Pop Magazine - Issue 14 by Pop Magazine

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Oakley.com.au 1800 034 217

No minor threat.

Bruce Irons in his Signature Series Hijinx® No hesitation. No compromises. No doubts. Know Bruce Irons — one seriously heavy threat who stays calm and relaxed when it comes to his personality, but shifts to intensity and commitment when it comes to performance. Just check out some footage of the 20-foot-plus day at Waimea when Bruce

became one of only six guys to ever win the Eddie. Or step into deep country at his home on Kauai as he hunts for wild hogs with his trusty 20-gauge. Same as Bruce, Oakley has built a bulletproof reputation for never backing down or caving in to compromises. It doesn’t get any more major than that.

ISSUE FOURTEEN The Swimsuit Issue

Cover: Alyse Cocliff from Viviens Photographer: Scottie Cameron Hair & Makeup: Meg Guthrie Horizantal Tango bikini by Von Zipper Thanks to: Jana Bartolo, Annie Fox, Scottie Cameron, Rachael Wilson, Chris Jepson, Andrew Wood, Drew Baker, Anne & Pete Baker, Amie Francis, Rens, Jan Snarski, Jamie Driver, Steve Gourlay, Tony Mott, Chris Boadle, Julius Kellar, Steele Saunders, TBL, Clare Plueckhahn, Nick Imrei and thank you summer for being here!

Products..............................10

Krozm ..................................32

Editorial..............................14

The Beach House..................36

Music...................................18

Steph & Whitney Gilmore.....46

Address: P.O. Box 6172 St Kilda Road Central Melbourne, Victoria, 8008

Business............................... 24

Corbin H arris.......................54

For advertising enquiries, please contact Dave on 0407.147.124 or email dave@popmag.com.au

Nicholas Jasenovec...............26

M arko G rilc.........................68

Feedback: hithere@popmag.com.au Pop Magazine is Dave Keating and Rick Baker.

2. 1.

Products

Beach Adventure

summer is finally here . it ’ s time to pack the car and spend the days from here ‘ til january on some beach adventure .

Photography: Tony Mott Stylist: Amie Francis 1. The Good Book by Burton Snowboards. The 2010 Burton catalogue was always called the bible. Well now you can get your good book home delivered from burton.com 2. Restricted Plainview Jacket and Bates Cargo Pant by Burton Snowboards. Restricted is the new Ronin. That means it’s only available in limited numbers from limited retailers. You won’t this at the rental shop. 7.

3. Pints of ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s. Finally the gold standard of ice cream is availible in Australia. The pints are limited to Vanilla, Chunky Monkey, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Choc-chic Cookie Dough and Strawberry Cheesecake. There’s more flavours at their ‘scoop stores’ (whatever they are). The pints are only in specialty stores, not supermarkets, so you’ll have to hunt for them. No word on when flavours like Karamel Sutra, Cookies & Cream or Phish Food will be in Australia. Soon I hope. 4. VB Raw. Refreshing low carb beer with nothing artificial. 5. Womens Venice Hi by DC Shoes.

6. Pop Artist Series T-Shirt by Nate Gamble. Our good friend Nate Gamble was good enough to draw some art for us. So we put it on a quality tshirt (no boxy cuts here) and for a few bucks we’ll send you one. See popmag.com.au/popshop for all your merch needs. 7. Ultimate Guide to Skateboarding by Corbin Harris. With photography by some of Australia’s best and trick tips and advice aimed for the pro and the am alike, this is the perfect coffee table book. 8. E3 Bomb by Rip Curl. A super stretchy 2:2 spring suit for those summer beachies. Like going to the beach naked (except with less sunburn)

R eviews

Triumph Scramlber

triumph motorcycles , the choice both on screen and off for the guys who invented cool : james dean , steve mequeen , clint east wood and marlon brando .

P hotography: Tony Mott Words: Jim Stark S tylist: Amie Francis Think ‘cool’ and you’d be forgiven for thinking straight away of Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley and Clint Eastwood, or even the king of cool, James Dean.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise then, that they all rode various versions of the timeless classic, the Triumph Bonneville Scrambler! The shot of Steve McQueen leaping his Scrambler to freedom in ‘The Great Escape’ is an image that is permanently etched into the memories of many a young (and not so young!) lad. A sense of adventure from back in the day, a modern interpretation of a venerable classic, the Scrambler demands attention wherever it goes. Inspired by the 60s Triumph off-road sports motorcycles that were stripped down for racing, the Scrambler has a unique look and feel all of its own. Though not intended as a true off roader, where the Scrambler excels is on unmade road surfaces, gentle trails or beach tracks. Or in other words, most of Australia. On the road it tracks straight and true; its punchy engine, excellent brakes and ‘sit up in the breeze’ seating position makes it an ideal commuter or weekend ‘great escape’ machine. In fact, only the gentle

hum of the dual purpose tyres beneath you give any inclination that what you are riding is in fact not an outright road bike. Triumph’s legendary air cooled 865cc parallel twin features modern fuel injection (but is designed to still look like a carburetor system to retain that original ‘60s look, which is nice) with a 270 degree firing order for a distinctive exhaust note through the high swept chromed side pipes that you can’t fail to notice. The adding of fuel injection doesn’t affect the performance as dramatically as you may expect. Peak horsepower (69bhp, 3 more than on the previous model year) is achieved at 6,800 rpm (200rpm lower than on the previous model year) while torque remains the same 51ft. lb at 4,750 rpm. But let’s be honest, you’re not buying the Scrambler for its performance alone. It’s the classic 60’s styling details, like fork gaiters, white seat piping and Jet Black or Matt Khaki Green colour schemes that you’ll appreciate. It won’t take long to realise why the Scrambler’s of the past were the choice of Hollywood icons.

Editorial

Petrol Consumption as Recreation / i ’ m pretty sure i ’ ve discovered the next ‘ keyboard cat ’ here ... i came across this blog a few weeks back and it has brought me endless entertainment . i have no idea who is writing this blog , but i got their per mission to reproduce a post i thought was particularly funny . enjoy this and then hit the rest of them up at things bogans like online .

P hotography: JetSki.fr Words: www.thingsboganslike.wordpress.com

Perhaps the bogan’s obsession with attaining toys as a grown adult can be explained as an effort to address the lingering trauma of having been denied them as a child, or, conversely, as a direct result of having been given everything it cried, kicked and bit hard enough for. What’s certain is that when it developed from its larval state to its full-grown adult form, the bogan’s appetite for toys only got stronger and more reliant on the depletion of our planet’s petroleum resources. Much like his anthropological forebears, one of the defining experiences for the nouveau bogan is being at the controls of a vehicle over 100 times more powerful than function strictly requires. But in comparison to the proto-bogan, satisfied with merely speeding his Falcon GT and possibly lighting ‘em up within earshot of some bogan skirt, one of the modern bogan’s greatest achievements has been hugely expanding the options for satisfying his impulse to consume genocidal quantities of fossil fuels. Power boats, dirt bikes, four wheelers, go-karts, dune buggies, generators, asphalters, bobcats,

bonfires – the rule is, if you can put petrol in it, the new bogan loves it, will get it on credit and disregard all operational manuals in effecting its prompt destruction. While his father may have gotten his bogan on by leaving a beach strewn with empty tinnies and Winfield butts, and pissing in clear sight of nearby families, today’s bogan takes beach-based obnoxiousness to new levels with the introduction of the jet ski. Not only can today’s bogan show off his appalling trailer-reversing technique (extra bogan points if a petrolpowered device comes with a trailer,) but upon firing it up, he can shower those nearby with oilsmeared water and black smoke, and crucially, emit a noise so obscenely loud it aurally bludgeons the entire coastline into a hasty retreat. Thus he achieves the holy trinity of bogan, air pollution, water pollution and sound pollution. In this heightened state, our subject utilises the rest of the afternoon exhibiting his proficiency for bogans’ enduring contribution to motorsport, the doughnut, upon the novel canvas of water.

R eviews

BMW Z4 sDrive35i

juliane blasi and nadya arnaout are the two designers of this beautiful car . they ’ ve pulled together something that is both mod ern and timeless , taking the finest elements of the traditional roadster and mixing them with the best of today ’ s cars .

