BL!SSS Magazine | June 2014 | #82

JULIAN WILSON #FLYHIGHER

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C H R I S T I A N T H E

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— Dillon Perillo

E = D I D

G N 6 C 8 G 6 > <

the lowdown

E = D I D

G N 6 C 8 G 6 > <

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Bikini: BeachRiot beachriot.com

RANDOMS // 34 PRODUCT REVIEW // 40 STEFAAN DE CROOCK // 42 FELIPE MERIDA // 44 DUSTIN BARCA // 46 ANDREW MILLER // 48 LEAH TINARI // 50 INSTAGRAM // 52 SUPER TASTE // 54 NEWPORT 500 // 56 VANS POOL PARTY // 58 TUBEFEST TUESDAY // 60 COREY GOONAN // 64 SWIMSUIT 2014 // 70 THE ART OF FAITH47 // 80 ANY PORT IN PORTUGAL // 84 RYAN TOWNLEY // 90 PURSUIT OF POWDER // 96 DAX GALLERY : LIKE FATHER LIKE SON // 102 BILLABONG XXL AWARDS // 104 RVCA : WHAT ARE YOU DOING AFTER THIS? // 106 ROARK REVIVAL : CUBA LIBRE // 108 BOARDROOM : DEL MAR // 110 OURCASTE : RIDE NORTH // 112 OBNIII’S // 114 CD REVIEWS // 116 GROM // 120

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Bikini: Lira liraclothing.com Artist: Ron English @ronenglishart

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INTRODUCING

E DITOR-IN-CHIEF nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com

EDITOR

joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com

CREATIVE DIR ECTOR mark paul deren : madsteez madsteez@madsteez.com

A SSISTANT EDITOR spencer pirdy spencer@blisssmag.com

E DITOR AT L ARGE liz rice mcCray liz@blisssmag.com

SKATE EDITOR chris ortiz chris@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUS IC EDITOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com

ADV ERTI SING ads@blisssmag.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jason Kenworthy, Dominic Petruzzi, Daniel Russo, Toby Ogden, Tom Carey, Brian Beilmann, Jack Coleman, Andrew Mapstone, Adam Moran, Dave Nelson, Pat Eichstaedt, Julien Lecorps, Ryan Boyes, Zach Hooper, Tim Peare, Michael Lallande, Bob Plumb, Peter Morning, Bryce Kanights, Arto Sarri, Anthony Acosta, Cameron Strand, Brian Fick, Deville Nunns, Gage Thompson

CONTRIBUTOR S

Matt Patterson, Willie Marshall, Daniel Russo, Jason Arnold, Greg Escalante, Nathan Spoor, Tom Carey, Travis Millard, David Choe, Kai Garcia, Mickey Neilsen, Peter Townend, Hamilton Endo, Tawnya Schultz, Mike Murciano, Geoff Shively, Casey Holland, Steve Stratton, Robbie Sell, Andrew Miller, Pat Towersey, Raul Montoya, Ian Dodge, Spencer Pirdy, Richie Olivares, Eric Meyers, Kelly Shannon, Daniel Shea

JUNE 2014

PHOTOGRAPHY: DOMINIC PETRUZZI SWIMSUIT: VOLCOM MODEL: BRYANA HOLLY ARTIST: MADSTEEZ @madsteez

ALEX KNOST THROUGH THE EYES OF DANE PETERSON

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BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com

SWIMSUIT: HURLEY MODEL: KYRA ARTIST: ROA #roa

SWIMSUIT: RVCA MODEL: OLIVIA ARTIST: DAVID CHOE @davidchoe

Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisss’ right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reflect the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reflect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.

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SCOUT COLLECTION

Summer is upon us and that signifies long, sunny days at the beach with flip-flops as your go-to for foot attire. Etnies has just added a new sandal to the summer 2014 line just in time, expanding their best-selling Scout Collection that’s ready to be worn all summer long. The new Scout Sandal is made from durable, lightweight, high-impact rebound STI Evolution Foam for maximum comfort and versatility.

Plus, you won’t be clunking around town in obnoxiously loud slippas, as this threepoint sandal is so lightweight it’s practically weightless. No matter how you scout it out, the Scout Collection is for anyone, anywhere and anytime. Make sure to Scout out these epic sandals as well as the rest of the Scout collection at your local retailer and online at etnies.com.

PIETY SURFBOARDS

5O YEARS OF THE ENDLIESS SUMMER

It’s not every day you find a surfer/shaper out there that rips as hard as a pro and shapes everything from a 5-foot twin fin to big-wave guns with the skill of a master. But if you’re Beau Irvine, it just comes naturally. Beau has long been a part of the surf industry as a marketing guru, all the while silently shaping gems under the label Piety Surfboards for friends and select clientele. Recently, Beau has ramped up his board-building efforts, and in the process has up-cycled a shipping container into a meticulously designed shaping studio in Costa Mesa.

With the new location he’s able to offer a one-of-a-kind, custom surfboard experience to customers who stop in, say what’s up and watch the boards come to life. It’s a pretty rad little spot that everyone should check out. Contact Beau at contact@pietysurfboards.com to set up an appointment or visit pietysurfboards. com to get your next board going.

The Museum of Art and History in Los Angeles is celebrating 50 years of The Endless Summer by having an exhibition from June 21st to August 31st. The focus of the show will be on the featured artist contributions as modern day pioneers of the Southern California art world, each working on their own terms within the light and space, design and assemblage movements that have come to shape and define the Los Angeles art scene.

The exhibition will highlight the work of John Van Hamersveld, Herbie Fletcher, Coop, Allison Renshaw, as well as artists from the film “Mana” – Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker, Casper Brindle, Ben Brough, Alex Couwenberg, Ned Evans, Steve Fuchs, Eric Johnson, David Lloyd, Ken Pagliaro and Alex Weinstein.

The opening reception for the show will be going down Saturday, June 21st from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Museum of Art and History in LA. There’ll be live music, a vintage car show and vintage pinball machines, which guarantees a great time… so don’t miss out!

PHANTOM NATIONAL TEAM BOARDIES There’s been a lot of hype going around in the lead up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held this month in Brazil. Aside from wildly bold predictions and questions regarding how far team USA will go, there’s a few worthy reasons to be psyched on the World Cup and Hurley’s “Fly the Flag” campaign is one of them.

They’ve just released the Phantom National Team boardshorts, and these things are essential for displaying your nationalism both in and out of the water.

Whether you’re for team USA, Brazil or France, Hurley has you covered with the best in Phantom Innovation, and they’ve even got both home and away colors for the US and Brazil. So, head to your local retailer or to hurley.com today and let your nation’s pride ride in these national team Phantom board shorts.

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LODOWN II The Lodown has been a watch that’s withstood the test of time, quite literally, in providing us with a perfect blend of function, fashion and durability in a timepiece. Now, Nixon has come out with the Lodown II, a revamped version of the classic with everything you liked about the original and plenty of added updates, including 16 eyecatching color ways to get you excited. Pre-programmed with tide info for over 270 beaches worldwide, a countdown timer, day/date, wave counter and more, the Lodown II is smarter and comfier than anything your wrist has ever worn before. Whether you’re in the lineup or just wishing you were, it’s all within reach with the Lodown II. Stop on by your local retailer or visit nixon.com to get your hands on this legit tide-telling/timetelling watch today.

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XSORIES

VISSLA UPCYCLE BOARDIES

We ran into our friend Josh McLeish of XSories this past month and were pleasantly surprised with a little care package in the mail a few days later. Basically, Josh hooked us up with all of the latest and greatest gear that XSories, a company deeply rooted in action sports, innovatively constructs for the enjoyment of all action sports enthusiasts.

Our package of goodies included: the Sneaker Bank dual USB charging station; the Silicone Cover 3+ (a cover to protect and extend our GoPro’s battery life), the Pholder 2.0 (a smart phone holder that allows easy tripod mounting), the Xhub card reader, the Big Ushot (the perfect pole handle for your action sporting adventures), the Xproject Wifi projector (which has the capability of turning any wall, screen or surface into a giant theatre screen in the dark), the Mini-Bendy (bendable tripod) and lastly, all of this came conveniently stowed away in their Capxule Md carrying case. We’re pretty over the moon with our new gifts and are currently fighting over who has first dibs. We suggest you people head to your local retailer or to xsories.com today to add a few of these amazing XSories into your life.

Vissla, being the creators and innovators that they are, have just come out with a snazzy new line of boardies using some recycled and durableas-hell materials. They’re called Upcycled Stretch Boardshorts, and they come from three distinctive modes of stretch construction: Plasticbottles Stretch, Coconut Stretch and Poly-Cotton Stretch.

Just imagine rocking a pair of board shorts made out of 92% Upcycled coconut. Sounds kind of awesome, right? There’s a huge line of these boardies with a plethora of colors and patterns for you to choose from, as well as lengths and construction that’ll adhere to anyone’s tastes. The weather is only getting hotter from here on out and you’ll be needing these soon, so head to your local retailer or to Vissla’s new online store at vissla.com to snag yourself a pair today.

SESSIONS SANDWICHES

BLC Our friend Jamey Beeson and his partner Cheyne Gilmore have been working on a pretty amazing new line that goes by the name of BLC, pronounced BLACK, which has just recently hit stores. BLC, which specializes in high/low cut tops and California style jackets, is best personified by the voice of Nietzsche penned, “Beyond Good and Evil.” The brand draws from a wide spectrum of urban, pop culture, skate, Parisian streetwear and cinema influence.

BLC is not work wear, not retro or bright, which is something we can all appreciate in a day where poppy, highlighted-out clothes seem to run rampant. Instead, BLC is subtle style without overt branding, which identifies without dogma. This is BLC’s inaugural season, and we have a feeling this is just the beginning of huge things to come for this brand.

BLC is now available at Jack’s Surfboards, Fred Segal, Stade Co. and Collective. Keep up with them on Instagram @blc_cloth, and via their website at blccloth.com.

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There’s a pretty delicious sandwich spot that just opened up down the street from us by the name of Sessions Sandwiches. Sessions specializes in gourmet sandwiches with a relaxed West Coast deli atmosphere, offering the perfect meal to rid your pre or post surf/skate hunger. With a menu that boasts 20 different styles of sandwiches using fresh-baked bread and locally grown veggies, you really can’t go wrong. Our favorite is the Pirate Coast – a healthy albacore sandwich with sprouts and house made sauce that we devour regularly. But you can just as easily savor a hot sandwich like the Meltdown or one of their fresh soups, salads, sides or gourmet hot dogs with the enjoyment remaining all the same. The best part is that they’re open all day serving Kean Coffee with breakfast, allowing you to enjoy their minimalist décor, with the dining room always playing some surf cinema for you to enjoy between bites. Be sure to stop by the next time you’re in Newport at 2823 Newport Blvd., or visit them online at sessionssandwiches.com.

