 095

“Jordy Smith, Indonesia 2013. Everything about this photo makes me want to pack up a bag and get back to this wave. I just hope there’s still no one out.” —Nate Lawrence

what youth kai neville nate lawrence indonesia

Kai Neville, Indonesia Collected Thoughts 094

“Kai Neville, Indonesia. The winds are light. The swell is picking up. The tank is full. It’s looking like a good time to be in Indonesia.” —Nate Lawrence

what youth collected thoughts

Kelia Moniz, Laura Enever and Monyca Eleogram Collected Thoughts 093

“Kelia Moniz, Laura Enever and Monyca Eleogram. Sunset Elementary. I shot this photo on the basketball courts on the North Shore of Hawaii back in 2012. Each has a different style on land and in the water. But all of the them seem to have fun no matter what they are doing.” —Nate Lawrence

What Youth Craig Anderson

Craig Anderson: “Cameo Mod” in Uluwatu April 2010 Collected Thoughts 092

“April, 2010. Craig had just debuted to the world for the first time in Modern Collective. He blew minds with his backside rotations in shark waters as the “Cameo Mod.” But we still had no idea who Craig was. Chas Smith and I hung with Craig for 2 weeks in Oz a few months after the…

what youth jordy smith surfing

Earth to Jordy…We want more of this. Collected Thoughts 091

Jordy, where’d you go? We wanna see more of this this year. Find good waves. Book those last minute flights. Get back at it. With the boys. Love, What Youth

what youth santa cruz nate lawrence collected thoughts

Santa Cruz, localism, kooks and me. Collected Thoughts 090

I recently made a mistake. I took a photo at a spot in Santa Cruz and posted it on our WY Instagram account. I didn’t name the spot, but I did say it was a wave that rarely breaks in Santa Cruz. And the photo tells exactly where the wave is. Then came the comments……

what youth taj burrow surfing nate lawrence

Taj Burrow always rules Collected Thoughts 089

Taj just released a rad little video online. It has waves in it that remind me of why I fell in love with Taj’s surfing. I can remember being a teenager and watching Sabotaj on VHS with my buddies. None of us had ever been to Australia. We had never even left Santa Cruz really….

what youth collected thoughts nate tyler santa cruz nate lawrence

Flash with Nate Tyler in Santa Cruz Collected Thoughts 088

With all the gimmicks and stunts that have gone down this year it makes me think back to the early 2000’s in Santa Cruz. It was the epicenter of smoke and mirror surfing. We’d either go pull into closeout barrels or use jet skis to whip into 2 foot waves with many of the guys…

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