P hotography: Steve Gourlay Words: Dave Keating The basics of a real roadster are quite simple: the engine up front, drive down back, two seats and a bonnet of phallic proportions. A friend of mine believes that to be a real roadster, you should be able to sit in the driver’s seat, reach out the window and touch the rear wheel. This car is all that - the 3.0 litre, twin turbo, inline six does 0-100 kmh in 5.2 seconds. 306 bhp is delivered to the two wheels directly under your arse. However unlike a lot of roadsters, your arse is comfortably surrounded in Nappa full grain leather and you’re faced with acres of wood, brushed steel and suede. The driver’s display on the dash is very much as it has been in BMWs for nearly two decades with refinements made on each model. It delivers the necessary information clearly and leaves the more complex tasks to the iDrive system on the centre console. The iDrive has had

a few improvements too. Not that I had any issues with the old iDrive system but the improved navigation and functionality certainly impressed my ‘BMW extremist’ friend Jamie. The solid, two piece folding roof gives the feeling of a hardtop on rainy days and quickly folds away in 20 seconds, it can be done at up to 20 kmh! The boot seemed small, especially when the roof is down. To test it out I gave the weekly groceries run a go - all the shopping plus a few new shoe acquisitions by the girlfriend sat neatly in the boot with the roof down, no sweat. The real test of a car of this calibre is not performance, comfort or how practical it is... No, the test is on Chapel St. in Melbourne. As any Melburnian knows, on any given weekend you will find a parade of beautiful cars. From the Ferraris and Lamborghinis queued outside Sienna’s restaurant to the Maseratis and Porsches at the Windsor end. If what you’re driving can turn a head on this stretch, you’ve made an exceptional choice. My test drive began at near 5pm on a Sunday afternoon, after the shopping crowds have left but before the drunken bogan fights have broken out (meaning it was safe to still have the top down). I was cautiously rolling alongside the Jam Factory purposely not revving the engine or anything else that might attract the wrong sort of attention. As I neared Bridie O’Reilly’s a group of young guys stopped and started buzzing amongst themselves. I was getting scared - was there going to be a car jacking? Had I somehow run over a small purse sized dog that was now dragging underneath the car? No... Seconds past

then one, presumably their leader, yelled at me “Man! That. Is. Style.” Then repeated the phrase at the same volume but directed at the people standing around him. Then another two guys left the sidewalk and walked onto the road to get a closer look. I was now starting to get nervous that someone was going to inadvertently scratch the paintwork so I put the foot down and got outta there. Test passed. Car purists always want to have a go at convertibles, but secretly everyone wants one. I can hear your thoughts now “I don’t, they soften the ride, blah, blah.” But when you drive by and hear girls start questioning their choice of boyfriend, it all makes sense. Sure, your hard top might corner a little better but I’ve got the sun beaming down on me, the wind in my hair and can clearly hear the low growl of the engine... And that beats the hell out of the smug satisfaction you’d be getting knowing that you own a ‘real driver’s car’ which you might theoretically enjoy should Australia ever loosen up its draconian road laws. The list price on the car is $116,900 plus this one had an extras pack which added just under $10,000 onto that and was worth every cent. The extras included the seven speed double clutch gearbox with steering wheel paddles which definitely adds some fun! So, the verdict. I can honestly say that if I had sufficient savings, it would be converted into one of these pretty damn quickly. It’s rare that I have driven a car where I didn’t have multiple issues with it - in this, I had no issues at all.

M usic

Boom Dizzle’s Top 10 Skate Tunes / a great track over a skate video part makes it an instant classic . that song will be on repeat for weeks after seeing the vid and a great hype up be fore a session . so what are the best skate songs from the last few years ? boom dizzle gives us his john cusack style countdown .

Words & Photograph: Boom Dizzle 18

Growing up all I did was skate, watch skate videos and listen to music. As much fun as all skate videos are to watch, it is the ones with a bangin’ soundtrack that really do it for me. Back in the days of 411 I remember trawling through the website finding out all the songs on each video. I even went as far as printing them all out and compiling it into a book. This may have something to do with my now encyclopaedic knowledge of music. I don’t think the record labels realised how much having a track on skate video helped them. Generally, after a video was released, you would go into to your local skate shop and they would be bumping the tunes of a band that was recently on a big video. Most recent example of this would be the playing of ‘Band Of Horses’ after being on the Lakai video ‘Fully Flared.’ Go into your local skate shop and see if they aren’t playing this. I bet my balls they have an album on rotation. I thank skate videos for their broad range of music that was opened up to me. I wouldn’t listen to half the music today if it weren’t for skate videos. Here is a list of my personal favourites. I

found it incredibly hard to cut down to ten but here goes ... Menikmati (Yes, that’s Indonesian for enjoy. And also the titles of one of the best skate videos ever made!) 10. The Beatnuts’ ‘Watch Out Now’ from Tony Ferguson in The Chocolate Tour Unfortunately when listening to the first few beats of this song, most people would immediately think of J.Lo and that awful song ‘Jenny From the Block’ that she released in her booty shakin’ days. She completely butchered what was, for me, an absolute classic skate tune. Such a catchy and funky beat. The Beatnuts would become an all time hip hop favourite of mine just because of this song. 9. J. Mascis + The Fog’s ‘Ammaring’ from Tosh Townend in Sight Unseen This song is a bit of a surprise favourite of mine. I had heard of Dinousar Jnr. for years but never really bothered to listen to them. J. Mascis is the front man of probably the most frequently used band in skate videos. He has done a lot of

side projects and ‘J. Mascis + The Fog’ was one of them. This song was written for Hindu religious leader Mata Amritanandamayi, or commonly known as ‘Ammachi’ check out www.amma.org to see what she is all about, basically she just gives out hugs to her followers and makes them feel cool. I don’t know why I like this song so much as it is quite slow, but damn was it edited well to Tosh’s part it just seemed to fit really nicely with everything from the whining guitars to J. Masicis monotonous tone. It just worked. 8. Amon Tobin’s ‘Sultan Drops’ from Rodrigo TX in Menikmati Well, where do I start? It is one strange song. It’s got quite a powerful beat to it and I think it worked really well being on the opening part of a video from a team that was heavily advertised and marketed as being a worldwide team. Even though Amon Tobin is not Brazilian like Rodrigo TX he is definitely not your everyday rock band sound and this song is definitely not a very conventional song for a skate video. But with its industrial feel and gritty beat it really suited the footage, most of which was shot on the run down urban surrounds of Sao Paulo. This also introduced me to all kinds of other artists in this genre, whatever the hell you call it? Industrial Beats? But if you like it check out anything from the Ninja Tune label. A seriously amazing label consisting of such beat makers as Coldcut and The Herbaliser. 7. OutKast’s ‘B.O.B’ from the Play intro All I can think of when I listen to this song is just frantic images. Such an awesome song to begin the video with and pump everyone up. The song has a pretty upbeat vibe (even though it ironically stands for Bombs Over Baghdad) so you always found yourself really getting into it. ‘Play’ in my eyes is still the best Australian video ever made; it really raised the bar in terms of putting together an all-Australian skate video. 6. Andre Nikatina’s ‘Bakin Soda In Minnesota’ from Jeff Lenoce in Baker 2G Baker 2G in my eyes was one of the best videos of the last ten years, even though im not a huge fan of the brand or team, the video was just raw. The soundtrack was fricken amazing as well. I found it hard to pick this one over the rest. But when it comes to Andre Nickatina it’s hard to pass. The dude can rhyme. And apparently he is a pretty tweeked guy.

5. Notorious B.I.G’s ‘Mo Money Mo Problems’ from Ben Harriss & Greg Stewart in Time Skateboards ‘Money’ I think this was one of my first skate videos I ever owned. Time Skateboards was an awesome company out of Sydney, really fresh and clean cut and also for this video I think they had one of the best Australian skate teams of all time. I picked this song only because it is one of my personal favourites. Even though it mainly consists of Ma$e and P. Diddy, Biggie still rules on the last verse of the song. The hook and tune to the song is just plain banging as well. With Melbourne Skateboarding legends Ben Harriss and Greg Stewart it was always going to be one of the most stylish and freshest parts in Australian skating. 4. The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ from Jamie Thomas in Misled Youth Another one of the classic videos. Zero always seem to produce ground breaking videos and depending on your age ‘Zero Or Die’, ‘Thrill of it all’ or ‘Misled Youth’ will be one of your all time favourite videos. Yes, Jamie Thomas kills it and in no way do I want to take anything away from his skating, but damn does he like to edit his parts to over the top melodramatic songs. Even thought that annoys me, he hit the nail on the head with this one. This song is off its head, I can remember everyone used to think it was called Teenage Wasteland’ because of the repeated lines throughout the song but really it was named Baba O’Riley after an Indian spiritual master and an American composer. This is a great example of a perfect song for an end part, super dramatic and over five minutes in length. 3. Cymande’s ‘Bra’ from Darrell Stanton in Free Your Mind I just had to have another song in here from a Transworld video. They were always my favourite videos. And up until a few years ago before companies really started getting serious about making team videos the Transworld vids would always have at least one ground breaking part. Unfortunately nowadays it seems like a side project to all the team videos being made. Darrell burst onto the scene with this part and I think what made him so appealing was the upbeat vibe he seemed to always carry. This song suits the part to a tee. A stylish black dude on a board from S.F. perfectly fits the laid back 1970’s funk that was Cymande. 2. Gza/Genius’s ‘Publicity’ from Gino Ianucci in The Chocolate Tour

With a beat as smooth as this who better to skate to it than Gino. After this vid came out I would only buy Gino boards. He is hands down one of the best skaters ever. There is just something about his style. As well as this song introducing me to Wu-Tang, it really got me into hip hop. How can it not? The song just oozes coolness. 1. Propellarheads’ ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ from Tony Hawk in The End Having this as number one maybe cliché’d but shit ... For my generation ‘The End’ has got to be the greatest skate video made. It was shot on 16mm for Christ’s sake! And launched the career’s of now skate-god’s McCrank, Berra, Kirchart and Reynolds. Tony Hawk is not my favourite skater (hell, not even close) but damn this was just one of the most amazing parts ever. There was so much talk of the loop and when you saw it for the first time you would just shit yourself. Much like the video, this song is on such a big scale. Yes, it’s over the top but I would categorise it as an epic track, so it’s allowed to be over the top and go for nine minutes. It seems like the soundtrack to an entire movie and with a shoutout to Bond in the title of the song how can it not be cool in every which way possible. I have been waiting for years now for The Propellarheads to release a second album but last I heard, one of the duo was in a psych ward. Why are geniuses always flawed? Honourable Mentions: Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ from Guy Mariano in Video Days Need I say more? Look at the skater, look at the artist. Big L’s ‘Size Em Up’ from Stevie Williams in The Chocolate Tour Straight up fuckin’ gangster. Big L will forever be one of the best gangster MC’s. And for this to go to Stevie Williams part is truly fitting. Philly Represent! I hope you have enjoyed reading through my blabber. This will be available on the website in the coming weeks and you can feel free to comment - I am keen to hear your thoughts on favourite tunes in skate videos. I started with a list of about 100 from my iTunes and gradually got it down to these last ten, so I bet if I had to do it again I would come up with some different tunes. I have just noticed that there is no song’s from any 411 videos, which is a complete crime, apologies. Enjoy!

