A plainspoken performance by Torren Martyn featuring two surfboards, a seven-two and a six-ten.

Watch: Torren Martyn in “If you can’t behead them, join them!”

Derek Rielly

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A plainspoken performance in mainland Mexico featuring two surfboards of ancient design, a seven-two and a six-ten…

Perry Gershkow’s keenly observed documentary is a behind-the-scenes view of Torren Martyn in mainland Mexico.

Mr Martyn, an Australian who touches the clouds at six-feet-two and who only rides twin-fin surfboards shaped by Simon Jones, demonstrates, here, as he always does, the sort of flash and glitz that has made him a cult favourite.

Here, Torren recounts his adventure.

The little mission down south to warm water came around as a bit of a surprise to me too, I’d originally planned to just spend a week or two with my girlfriend Aiyana in California and pictured surfing knee to waist high Malibu at best.
One idea led to another as most good times do and before we really knew it Aiyana and I were rolling south of where we were currently camped out driving in awe through these beautiful snow capped mountains in the Eastern Sierras on a pretty straight mission south to a serious contrast of scenes, we were pretty excited!

A good mate Perry Gershkow was able to juggle a few commitments around up in his neck of the woods of SF and before we really had too much time to think we kind of just woke up the next day deep in central America, it was a classic little scenario.

I was travelling with two boards, a 7’2 and a 6’10. It’s so rare that I break a board, maybe one or two a year? anyhow I managed to break them both in the first couple of days.I guess I was rattled and disheartened when the first broke and then when the second went, I was kind of just baffled like haha really? luckily the local guys there have probably stitched together more boards than anyone anywhere else in the world so it was a pretty efficient little turn around, I was so grateful for that. Thankfully my mate Luke lent me his little 5’7 and a 4’11 for a little wiggle in between.

The waves we had down there were absolutely incredible, sort of mind boggling at times. It’s humbling the energy in the ocean and the way the sand and currents dictated where and what waves we surfed. They were there one day and gone the next. I think that was the beauty of it too, we didn’t really have any expectations or too much of a plan, things just fell in to place and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Buy a surfboard like Torren’s here. 

 

John fuels his sonic arsenal.

New: Watch John John Florence in “One rectal breach coming up!”

Derek Rielly

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Get a piece of John while you can…

This five-minute short intimately captures the lavish life of John John  Florence as he “travels to Victoria to surf the second event of the year. Alpacas in the backyard, plenty of swell, and an appearance from Tom Curren highlight the story as John wins his first Bell, and his first WSL Championship Tour event since returning from injury.”

History tells us John John is no longer on the prowl and that his swaggering displays are only available via his pre-injury vlogs on his YouTube channel.

Highlights: a surf in two-foot waves where he demonstrates his mastery as a percussionist, what felt like his inevitable win at Bells and a moment with the preposterously upbeat Tom Curren, whose surfing is still as catchy as an Israeli pop song.

Kanoa Igarashi, painting Bali various shades of red and pink after his Keramas win.

Profile featurette: Kanoa Igarashi in “It’s so good! Once it hits your lips, it’s so good!”

Derek Rielly

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Cameras follow world number five through Bali and Western Australia. Layers slowly peeled off, personality revealed…

To know Kanoa Igarashi is to, necessarily, love him, it seems.

In this twelve-and-a-half minute hit from his masters at Red Bull, we become grafted to the Japanese-American as he, first, wipes his ass with the world’s best at Keramas, Bali, before being guillotined in round four at Margaret River.

Two nights ago at J-Bay, Kanoa, a man ever so easy to spot with his dyed yellow balaclava helmet, was like a movie pig broken out of its cage.

Determined and impossible to catch.

As was noted in that day’s Longtom report,

He had the speed, the flamboyance to loose the fins or carve the arc and a faux-aggro mojo so ostentatious that in spite of its tendency to alienate we are now learning to love. He freely admits this mojo is not his but a product of his coach Jake Patterson and after donning this cape so many times it’s starting to fit. Iggy in the yellow jersey.

Iggy winning Pipeline.

Iggy taking the World Title.

All these things could happen.

Is there a weakness in Kanoa’s game?

Apart from his roundhouse, he’s as perfect as a gorgeous pansexual carrying a sign that reads: Orgasms for Sale or Trade.

Plain delightful.

Frankie O, a rare fish like Brendan Margieson, Craig Anderson and Dane Reynolds.

Rich history: Meet the South African kid who created the template for the (paid) freesurfer

Derek Rielly

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Before Craig, before Dane, there was Frankie…

The Search campaign may seem a little shopworn now, even if the message still rings relatively true, but when it was launched in the early nineties it felt truly revolutionary.

The concept came from the writer and former pro surfer Derek Hynd, who, in 1991, wanted to create a sort of filmic energy between the three-time world champ Tom Curren and an unknown talent as they searched for waves in the Indian Ocean: the Mentawais, Mozambique etc.

That kid who was given the role and a four-year deal with Rip Curl was Durban’s Frankie Oberholzer (born 1972), who had learned to surf on an ironing board.

From Matt Warshaw’s Encylopedia of Surfing: 

He proved to be a surfer of rare talent, with only a passing interest — and virtually no skill — in organized competition.

As a condition of his Rip Curl agreement, Oberholzer was not permitted to enter surf contests. The handsome longhaired surfer traveled often with Curren, further developed a technique based on equal parts grace, power, and flash, and was featured in more than a dozen surf videos throughout the ’90s, including The Search (1992), Beyond the Boundaries (1994), and Tripping the Planet(1996).

Frankie’s got a kid now, another shredder although not quite in his ballpark, as they say, and is making surfboards.

Recommended.

 

Candy Thoraxxx, like a released balloon!

Watch skier Candy Thovex tear hell out of Wavegarden in “Be a good boy and don’t cry for momma!”

Derek Rielly

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The behind-the-scenes wavepool machinations from Candy's Ski the World Audi short…

I ain’t real sure what the attraction to ride skis and motorcycles on waves is, but there it is. A little bit of pointless silly to make us whoop and dribble the chocolate ice cream out of our fat mouths.

Last year, French freestyle skier Candy Thovex made a promotional video for Audi’s four-wheel-drives called Ski the World where he rides down iconic structures (Great Wall etc), sand dunes, through jungles and a wave pool.

Earlier today, the behind-the-scenes reel of the wavepool shoot was released and it shows Candy at the prototype Cove in the Basque Country (don’t you dare call it Spain! ETA Lives etc) and at Surf Snowdonia in that pretty Welsh valley.

Keys jangle in the ignition, the brake rips and off Candy rumbles.

Adventure ensues.

Like a sharp knife that’s been stuck in your eyes so they pop like grapes.

Jon Pyzel and Matt Biolos by @theneedforshutterspeed/Step Bros
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