VANS STAR WARS Vans just came out with a collection that pays tribute to quite possibly one of the best movie series of all time – Star Wars. Whether you subscribe to the dark side or are an aspiring young Jedi, this collection has everything for anyone who is a fan of Star Wars, which, unless you’re a Treky, pretty much is everyone, right? The collection boasts a plethora of shoe styles, shirts, hats and backpacks decked out with Star Wars characters. With a wide array of items to choose from, this collection allows you to either be as loud as you want with Stormtroopers covering every inch of your shoes, or you can balance it out with a few Imperial Walkers cruising through some palm trees. It’s all up to you. The force is strong with this collection, so make sure to head to vans.com today to find out where you can purchase all of this galactic gear.

LIRA 2014 SUMMER COLLECTION W W W. L I R AC LOT H I N G . C O M

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ELECTRIC X CAPTAIN FIN Known for style on land and in the water, Captain Fin has created a movement bigger than himself. The iconic Captain Fin style comes from the love for colorful vans from the ‘70s, cult classic movies from the ‘80s, and all the ‘rad’ verbs of the ‘90s. This style translates perfectly into the newest frame in the Electric family, the “Be Cool Man” Bengal by Captain Fin. A mash up from all his favorite eras, the “Be Cool Man” Bengal is set to be as much of a character as the Captain himself. With a simple, clean outside frame and just the right amount of color and style accent on the inside, this shade will serve any and all purposes throughout the summer season and beyond. So, make sure to grab the “Be Cool Man” Bengal by heading to your local retailer or visit electriccalifornia.com today.

THE MAD HUEYS

MAMMAL

We know you’ve seen these crazy bastards at one point or another via Instagram, ripping up your local waves, catching all of your local fish and hanging with smokin’ hot babes at the local watering hole. One thing is for sure, and that’s that The Mad Hueys’ fan base is growing wider and larger by the minute. They’ve got a huge presence in Australia, thanks to founders and ambassadors like Shaun and Dean Harrington, Nathan Webster and our favorite QS charger Brent Dorrington. And now, The Mad Hueys have their sights set on hooking the US market. With their high-quality products and wildly contagious vibe, we think they’ll have no problem in taking the old US of A by storm. Keep an eye out for the Mad Hueys gear in your local shops, and for plenty of laughs and outrageous enjoyment follow them on Instagram @madhueys, or visit their site themadhueys.com.

Industry stalwart Jordan Mitchell has always dreamed of starting his own brand, and now it seems that his dreams are coming to fruition. Some years back Jordan created a logo that depicted a man boxing a bear. He held onto that logo, worked his ass off for a wide array of companies, all the while paying mindful attention to pop culture, monitoring trends and learning from his (and surrounding brand’s) mistakes. At last, his brand-child Mammal has been birthed and it’s ready to assault the market. Mammal represents something we can all relate to – man’s constant uphill struggle to conquer nature. It’s a lifestyle brand that embodies action sports culture, and from the tastes we’ve gotten so far it’s like nothing else out there. Keep up with Mammal on Instagram, @mammalinc, and visit them online at mammalinc.com.

PENNY’S PUP WASH Our friend Jason Hassan has always had a soft spot for dogs, his pup Penny especially. After working in the surf industry for many years he decided to parlay his efforts into the world of canines after seeing a void in the local grooming industry and realizing that dog owners around the area needed a unique place to clean their pups.

That’s where Penny’s ‘Do It Yourself’ Pup Wash comes in. It’s a place to clean your dogs without creating a huge mess at home. You also have the option of using a professional groomer and can buy dog accessories in the boutique-style shop they have. It’s a pretty creative idea and an easy way to support your local business next time Sparky gets dirty. Mention BL!SSS anytime you stop in during the month of June and get an extra 15% off. Be sure to stop on in to see Penny and Jason at 445 E 17th street (back unit) in Costa Mesa, and follow them on Instagram @pennyspupwash.

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EPICUREN We’re out in the sun nine days out of ten, as we’re sure many of you are as well, and even with all of the highest quality sunscreen in the world our skin still takes a solid beating. Luckily our very own editor at large/supermom/office mother, Liz Rice McCray, has her boys in mind when she’s out there purchasing skin products, and she gifted us all with a few fresh Epicuren products. If you’re a lady you’re probably familiar with the brand but if you’re a guy… maybe not so much.

Epicuren Discovery is a leader in making pure, innovative and natural skin care products, and there’s definitely good reason to check them out as they’ve got a wide assortment of men’s products as well. They have everything from shave cream to moisturizer, lip balm to water resistant sunscreen, and even a fresh aloe cucumber mist if you’re into that sort of thing. All of their superb products are available at epicuren.com – your skin will thank you.

1. Ambig, Green Fuzz, ambig.com // 2. RVCA, Christian Fletcher, rvca.com // 3. Roark, Cohiba, roark.com // 4. ArtLife, Floripa, swell.com/artlife // 5. Lira, Roses, liraclothing.com // 6. Catch Surf, Waikiki, catchsurf.com // 7. Neff, Beachy, neffheadwear.com // 8. Hurley, Phantom US National Team, hurley.com // 9. Vans X Captain Fin, Vans Captain Fin, vans.com // 10. ourCaste, Shelton, ourcaste.com // 11. Gnarly, Vacation, gnarlyclothes.com // 12. VISSLA, Stohk, vissla.com // 13. iNi Cooperative, Color Blocker, inicooperative.com // 14. Rusty, Cut Out, rusty.com // 15. Volcom, Copious Mod+, volcom.com 40

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Interview: Liz Rice McCray :: Photo: Simon Lefevre The difficult thing about the “Wall of the Month” feature is that there are so many wonderful murals to feature. I find myself scanning Instagram and the Web, coming across so many amazing installations from all over the world.

Technology really goes a long way… many thanks to all the people out there documenting these beautiful murals. So to keep it brief, we had several pieces we wanted to feature, but at the end of the day we landed on Strook’s most recent work. I won’t share my process of elimination, but it is a good one.

Be sure to check more of Strook’s artwork, both on and off the streets, at www.strook.eu.

Will you please introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Stefaan De Croock, a.k.a. Strook, and I live and work in Bruges, Belgium. I mastered in fine arts (graphic design) at Sint-Lucas in Ghent. A few years ago I quit my daytime job as an art director to fully invest my time with Strook.

I love to use all kinds of different

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materials on as many different surfaces. It’s always really cool to try new materials and experiment with them. Most of my work starts from a combination of improvisation and construction; most of the time I don’t know how the finished work will look when I start.

Where is the location of this piece, and do you have an idea of how long it will be up for?

This piece is located in Bruges, Belgium… more specific, Lange Vesting 5, 8000 Brugge. It’s just outside the city centre. I don’t know how long it will be up there, but I guess it will be for a while.

What’s the story behind this wall? What is literally behind the wall, a house or a shop? Can people still get inside?

A group of people, ‘het Charmecollectief’ organized a street pop-up; not just one pop-up store but six pop-ups next to each other.

It was really cool. The houses were painted completely white on the inside and you could walk from one

house to the other through holes they made in the walls. They also wanted some street art in their street pop-up and they asked me.

The two houses are empty and are (to be) broken down in a few years, so I got ‘carte blanche’ and I could do what I want. I always wanted to make a really big wooden collage, so this was the perfect spot!

Does the wall have a name? If not, what would you name it?

Yeah, it’s a really simple name: ‘Wood & Paint.’ It’s a conversation between different materials. I like the contrast and the similarity at the same time. That’s what it is all about: we are all so different and yet so identical at the same time.

You work with recycled wood and spray paint… tell us about this combination? Do you add paint to the found wood?

It’s a bit like I said before; it is a contrast but at the same time a similarity. The two parts of this piece are a bit the same but the making is completely different. It took a lot

longer to construct the wooden part because I had to search for the right wood and textures. The wood comes from one big abandoned factory. I did not add any paint to the found wood; it was important for me that I used the wood as I found it. After I made the wooden collage, I had to make a construction on the house to hold the wood. A big, special thanks to my dad for helping me with that!

For the paint part I set out the contour and then I just started; I didn’t know how the finished piece would look like, I don’t have an exact sketch in front. It’s really important that a big part of the creative process happens on the wall!The finished piece gives a nice duality of contrast and similarity.

Where can people check more of your work?

The best way to check out more of my work is via my site at www. strook.eu or my Facebook page, and you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter @strook_be.

CHAOS MEETS CULTURE PRETTY VACANT

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Interview: Liz Rice McCray

When asked, “What do you do?” how do you answer?

I draw, paint, illustrate and design. I have an idea and I need to get it out. I see the end and it always feels like a race to get there. Do it. Move on to the next.

Your art is very culturally diverse. I must say I’m slightly obsessed with your Tipi Thieves (tipithieves. com). Your art includes banditos, Native Americans, westerns, American Jews and rappers. Will you give some insight into the recurring themes that appear in your art?

I came to the U.S. in my teens at an impressionable age.

It was as if the pop culture floodgates opened and I was suddenly exposed to far too much. The obsessions began; western films, rap/hip-hop music, fashion, trends, and brands. All that had not been available in our remote small town, Nuevo Progreso, five hours northwest of Guatemala City. The influence of pop culture continues to this day - I subconsciously find new ideas.

The American Jews neighbor my home in Williamsburg... I

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used to cycle past them often and eventually it sparked an idea.

I don’t need to look for the next thing. I’ve probably already seen it.

Will you give us some of your history, where you grew up and where you are now?

I was born in Guatemala.

I moved to San Francisco as a teen. I barely scraped high school – my English was poor so academic subjects were tough. Fortunately the art grades helped and I landed a scholarship at the San Francisco Art Institute to study fine art.

It was very conceptual and I struggled with this; I just wanted to draw without the analysis. After the first year I quit and moved to Toronto, Canada, to pursue illustration.

Once graduated, I found employment in the fashion industry working as a graphic designer. This took me to different cities around the U.S. I am now settled in Brooklyn with my wife Renata and son Emilio, still working the industry and exhibiting solo art shows.

When and how did you get into art?

