Watch: Go-for-broke surfer Dane Reynolds in
“I am the happiness of this world!”
By Derek Rielly
A too short but utterly lovely collection of one of
the best surfers around.
If one were to give human semblance to the America of
today, this hated and often misunderstood country, I would choose
Dane Reynolds to be the model.
I would choose him as he is now, in the middle of his
thirty-fifth year, in the midst of maturity full of pain.
This body is heavy, massive like the country that gave him
birth. Short arms, dainty hands.
When he surfs he becomes like a cowboy of the Westerns:
ready to fire his guns at the drop of a hat, getting into a rage at
the least provocation.
Essential viewing, as always.
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Girl kissing. @cultgabe
Surfing’s thriller moment: Flashy son of
former world number two stars in “Enough virginity, hypocrisy,
censorship, restrictions. Pleasure is preferred to sorrow!”
By Derek Rielly
Also, includes brief lesbian kiss and a big
spin…
Noah Beschen, the Hawaiian-born son of former world
number two Shane Beschen, is no boy. He’s a real man, a
man who lives his life in reality, not waiting for kingdom
come.
And flashy as all hell.
This five-minute edit which is called YRUYNN (Why are you
whining), wraps Noah’s not inconsiderable talent in a
phantasmagoric, and vaguely demonic, fantasy that calls to mind
Hugh Hefner’s Gold Room where stereophonic music, drinks and erotic
opportunities abound.
Come for the Big Spin at Waco, stay for a glimpse of girl-girl
caress.
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A rivalry revealed in one clumsy handshake.
Kelly's pecan coloured face a portrait of sadness; John John's face
stays imperturbable.
Kelly Slater on John John Florence:
“Inevitably, between he and I, there’s a level of
‘uncomfortability’”
By Derek Rielly
Trailer for two-time world champ’s new film, Tokyo
Rising, explores rivalry between the boy and the master.
To cut a long story short, Kelly Slater, who is almost
forty-nine, and John John Florence, just turned twenty-eight, have
the sort of rivalry that has, so far, dipped under the
radar.
But as John John Florence’s new movie Tokyo Rising, a
road-to-the-Olympics documentary reveals, there’s a level of level
of antipatico between the
two.
Simpatico is someone
for whom you would jump into the river, in winter, to save from
drowning; antipatico is someone you would calmly observe drowning
in the river, someone you would refuse to help, even it is a very
hot day in summer and you are dreaming of a nice swim.
Kelly wants, very much, to compete in the Tokyo Games; John John
challenges Kelly to a duel and is quicker on the draw.
Compelling.
Tokyo Rising, out Thursday, on Amazon Prime Video.
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Finger-banger Jacob "Zeke" Szekely in
Seoul.
Watch: Finger-banging felon gives hell to
Wavegarden’s new bolt-on air section at South Korean wavepool:
“Stark-white hair, beaky nose, thin lips, piercing gaze!”
By Derek Rielly
The jewel in a three-billion dollar crown.
Haven’t touched the newly opened Wavegarden in Siheung,
South Korea, on BeachGrit, even if it is the
biggest of its sort in the worLd, even if pools do transport me to
the most elevated heights of ecstasy, even if it is, rather
clearly, an excellent reproduction of an ocean wave.
Initial thoughts: The pool didn’t look that much bigger than
Melbourne although its little bolt-on air section did make me want
to caress its secret, flagrant places with an eager tongue.
Dunno, maybe ’cause travelling is difficult and expensive and
there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d get there within the next twelve
months.
Anyway, this short features La Jolla’s Jacob “Zeke” Szekely (a
man with stark-white hair, beaky nose, thin lips and a piercing
gaze), whom you might remember from an Instagram post where he
stomped the world’s first-ever
Jazzy Fizzle Finger Bang,and Wavegarden founder, the Basque
engineer Josema Odriozola’s kids Hans and Kai.
Water blue, ramps real and part of a three-billion dollar real
estate play.
A miracle.
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IT specialist Brian Gable, winner of Surfing
Magazine's 2008 Google Earth contest.
Full-length feature: How an IT specialist
(and magazine) exposed the world’s best secret wave!
By Derek Rielly
"I committed to nothing else. Logging some serious
late-night hours online, I focused on studying the country, the
terrain and bathymetry, the people, the marine life,
weather-patterns, the cost, travel, logistics…"
Secrets, who needs ’em?
Mirage, the ever-changing story of Skeleton Bay is a
well-constructed and often discomfiting portrait of a wave,
fiercely protected by a cadre of locals and South African surfers,
that was brokered to the world by a magazine and a computer
nerd in 2008.
The Google Earth challenge was a Surfing magazine
initiative to shoot a little out of the box, readers using the then
new Google Earth tech to discover secret waves.
Deal was, you tell the mag, they let you join a photo shoot to
the joint.
Brian Gable, an IT specialist, was a runner-up to the contest in
2007 (a wave in Western Sahara was chosen though no trip was
made).
“From that moment, I committed to nothing else. Logging some
serious late-night hours online, I focused on studying the country,
the terrain and bathymetry, the people, the marine life,
weather-patterns, the cost, travel, logistics, etc. I corresponded
with locals halfway around the world. Obsessed and possessed, I
selfishly put personal and professional duties aside and spent my
days formulating the ultimate package for the ultimate magazine
surf trip. To me, it wasn’t just a free adventure for myself. It
was a chance to prove that the gem I found not only stood up to
every other world-class setup, but was on the very short list at
the top. Then, on Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 10:03 AM, I got the
call. First prize, the Indians take the pennant, the whole freakin’
enchilada!”
Skeleton Bay, of course, is now a photo studio, many pro’s and
so on.
Better than snorting crystal blow, as old-timers used to
say.