R eviews

2009 Snowboard Films / unlike surf or skate films , snowboard films are all released around the same time each year . this is great cause filmmakers need not only try to better the previous release , but also every other film company out there . here is my take on this years offerings - make of it what you will . unfortunately there are a shitload of tightarses who are probably just going to download , upload , or burn them . dicks .

W ords: Chris Jepson The B Movie – Burton Snowboards Without a doubt the most expensive film made this year, but not necessarily the best. Burton has one of the most solid and well-rounded teams there is, if not only through sheer numbers. As a result of this, you have a very watchable film with a solid mix of park, pipe, and, powder. What I want to know is why Brad Kremer of Kingpin and Mack Dawg fame was not listed in the credits but was supposedly heading up the project. Can’t help but wonder how it might have turned out differently? All riders given their own part are strong, and the team sections are interesting. Burton does receive extra points for their packaging though, the oversized VHS box cover is now the second largest item in my collection. Not the best film, but not disappointing. To use an analogy, the cool kids will want to hate on this movie because it’s Burton, but you’ll catch them watching it again and again whilst deciding which Burton bindings to buy. ‘Videograss’ – Videograss Gotta be careful with this one or Jan Snarski will ninja kick me through a door. VG is the welcome return of Kidsknow (essentially). They produced a unique style of film that could be considered ‘skate-influenced’ and featured grainy film and other cool shit like sound grabs from old films and stuff. Whilst not entirely a handrail/urban snowboard film, it does make up a majority of the footage. For a film to be one of the best of the year without any spins over 900 and no one going

upside-down more than once in one single piece of air time, I think is something pretty special. Don’t buy this if Travis Rice is your cup of tea, instead, buy it if your into tech rail riding, an eclectic mix of shredders (in varying levels of attire), and a ripping soundtrack. ‘Nice Try’ – People Creative Robbie Walker aside, this is probably going to be my favourite release of the year. Why? Filming, editing, music, tricks and variety of riders and terrain are on point. Criticisms, a little bit too similar to every other release from the People camp. I know that sounds a bit hypocritical considering I dislike what has happened as a result of format change to other crews (Technine), but I’m just being a bit finicky. If you are an Australian snowboarder you need this one because Robbie Walker backs it up with another amazing part. ‘Get Real’ - Transworld Nice to see Transworld back up last year’s performance with another solid movie. That said, it doesn’t have Robbie Walker in it and has a pretty much all rail ender. Very similar in style and music choice to ‘These Days’ but just lacks a bit of punch. Standouts for me were Chris Grenier, Jed Anderson, and Scott Stevens. If you liked ‘These Days’, you’re going to like this one, but be warned – it’s just not quite as good. Having Scott Stevens on the roster really stitched up Think Thank (review below). ‘Black Winter’ – Standard Films Probably should have just been called the DC movie with some others. Torstein, Chas, Lonnie, Geeves, and Haldor take up a large portion of screen time in their multicoloured gear, but it’s okay because they are all decent. For some reason, when I watch him shred in real life, I am blown away by Chas, but on film he is just kind of shitty looking. Seb Toots also has a mighty impressive part, for a comp kid. You may also be happy to know that Standard have changed their formula and no longer make entire films in slow motion. Good work team. ‘Hard To Earn’ – F.O.D.T./MFM You might be happy to hear that MFM and his crew have made, in my opinion, a 65% return to form on this one. Old F.O.D.T films are awesome, but they almost lost me last year with ‘Familia’ which sucked. I can understand wanting to up the quality of the filming, but the drab soundtrack and non-stop slow-mo made it suck. Hard To Earn is an almost return to form. However, this

bugs me, a lot – why show a trick at the end of your intro that is not in the film? I can understand it probably wasn’t landed, but the triple cork was looking tidy to me. Fuck you F.O.D.T. ‘Neverland’ – Absinthe Most people will probably disagree with me, but I don’t like this film. It’s too long and all the ‘cool’ camera work annoys me. Sure it has amazing riding and terrain and all of that good stuff, but I found it boring. This happens with Absinthe films every year for me. Sure they get better after multiple viewings but I work in a shop and have the luxury of seeing movies on repeat for a whole year. Most others don’t. If you want to be challenged to enjoy your purchase, this is the one. ‘Cool Story’ – Think Thank Yawn. No longer worth your time or money. This is unfortunate because I thought these vids were very good for a point in time. Sorry Think Thank, Cool Story is not cool. Better luck next year. ‘Forever’ – Forum Snowboards Forum has one of the best teams in snowboarding and their team film track record is impeccable, no doubt. So it was a bit disappointing to see a film so similar to last year’s release, ‘Forum or Against Em’. A lot of the same spots, the rider order is similar, Pat Moore uses Slayer again, and too many wall rides. All that aside, it is definitely full of superior snowboarding. Pat Moore is solid as always, John Jackson lays down one the best parts I’ve ever seen, and Peter Line performs the only acceptable kind of wall ride there is. Overall a much better film than last year, but unfortunately it aint nothing new. ‘Shine On’ – Sandbox I gotta give it to the Sandbox guys, they know how to make a very clean and enjoyable snowboard film. They have done since the beginning. They have the mix of park/powder/rails pretty much on lock and I don’t need my iPod to watch the thing. Don’t expect to buy this for the next level super hammers, just good solid riding documented buy quality camera work. A keeper. As an extra-added bonus, it has Ryan Tiene and Jake Koia in it. This not only means you need it for the collection, but also to support these good dudes. ‘This Video Sucks’ – Thirty-two/Stepchild It’s free and you can watch it on the internet, may as well go check it out, just be prepared to wait about two minutes in every part for the action to start. JP Walker has an all switch part, that’s a first.

was successful by mid 2008. Now, two sunglass seasons into their self-control, we caught up with Brad Saffin, Managing Director of the Australian operations, to talk about how it’s all going.

B usiness

Re-enter The Dragon

dragon has experienced an exception ally fast rise onto a level in action sports that very few brands reach . they ’ re name and logo is a recognised symbol of the sports we ’ re involved in . we took a few minutes to discuss the amazing history of the company and its association with the industry ’ s largest brand , oakley .

W ords: Dave Keating Started in 1995 by Will Howard, Dragon was new blood into a market that had stagnated for the previous five years. Tied closely with the core of surf, snow and motocross and determinedly shifting in directions the other optical companies would not go in, they built their distinct logo into a worldwide recognisable symbol of the industry. But something not many people know is that Dragon was created and built with the backing of one of their major competitors, Oakley. Although Dragon was run as an independent company they gained ground quickly by leveraging the decades of experience and scale that Oakley has. This was a win-win situation until Oakley was taken into the worlds largest optical maker, Luxottica, in 2007. In a bid to regain their independence, the founder and senior management at Dragon fought to become their own company again and

The first question that comes to mind about the relationship between Oakley and Dragon is, how did it come about? I mean, these were two labels targeting a small sub culture and it just seems like it would have been eating away at their own market. Dragon provided a solution for something that Oakley as a technical optical brand couldn’t capture. We were brought in to the relationship as the more creative, unique and edgier brand. But based on that I can’t help but think you might have been better off carving your own path... What was the benefits of being with them? On a personal level the crew at Oakley is and was great. Strategically we tried to keep our distance and do our own thing, but we were always under the same umbrella. We saw ourselves as a rebellious teenager who until recently, had its wings clipped. Obviously there were positives to the partnership but what were the things that made the decision to split a good move for Dragon? Culturally Dragon and Oakley are very different. Oakley has a bunch of corporate /mainstream influences thrown into its branding story, such as supporting the military efforts of the U.S. Army and golf! ... Dragon is totally inspired by our free thinking roots in action sports. We work with our team riders, artists and the youth lifestyle that really gives us energy and drives us forward. When Luxottica came into the picture this difference in philosophy became even more apparent. So, the actual announcement came just over a year ago, what changes have you seen since then?

Wow, what changes haven’t we seen…. I am just so stoked with where the brand is going and the initiatives we are putting in place. Since Dragon has gone back to the hands of the original founders, the designers have come out with the first sunglass made with renewable materials, a world’s first! We chose to provide proceeds to support Surf Aid international, a cause we are great believers in. We now see this initiative being copied which can only give it credibility. Our independence has enabled us to introduce a new philosophy in product development and most people are just blown away by our sunglass offering at the moment. Each piece has some inspiration and unique story. The Domo sunglass style has just been nominated for an Australian award. You guys are going to go nuts over the next two seasons snow goggle line. Dragon’s Product Line Manager is Hillary Balch and she was quoted as saying the 2010 range is more ‘subtle and refined’. We followed up and asked her if that holds true for trends within Australia or does ‘the crazier and brighter, the better’ still hold true down here? Hillary Balch said, “I think Oz will always be crazier and brighter in a way, but I think the market in general is reacting to the past few years of fluoro trends and taking it down a notch now. We all want something fresh, so what do you go to when you’re sick of lime green and highlighter yellow? Seafoam and purple my friends. Don’t worry though, we’ll still have plenty of fun colors in the line, however it is a little more refined in the sense that it isn’t as ‘in your face’ as seasons past.” Sounds like there’s some more big changes coming up and some great new things happening. Thanks to Brad Saffin and Hillary Balch for all their time on this - looking forward to seeing what the future brings for Dragon!