I don’t remember the trigger.

However, I remember tracing my brother’s drawings at a young age... Once in San Francisco I admired graffiti and began lettering in my sketchbook. The sketching evolved into other directions.

Will you tell us about your tipis?

I was drawing a lot of tipis for a show in New York. In addition to this I wanted to explore a different dimension.

I wanted to create them by hand using authentic materials and techniques: sewing leather, hand printing, scoring wood.

Does social media and technology play big roles in your life?

Yes. Social media makes pop culture more accessible and the world a smaller place.

Art, fashion and music trends across the world are instantly attainable.

What are you really into right now?

My two-month-old son Emilio, my next show (half way to completion), always new music and summer clothes.

Where can people check out your art?

My art can be seen at tipithieves.com, Paul Loya Gallery in LA [paulloyagallery. com] or @tipi_thieves on Instagram.

SPY

is at the end of the road here, and I’m going to sail and paddle a traditional sailing canoe. We’re going to do the Napoli coast by boat and pay respects.

The Napoli coast has a lot of history with the Hawaiian culture. They say a million people were living in Pali La Valley at one point in our history, fully self-sustained. There’s a lot of spiritual activity there and history; we just want to pay our respects to our ancestors. Then, I’m going to run from the west side of Kauai roughly 90 miles around the whole island. We’re going to be doing around 30 miles a day. We really want to pay respects to everybody on Kauai. I’m just showing the people of Kauai that I love my island and the people so much that I’m willing to go above and beyond to save the future of this island.

Interview: Spencer Pirdy Dustin Barca is running for mayor, and something tells us that everything in his career up until now has prepared him far better for mayoral candidacy than any ignorant suit in DC ever could be. His surfing has taught him to exercise patience, giving him an eye for picking the right path and not some detrimental closeout for his community to endure. His fighting career has instilled him with a sixth sense of when and how to attack an opponent or problem. And let’s not forget his more recent lead activist role in rallying the majority of Hawaiian Island communities to pass legislation against Monsanto and similar GMO corporations.

Barca definitely has our vote. Now hear him out and see why Barca’s decision to run for mayor might’ve been the best political move in recent memory, aside from Rob Ford’s decision to go to rehab, of course.

When did the idea of running for mayor of Kauai first come about?

I never really wanted to get involved politically into the situations that we’re in over here in Hawaii. I never saw myself as a politician. But a little over a month ago I was in town here on Kauai at the state building coincidentally when our current mayor announced his next run, and when I walked up I saw that his number one supporters were the chemical companies/GMO companies that are suing our county. When you’re in a situation like us, when you’ve finally passed a bill that gives protection to your people and your land, and these companies sue us and they’re supporting our mayor who’s supposed to be protecting us… It’s a confusing situation.

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Was it this combined with your activism and leadership surrounding the battle to rid GMO companies in Hawaii that acted as the catalyst to fired you up?

Totally, that was kind of like the icing on the cake, the fire under my butt to get me motivated and to say that I’ve had enough of this corruption and threat on our natural resources and toward our kids. It was kind of the tipping point. If not us, then who? If not now, then when?

Do you foresee some heavy obstacles i.e. big corporations/companies and highpowered politicians that may try to come after you and derail your campaign?

Of course, it’s not too often you see normal, everyday people jumping into politics and trying to make a difference. Most of the people in politics are just trying to get to that next place, to make a life for themselves and their intentions aren’t always pure. I’m just a normal person who just wants to do what’s right. Whatever it takes to make things right, to preserve and protect my home for generations to come is what I’ll do, and this is what it has come down to.

Tell us about the marathon run, paddle and sail you’re going to be doing around the island. Is this you essentially going on your own campaign trail?

Yeah, it’s going to be my first event and introduction to everybody on the island. We’re going against such big entities that you’ve got to go above and beyond to win the hearts of the people. We’re going to start at Ke’e beach, which

What are some specific areas you’d focus on right away if you were elected?

My main focuses don’t have much to do with money, but have a lot to do with keeping our culture, our younger generation and our natural resources rich. They’ve tried to kill the Hawaiian culture in the last 100 years. They’ve killed many of the cultural sites, burial sites and a lot of ways that people can connect with the culture and the island.

One of our biggest goals is to restore those places that have been covered up and blown over. We’ve been working on restoring our old churches and cultural sites, and the feeling you get from bringing these places back to life is pretty amazing. Opening these places back up for our kids and generations to come to start using is one of our biggest goals.

We want to also restore and protect our waterways.

We’ve had chemicals like Atrazine in our water, and people aren’t aware of how our water has been tarnished. Also, a lot of people don’t know, but we import 90% of our food here, and we’re one of the most self-sustainable places on earth. So, our goal is to reverse that to make it so that we’re self-reliant and independent. By growing our own food, keeping that money circling on our island and feeding our people good food, that’s the only positive that can come out of it. Right now, over here in Kauai, if you’ve got the money you can do whatever the hell you want, which is a huge joke.

Is that another possible hurdle for you if you are elected – dealing with people who have tons of money to pay people off?

It’s about as big of an uphill battle as you’ll ever have in life, but nothing is impossible. When your intentions are pure, and you’re surrounded by the right people who can make shit happen, everything is possible. It’s all about surrounding yourself with the right people. When you get into a position like the one I’m going for you can’t just leave all of the good old boys in office who’ve been messing up our system for the past 25 plus years. I’m not afraid to fire guys who have been there for the past 50 years if they’ve been making bad decisions and taking money.

Is it your hope that more people step up and follow suit?

I hope so, because right now is the time. It’s time for people all over the world to start thinking global but acting local.

Dustin, thank you for the time.

Right on, thank you.

For more info visit Barca4mayor.com.

“I want my work to walk the line of being crazy and gnarly, but still be all in good taste and say something positive in the end” Words: Spencer Pirdy

The characters of Andrew Miller’s work, a.k.a. Drew Toonz, vary from sector to sector of the popular culture sphere, blending together a mixture of rock stars, superheroes, surfing heavyweights, politicians, celebrities, ethnically diverse babes, animals, aliens, cave men, evil genetically modified antagonists and easy-to-getbehind stoked-out protagonists.

In fact, you’ve probably heard of his most notable character, Mr. Johnny Stone. Johnny was the star of Volcom’s ‘Dawn of the Stone Age,’ an instant classic that satirically depicts the North Shore scene during the winter, and in particular, all that surrounds the Volcom House. From Bruce ripping Pipe to Gavin and Barney time traveling, along with hilarious jabs poking fun at tourists and showcasing John Philibin, a.k.a. Turtle from the North Shore, as the ladyloving, surf-stoked lifeguard character’s voice. It’s all there in

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the storyline, with Johnny Stone and Caveman to round things out. One would think Andrew had been born and raised on the North Shore with his innate sense for creating a cartoon so spot-on in accuracy, but that’s not the case.

Andrew was raised in Philadelphia and, from about kindergarten on, began drawing dinosaurs, immersing himself in Marvel comic books and voraciously consuming episodes of the Simpsons. Then, in his early teens, Andrew moved out to the North Shore to get a taste of what life in the islands would be like before returning home to finish school at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. His first visit to the North Shore proved to be more than enough to hook him into relocating for good after he’d achieved his degree. The North Shore then acted as a starting point of sorts for his career.

After Volcom noticed Andrew’s

skills, plenty of other people came calling. Andrew’s worked with artist Trouble Andrew in creating several of his music videos, he’s developed clean energy superheroes for the Blue Planet Foundation, and he’s given back to the local community by producing a video for the North Shore Junior Lifeguard program about ocean safety and lifesaving skills. “I love when people hit me up on social media and are like ‘Yo, my kids saw your video in school and loved it,’” he says of the project. Andrew’s even helped in the fight against Monsanto within the islands, pitting Dustin Barca against Obama and evil GMOs. All of Andrew’s work is distinctively radical in nature, always leaving you with an abundance of laughter while at the same time getting across the story or message that he’s telling in a clever and meaningful way.

“I want my work to walk the line of being crazy and gnarly, but still be all in good taste and say

something positive in the end,” Miller says. Andrew is continuing to pursue his passion of creating cartoons using an organic method that he hopes will take him into the next phase of his professional career. “I’d love to check out California and be able to go after the major leagues.”

So, what has become of Andrew’s star character Johnny Stone?

Well, he’s still out there, and, in fact, the voice of Johnny Stone has quite an intriguing sub-story to tell… He’s gone on to become the president of the Hells Angels Hawaii first chapter. “What?

Johnny Stone a Hells Angel?” you say. Yes, it’s true. “He’s just this six-foot four-inch redheaded giant covered in Hells Angels tattoos,” Miller says of the voice of Johnny Stone. We won’t give out his name, but you can bet the adventures of Johnny and Drew Toonz are far from over. For more of Andrew Miller’s work, head over to northshorecartoon.com or follow him on Instagram @drewtoonz.

“I am concentrating on one color field of tints, shades, and hues, focusing only on form and color, and when I step back it is a totally realistic rendering. I love this.”

Interview: Liz Rice McCray

Will you please introduce yourself? A little synopsis if you will.

I am a 37-year-old New Yorker, born and raised (there were some Jersey years in there as well, but ya know Jersey gets a bad rap). I graduated from RISD and moved back to New York. I live and paint in the East Village and I own a little restaurant/bar on the LES, two blocks from my painting studio called “Fatta Cuckoo.” I am married and have a 5-yearold son named Mars. My last solo show in NYC at Mixed Greens Gallery was titled “Mars’ Planet.”

Where do you consider home?

New York, The East Village.

How would you describe your studio atmosphere?

Awesome, quiet. I have a lot going on in my life outside of painting. My phone never stops ringing, so I like to just be in the zone at the studio. It is quiet with no computer. I go there and I go to work. Painting relaxes me

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and excites me. When I leave the studio, I am happy and inspired.

But it is a little messy there – I won’t lie.

What inspires your scenes/ subjects?

My personal experience, my life, the people and stuff in my life. My work is a documentary.

Can you talk about the importance of scale (size) regarding your paintings?

The scale ranges in my work, from as small as 8 x 10-inch paintings to 60 x 60-inch paintings. Not sure how I ultimately make a decision on the size – it is somewhat instinctual.

Sometimes I instantly know the image needs space to breathe; maybe it is the intensity of the image or the intensity of the colors which demand more surface area. Also when painting a large-scale painting, even though my work is completely realistic, I feel like I am creating an abstract painting. I am

concentrating on one color field of tints, shades, and hues, focusing only on form and color, and when I step back it is a totally realistic rendering. I love this.

