A man in his element!
BeachGrit has been critical of recent surf/music pairings, specifically those of Africa’s number one and two surfers. The song choices felt forced, as if Jordy and Brendon were portraying an image inconsistent with their character, their surfing.
This is not the case for Maryland’s Bradley Flora.
Slayer’s Black Magic functions only to reinforce the waves Brad surfs and how he surfs them. The technical approach ain’t quite there with Jords or Beeg, but there’s something to be said for synchronicity of vision, feeling, and sound. For me, this video induced more guttural emotion than both of the aforementioned clips combined. It made me want to go surf or drink or jump off something.
The story behind Peixe Podre (Rotten Fish) makes it even more enchanting. Having been dropped by sponsor Rip Curl and forced to move back home to O.C., MD, Brad spent the last of his savings on a two-week trip to Portugal. While there he became enamored with the unhinged style of surf, but more importantly, he fell in love with a local gal.
Brad returned home only to sell his car and pick up the rest of his surfboards, then was on the next flight back to Lisbon. He spent the past three months living with his Latin muse and surfing every day. When his high-flying, slab-stabbing approach resulted in a dismantled quiver, Brad grabbed a dilapidated twinny and made the best of it for the remainder of his stay.
When man sacrifices all for wave and woman, art is the inevitable byproduct.
A story of passion!