Film

Nicholas Jasenovec have you ever wondered what it would take to get a movie made in hollywood ? well director nicholas jasenovec and a few of his friends ( albeit quite famous ones) have just finished a little film that shows that it is possible to make a film with nothing but your friends , a van and an idea . the film is called ‘ paper heart ’ and stars charlyne yi , michael cera and jake m . johnson .

P hotography: Justina Mintz Words: Drew Baker

So Nick, how’s things? Have you been doing lots of press? Not really too much anymore. A little bit of Australian press this week on the phone, but that’s about it. I think the next big press thing will be at the London Film Festival. So the film’s only shown in America so far? Yeah, only in America and Canada. But I’m lucky; Charlyne does the bulk of the press. So no one wants to talk to you then [laughs]? Yeah [laughs]. Was it like that when you were pitching the idea for this film? I mean, by Hollywood standards this is not at all a traditional movie. I imagine it must have been quite the hard sell. How’d the process go? Did people even want to talk to you? Yeah we pitched it quite a bit. Probably like 30 or 40 different places I would imagine. Everything from the biggest studios to private investors. Even when we set out to make it, and actually had financing, so much of it was still unknown. So it was a difficult project to pitch because we

were asking people to take a chance on us and the idea. Ultimately where we ended up was with Anchor Bay financing the film. They primarily do DVD releases. Because we had originally pitched to Overture Films, and they had set us up with Anchor Bay, they realized that they could at least make the budget back on a DVD release and they wouldn’t have to commit too much to the theatrical release, but Overture retained the first right on the theatrical release and after Sundance they came on board to release it. So it worked out really well for us. So you really had to prove yourself at the festivals before anyone would commit to a theatrical release? I think because maybe it is a different movie they weren’t sure what the audience was going to be for it. But then it went over well with audiences at Sundance, and then the following week we ended up testing the film in Orange Country and they got a better idea of what size audience there was for the film.

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After 30 to 40 pitch meetings? Is that usual for a film in Hollywood? I’m not sure. It’s different between pitching a script and actually pitching a film you’re looking to finance. I think only a handful of people weren’t interested in it. I think most people that were interested in it thought it was just too big of a risk. But it definitely was an idea that people really responded too, but not everyone responded enough to take a chance. I can’t imagine you guys were going around asking for much money? I mean, you obviously did a lot with a small amount. Essentially it seemed like three or four guys with an idea who said “Let’s go out and do it”. Yeah it was a pretty small team basically. Compared to most movies the budget was still pretty small. But it was enough money that we were definitely concerned with being in charge of that much money. I think for most movies it’s not a lot of money [laughs] but we still felt a level of responsibility. I remember reading that you were trading camera assistants between the two units because you didn’t have the budget for two of them. So it sounds like there was like five people making this movie. Was it that small? It was a little bit bigger. In Paris and Toronto it was a smaller crew, just a single camera. But for the majority of the shoot it was a two camera crew. Like when we were traveling around the US, I think the crew was about 10 people and that included two transportation drivers for the van and the truck full of gear. But yeah it was a pretty small crew. Our DP operated one of the cameras and our sound mixer operated the sound boom as well. It was not very glamorous [laughs]. Everyone who was involved was doing it because they wanted to be there. What you’ve just described sounds like every skateboard or snowboard film I’ve ever made; just a bunch of people driving across the country filming stuff. Yeah! Were you guys all friends beforehand? Because it sounds like you spent a lot of time together. For the most part, pretty much everyone on the crew was connected in some way. I didn’t know necessarily everyone before we started shooting. But for the most part it was a pretty tight crew. For example our DP had worked with his two guys before. It was a really good group of people so it was easy to get along with everybody. It was an adventure. We had a lot of fun. Was it a similar approach with the cameos? Because the film had a lot of cameos and obviously

they all came from Charlyne’s friends and your friends I’m guessing. Yeah. We even shot with a few people that didn’t make it into the film. But we weren’t really sure what the finished product was going to be, so we did ask some of our friends to shoot some interviews because they were either a) funny or b) recognizable. So maybe they could help bring a little bit more attention to the film. But really we ultimately had to make a decision as to what was best for the film and really we found that those interviews were more appropriately used to help setup who Charlyne was. It was always a little bit of a distraction when we had interviews with ordinary people out in the US telling these very personal stories and, even though some of the interviews with our friends were very personal, it felt a little odd to have a known actor next to an unknown couple. Another interesting casting choice was that the ‘Nick’ in the film isn’t you. Why not? Why an actor? The short answer is that I’m not a very good actor [laughs]. Early on we realized that Nick was going to have a presence in the film and needed to be a character for various reasons. And we were always working very hard to create a constant tone and reality between the fictional stuff and the documentary stuff and I didn’t want to jeopardize the reality of the fictional moments with my bad acting. And another thing was that the film has various levels of reality, so that was one more thing to add to the list. Did Charlyne know the actor playing you (Jake M. Johnson) beforehand? Because their onscreen relationship seemed so genuine that I didn’t even question that he wasn’t really you. Yeah we all new each other, in terms of the actors or the onscreen people. Charlyne had done some live stuff with Jake, and the three of us even put on a live version of E.T in a half hour, where Charlyne played E.T. So we had done that when we were waiting for the financing to come together. Charlyne and I definitely knew each other better than Jake and Charlyne did when we started. It wasn’t really a conscious decision but it just happened to workout that Charlyne and Jake were sort of alone in the back of the van when we were traveling and so I think that they did become really good friends as we where making the film. I wish I could take credit for that seating arrangement, but it didn’t even occur to me, but I think it shows on screen. So was Michael Cera always going to be the love interest? Was there any thought towards anyone else for that part? Was there a list?

Michael was always the first choice. I don’t think that Charlyne had worked with him before, but the rest of us had and we are all friends, and we all hang out together. So there was some familiarity there, so the chemistry was already there. So if Michael wasn’t interested in doing it, we probably would have looked for an actor that we were all friends with. Because it’s such a small movie, and everyone had to sacrifice to be a part of it, so it would be weird to ask someone that we weren’t friends with to take a chance and be a part of it. But luckily Michael responded to the idea early so before we even pitched it he was a part of it. So Clark Duke was never asked? I want to see that guy in more things! [Laughs] Nah, we all knew Clark, but he was never asked. But no one else was really asked either though. Like I said, luckily we didn’t have to put a list together, but I’m sure if we did, if Michael had said no, I’m sure Clark and a lot of those guys would have been on that short list. Isn’t it amazing how Michael Cera is the new romantic lead? Ten years ago, you’d never have thought his kind of character would become the new romantic lead. But what’s more amazing is that you’ve set Charlyne up as a romantic lead, which is even more unconventional than Cera’s whole shtick. Do you think that’s something we are going to see more of from Charlyne in the future? I’m not sure. I know a few of the things that Charlyne is working on, actually we are working on a television pilot right now, and there is some romance in the pilot. But she definitely is a different kind of romantic lead, which was something we were all excited about when making the film, to be able to present a story with people you wouldn’t normally see in those roles. But who knows? She’s so young, so she probably has decades of work ahead of her. I am actually surprised, because for someone who is so skeptical about love, almost every live show I’ve seen her do with a story, love and romance is often such a big part of what she does. I don’t know if she’ll ever do another romantic comedy, but it will always play a part of the stories she tells. So the whole premise of Charlyne not believing in love is a real theory of hers? Yeah, it’s maybe a little exaggerated for the purposes of the movie. I think her initial inspiration for wanting to do this project was her own doubts coupled with meeting people with incredible love stories, which made her a little optimistic about it, which set off the idea to make the film. And where did you fit into this whole thing? Was it that she had this idea and you were an aspiring

director so she thought you should do it? Or did you go to her with it? She came to me with it. I think I got a long email from her, which talked about the genesis of the idea. At that point it was supposed to be just a traditional documentary with no fictional elements. She just wanted to collect stories and interview people on the topic. She had already devised the idea of recreating some of these stories with some sort of puppetry. Which is a big part of what she does on stage, she often builds a lot of cardboard puppets and props. So are you reading this email thinking “OK, so it’s a documentary about traveling around the country with cardboard puppets in it? Good luck trying to get this made!”? Well, I was friends with Charlyne, but I was also an admirer of what she was doing with her live shows. And I was on set when she was shooting ‘Knocked Up’, so I saw how well she was doing. At the time I think she was just looking for a friend who was a director to kind of help here realize this idea. So even though I didn’t necessarily know what the movie was going to be yet, I still thought that if she was excited about it then it would probably be great [laughs], not saying what we did was great. But I think it was. Having seen what it takes to get anything done in Hollywood, especially something as original and creative as what you guys have done, it’s almost a miracle. Thanks man. Once we started talking about it