When were you introduced to the wild web? Do social media and technology play big roles in your life?

Hmmm, well I run my small restaurant off my phone, so yes, technology plays a role in my life. However, I am not a tech geek at all. I actually hate it. I just recently started painting from images that I take on my phone rather than images from a point-and-shoot camera. That was a hard transition and I have just decided I am going to pick up the point-and-shoot camera again. There is nothing like it!

Social media, ugh. I do enjoy Instagram, if I had to pick one, because it is quick and easy for me to post stuff for Fatta Cuckoo or myself. I do see the benefits of it, I just kinda dislike it all.

How would you put into words your present?

Hectic, fun, challenging.

How would you like to see your future develop?

Slowly. Maybe a move in the near future for a little more space.

Gallery shows outside of NYC. More travel, more time on the beach! More painting.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can share with us?

Yes, I am currently working on my first children’s book.

Penguin is my publisher and I am collaborating with Harlan Coben.

Having my first picture book published has been a dream of mine, so I am beyond thrilled. I believe it will be out in 2015.

Where can people check out your art?

At mixedgreens.com, leahtinari.com and my restaurant at fattacuckoo.com.

Photography: Dominic Petruzzi :: dominicpetruzziphoto.com :: @dominicpetruzzi Model: Sarah Mutch :: LA Models

If you’ve ever been to the BL!SSS headquarters then chances are you’ve seen the amazing black-and-white photo of the elephant with the beautiful miss Sarah Mutch perched on his back. Just about everyone who comes into the office comments on how awesome this photo is, and they always want to know who shot the photo and where it was taken.

Well, the photo was taken by the very talented Dominic Petruzzi and was shot on location in Bali. We are such fans of this shot that we decided to dig deep into the archives and pull another image from the famed shoot. It’s not every day we get to run photos of this caliber, so when we got the green light we ran with it. Enjoy!

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Words: Richie Olivares :: PhotoS: @lugolugo, @tylerkitzman & Kenny Morris The Volcom Newport 500 is the biggest, fastest and craziest race in town! Yep that’s right, Volcom mixed Nascar with surfing – who would have ever thought! Yeah, racers showed up from all over the world to compete in this year’s Totally Crustaceous Champs. Here’s how it all went down.

The first day of racing started off kind of slow, as the racers were fired up but the track was really slick. All the race fans were going off back in pit row! There were tire-changing stations, RC Tracks, race games and tons of giveaways. The checkered flag was waved as day one ended. There were a few upsets, but hey, that’s racin’ baby!

Day two was a thrilling day to be on the track at the Newport 500! Conditions for Volcom’s 2014 TCT Championships improved considerably and the racers took full advantage. Everyone was ripping the course apart from the youngest “Tailpipe” division to the Pro-Am “Lug Nuts,” and though there were a few crashes, it was an epic day for race fans both on the beach at 54th street or watching via the webcast feed. It seemed to be the squids that had the fastest lap time on the track. Their cars, being so much smaller and lighter, were zipping around! Yago Dora made the most of the track conditions and blew minds. Smokie Wheeler and Jimmy Wilson Jr. smashed into each other in turn four, so the judges put the contest on hold for the rest of the day.

Track conditions on day three started out clean, but as the day rolled on things got pretty hectic. Not even high wind advisories and sand storms could slow the competitors down, as they continued to put the pedal to the metal all the way to the last lap. One of the day’s highlights was the “Restrictor Plates” airshow where Cam Richards, Finn McGill and special guests Gavin Beschen, Mason Ho, Balaram Stack and Dylan Graves all competed on specialty racecar boards custom shaped by Sean Slater! These guys proved that even on boards shaped like racecars they could still shred. Cam Richards would take the win and will get a chance to drive an actual racecar with the New Era Rusty Wallace Experience. Cam also took home the Pro-Am “Lug Nug” division win and $5,000. Yago Dora was the Lucky Dog of the event and took home $1,000 for pulling off the most radical maneuver on the racetrack!

Man, now that’s racin! And remember, if you’re not first… YOU’RE LAST!!

Jimmy Wilsen Jr. and Cam Richards celebrating

Cam Richards taking a victory lap Victory Lane was going off!

Gentlemen start your engines!

Yago Dora aka the Lucky Dog Crazy fans and crazier racers!

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Winner of the Motor Mounts division Griffin Colapinto

Kei Kobayashi laying it down on the racetrack

Jake Kelley backside slashing around the corner

Kalani David fin wafting to the finish line

Fin McGill putting his race car through it’s paces

Eithan Osborne

Final Results:

LUG NUTS (PRO-AMS): 1: Cam Richards - $5,000 - New Era Rusty Wallace Experience 2: Yago Dora - $2,000 3: Jake Kelley - $1,000 4: Taylor Curran - $500

Pit row antics

Tires were flying off cars

MOTOR MOUNTS (JUNIORS): 1: Griffin Colapinto - $4,000 2: Kei Kobayashi - $2,000 3: Noah Collins - $1,000 4: Jake Marshall - $500 TAILPIPES (GROMS): 1: Eithan Osborne - $3,000 2: Mateus Herdy - $2,000 3: Tyler Gunter - $1,000 4: Marco Mignot - $500 SPARK PLUGS (GIRLS): 1: Dax McGill - $2,000 2: Shelby Detmers - $1,000 3: Summer Macedo - $600 4: Ashley Held - $300

Jeff meant business

Good ole fashion tire racin’

Ocean Macedo

SPOILERS (SQUIDS): 1: Jett Schilling - $1,000 2: Eli Hanneman - $500 3: Ocean Macedo - $300 4: Jackson Bunch - $200 RESTRICTOR PLATES (RACECAR SURFBOARD): 1: Cam Richards - $1,000 - New Era Rusty Wallace Experience 2: Mason Ho - $600 3: Dylan Graves - $300 4: Finn McGill - $200 5: Gavin Beschen 6: Balaram Stack LUCKY DOG MOVE OF THE EVENT Presented by PENNY SKATEBOARDS Yago Dora - $1000

Photos: Ortiz The 10th annual Vans Pool Party went down this past month at the Combi Bowl in Orange, and the vent lived up to its illustrious nature with the biggest and best names from throughout the skate world showing up to throw down jaw-dropping runs in the impeccably designed pool. This year was unique in many ways, primarily because it signified a changing of the guard with a new crop of skaters landing atop the podium.

In the pro division, the usual star-studded names were there, aside from Bucky Lasek, yet big upsets were commonplace and favorites like Pedro Barros and Rune Gilfberg were knocked out before the finals. Instead, it was a trio of youngsters who took the spotlight, including third placer Cory Juneau, second-place finisher Josh Rodriguez and winner Tristan Rennie.

In the legends division, Christian Hosoi and his effortlessly, stylish airs garnered him a third-place spot, while Grosso took home second place but was clearly the crowd favorite the whole event. But neither Christian nor Grosso were be able to catch winner Chris Miller, who showed his in-depth knowledge of the Combi Bowl with run after run of near perfection. Finally, the masters rounded the weekend out with Bruno Passos taking home first place, followed by Brian Patch and Darren Navarette. Alas, another legendary Vans Pool Party has come and gone. We hope you all enjoyed the action as much as we did, and we’ll see everyone next year for more!

Tristan Rennie : F.S Boneless : Pro

Pro Awards

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Bruno Passos : Feeble : Masters

PRO 1. Tristan Rennie 2. Joshua Rodriguez 3. Cory Juneau MASTERS 1. Bruno Passos 2. Brian Patch 3. Darren Navarrette LEGENDS 1. Chris Miller 2. Jeff Grosso 3. Christian Hosoi

Joshua Rodriguez : Method : Pro

Chris Miller : Bluntslide : Legends

Brad McClain : F.S Boneless : Pro

Jeff Grosso : Judo Air : Legends

Christian Hosoi : Lien : Legends

Legends Awards

Masters Awards

Darren Naverete : Method : Masters

Words: Spencer Pirdy There’s nothing like scoring at home.

Waking up in your own bed, being amongst friends, it just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This sort of thing doesn’t happen all that often in Newport Beach. Normally we’re teased with swell overhype, which always ends up leaving us wishing we were elsewhere. And scoring is completely subjective, really boiling down to how your session goes and what you personally characterize as an A+

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day. For you, that could mean playful ramps; for others, it’s bone-crushing top-to-bottom barrels; and some even prefer slow-rolling knee-high peelers.

But for the sake of argument, let’s just go ahead and agree that everyone can appreciate surfing beachbreak peaks, head high in stature, tubing up and down the beach with offshore winds, sunny skies and scorching temperatures. For Newport, that’s pretty damn close to being as good

as it gets. And last month, on what could’ve been just another random Taco Tuesday, a few factors that haven’t played out in our hometown in quite a while finally came to fruition, giving us one memorable day.

First, the Santa Ana winds that are normally relegated to our Fall season miraculously kicked up and made it to the beaches. This caused temperatures to skyrocket and wave faces to look

exceedingly glorious. Oh yeah, it also sent plenty of scantily-clad babes to lay out near the water’s edge. Secondly, the forecasted swell directions, a moderate-sized south swell and touch of northwest wind swell, conjoined to supply surfers with head-high consistent peaks. The result was an eight-hour window of barrel shooting, high-fiving, hooting and hollering.

Now, on most swells in Newport there’s a regular crew of surfers that will

Tubes galore :: Photo: Tom Cozad

consistently snag the best waves: Kirk Blackman, Shaun and Bobby Okvist, Randall Taylor, Chad and Pat Towersey and a few others. However, on this particular day, sandbars up and down Newport’s shores were cranking with everyone somehow lucking into gems… and I mean everyone. Take for instance my older brother, a skilled surfer who for one reason or another tends to habitually dodge the barrel. Not this day though. I witnessed him drop, pull

into and emerge from a hollow tunnel that, gauging from our conversation later on, made his week. Everyone who entered the water this day had a shot at a good one, and although it got crowded at times, there were plenty of waves to devour. “People are losing their jobs today,” Troy Eckert remarked before packing his umpteenth pit of the day.

Eventually, around 4 o’clock the winds

switched and the glory session ceased, as if to give the admirable few who had bit the bullet and clung tight to their desks that day in the hopes of getting an evening session a big ol’ middle finger. How cruel Mother Nature can be. Yes, not every single person in Newport scored that day, and, in all honesty, it could have been bigger, more round, less people and a day earlier. There’s always room for improvement, and plenty of days that

match or surpass this past swell have gone down. But for what it’s worth, it’s gratifying to reflect on one particular day at home that supplied us with alltime conditions and waves that ranked pretty high up on the Newport scoreometer. We’ll call it ‘Tubefest Tuesday,’ but don’t worry, we still had tacos that night.

