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

Have Surf Magazines Lost their Minds? Collected Thoughts 109

what youth collected thoughts colin moran nate lawrence

Have surf magazines lost their minds?

First off, surf photographers have always been creepy people. Writers, not much better. But it seems in my years dealing with surf magazines that the people in charge are usually pretty turned on. They know how to make a very selfish sport look fun and inviting. I always looked up to the people who put together the magazines. And seeing my name in print was always the driving force for doing this job. Transiting in some overseas airport and seeing an image of mine in Surfing Magazine was such a high.

But this week scared me after I saw two things. First off, Surfing Magazine published a photo of a skim boarder. I know there’s a lot of crazy things happening in this world but I never thought Surfing Magazine, the leaders in performance surfing, would ever run a photo of someone skim-boarding. They don’t even run photos of people long-boarding; Joel Tudor can attest to that. But I can live with that one. Maybe they’re changing their look.

What I can’t live with is something Surfer Magazine did. First I saw a great photo that Ryan “Chachi” Craig took in Santa Cruz of Nat Young bottom turning at The Lane. He posted it on his social media and I thought, “Damn, I would have saved that for print.”
screen-shot-2016-09-29-at-3-32-42-pm
The next day Nat reposted it on his social media.

Then 12 hours after that, Surfer Magazine re-reposted the photo.

Now most of you might be thinking right now, “Who fucking cares?” But to me this is crazy. What happened to the surf magazines? Surfer Magazine is the bible of the sport! They should be publishing photos that no one has seen before, not re-reposting. Their staff photographers (Chachi is on staff) should be submitting images and not letting anyone else see them first. A+ photos should still be saved for print before posting on social media. Surf magazines should matter!

Critics will say I’m too old (34) and out of touch with the way things are these days. And I am. I hate Instagram. I haven’t had Facebook in 5 years. Never had Twitter. I’m NOT doing this job for people to see my images on a little screen. I’m not doing this job to get more followers. I’m doing this job because I still get that high when I see and hold and smell a magazine that has my image in it. So I’d like for the magazines out there to put their foot down and demand respect from photographers. Set an example and make magazines king again! —Nate Lawrence

P.S. I know we suck as well…

what youth surfing nate lawrence

Nate’s Back where the water is warm Collected Thoughts 123: After a stint in CA, Nate’s back in the tropics

“Man, it’s nice being back in the tropics…” —Nate Lawrence

what youth yago dora surfing indonesia

Yago Dora, Indonesia, 2016 Collected Thoughts 122

“There was a time in my life that I could do nothing except think about Macaroni’s. Like every day I would think – how am I going to get there. I think Yago thought the same thing on our trip. He was on another boat trip and was supposed to hop straight onto ours. It…

what youth collected thouthgs Kolohe Andino photographed by Nate Lawrence

Kolohe Andino, Bali 2013 Collected Thoughts 121

“Nobody’s perfect, and we love that.” —Nate Lawrence

what youth dion agius photographed by nate lawrence

Dion Agius, Hossegor, 2015 Collected Thoughts 120

“I first saw Dion on the cover of Transworld Surf magazine. It was a D.Hump flash photo that popped Dion onto the map in America. He was young. He was Australian. That was pretty much all I knew about him. Fast forward 12 years and still, a lot of people don’t know much about Dion….

what youth collected thoughts green bush surfing indonesia nate lawrence

Collected Thoughts 119 Nate Lawrence mind surfing Indonesia

“I always look at photos of Greenbush, and wonder why the guy isn’t taking off behind the peak…” —Nate Lawrence

what youth collected thoughts stretch surfboards nate lawrence

Collected Thoughts 118 Stretch Surfboards shaping room, 2013

“I’ve always had a fascination with surfboard shapers. Mainly because they are really weird and mostly crazy. And I like crazy. Growing up in Santa Cruz and visiting a few of the local shapers, I started to see some similarities. Empty cans of Coors Light. Photos on the walls of mostly naked women and day-of-the-decade…

what youth mason ho surfing bali

Mason Ho doesn’t have bad surfs Collected Thoughts 117 with Nate Lawrence

“Does Mason ever have a bad surf? Nope.” —Nate Lawrence

what youth dane reynolds surfing chapter 11

Dane Reynolds, Honest in Chapter 11 Collected Thoughts 116

“If you haven’t already watched Dane’s new film, Chapter 11, go watch it now. It is one of the most honest pieces on surfing that I have ever seen. As a huge fan of Dane Reynolds, I have liked almost everything he has ever been involved in. First Chapter. Young Guns. His section in Campaign…

what youth fuck trump

When Obama got Elected Collected Thoughts 115: Nate Lawrence’s view from abroad

I was in Senegal, West Africa when Obama got inaugurated for the first time. There was a sense of excitement and joy wherever I traveled for that next year. As an expat living overseas I had been saying I was Canadian when people asked. It was the safe thing to do, especially in Muslim countries…

Frame Grabs aren’t taking over. Yet. Collected Thoughts 114: Nate Lawrence on the new Canon 1DX Mark II

I recently saw a photo from a Canon event where editors from Surfing Magazine were giving a talk. A big pull quote was streaming from a projector saying, “THE DIGITAL CAMERA WAS JUST A TEMPORARY BRIDGE FROM FILM TO FRAME GRABS” —Peter Taras There’s been a bit of talk recently about Canon’s new 1DX Mark…

what youth gunner day photography by timmy Ridenour

Gunner Day Driving Through Indo Collected Thoughts 113: What makes this kid any different?

So you’re 16 and an up-and-coming professional surfer from San Clemente…so what? There are a lot of those. Like a lot.  T Street looks like an Olympic training ground of fluorescent wetsuits these days.  So what are you suppose to do to stand out in the surf world? Is it the QS grind three to the beach and a…

what youth collected thoughts luke hynd

Luke Hynd at The Bush Collected Thoughts 112: Timmy Ridenour talks about shooting Greenbush from the water

I would like to tell you about me being scared. And the dangers of swimming 8- to 10-foot Green Bush at close proximity to the reef with a very large camera. I assure you it’s a scary place at any breakable size and I was scared. But in the split second this photo was taken…

Sign up for letters from What Youth


By enabling this page, you are acknowledging and accepting our privacy terms and conditions.