and knowing how much of a talented performer she is, it just made sense she should be in front of the camera. And because the idea was coming from a genuine curiosity, that was the interesting part for me. And that’s when we started figuring out what the story would be, so that’s how we got to fictionalising a romance to weave in with the documentary stuff to give it a story. And so was this the first major thing you’ve directed? How’d you get to this? Yeah, this is my first feature. I’d directed a bunch of short film, and I’ve been working as a writer for a year or two when this started to come together. I guess my shorts played a role in allowing people to give me a chance to direct to this. But looking back, I’m really thankful people gave us a chance, because it really could have been a disaster [laughs]. We ended up shooting about 300 hours and rewriting the film essentially in post. So there really were so many unknowns. And I’m thankful that we were also given a lot of freedom, we didn’t really have to answer to anybody. So I think that’s a big part of why the movie is what it is, it’s because we were given the time and the freedom. And what’s the measure of success for this film for you? When can you sit back and say this movie has done what you wanted it to do? It changes every step of the way. But really, just getting it released in anyway, whether it’s DVD or theatrical, that’s pretty exciting. Just for people to have the chance to see, to me that’s success. But on top of that there was a dream to take the

film to Sundance and premiere it there, so that was probably one of our most exciting things. For us that was a dream come true. But your expectations keep going up [laughs].We are definitely pleased with how well it’s done, because there is a tendency to forget how unconventional it is, and what a small movie it is. But we are all really proud with what it has accomplished. So what’s next? You mentioned your working on a pilot for a TV show, is there anything you can say about that? Yeah, it’s actually with HBO and we are just getting into it. I don’t think there are many details I can offer up on that. Hopefully the process goes well and we actually get to shoot it as it’s a pretty fun idea. I wish I could go into it more. Then I’m writing what I hope is my next feature with my friend Bill Hader, who is an actor on ‘Saturday Night Live’. We’ve known each other for 10 or 11 years now and have been writing together most of that time. We are kind of rewriting an old script right now that we hope we can make soon. I don’t anything about it, but that sounds amazing. I’ve always thought Bill Hader needs something to blow up with because he is so funny. I’m excited; the thing we are writing would be an opportunity for him to do something a little bit different than what’s he’s gotten to do so far. I think it would be a fun project for him. Well, that’s all I have for you Nick. Thanks for the time. No problem, thank you for being interested.

TOM RYEN

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Culture

Krozm if you ’ ve ever seen a music video for the midnight juggernauts , van she or cut copy , chances are the krozm guys made it . in just a few short years , krozm have come a long way since their junk - fi , garage - sale - esque debut videos for damn arms . they were recently asked to create the titles and part intros for the kai neville directed surf film modern collective . we caught up with lachlan dickie , chris hill and ewan mccloed to find out what ’ s next .

P hotography: Krozm Words: Timothy Pashen 32

Hi guys. Hi Timothy Where on earth – or a higher planetary constellation – did you come up with the name Krozm? Ewan: [Laughs] The name is a bastardisation of an old greeko legend about six ancient gods who gave birth to parts of the world as they slept. It was their dreams which shaped the landscape and Krozm woke up in a cold sweat discovering the earth was creased with mountains, valleys and rivers... Interesting. You guys know your history! Okay, given this is Pop Magazine I’ve got to get this one out of the system, do you guys surf, skate or any of that type of thing? Ewan: Yeah Chris was an avid trouble maker and skater in his youth. I used to ride a boogie board and love the southerly swells which hit around

Byron Bay making for fast sucky shoreys and close outs. These days we are both avid body surfers which I think is often quite an overlooked radical pastime. Chris: I grew up in a small beach side town and spent a lot of time as a teenager surfing and skating. I gave them both up when I moved to the city and haven’t really done either for a long time. Although last year some friends and I thought it would be a good idea to go skating after a bunch of beers one night. Suffice to say I ended up with a fractured arm after trying a 180 kickflip. There’s an obvious lesson in that. Lachlan: If by saying “that type of thing” you mean bareback Beluga riding, then the answer is yes. (Editors Note: I had to look up what this was, according to wikipedia it’s either a whale or a submarine – either way it would require some

Indiana Jones boulder-size balls to attempt it!) Alright. Let’s get to the really interesting stuff that all the kids want to know. You’ve just wrapped up on the forthcoming surf film, Modern Collective. It’s directed by Kai Neville and produced by pioneering industry legend Tayler Steele. How the hell did you guys get involved with this and what was it like working with these two? Chris: Kai contacted us on the basis of seeing some of our music videos. Since I grew up with surfing and had seen Taylor Steele’s early works such as Momentum and Momentum 2, I thought it might be something fun to be involved with. Also we all wanted try our hands at something slightly different to a music video. Lachlan: It was quite easy going working with Kai and the guys on set, we did our best to put them in some fairly awkward situations on camera though! The film is out now and the major thing I noticed is the music and the ‘high-concept’ intro. It’s nice to be thinking about concepts and themes in a surf video for a change. Chris: The intro is based on an ancient Viking ceremony, which was used to summon the energy of the universe into the life force of warriors just before an impending battle. Lachlan: We’re trying to compliment the surfing in the film which is breaking new ground for the sport. As the title suggests they are a collective of a new breed of surfer, so we took this concept to a biblical level and presented them as a new breed of human surfacing from the void beneath. Ewan: The film is going to be something really special. Some of the footage Kai has shown us looks gorgeous and nostalgic but also completely fresh. I’ve never seen surfing like this before. These guys are so fluid, (they were) throwing the tail around constantly and with consummate ease. The aesthetic of the film is going to be interesting, new and ultra modern, something the surf industry has never seen before. Let’s talk culture! It’s fair to say our readers have a sound grasp of what goes into making a surf, skate or snowboard film – they’ve been watching and probably making their own since they can remember. Tell us a little bit about the business of making music videos for a living? How do you bring your ideas to life - do artists come knocking on your door or do you go and hunt down poor unsuspecting bands and unleash the Krozm-ness on them? Ewan: Hmm, it’s a funny business the music video one. We tend to go through phases where it seems heaps of bands all want us to write ideas for clips. Sometimes they get where we are coming from and sometimes totally not. I remember

we pitched on a clip for Muph and Plutonic and they asked for something controversial so we pitched the idea of remaking Fletch but with a homeless transvestite who was also revealed to be an ancient sea alien and started to infect other homeless bums and hobos with a green slime which would change their sex. They didn’t go for it at all. It would have been something epic. Chris: Presently, it’s mostly bands or record labels approaching us via seeing work we have already done. Though in the beginning it was more us approaching friends who were in bands and asking if we could make something for them. Back then we had to convince people of our skills by doing magic tricks and acrobatic stunts. Record labels will send out a brief to specific directors they are considering working with and outline some loose ideas of what they and the band want to achieve visually for a particular song. We usually use these ideas to guide our brainstorming but often it ends up that we push any provided references into a completely different idea. Which we then try to sell to the band as best we can. Luckily most of the bands that we have worked with have either had blind faith in our ideas or have shared in a similar vision. We seem to achieve our best results when we are given total creative freedom. So that’s what happens, you’re all a pretty mysterious bunch, you musical types. Speaking of mysterious, there are some pretty mystical characters running around in your videos. We’ve seen singing rocks with glued on boggle eyes, androgynous cube-headed beings, and plenty of craft infused unitards! How do you come up with the ideas for this stuff? Do they just flow freely from your subconscious due to a youth misspent watching a whole bunch of strange sci-fi films? I’m imagining some pretty crazy brainstorming sessions here, with novelty size marker pens and giant Etch-A-Sketch’s. Ewan: We had a Krozm white board in our office for brainstorming sessions. It’s usually covered in hand drawn pictures of Orcas and Narwhals. A lot of character ideas come from bits and pieces of culture, which we just randomly put together in a new context and then (we just) place a story around them until they start to make a weird kind of sense. Lachlan: Yeah, there are some rare life forms in our videos. I guess a strange mix of pop culture from our past is partially responsible for their birth. Every generation seems to grow up having been more visually overloaded than the last (us included), so I guess part of our thought process is a weird subconscious mutation of this input. When things like Mulligrubs and Mad Max stew together in your brain after a few years strange

things can hatch! Speaking of brainstorming sessions, there’s a large archive of those on a shelf somewhere, some hilarious diagrams and field observation drawings from alternate dimensions. Chris: We all have or have had massive B-grade VHS film collections from the 70’s and 80’s and a lot of inspiration is drawn from watching both good and extremely bad films. My personal collection recently reached around 700, which caused a bit of problem with storage in my apartment so I had to sell them off. It was a sad day indeed. Other than that yeah our brainstorming sessions usually involve a lot of complex and weird drawings that are used to explain our ideas to each other. Often we have to really simplify our video treatments, as I am pretty sure if we sent in some of our unbridled ideas to bands they would think we were completely crazy. Fashion, aesthetics, production. Three words that are often thrown around when discussing any kind of filmic pursuit. What are your attitudes to maintaining a natural style that stands out from all the other bazillion videos being pumped out across the universe? And how do you stay abreast of what’s cool and fashionable whilst maintaining your artistic purity? Ewan: We naturally tend to do as much in camera stuff as possible. You can often get a very interesting look attempting to create a whole world from cellophane or plasticine or mashed potato or whatever. We’ve been fortunate to work with bands which are open to distinctive visual styles rather than simply trying to make them just look ‘cool’. Chris: Yeah I guess our personal taste and artistic vision tends to lean towards stuff that can be created in real life rather than stuff that can be created using CG. At the same time we all have very specific taste when it comes to cinematography and filmic devices. So sometimes we are presenting a low-fi ‘junk aesthetic’ in a deliberately highly stylized way in order to blur the lines between reality and fantasy. This is something we have always been conscious of. I think we are also all firm believers in using any technology to our advantage. So for us in the same way that we are often trying out new things aesthetically we are also always equally eager to try out new things technically too. Lachlan: It’s really satisfying to capture our concepts on hi-end film gear usually reserved for Michael Bay or 50 Cent. It’s also because we are stern believers in our concepts and treat them as if we were shooting a feature film. Aesthetics come and go, especially in music video, so we try to eradicate fashion from the equation as much as possible when initially writing ideas, even if a 33