Jared Mel :: Photo: Ryan Donahue

Taylor Thorne :: Photo: Tom Cozad

Daniel Shea :: Photo: K-Mac

Chris Lomenzo :: Photo: K-Mac

Geoff Moysa :: Photo: Tom Cozad

Glistening perfection :: Photo: Tom Cozad

Corey Rice :: Photo: K-Mac

Eric Arnold :: Photo: K-Mac

Troy Eckert :: Photo: Tom Cozad

Alex Knost :: Photo: Ryan Donahue

Dave Post :: Photo: K-Mac

Sam Neiger :: Photo: K-Mac

Joe Alani :: Photo: Tom Cozad

Adam Cleary :: Photo: K-Mac

Keanu Igarashi :: Photo: K-Mac

Springtime offshores :: Photo: Tom Cozad

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Interview: Anthony Shetler I’ve known Corey since he was 18. Never once have I ever heard him complain about a situation he’s been in. He just overcomes it, plain and simple. One of the gnarliest dudes on a skateboard ever, he tore his meniscus not even a year ago and is back on his board killing as usual.

Corey is one-of-a-kind, and if you’ve ever met him or watched him skate, you know what I’m talking about. He shows you how you should carry yourself on and off the board, just in life in general. Actions speak a hell of a lot louder than words. Some people need their soapbox to stand on and make everyone listen. Corey moves through life the way a person should – no bullshit, no whining, just pure determination for what he loves. If you haven’t seen Corey skate I feel sorry for you, because he fucking destroys anything and everything in his way. If I could describe him in one word it would be skateboarding, Corey Goonan is “skateboarding.”

– Ramsey How’s your day going?

It’s going well. Just got outta work. Icing my knee and stretching right now.

What’s up with the knee?

I tore my meniscus in Florida this past December. I got surgery on it in early March.

On a scale from one to ten, how does the knee feel?

On an average day it feels about an eight. Some days if I’m skating a lot or just on my feet for too long it gets down to about a five. I just gotta ice and exercise a bit and it feels good again.

What brands support you at the moment?

All I Need Skateboards, Solstice Skate Shop and Vision Street Wear.

How did you get hooked up with AIN? Well, I’ve known Anthony Shetler for years so when he decided to make All I Need Skateboards he invited me along for the ride.

What’s up with Vision Street Wear?

Vision is in the process of re-introducing themselves into the skateboard world, so Anthony and I are working with them to do so. We’re actually in the middle of filming a ‘welcome to the team’ clip now that should be out soon.

Where are you living at the moment?

Plymouth, MA.

Fakie Flip

What motivates you to continue to push yourself on your skateboarding?

I’m just completely in love with it.

F.S Board

Who are some of your influences in skateboarding?

I have a ton, maybe too many. The ones who influence me the most are probably Shetler and Jay Vasconcellos. Really, anyone over 30 who still skates is a big influence. It’s kind of reassurance that I’ll still be able to do it when I’m older, and that makes me happy.

What are your plans for the next year? Any cool things coming out?

Working on two videos right now – one for Solstice and another for AIN. Also gonna go down to the Dew Tour in Maryland next month to do some promotional stuff for AIN and Vision. Shetler and Timmy Knuth are gonna skate the contest as well.

What’s up with these weekend missions to NYC, any crazy stories?

Just trying to film for these two video projects... Yeah, definitely some crazy stories. Just this past weekend we were skating a pole jam right outside Chinatown and some homeless dude came up and accused us of ‘putting ink on his shit.’ I think that he thought we spray painted something of his. So he starts kinda chasing us around with a broom handle looking like he’s gonna start swinging. We all started skating away but our friend Ryan didn’t know the dude was chasing us so he fell behind a bit and the guy tried stealing his board. We all started running

Ollie :: Photo: Karim Ghonem

B.S Lipslide

Front Feeble :: Photo: Karim Ghonem

back to help and outta nowhere some random little 15-year-old kid who was on the street ran up and shoved the dude. Ryan had already snatched his board back by the time we got to him and we took off. Also, we accidentally went to a gay bar and Ramsey danced the night away haha!

How do you like having Ramsey as your team manager?

It rules! Ramsey is one of my best friends and a true skateboarder. He is also probably the funniest person I’ve ever met!

Read any good books lately? Full details please.

I just finished On the Road by Jack Kerouac, which was pretty great.

It makes you wanna travel but it’s kind of a bummer because it’s impossible to travel nowadays the way they did back then. They just hitchhike everywhere, it’s sick.

You didn’t have to worry; someone would always pick you up.

What are a couple band or musicians you are feeling at the moment? Again, full details please.

Someone just introduced to me to this band called The Civil Wars, which I’m really digging. They are a duet, a dude and a chick… really cool sound. Amanda Palmer is another one I really like. She has a band called the Dresden Dolls, which is so good, but more recently she quit her record label and recorded an album on her own. She has a TED talk where she explains the situation. Pretty great.

Do you have a special lady in your life?

Not at the moment, no.

Tinder?

Ha! Yeah, I Tinder occasionally. It’s entertaining and I’ve actually met some very cool people from it. I was skeptical at first but I don’t really like going out to bars or any of that so it’s convenient. Convenient and entertaining, that’s how I’ll sum it

Gap to Boardslide :: Photo: Karim Ghonem

up.

What’s your outlook on social media: Instagram, Snapchat, full details.

It’s good and bad I guess. Bad because it can kind of consume you, but if you use it for the right reasons they can be great promotional tools. The only one I really do is Instagram. I don’t have a Facebook or a Twitter or any of that. I had a Facebook in the past but I just don’t like it, high school vibes. Instagram is awesome though, just pictures and captions, simple and effective.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I have no clue, I don’t really have a plan. I just want to keep skating and be happy. I don’t really care where I’m at or what I’m doing as long as I can be happy.

Any vices?

Cigarettes unfortunately. Both my parents smoked when I was a kid and I absolutely hated it. I still hate it and it’s something I really don’t like about myself. I’m working on that one.

What is Shake Shack and is it any good?

Shake Shack is a restaurant, and yes, it is very good! The food is amazing (burgers, fries, shakes, etcetera).

They’re down for skateboarding as well, which is rad. They have sponsored video premieres and contests we’ve done with AIN. Shake Shack is rad all around.

Any shoutouts or thanks?

Thanks to BL!SSS, Shetler, Ortiz, Karim, Jay and thanks to skateboarding.

Photo: Karim Ghonem

B.S 180

Bryana Holly Bikini: Lira liraclothing.com Artist: ARYZ @mr_aryz

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Olivia Bikini: Volcom volcom.com Artist: MEGGS @houseofmeggs

Kyra Bikini: Body Glove bodyglove.com Artist: KOFIE @keepdrafting

Kyra Bikini: RVCA rvca.com Artist: ZES @zesmsk

Bryana Holly Bikini: Hurley hurley.com Artist: INSA @insa_gram

Olivia Bikini: Volcom volcom.com Artist: Andrew Schoultz @aschoultz

Kyra Bikini: Hurley hurley.com Artist:Cleon Peterson @cleonpeterson

“Infinitud Del Universo” :: Malaga, Spain :: Photo: Fer Frances 80

Interview: Meghan Meghan and I were perhaps in a past life sisters or pagan witches working with herbs and alchemy in the mountains. She knows the glimmer in my eyes and I know the essence of her smile. Her interview questions help to cut through some formalities and get to the heart of the matter.

– faith47 How do you feel about dinosaurs?

I like to think about their sturdy, thick skins, their protective horns, as well as the great power of the Vikings, the elusive footsteps of faeries and elves, the wisdom of sages and the immense heat of dragon’s fire.

What is tactile in our daily reality of computers and people and cities and mountains might exist quite differently in another time and place. I’d like to believe that we all somehow share the same space, existing and un-existing in simultaneous

moments. There is so much missing from science, from history and from folklore.

really fathom this very moment, and even that is quite a surreal kind of awareness.

So death becomes a new way of living.

What would you say about the death of a star up in the darkness of space?

Death is a reminder, for me, of birth – the unknown before and the unknown after, which subtly includes those hours of sleep. When you really think about these things, you cannot avoid being deeply humbled at your own existence and that of everyone around you. The death of a star is somewhat similar to the death of a life. I mean, I imagine that the soul of a person, or an animal, must look something similar to those magnificent images of stars.

Elusive vapors of immense heat and power and colors moving organically through space fueled somehow by an internal force.

When a star dies, does it disappear? Does it reappear elsewhere? What happens to its energy?

How do you feel artists filter their views of the world through their work back to an audience?

When you listen to music, you take into your body the feeling of the musician, resonating with their vibration. It’s the same with images; artists lead you into their garden of sorrow and delight, bringing notions of fulfillment or emptiness to your soul, both of which need their time to exist.

We theorize, but essentially we can only

These gardens, once made, are they handed over to the world to do with as it will, or do you find them protected coves so the visitors may linger a while longer?

Nothing is sacred and everything is sacred. Like dust, an artwork is just a temporary impression. Like a person, a fleeting moment, a fleeting life, a fleeting expression. We hear each other and we all affect each other, we learn what we

may and then we pass on. We can build protective coves, which are useful at certain stages, but eventually we need to move on.

Who is your chosen audience?

Human beings; you, myself, no one.

What are your earliest memories, and have they influenced your work in any way?

I have fleeting memories of a fire and my mother singing, of tall forest trees. I think they are embedded in me like a heavy and most beautiful grounding stone.

Is that what they call “magic?”

Most definitely.

What are your most loved material possessions?

I love my collection of rocks, pebbles and crystals that I pick up from the earths floor in places far and wide. I have a toy zebra from when I was a child, which sleeps next to me at night.

“When a star dies, does it disappear?

Does it reappear elsewhere?

What happens to its energy?”

“Multum in Parvo” :: Miami, FL

“The Immense Gap Between Past and Future” :: Vienna

“The Pull of the Land” :: Toronto

“Harvast” :: Cape Town :: Photo: Rowan Pybus

“An All Seeing Storm of Momentary Existence” Do you find connections with the material and the ethereal in your everyday life?

