A propulsive and vivid paean to the surfing of Stephanie Gilmore, Nikki Van Dijk, Tyler Wright, Macy Callaghan and Dimity Stoyle.
The Gold Coast filmmaker Dan Scott, noted for his slow-motion cuts on Instagram, has released, after much ado, his paean to the surfing of Stephanie Gilmore, Nikki Van Dijk, Tyler Wright, Macy Callaghan and Dimity Stoyle.
Over the course of twenty-seven minutes, “Surfing” centres on the extreme athletic action of the aforementioned surfers, with particuliar attention paid to the seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore, whose cool reserve masks a ferociously competitive will.
Slater recreates Malibu's famous Paradise Cove 40 miles south of Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley.
For two weeks each year, the eleven-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater lives in a second-hand Airstream caravan, those vehicles recognisable by their distinctive rounded and polished aluminium body, at the wavepool he built in Lemoore, California.
This five-minute short finds Slater, an old man, now, although nothing would indicate his advancing years, with that famously fine, clear brown complexion, a splendid chest and big arms. He smiles often as he directs surf fans through his caravan and around the much loved wave pool.
A guitar is picked up and song improvised, Slater’s voice deep and unwavering.
We see Slater’s book shelf which includes a copy of the Bible translated into pidgin Hawaiian (Da Jesus Book), a philosophical treatise on the working man (The Pleasures and Sorrow of Work by Alain de Botton), Norman Mailer’s seminal The Fight, a biography of surfer-turned-UFC fighter Richie Vaculik (Bra Boy) and a picture book of crop circles.
“It’s just a picture book, it’s the easiest one to read,” says Slater.
We wander around the pool, an air rifle is used to pierce a bottle, Slater explains how to pour almond milk, the cameraman is warned never to use the van’s toilet for anything other than splashing water on face, there’s a little history of the pool and Slater reveals his favourite music comes from his new friend Anderson Paak, although the cover of Paak’s album is blurred for reasons unknown.
Essential viewing.
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Toz on an earlier trip.
Internet explodes over Australian surfers’ road trip through Ireland and Morocco: “This is exactly what surfing is missing right now!”
Yeah, explodes is an overreach, gotta bait that hook, but the simple tale of two Australians fitting out a camper van and chasing winter swells through Scotland, Ireland and into West Africa has become a surprise hit.
In stark contrast to the WSL’s production line of “very nice, very pretty and a obedient as a tame animal” films, a long-cut of surfer Torren Martyn and his auteur pal Ishka Folkwell documenting their three months chasing Atlantic swells has a legitimacy that resonates with audiences.
Here’s what people are saying.
“This is exactly what surfing is missing right now. What an awesome adventure that gives you the feeling of being there. Thanks for bringing back beautiful memories of Scotland and Ireland for me!” says Canadian pro Peter Devries.
More,
“You guys have once again captured the magic of surf + travel beautifully. Soo well done, thankyou for showing us your adventure.”
“This was exactly what I needed in these dark times. One year without surf, nagging injuries, heavy & dark thoughts, Covid etc and now my froth came back in an instant together with some tears and smiles throughout these 40 minutes of pure joy. Thank you legends! Much love from Sweden.”
No seventies pussy hair or shaved babylike snatches, but briny and foul with sexiness nevertheless.
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Dion, free as a bird. John Respondek
Globe releases full-length surf movie, “The universe is a meat grinder and we’re just pork in designer shoes, keeping busy so we can pretend we’re not all headed for the sausage factory!”
Australian surfer Dion Agius releases a love letter to Tasmania, a state he adopted after living in "hellish" LA and Byron Bay.
The Australian surfer Dion Agius, who made his name as a regular in his best friend Kai Neville’s surfing movies, lives in a little wooden cabin in the town of Scamander at the mouth of the Scamander River between Saint Helens and Saint Mary in Tasmania, an island off Australia’s mainland.
Dion, who is thirty six, moved to Tasmania after two years in Los Angeles selling Epohke sunglasses that he describes as “the worst two years of my life. It changed my whole perspective on life. I was living with my buddy who ended up passing away and it got to the point where I was living in this shithole traffic going to showings and thinking, ‘What the fuck am I doing? This is horrible.’ It made me revaluate my life. It’s not about making a quick buck. I found a spot down here, forty acres on a river, no one around.”
This movie, which was funded by the shoe company Globe, is a sort of love letter to Dion’s slice of the world, with environmental overtones etc.
See: Miracle waves ridden, pier shooting on Lake Tahoe with Dylan Graves in “People get depressed because they get bored. I don’t get bored because I know how to go into the unknown!”
Get your kazoo blown six thousand feet above sea level!
Men can be divided into two groups, those that take their watches off and those that leave ’em on.
Dylan Graves is a thirty-five-year-old surfer from Puerto Rico with more than fifty thousand followers on his Instagram account and a long scrawny neck and a sharp Adam’s apple and big long-fingered hands, like those of a flautist. He is in the former camp, a freewheeler for whom pleasure always beats ambition and the pursuit of cash.
In the fourth and final episode of Van’ third Weird Waves season, Dylan opens his can of feel-good beans and pours it over the meat of a windswell on Lake Tahoe, one of North America’s great alpine lakes.
Very shreddable two-foot waves are taken apart, there’s a cameo from nineties pro Jon Rose, and the episode concludes with a little pier shooting.