band or label comes to us with a visual direction they are set on. There is usually something more interesting that can be made than simply following the call of the latest visual trends. Let’s talk about your greatest influences? I read somewhere that they are as diverse as John Carpenter films to vintage Sesame Street. I’m interested to hear what you’ve been watching lately? Chris: I think, like a lot of people, we are obviously influenced by stuff from our own childhood, which of course includes things like 80’s sci-fi and Sesame Street. This era of film and TV quite heavily relied on in camera effects techniques which are often lost in todays films. I actually think there is a direct relationship between the effects in Carpenter’s movies and techniques used in Sesame Street. For example the effects in ‘The Thing’ involves a lot of animatronic and hand held puppetry which today in the same genre of

like Hi-5 or whatever its like they are inducing some weird meth-rave dance spasm on the kids of today. Ewan: Yeah definitely Carpenter. I watched ‘The Thing’ recently on a 14 hour Air Asia flight and it saved my life. Hmm, great influences for me often come from literature and art. I’m a big fan of William S. Burroughs, Shakespere and the poet Coleridge. These guys can create vivid intense worlds from a few words. I love films but often I watch for pure leisure rather than trying to learn any kind of craft. Lately Ive been downloading new episodes of the Simpsons - ultra classic! Some Seinfeld and rewatching the Trailer Park Boys series. Oh, also the new Jarmush Film ‘The Limits of Control’ totally awesome film blissed me out - great colours, strange cryptic repetitious story and fantastic characters. This latest video you’ve done for Jet is a pretty

lot bigger over there, slightly less conservative and they have an ingrained cultural investment in art, film and music. Even a garbage man in Paris can be an avid reader of 19th century poetry and admire the work of Picasso. I like the sound of flexing your creative muscles. Does this mean a Krozm feature film may be riding in somewhere on the horizon? Ewan: Totally. I dream of one day directing a big dirty futurist sci-fi piece based on an old crazy screenplay. L.A. is a wonderful city we are lucky to have some amazing people to work with. For now though we really want to connect with some European and British bands and really refine our art as music video directors. It feels like we are never satisfied with our videos and strive to make something new on each one. Chris: There are plenty of feature film ideas swimming around the Krozm tank. L.A. is like a well

I dream of one day directing a big dirty futurist sci-fi... based on an old crazy screenplay.

film would simply be done using CG. In the same way the use of puppets, costumes and stop motion/hand drawn animation that was a staple of Sesame Street is no longer used in childrens TV shows. The last time I saw some childrens TV it was some dodgey 3D show that was just unimaginative and unbearable. I go through obsessive binges with films where I have to watch everything by a certain director or a certain actor no matter how bad the film is. Recently I’ve been on a Clint Eastwood binge with a slight tingle of Wim Wenders on the horizon. I’d also recommend ‘Superjail’ for light comic relief. Lachlan: That’s a big question, but people like Salvador Dali, David Cronenberg and bands such as Talking Heads and YMO have been strong influence for me. I have a lot of inspirations though, not from any one particular medium, everything from Japanese graphic design of the 1970’s to Studio Ghibli and Robert Abel. Early Sesame Street seemed to be a centrepoint for cutting edge children’s television at the time, there were lots of really interesting collaborations for parts of the show. Sadly, I can’t say the same for children’s television now though, everytime I see something

majorly slick piece of work. You got to work with Steve Costanza (chief make-up genius on Napoleon Dynamite) and you even roped in child-actor Lukas Haas as an ice-cream eating hobo! You were picked up by Mighty 8, a directors collective in L.A. on the back of this shoot (who’ve directed on Death Cab for Cutie, Beck, Depeche Mode, Feist & The Hold Steady), and now you’re off to Europe… Is this is a coming of age for Krozm? Ewan: We definitely hope so. To be honest it’s been a long hard road coming from Australia and being so far away from the epicenters of music and film culture. Over the last few years we have really matured as both directors and producers and are now ready to work on both a new conceptual and professional level. I think we really need to spread our wings. Chris: I definitely feel like we have been through some sort of self-inflicted initiation ritual. Although I am not sure if we have had the chance to completely stretch our creative muscles yet. It seems like people in Europe and the U.S. (are) responding to our work much more than in Australia. The market and audience are just a whole

oiled film dispensing machine and we have made some good friends and connections there. It seems that the trick is not to get caught up in the automation of the machine where independent control is thrown out the window. For the time being I think we are happy creating music videos and other smaller projects but the time will come when we will be prepared to sink all of our time and energy into a dream feature length project. Lachlan: I hope so also, there is an awful lot we still want to do in the music video world for now though. I think we all have yearnings for the pace of a feature film shoot rather than a one or two day whirlwind production, but we also have the luxury of being able to move on to new ideas quickly which is nice. There may or may not be an upcoming project with an animatronic dolphin. Oh, one more thing. Do you have any of those Gold Unitards left over from that epic Grates video – surely you won’t have room in your suitcases… any chance I could adopt one? We certainly do but they’re a bit smelly and greasy! [Laughs] Thanks guys. It’s been great fun! Krozm: Thanks!

THE BEACH HOUSE Photography by STEVE GOURLAY

Fashion Editor: Jana Bartolo Models: Chris Gillies and Lucy McIntosh from Chadwicks Hair: Lyndal Salmon Makeup: Lucinda Rose

She Wears:

Billabong Dreamtime bikini Anon Associate Sunglasses in Black/Grey Diva earrings and mirror bangle Kustom spotted wedges in navy/white

He Wears:

Ezekiel From Within Tee in White Quiksilver Diamond Performer (Kelly Slater Signature) Boardshort Coal The McNeil hat in Black

She Wears:

Flamingo Sands Ringed Bandeau Bikini in Fluro Leaves Flamingo Sands High Waisted Stretch Lace Short in Black Diva Accessories Pink stone ring

He Wears:

Analog Autofocus Boardshorts in Graphite

She Wears:

Minkpink bikini top and bottom in Acid Wash Oakley Frogskins in Matte Grey/Purple Peep Toe Miss Bukingham heels in Nude Diva Accessories bangles and electric earrings

He Wears:

Analog Moreno Walkshorts in Leafy Green Zoo York Pick pocket tee in Charcoal Oakley Grenade Collaboration Frogskins

She Wears:

Tigerlily Smoked Teanie Bikini in Fire Diva Accessories Wooden earrings Anon Wizard sunglasses in Silver

He Wears:

DC Plyskin Boardshort in Black DC Â Venice high boots in Black (on floor)

She Wears:

Zoo York Zoo Beat Bikini in Green Ashbury Lizard King Day trippers Sunglasses Diva Accessories Diamonte Flower ring Tigerlily The Anja Sandals in Black

He Wears:

Zoo York Peter Short in Fog Oakley Vader Tank in Green and White Sabre Poolside Sunglasses in White

She Wears:

Zoo York Wacky Cracker Bikini in White/Black Sabre Nuevo Sunglasses in Black/White Swarovski Black Diamonte Earrings

He Wears:

Oakley Dispatch Boardshorts in Matte White with Grey Coal Parker Fedora in White

She Wears:

Watersun @ Trixan Body crochet one-piece in Black Hurley mini shorts in Dark Denim Coal Adelaide Hat in Black Sachi peep toe pumps in Black Equip Wooden Bangle

He Wears:

Oakley Molecule Boardshorts in Black Ezekiel Rotterdam hooded l/s shirt in Black Zoo York Labyrinth Skull Tee in Black Dragon Wormser sunglasses in Matte Grey/Green Ion

She Wears:

Billabong Martini One-Piece Dragon Fame Sunglasses in White Black Tree of Life drop jewel earrings Corelli @ Williams â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pranceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; thongs with embellished ankles in Pewter

He Wears:

Quicksilver Resin Drips (Craig Anderson Signature) Boardshorts.

ANALOG www.analogclothing.com ANON www.anonoptics.com ASHBURY www.ashburyeyewear.com.au BILLABONG (07) 5589 9899 COAL www.coalheadwear.com CORRELLI www.williamsshoes.com.au DIVA ACCESSORIES www.diva.net.au DRAGON www.dragonalliance.com EZEKIEL (03) 8525 9999. EQUIP www.equipyourself.com.au FLAMINGO SANDS www.flamingosands.com HURLEY 1300 139 719

KUSTOM www.kustomfootwear.com MINK PINK (02) 9212 4788 PEEP TOE www.peeptoeshoes.com.au OAKLEY www.oakley.com.au QUICKSILVER www.quiksilver.com SABRE www.sabre.fm SACHI 1800 651 185 SWAROVSKI 1300 791 599 TIGERLILY (02) 8228 8000 TREE OF LIFE www.treeoflife.com.au WATERSUN www.trixanbody.com.au ZOO YORK (03) 8525 9999

Steph & Whitney Gilmore Words by Fran Derham â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Photography by Clare Plueckhahn

ou have to be an ostrich not to know that Steph has just taken out her Third World Title, one for each year that she’s been on the tour. Pretty impressive for a 21 yr old, even if she is the oldest chick on the CT. The thing that gets me is that every time someone writes an article about it they get Beachley to comment. People are continuously trying to pit these two against one another. No joy. They get along. Actually, so do all chick surfers, well except maybe for Coco and Layne, after the drop-in debacle last year. But apart from that they go and see New Moon together, have cook ups at the Rip Curl House and dance to Beyonce Single Ladies, just like the rest of us. Who knew!? We hear a lot about Steph. AKA Super Gilmore. Even if you’re not a surfer you probably know she’s the happiest go lucky chick

going round, that she’s been with Rip Curl for 9 years, plays guitar and loves her fashion. What you might not know is that she travels with a Cole Clarke Angel Acoustic, surfs on single fin boards (when she’s not competing) and works with her sister! Yeah Totes McGotes. It’s only a new thing. Six months to be precise. Before joining Steph, Whitney was working in the Marketing department of Kustom, one of Billabongs smaller brands. Now she’s gathered her knowledge, gypsy skirt and craze like enthusiasm to help her lil’ sis. Go the Gilmore girls. No, this is not that B grade, ridiculously popular American soap, it’s an Australian story, a true one. These two sisters work and travel together, sleep in the same bed, share cake and drop in on one another. Yeeeeeeewwwwwwww. Being the curious cats that we are we caught up with these blonde bombshells and got the low down.