Yes, my dreams linger like incredible tangled webs and the day often begins with me closing my eyes trying to make sense of these veiled messages and emotions. Sometimes, when painting, I feel glimmers of channeling, of being a conduit. And other times I feel quite solidly human, and the day-to-day pressures hold me to partake in mundane activities.

When I’m traveling I’m often floating. I love this but it can be lonely yet also comforting – the disconnection and simultaneous connection to everything and everyone and the planet. But mostly it’s time that’s fleeting and I’m not sure if that is material or ethereal.

Where on this Earth are you most at ease?

When I am in the same city as my son that makes me feel most at ease.

How do you carry inspiration with you?

“Inspiration” is an interesting thing. It could be something that I carry within me, but in

“You Hold No Blame For My Proud Heart” : Khayelitsha, Cape Town

fact it’s something that sort of follows me everywhere I go… The old man who sleeps every night hiding under the tree at the front of our flat, storing his blankets under the drain covers. The burnt fire marks and writings of vagrants under the bridge on my way to the studio. The unreal colors of the sunset. The moments of despair, heartbreak, love, the moments of awe. The unfolding life stories of friends and family around me. The fear, the safety, the peace, the uncertainties. Finding music that pierces through the layers. Lying on the ground at night and looking up at the stars and feeling the reality of lying on a huge globe that is floating amidst other globes amidst unending vacuums of space –simultaneously, infinitely tiny and infinitely expansive… Being alive. What else could be more inspiring then this absolutely complex and profound consciousness in space and time that we all share right now?

Be sure to check out more of Faith47 artworks at www.faith47.com. Special thanks to interviewer Meghan [megatrops.tumblr.com] – you’re a legend!

“Chant” :: Stavanger :: Photo: Ian Cox

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Photos: Tom Carey Portugal is such beautiful country with an amazing culture and awesome people. So when Tom Carey asked me to go it was a no brainer. We had the best hosts ever in the way of Gony Zubizarreta, his father and our filmer Javi Sarmiento. It was great also to do my first trip with Pat Schmidt. There are so many different kinds of waves in Portugal, which made the trip so much fun. From big beach break to right points to scarey slabs, there are just so many options. The highlight of the trip would have to be the two days we scored the slab. It’s a very intense wave that goes dry, and of coarse my first two waves I went over the falls. It was insane to watch and learn from Alex Gray, who is the craziest motherfucker I know. He was charging and making every wave. I ended up bruising my hip and couldn’t surf the last couple days, but that didn’t stop me from having an amazing time. This was one of the best trips I have ever been on and can’t wait to go back next year.

– Mike Gleason

Alex Gray

Pat Schmidt

Gony Zubizaretta

Alex Gray

Mike Gleason

Mike Gleason

Pat Schmidt

Alex Gray

When I found out I was invited to go on this trip I was fired up, because while I had been to Europe several times before I had never been to Portugal.

It was RADICAL. Such cool people and such good pastries... which is a very good thing because I thoroughly enjoy eating. Oh yeah, the waves are pretty good too. There are a huge variety of different spots to surf, from fun punchy beachies to crazy little right points to slabs that really separate the men (Alex, Mike and Gony) from the boys (me). It was a very humbling experience, but humbling in the best of ways. We definitely had the sickest crew ever. I’ve looked up to the Man-

Gony Zubizaretta Alex Gray

Mike Gleason Pat Schmidt

Pat Schmidt

Alex Gray

Gony Zubizaretta

Mike Gleason

Bear [Mike Gleason] for as long as I can remember.

If you’re a surfer from the northeast and you don’t know who Mike Gleason is... you’re a kook. When I heard that Alex was going too, I kind of had a mini panic attack because I knew we’d be surfing some of the scariest waves I have ever surfed, and that turned out to be very much the case. Gony is one of the biggest legends ever. I met him two winters before in Hawaii and was so psyched when I heard we were gonna be hanging out with him. And Tom is the raddest photographer ever. He can shoot the

Gony Zubizaretta

Mike Gleason

worst session of your life in knee-high, blown-out shit waves and still make you look cool. Oh yeah, and he likes food almost as much as me.

There were a few sessions that stood out to me, but the one at the cave was for sure one to remember. I have never surfed anywhere that you had to worry about riding onto dry reef if you went straight, but with risk comes reward. Some of the craziest water photos I have ever seen came

Pat Schmidt

Alex Gray

from just that one session. Mike, Alex and Gony were going mad! The water color was insane, and there was nobody else around. We had the whole zone to ourselves!

We stayed in Ericeira and it was super nice. It was very quiet and peaceful when you wanted it to be, aside from a few dog barks in the middle of the night.

They have a great nightlife as well. The bars there don’t close until around 9:00 a.m., which is not ideal for a surf trip but we somehow managed. A few sack taps, a few tears and I’m pretty sure Alex tried to eat Mike’s beard a couple times. That stuff comes with the territory when they’re serving you drinks that are on fire. All in all, it was a great time and will most definitely not be my last time in Portugal.

– Pat Schmidt

Front Hurricane 90

Words & Photos: Luck McKaye Ryan Townley is one of those dudes who seems like he has no idea how amazing his skateboarding is to people around him. And it’s not that fake humility that you sometimes see where people are expected to downplay success and pretend like they’re not super proud of their accomplishment. Dude just goes super hard and doesn’t seem to think much of it. I guess growing up in Southern California around some of the best skateboarding the world has to offer will humble a person.

Put Townley in any city in the Midwest or on the East Coast and he’d have hometown hero status, but in LA he’s just one of many incredible skateboarders – but with a style and bag of tricks that

make it hard to focus on anything else when he’s skating around you. I’ve probably gone out with the dude 100 times and I’ve yet to find a spot for which he doesn’t have some kind of trick. He’s stacked so much in the winter offseason it’s scary to think about what this coming summer will bring.

You’re one of the few skateboarders I know who actually grew up in Southern California. Do you appreciate it? Do you ever think to yourself, “Man, I wish there was more rain, snow and cracked pavement, and a little less sunshine and perfect picnic tables?”

Haha. Yeah man… I mean, I

appreciate Southern California, I grew up here. I definitely would like a little weather change I guess. I really appreciate seeing footage though of rugged spots and weathered ground. The kind of skating I’m into isn’t really the typical perfect everything schoolyard kind of stuff. I love skating and seeing other people skate sketchy spots and stuff like that – it’s more enjoyable to see, adds more flavor.

Do you feel like you’re a typical “California kid?”

(Whatever that means.)

Haha. I don’t think I’m a “typical California kid” at all. I mean, I don’t really know what that means either, but most of my closest friends that I skate with on a daily basis aren’t from California.

When you meet someone for the first time can you tell, without them mentioning, whether or not they’re from here?

All these California questions, haha. I don’t know really… like, when I met all you dudes for the first time I didn’t know if you guys were from here or not. It doesn’t really matter where we are from; we are all in this because we skateboard and love doing it. I don’t really analyze someone that much when I meet them for the first time.

Who all do you ride for?

I ride for RIPNDIP Clothing, Ashbury Eyewear, Black Label Skateboards (flow) and Terrace Skateshop.

Walli

Crooks Pop Over

How did you get your foot in the door with RIPNDIP? Do they take pretty good care of you?

With RIPNDIP it was kinda random actually. I just sent them footage because I was super down with them. It’s crazy now though – those guys are the straight homies! We kick it and skate all the time, so it just worked out right off the bat. You asked if they take care of me and for sure they do! They’re always hooking it up with sick stuff, and they helped me with my recent part and got it on Thrasher Magazine, so I was super stoked on that one. They are the homies for sure.

Bump Nose Grind

tight with the dudes over at Thrasher, so it was all them. They hooked it up for sure getting it on there.

What are you filming for right now?

Right now I’m currently just going out and filming as much as I can, man. The homie Bobby is trying to put together a video with all the homies, so we are filming for that and anything else that comes my way. I’m just going out to keep skating and filming with the dudes! It’s always good times to go out with everyone.

I saw you skating some busted out Adidas the other day. What’s up with the struggle to find a shoe sponsor?

You’re too good to have to worry about bloody toes.

Thanks man! Yeah, buying shoes is a struggle for sure with not having a shoe sponsor or anything. Everyone is just so good nowadays, you know? It’s hard to get noticed or get hooked up because everyone here in California kills it! Not even just California – everyone in general is just so good.

Do you have an all-time favorite video part? What was the last video part that really stuck out to you?

Damn dude, that’s a hard one since every video part that comes out nowadays is sick. Ones that really stuck out were Blake Carpenter’s part in Cosmic Vomit 2, it was super good. Brad Cromer’s pro part was sick, and Austyn Gillette always puts out amazing parts. The GX1000 edits are always sick and get me hyped to skate. I don’t know, man, that’s a hard one to pinpoint just one. Those are just a few that I can think of right off the top of my head.

You recently had a part come out on Thrasher. As far as online parts go, that’s pretty much the Holy Grail to get Thrasher to be the host. How did you make that happen? Did RIPNDIP get all that arranged?

Yeah man, I was stoked. Yeah it was all RIPNDIP. Those guys (Ryan and Jack) are

Ok, let’s wrap this up. Do you have any words of wisdom for the kids out there or anyone you want to thank?

I guess to the kids out there, just keep skating and don’t hate on everything. Thank you to my parents, family, all the homies, all my sponsors and everyone who’s helped me out!

Back 180 Nose Grind

KickďŹ&#x201A;ip Back Tail

Photos & Words: Andrew Miller Summer is rad, but come July most every snowboarder starts to get the old summertime sadness, where dreams of cooler times and frozen waves become a nightly occurrence. The best way to a make those dreams a reality is a migration south of the equator into a barren desert speckled with volcanoes, snow-capped mountains, glaciers and rainforest, all of which are within close proximity to the rugged coast of the Pacific. Time to pack the bags and head to Chile!

Stepping off the plane in Santiago you instantly feel that familiar chill, and if you are lucky you were able to catch an epic sunrise over the Andes during the flight in. It was my first time down, and after a long day of travel it was great to see smiling faces of the usual winter suspects Forrest Shearer, Alex Yoder and Jeremy Jones.

This last-minute trip rounded a crew up for a mini vacation of sorts to put some serious R&D into a newly tuned fleet of Jones Snowboards. Jeremy was fresh off a successful summit and shred trip to Denali, while Forrest and Yoder had been enjoying a hot summer of climbing and skating at home.