Are you on top of the world right now? Steph: Yup, very much on a high, and now I am on holidays. It’s been an incredible year. Celebrations shall continue. So in this last week after winning the trophy, you must have been put through the ringer with media commitments, give me a bit of a run through. Steph: The media ring - I call it the aftermath. It is all part of the job. I try to do it to the best of my ability, as sober as possible. We held a press conference for a few hours a couple of days later and tried to fit everything into that however the day after winning the title coincided with Monday morning media in Australia which meant alot of live cross radio interviews and correspondence with newspaper journalists. This stuff I don’t mind, although after the 3rd day of it, i’ve usually answered the same question 100 times over. Talk about repetitive; you’d think that these media peeps could get a little bit creative. Whit, what’s your role in all this? Whitney: My role is to schedule and organise behind the scenes. I liaise with the media requests, scheduling etc so Steph can focus on the job of surfing. I guess I act like an assistant to her business. Steph, did you ever have a job before becoming a professional surfer? Steph: I mowed my Nana’s lawn once for $20. Whitney: She only paid you $8! Its all your mowing talents were worth. [Laughs] Clearly you need Whit to turn you $8 into $20. What made you guys decide to team up? Whitney: We have always been great friends since a young age and Steph’s profile was getting to the point where she needed someone who was a filter, but she didn’t need a full time manager. Steph: And Whitney is way cheaper. Whitney: Sure brah, I want my cut. Steph: Whitney was at a point where she wanted to move from the Gold Coast. PR and communications is her formal background as she completed her degree in marketing at Griffith University, and it just had a natural fit, I guess. Whit also wanted to work on some other projects she was passionate about, and working with me free’d up her time to do this. Who was taking care of this stuff for Steph before you? Steph: Our Dad, alongside the media team at Rip Curl. What about other surfers? Do they have a media managers? Whitney: Kelly Slater had one but kept it under wraps - you never really know much about him

This page: Steph, single-fin barrel, Hawaii. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Over page: Whitney in the office, Hawaii.

at all let alone his business life, but yeah, Layne was really the first person to do it. And her old assistant Brooke is now the ASP Womens Tour event manager. Steph: Yeah he leads the full gypsy life. Mysterious. Whereas these days Mick and Joel are really accessible, twittering and have constant updates on their websites - and Kelly only just got website recently. Whitney: It’s just mainly the guys, the girls they have managers but not media managers. You’ve done a lot of travel over the last 6 months, loads of time in Cali. Why? Steph: I felt that not that many Australian athletes build their profiles around the world. California has such a strong, fun surf culture and I wanted to be a part of it for a while. So Whit and I spent three months around the Huntington Beach area and a bit of time in New York adventuring around,

went back to talking about the eyeliner brand of choice. I battled on. Apart from freaky Coney Island, what else? Whitney: Steph did a fair bit of media to satisfy the sponsors and just jumped on some interesting opportunities. The rest of it was enjoying an American summertime, lots of live music, crazy random adventures (up to Woodstock, SanFran etc) and all around good times. It was nice to not be focused solely on surfing for a while. And instead just being a 21 year old on a new adventure. Yeah for sure, any major biffos on the road, or while working together? Whitney: Only when she steals my undies. Steph: Nah. We never actually fight. And if one of us gets a little cranky with the other we end up cracking up laughing about it. We’re both pretty easy going people, I guess, and neither of us let much bother us. It’s all fun and games.

My power! You sound like Pinky and the Brain. What’s on the cards after Hawaii? Steph: Home time! Which is summertime fun time! The festive season, family time, good waves and lots of bat ball on the beach - cant wait. Actually we are spending the first part of our time in Australia in Torquay with our older sister, Bonnie, will get some Melbourne city fun in there too. Good to rest up before a new year of exciting things. What’s on the agenda? Steph: We are just letting it happen organically. The opportunities presented to me are open to many areas outside of surfing. Its exciting. Its good with Whitney, she’s more business minded and we both share very similar passions for fashion and music, which we also share with our older sister Bonnie. It’s now just a matter of determining and working on the things that we want to make happen, and in what part of the world.

THE MEDIA RING; I CALL IT THE AFTERMATH. It is all part of the job. I try to do it to the best of my ability, as sober as possible... Although after the 3rd day of it, I’ve usually answered the same question 100 times over.

meeting people and living like gypsies. What’s the most random thing that happened in that time? Any weird stories? Steph: Saw some sharks - but that’s pretty boring. Oh yeah, we hung out with an Otter on Coney Island. We went to the Coney Island Aquarium and we met this random chick who had just quit working there. She was still mates with all the staff so she took us behind the scenes. And we got to play with this Otter. He was a dude. Ahh, the power of two blondes traveling together. It’s quite magical. Whitney: Yeah, until you get dissed by emo punks for pulling out your surf board and trying to paddle out on the most toxic beach in the world! Steph: Yeah, I thought I better have a crack at surfing at Coney Island so I went on got my board and headed down to the beach only to be completely torn apart by this group of freak like teenagers. They OMG’d for a little bit and then

Is it a disadvantage or advantage working with your sister? Steph: Its an advantage because its easier to say no to Whitney than other people. And she knows me better than anyone so she can communicate with me in a way that keeps it easy and simple. Whitney: Its an advantage for me not working in a 9 to 5 role as it gives me flexibility and it allows me to travel which has always been something I wanted to do with my career. Is it fun being your older sisters boss? Steph: It’s not really a boss/employee situation. We don’t explicitly treat it that way. I know Whitney has great knowledge of PR and marketing and more so the market (she loves her magazines and internet research) so it was an obvious choice of partnership. But yeah, when I want her to do extra things like cook me dinner, I try and use my power.

Cool. When I was with you guys in Hawaii I met Ava the artist, Torquay woman tuned NYC cat. Tell us about the doco she’s making on you Steph. Steph: That’s Uva the exchange student. Haha. Narh. Ava Warbrick. We have been filming together over the past year on random trips through Paris, NY, Portugal, Aus, Cali etc etc. The project is set to be an experimental, art based portrait. A documentation of the gypsy lifestyle. Cool. How’s it going? Any snippets you can reveal? Whitney: Check out ripcurl.com/stephintheus. This has two mini clips of some of our time in New York. Steph: Eeeewwwwww. Whitney that’s gross. Yuck. Whitney has just picked her toenail and dropped it on my bed. I have to sleep there. Whitney: So do I.

This page: Steph pulling in at the Sunset Gidget Pro, Hawaii. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Photograph: Calre Plueckhahn.

Corbin Harris Interview by Steele Saunders — Photography by Steve Gourlay

orbin Harris has done what very few skaters have managed. He has gone ‘mainstream’. That would spell the end of most skaters but Corbin backs his ‘familyfriendliness’ with insane ability and an indepth knowledge of the industry. He is ambitious and confident, scoring a T.V. show by turning up and asking. It helps that he really is an interesting guy.

This page: Nosegrind, Maroubra Bowl. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Over page: Backside Tail, Singapore.

What’s up? I’m just talking to Nicky, the make up artist at Fox and Fuel, about the shenanigans with Tiger Woods (who had just arrived in Australia), have you seen it? Nah, but I do love shenanigans. Oh my lord, it is RIDICULOUS. Choppers are flying everywhere, crazy security ... It’s like the Pope is here. [Laughs] It’s insane. It’s better than the Pope, at least we know golf is real. Yeah true. I like that. There is a hole at the end of the course, it’s confirmed. So you’re getting make up done for a phone interview that’s… ahh… interesting. [Laughs] Nah, nah. Everyone’s offices are pretty close to each other so it’s just the quietest place to do the interview. So you’re at Fuel now? Yeah, I came into Fox sports to do an interview for ‘Long Lunch’. But it’s been pushed back because Tiger Wood’s press conference went over. So I ran over to Fuel to work on some scripts and stuff. You know you’re doing something sort of right when you’re getting bumped by Tiger Woods. I’d never have the chance to get bumped by Tiger Woods. [Laughs] Yeah, I suppose that is a good thing. You seem to have a heavy schedule judging by your Twitter feed, how’s it treating you? Since I flew back from the States three weeks ago it’s just been non-stop. Lots of book interviews and stuff going on. I was on Kerry-Anne… HOW WAS KERRY-ANNE?! Kerry-Anne is awesome! So rad. A really good operator in the industry, you don’t hang around for that long and not know your business. Are you addicted to Twitter or are you keeping it mild? Just a mild thing. I have a bunch of kids that write back. They like to know what’s going on. I think I started out tweeting more personal stuff and some humour stuff but now I’m just putting out what I’m doing everyday. I find, especially in Sydney, people are getting in trouble for writing certain things, so I just take it easy. It’s sort of strange that you never know who’s reading that stuff. I think it’s strange too. I just fill everyone in on my skating and the TV stuff, the rest is… private. [Laughs] How was the States? What did you get up to? In the States I went over to do the Daily Habit (USA Fuel TV show) that was kinda cool. Were you on it or hosting it? Nah, on it as a skater and doing promo for the