We were all looking for a mellow trip to cool off

Jeremy Jones 96

Forrest Shearer

Alex Yoder

Alex Yoder

Forrest Shearer

Alex Yoder

and get a little jump on the nearing winter season in the States. No expectations, no filmers, just a few friends looking to enjoy some turns on a bunch of new shred sleds with an endless playground to explore. As a photographer, this is my favorite kind of trip – shooting fast, light and on the go, with minimal stopping and plenty of shredding. For me, it is crucial to keep a good flow going and create a feeling of just shredding with homies, capturing what you can along the way.

The next week was spent in the quaint mountain resort of La Parva in warm temps, under beautiful blue skies without a drop of precipitation. Although we would have welcomed fresh snow with open arms, the snow we ran into consisted of ice, wind board, rotten sugar and slush, proving to be the

er

Jeremy Jones

Alex Yoder most ideal conditions to conduct a quality Jones board test. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safe to say you know you have a keeper if your board can hold up and ride well in the worst conditions possible. Lighter, stronger and faster was the theme and the ode-to-progression was alive and well. After good times were had by all, rumors of a large storm brewing further south quickly initiated our pursuit of powder, because after all, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we were here for. After a quick goodbye to some new friends as well as Mr. Jones, who had to bail back home, we began our pursuit through the night heading south to the promise land of Chillan.

Heavy snowfall greeted us as we pulled into the sleepy town of Las Trancas, around 5 a.m., with reports of over a meter of fresh and counting. Sitting in the parking lot waiting for the lifts to open we pondered what the next Alex Yoder

Jeremy Jones

Alex Yoder 10 days had in store. The geothermal volcanic mountain is truly a snow surfer’s paradise. It is the land of “la ultima olas” where you can shred endless frozen rights down South America’s longest run, “Las Tres Marias” – an amazing 8-mile adventure from the top of the volcano all the way to the parking lot. We all joked that this mountain has some of our favorite zones from around the world all mixed into one.

Japan’s trees like in Haukba, surfy frozen waves reminiscent of Mt. Bachelor and steep ramps like you were in Valdez, AK, or the epic Elefante Ridge similar to the hemispheres at Baker. When the conditions are right, this has to have been the most diverse and coolest resorts we have ever experienced. We were in shred summer heaven, as another additional meter of snow piled up and we sampled the whole platter Chile had to offer, making our pursuit an epic success.

Forrest Shearer

Alex Yoder Alex Yoder

Words: Juan Abbet :: Photos: JP // Rascal Dels & his better half with Estevan & Angel // Ancel, Oriol, Stecyk & Tenore // Joseph & Dakota // Eriberto getting in the round // Stecyk with Eriberto & Risk, originally Surf1 // Papa Oriol taking the kids to school // Alexis & Donavon in awe of Hazard’s letters // Enjoy the show

The exhibit, entitled Like Father Like Son, tells the story of two generations of L.A.’s history and culture through the lens of the Oriols. Although at first glance everything about this show is raw and borderline intimidating, a deeper look reveals the intrepid beauty and grace that lies within the ghettos and barrios of East L.A. Parked among these time tablets is Estevan’s two-tone ’61 Chevy Impala, in perfect context. Eriberto featured a sculpture of a man and woman resembling folk art from Chimayo; this piece in particular attracted everyone’s attention. There’s plenty more to come from Dax Gallery, so be sure to stay current at daxgallery.com.

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PHOTO: LISCH

JEREMY LEABRES NOLLIE FRONT NOSE SLIDE @activerideshop | #ActiveAM | @jeremy_leabres JeremyLeabres-Bliss.indd 1

5/9/14 10:39 AM

Words: Chelsea Jeheber :: Photos: SanDisk XXL Big Wave Strike Team // “Ride of the Year” Winner Greg Long & Meryl Gwinn // Tube of the Year & Wipeout of the Year winner Koa Rothman & Koa Smith // Shaun, DK, Ian and Luke Walsh // Bruce & Max Beach, Mark Healey // Paige Alms, Women’s Overall Performance winner Keala Kennelly & Andrea Moller // Cassie Lauduski & Jamie Mitchell // Greg Noll & his wife // Druku & Chief Druku // Jennifer Hanono & Will Skudin // Kate Lovemore & Men’s Overall Performance winner Grant “Twiggy” Baker

A wild evening was had by all this past month as the surf community took over the Grove of Anaheim for the Billabong XXL Awards. This night had it all: cold brews, overdressed babes and very tan dudes. Party busses and limos flowered the parking lot, as everyone had the right idea and celebration was at an alltime high. Chugging beer before a long ride to Anaheim was probably not the best game plan, because I saw a lot of dudes peeing in the parking lot upon arrival. Walking in, it felt like prom all over again, mostly due to the underage groms trying to drink and get laid. “No, I don’t want to buy you a beer or give you my phone number. Do you even have chest hair?” They sure didn’t. The Grove was packed and filled to the brim like my cup of beer with the who’s who of the surf industry. Greg Long, Twiggy, the Walsh brothers, talent could be seen left and right; pros that take on monsters with a smile while us mere civilians piss our pants in horror just watching the videos. Everyone was in a cheery mood and this was felt throughout the night.

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After a very long pre-party session we were all ushered in for the main event.

Belligerent shouts of excitement and shock could be heard throughout the audience as we watched these massive waves fill the screen. Watching these super humans work their magic on such powerful waves is what this night is all about. The most coveted award of the night, “Ride of the Year,” went to Greg Long for his wave ridden in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. My girl Keala Kennelly took home “Best Overall Performance” for the females. The “Biggest Wave” award was given to Gautier Garanx of France, and “Tube of the Year” as well as “Wipeout of the Year” was awarded to Koa Rothman. All who were nominated that evening are genuine daredevils in the truest of senses. It was a great night to step away from the sand, get dressed up and celebrate the exhilarating practice that is riding these colossal waves, and we can’t wait to do it all over again next year.

Words: Matt Rabbidge:: Photos: James & Liam from About LST Night // RVCA Sydney store & gallery // Pool Series by Tino Razo // Manute, Kutter, Atiba, Tino // girls // Neck and DJ Larry // Adam, friend & Jess // Nina Long art // Leo Fitzpatrick art // gallery spread // show tees // Jeff Potocar art // gallery wall // Meryl Smith art // other wall // Neck Face art // Beau Foster and friend // girls // ‘zine check // Packed house // Leo Fitzpatrick art // FUCK THIS LIFE art // Spanky art

There had been a few pretty strong shows in the lead up to WAYDAT? at the RVCA Downstairs Gallery (located on the main street of Sydney’s art strip in Paddington). RVCA Australia opened the doors to the space in December last year, which was then converted to a two-level gallery for the show, leaving a small shop front at the entrance and an additional floor of studio space. It was plenty of room to show the work of 16 artists.

The week of preparation included the usual last-minute framing, artwork repairs, deliberating for hours on what was hanging where (in doing so, doubling the weekly profits at next door’s Indian kebab shop) and keeping tabs on the crew from finishing our opening night beer supplies. For most exhibitions doing all of this lead-in work was a one-man job, but having all flown out a week prior to the show, all 16 artists were keen to help out where they could (in between plenty of skate time). You could really see the tightknit relationships between these guys, mates for a lifetime but never having exhibited together. It was Jeff Kutter and Ed Davis who had the idea to pull the show together; London first, now Sydney and who knew where next. Although everyone’s aesthetic varied so much, it all came together so damn well.

Opening night was intense to say the least .It was hands down the biggest 106

event the gallery had seen, as it seemed like half of Sydney was trying to get into the place. It felt like a community of people Sydney hadn’t seen out together since the old days of the Monster Children Gallery. Everyone was stoked to see it all come together; especially the artists, all of whom were in Australia for the show. Bill Strobeck’s video work, showing inside a converted change room, had a line 10 deep for the entire night. Meryl Smith’s sculpture blew minds. and everyone of course wanted to know whether Alex Olson actually had a photograph on show under all that brown paper and plastic he’d decided to keep on. It was really only the first half hour there was enough room for people to see the works properly, because after that it was a mass of heads downing the 50 cases of Kirin Cider and beer in record time (a few keen rats were even finishing the half empties lying around the place – a testament to Kirin being a decent drop we figured).

All in all, the response was huge. People who missed out on opening night or couldn’t see the work made the effort to get back and see it the days and weeks following. Much like the mixed bag of artists taking part in WAYDAT?, everyone found something to like, no matter what their taste. It just turns out VB and Indian kebabs were a bloody big hit!

Cuba Photos: Burkard :: Party photos: Leach & LeBon // Surf The Bay of Pigs // Mike Mechling, Brandy Faber, Ryan Hitzel & Ryan Sirianni spreading the seeds of Revival // Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña protecting Havana Harbor since 1774 // A young Cuban dissident enjoying stories of her family’s homeland // Time standing still // The allure of Havana’s colorful streets is more powerful than the US Embargo’s hindrance // Ostia provided the soundtrack of the new Cuban revolution // Fidel 2.0 embracing capitalism, $1 Cuban peso for a photo with him

The Roark Revival presented “Cuba Libre” by Burkard Thursday, May 1st, at Laguna Surf and Sport in Laguna Beach. Revivalists Ryan Hitzel, Ryan Sirianni, Brandy Faber and Carl Smith narrated images shot by photographer Chris Burkard and talked story about their adventure into Cuba’s underbelly while they were chasing down Roark under cloak and dagger in Volume 6.

Johnny Monson of Blackhart Creative fired up fresh, homemade Cubano sandwiches on his grill and fed the dissidents after stories of rum-soiled nights, deteriorating pastels and liveliness that makes Cuba a sunny place for shady people were shared with the packed house. The three-piece band Ostia was flown in from Havana for the night and jammed a live two-hour set reminiscent of the Buena Vista district. Libations were served and the night was danced away, just as one would experience in Havana’s Casa de la Musica.

Be on the lookout for more storytelling events presented by the Roark Revival in the future, but in the meantime go to roark.com or @roarkrevival on Instagram to see more images of the Cuban Revival.

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LIRA 2014 SUMMER COLLECTION W W W. L I R AC LOT H I N G . C O M

Words & Photos: Daniel Shea // Winner of the “Chunk of Foam Challenge” shaping contest Chris Christenson // Chris replicating the ...Lost Round Nose Fish Matt Biolos shaped for Cory Lopez 20 years ago // Chris Ward, Surf Kidneys’ Marcus Walton & Cory Lopez // Kelly Connolly intricately shaping her own version of the RNF // Wardo getting choked out by his longtime friend and shaper Matt Biolos // Mike Estrada was on hand for the “Chunk of Foam Challenge” // Christian Fletcher lives // Wardo & Big Wave forefather Gary Linden // Legendary surfer/shaper Ben Aipa // Matt Parker of Album Surfboards

The Boardroom show took place this past month on May 17th and 18th in Del Mar, California. It was two days of exhibited surf culture, new and old, including surfboards and the people who make them. Amongst the crowd were some of the finest shapers and glassers in the industry. From Jeff Clark inflating his new personal safety flotation device vest to RS chatting with Chris Ward about his old Aviso RNFs, the characters played their roles.

The main attraction of this tradeshow was the live shaping and glassing.

PureGlass held a live glassing demonstration where Newport’s Brian Anderson was able to showcase his underground talents to the onlookers in the bleachers. All the glassing was environmentally friendly epoxy glassing that left zero scent of fumes in the air. As far as the live shaping taking place, Ben Aipa was honored in the Icons of Foam Tribute to the Masters Shaping Competition.

Shaper Roger Hinds took home $1,000 for topping the rest of the field in recreating Ben’s classic Button’s model – the Aipa Sting. In the Chunk of Foam

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Challenge Chris Ward, Corey Lopez, and Matt Biolos judged four shapers (Mike Estrada, Chris Christenson, Kelly Connolly, and Hank Warner) who competed to hand shape the original …Lost Round Nose Fish. Cory and Wardo made this shape famous in the …Lost video 5’5” X 19 ¼”, and along with their judging duties were present at the show to sign autographs and enjoy a few beers.

With no measuring tools or templates, no pre-fab rocker and only one power tool of his choice, Chris Christenson won over the like of Cory, Chris, and Matt and received a sweet $500 check for his efforts. For the crowd to be able to see such great shapers/surfers interact in the building of their sacred crafts is unique to this tradeshow.

Overall, the show excelled in bringing together people from all over the surfboard manufacturing industry to discuss and share ideas, spread new knowledge all the while positively contributing to the future of surf design.

Photos: Mike Q & ourCaste crew // Bikes packed and one last look at Southern California before the adventure north // Matt Davis on his FXR somewhere off the lost coast // Old school yard, Sebastian’s in San Simeon // LJ back on the road after a quick surf check // Pfiefer, Big Sur // Sean C & LJ, 100+ speed blur in MQ’s rearview // Heading into the lost coast // Surf check number 27 - sometimes cold, sometimes scary, always empty and fun looking though // Rounding the corner to all of the grapes one could drink at Hunter’s winery, Dona Del Cieclo // Big Sur resting spot, glamping // Crushed quite a few PBR tins // California is still beautiful // Matt & Mike, “Hellos” from SF at Azalea for SP14 product launch, 500+ miles into the trip // Big Sur coastline at 100 mph // WW2 bunkers, SF // The Golden Gate // Jalama, 1200+ miles into the trip // PBR falling out of our… pockets // Sean C & LJ… braaaap // Mike Q, Matt D, & LJ - late nights and bus passes in SF // Poler popup house for the week, Big Sur // Jalama surf stop to wash off the grit before the road home

The boys over at ourCaste have been in the office too much lately, but who hasn’t, right? Anyways, for the launch of their SP14 collection they decided to go out on the road and hand-deliver the line to a few special accounts. Being the dudes that they are, they decided it would be most fun to do this trip on their motorcycles. PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) also had the brilliant idea that since these guys are so fun to drink with, “beers were on us for the whole trip!”

Departing early Wednesday morning from their showroom on PCH in Newport Beach, CA (just a few blocks away from BL!SSS headquarters), they headed all the way north to San Francisco, out to Sacramento and then back down the coast through Big Sur and back again. The boys covered over 1450 miles at high speeds on purpose-built Harley Davidsons over a seven-day span. Their bikes were packed up bearing only just the essentials and geared to face any weather that they may run into. With that, the boys headed north.

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It requires a special breed to be in for a ride like that. It takes camaraderie, trust, skill, a huge sack, and all of that turns into a brotherhood – bonding anyone who is along for the ride and can keep up. Sean, Mike, Matt and LJ were all in and committed to seeing this through to the end. It’s that same group’s determination that is getting this brand off of the ground. What a unique way to get into the spring season and hand-deliver the goods you’ve been designing and pedaling for months. Rolling through stores like Wetsand in Ventura and having a season launch party in SF with Azalea the boys, they made it all the way there and back with nothing but bigger smiles, tighter bonds, a hard drive full of pictures and endless stories from the road. We’ve got limited space but there’s plenty more to see on their site about this adventure, so visit www.ourCaste.com and have a look at what these jerks have been doing.

Interview Max Ritter :: Photo: Renate Winter OBN III’s stands for Orville Bateman Neeley the III, who is one of the rippingest dudes in all of Texas. He is such a wild frontman that he has decided to now play guitar in hopes it will lessen his risk of injury that could result from his crazy stage antics. OBN III’s third record, appropriately titled Third Time To Harm, is out this month. Convo snippets with Orville can be found below.

Give us the ole’ OBN III’s backstory.

The band started at the very end of 2009. I had just moved to Austin in the summer of 2009, and I was starting to write these songs and I had riffs that I knew I would have trouble playing live and singing the songs at the same time. I was working at Beerland, which is a small club in Austin, and I had started booking shows with Max Meehan. We were running the calendar and we had this Wednesday night and he was like, ‘I want you to fi ll this date.’ I was like, ‘Ok, well why don’t I just start a band and we’ll play that date and I’ll get some people to come play with us?’ We fi lled the gigs and we had six songs and it kind of just went on from there. I kept writing and eventually we recorded some shit on the fourtrack cassette in my garage.

That’s how we did the fi rst few

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seven inches as well as the fi rst album.

There are a lot of good bands from Texas, and especially from your neck of the woods (Austin/Denton).

It’s interesting because you guys all seem to play in each other’s bands. I especially like Video and Mind Spiders.

I recorded that fi rst Video album – check the liner notes. Yeah, pretty much everyone plays in multiple bands. At least a lot of the people I know anyway.

Daniel Freed and Gregory Rutherford are in Video. The two of those guys and me, we play in Bad Sports together.

Daniel is in Mind Spiders.

Gregory used to play in Mind Spiders; they used to have two drummers. I have been playing in multiple bands since I was in eighth grade. A few years ago I was actually playing with six different bands at the same time. People would sometimes ask me if I would get the songs confused. I could understand from a non-musician standpoint how that would happen but it just doesn’t.

What are some bands from Texas you like or would recommend to somebody to listen to?

There is a really good hardcore punk scene going on there right now. The most recent thing that I have seen that I really like is Institute. They are a punk

band. Their singer, this guy Mo, is a really odd performer. I am pretty sure he is straight edge but his onstage character is like an angry drunk. A weird angry drunk. He has this British vibe to him but he is totally Mexican.

Maybe he is not Mexican, so maybe I shouldn’t say that.

They are really good. They have a twelve-inch of demos out.

My roommate Max has a band called Flesh Light. They have been working on their second album lately and what I have heard sounds really good. I hope they get somebody to put it out. There is another band called Crooked Bangs. The singer/bass player has a really good voice. Some of the songs are in English and some are in French. I don’t know what she is singing about a lot of the times because it’s in French. There is a bunch of other shit as well.

There is a band called Glue that is really good. I could just name-drop all of my friend’s bands (laughs), but I am not really sure they are all doing stuff. Oh yeah, Spray Paint.

There is a lot of stuff to list.

Well, I’ve been playing the new OBN IIIs record and “No Time For The Blues” is blowing my head off.

I hope it can translate since we have changed the band lineup. I don’t think the fact that I am playing guitar now should stop us from putting on a good show. And to me, it’s

really more about the music than the performance. We may lose some people but whatever.

Maybe they will be like, ‘He’s not sweating all over me now!’ and get bummed out. No more of me dipping my fi ngers into your beer right after I picked my nose? No more of me spitting all over? I don’t spit in people’s faces, by the way.

It’s kind of uncontrollable. If I am about to hock a loog and you get in the way it’s your fault. No, I think the lineup change is a good thing. I think I am also concerned about my health. There has been so many times where I narrowly avoided serious injury.

So you think if you play guitar live instead of only singing it will be like a safety feature from your stage antics (laughs)?

If we are playing on stages especially rather than being on the fl oor, then yeah, I think I am at less risk for injury.

That’s hilarious.

I think it’s reasonable for me to be concerned.

You heard it, safety fi rst kids! Thanks, Orville.

Recommended this month: New OBN IIIs Third Time To Harm available from Tic Tac Totally Records and fi ne record stores everywhere… it rips.

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White Fang Live Review & Photo: Max Ritter Sunday May 4th, 2014 The Constellation Room Santa Ana, CA

I had a great time seeing these fresh LA transplants crush it at the Constellation Room in The Observatory. These dudes are a wild bunch to say the least; I haven’t seen a full on backbend in a while. WHOA! Stage presence… check, 10 out of 10. White Fang has a new record out appropriately titled Full Time Freaks, so go get it.

Reviews: Max Ritter

The Black Hippies S/T Academy LPs

Tijuana Panthers Wayne Interest Innovative Leisure

Beauregarde Testify 7” Jackpot Records

The Knots Heartbreaker 7” Last Laugh Records

This is the first-ever release from the Nigerian afro-funk band The Black Hippies. It seems they later delved into Reggae and became better known for that music; however, this is the shit. Straight organ, fuzz, funk-tinged rock & roll.

It went really HAM in 1971 and I guess not so much in 1977 when it finally came out. Now re-issued for your listening pleasure.

Thanks to the good folks at Innovative Leisure for sending us this new Tijuana Panthers album.

Unquestionable jam hammer: Buzzcocks, “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” cover. I back it dudes.

It’s not a re-issue; it’s a new issue.

Beauregarde was a professional wrestler from Portland in the 1970s – we’re talking like the early days of Hulk Hogan-style wrestling. Apparently, he had a band with Greg Sage who later became famous as frontman of The Wipers. Jackpot Records of Portland have re-released and re-mastered Beauregarde’s stuff. This song “Testify,” released for record store day, is a hammer.

Again on the reissue front, I finally watched the Hollywood-made movie based on the story of Hilly Kristal and the NY club that he founded, CBGB. Yeah, what a mistake that was. Talk about butchering that shit. Anyway, I imagine this is one of the many great NY punk bands that probably played there in the shadows of the ones that came to fame. Two greats songs gone underappreciated.

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