book. Talking about Corbin Presents and designing and stuff. I did some interviews for the Bowlarama for Oakley, adding some Australian flavour to it. Then I kinda just kicked it. It was such good weather so I was just skating with Matt Mumford, Joe Pease and I stayed with Chad Bartie for a bit. Is that something that interests you, going to the States to make a name for yourself? (Slight sigh, obviously this has been weighing on his mind) I’m actually thinking about that right at the moment. It’s been something that my sponsors have mentioned - where one said, ‘do you want a visa?’ But, I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like things (in skateboarding) are going that well at the moment. It seems like back here there is a little more going on for me. They just took a big hit (financially) over there. I’m probably going to go there for three months in March. Do the non-Visa thing? Yeah, I have to make sure I really want the Visa before I get it. I really want to make it to the XGames for the Superpark. It would be good to go over there get some coverage then go back over and hopefully make the cut (for the Superpark). Can you still do the TV stuff over there? I worked out with Fuel that I’ll do a whole lot of stuff here for the next few months, then I’ll bail and anything extra that I need to do I can do in the L.A. office. I saw on your Twitter you were skating with Chima over there. Were you hitting up street spots? Yeah, I was skating with him and all the Volcom guys for three or four days, running around with (Andrew) Mapstone hitting street spots. We tended to go to a skate park in the morning and those guys just warmed up while I’d get a photo, then we’d go street skating in the afternoon. Do you concentrate on getting street photos out there? Yeah, when I’m working on an interview. I like to push the level of park skating which is what I mainly like doing but on top of that I do like to get one or two street tricks. Like, I know I can skate it and it’s so fun to run around the streets with all those guys, so funny. [Laughs] It never really stops. Being in the car with Jake Duncome, Chima, and Bjorn Johnson ... All those guys. It’s pretty funny. And the best spots are always in the weirdest places. Yeah, where there’s guns and knives and people getting robbed. That’s where the best spots are. What prompted you into doing a book? It was an idea that my manager and I started. I had the idea but I was a bit sceptical about the

whole thing. I had to make sure I had 100% control over it and who I did it with. Once I got that I was stoked to do it. So no super cropped photos with no copping in them then? [Laughs] NO! And I think stuff like that has left a couple of people really surprised, ‘it’s actually… a real book’ being weird about the whole thing. [Laughs] A real book! I was imagining (Steve) Gourlay tearing his hair out that all his photos had been cropped down. As I haven’t seen it yet, who is the book for? Well, I didn’t think Australia was ready for something too specific, just for beginners or just for advanced ... Whatever you want to call it. So we did it from start to finish. It’s for kids in that it covers buying a board, knowing what to get, dimensions of boards all that stuff. Basic tricks then on to getting gnarly; street and transition stuff. Then we have some guys doing their favourite tricks. Dustin (Dollin) on doing a frontside flips, Chima (Ferguson) doing a frontside bigspin. I think it’s pretty educational for kids and their parents, there’s a bit of an insight on what it’s like to be a professional skater and to skateboard in general. The travel, competing or not competing, the two sides of it. Just opening skateboarding up a little bit. Because people always go ‘what do you do?’ ‘What do you mean you only do two contests a year?’ Just explaining that there’s a bit more to it than that (contests). And when you were preparing for it did you check out the ups and downs of the history of skateboard books? I looked at Tony Hawk’s last one he did and Gourlay had a few things in his office. But when we sat down for the first meeting we kinda knew what we wanted to do. Have this amount of tricks, these guys doing their signature tricks. We kinda knew what we wanted to do so there was no need to look at anything else. I don’t think there has been something like this anyway. Did you check out the one the Hill’s did in the 80’s, “Blast”? Yes, I had a look at that one. For the day that was an epic skateboard publication. Gourlay said the same thing actually. Yeah I tore a ligament at footy the day mum got it for me and once I was better I was like “fuck football. I’ve been staring at this sequence of Tony Hallam doing a boneless for two months; I’m going to go do that!” Yes! Sick! How’d you get hooked into skating? I first saw a board when I was three or four years

old. My brother had a Lance Mountain, I think. I used to just follow him down the street. We lived in an industrial area so we would go down there on the weekends and he would skate around with his friends. I’d be the annoying little brother that would just hang around. I was really into football, tennis, surfing. But skating, I couldn’t get it, the dynamics of it. Maybe I wasn’t big enough, still not that big now actually. I got to fourteen playing footy for school, surfing but then Vert-X at Taren Point opened. You had guys like (Adam) Luxford, Dave Bodner and Jake Brown. I rode down there on my BMX and looked into the skatepark from this caged area and was just like ‘this is the best thing I’ve ever seen!’ A brand new indoor skatepark. I remember watching Jake Brown and thinking ‘I never want to do anything else ever again.’ Within two years of that I was stoked to be getting sponsored, getting free product and that. I did keep at footy for a few more years, so before I knew it I had to decide whether I was going to get flown to Malaysia for the X-Games staying in a five star hotel or was I going to play football in Randwick. [Laughs] A choice between a five star hotel or a group shower? Come on boys! [Laughs] I didn’t take the group shower. What were the Slam covers of the time? What era was that? It was the Steve Tierney, Davo, Time Skateboards, Al Boglio era. Those were the guys I looked up to. I became friends with Dave which was cool. Did you skate with Davo at Martin Place, New Old and those places in the city? I didn’t really skate street at all. I was kind of a skatepark kid; I was skating vert then, which was what I was really passionate about. I started skating transition at the skatepark, within about a year I could drop in on vert and was skating with Dave Bodner. I remember he rocked up one day and I ran out to him, like any 14 or 15-year-old kid I just loved it when the older guys rocked up. So I ran up and was ‘I just did a Les Twist.’ He was all ‘you can’t do a Les Twist Corbin you’re an idiot, no chance.’ He bet me a board on it and I got it in three goes. Stoked! I got one of his boards from … What was the company he owned? Threat. Yes Threat! The board with all the boobs on it. Nathan Frasier rode for them, I kinda grew up skating with him. Yeah, the boob deck, Jaffa had one as well. Correct! After skating vert for a few years and that cooled down I started skating with Nate Frasier and all those guys.

Those boob boards… We got them in at the shop I worked at and it was a desperate rush to sell them to someone before a parent gave us heat for them. Had to stash them under the counter. [Sleazy voice] ‘Heeeeeey you want one of these?’ [Laughs] The graphic went through all the different boobs … Perky tits, big watermelons, all that stuff. [Laughs] So in the last five years bowl skating has become quite in vogue, obviously that’s in your favour? Yeah, I think so. That and just skateparks in general, a lot more are being built in Australia. A couple of my favourite skaters are like Drehobl and TNT so that’s why I went that way. Yeah, but when you started there would have pretty much been zero bowl anything in the skate media. True. In that time there was nothing really. Up until … Yeah, you’re completely right. So with comps what are you into and what are you not into? A street plaza comp… [Laughs] With a double set. [Laughs] More so like the jam format and stuff. I’ve talked to a few guys about it and people either really hate or really love the jams, with everyone all in and stuff. Love the jams. The more the merrier. If I feel like I’m skating good then I feel like it helps my skating doing that. The other people to dodge, you enjoy it? Yeah, it makes me skate better. Elanora was like that and you’re talking about twelve foot transitions and people could seriously get hurt. But there’s just something about it … It’s kinda fun in a way, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. As a spectator there is nothing more fun to watch. At the Bowlarama there were three guys on my tail in the heat and it kinda works. You’re doing tricks together; you end up doing a doubles run without even knowing it. It’s spur of the moment, when it just happens it’s really good. Yeah, but then there’s the flipside of running into someone and they’re pretty fucked up for no real reason. True, but when you’re skating with a bunch of guys that you know. Like, my last heat was Chris Senn, Bob Burnquist and Rune Glifberg. They know what they’re doing. It’s not like, ‘Oh no I’ve got some kook dropping in at the other end who could come straight for me and I could die.’ I grew up in a period where you got fully padded up to skate a four-foot mini ramp... So how do you approach skating Elanora padless with a bunch of dudes? To me that would hold you back.

Not in a contest like that. Yeah it might hold you back, a little. You probably are not going to be going as high for airs, just mentally. But there’s something I just like about not having to carry a huge bag down to the park. Just having your board, like street skating. That’s probably why I don’t skate vert that much anymore. Like I love vert, the guys that skate it are so talented. When I grew up all I wanted to do was skate vert. I skated vert at Big Day Out’s and was in hotel rooms with Colin McKay and Danny Way. Warped Tours with Caballero. I was pretty focused on vert for all those years. I don’t know what happened. Vert kinda just died even more than it had already. Then as you said bowl and park skating became more popular with guys getting recognition for it. That was a really good time for me. A few guys in the States got recognition for it then I was able to do that here. I’ve seen you skate a comp and your padless then the next guy up is fully padded with a helmet on. Do you think that’s an even playing field or is it just a case of you’ve made your decision and he’s made his? I kinda got fucked over in an interview once where someone made up some shit about me saying stuff about guys with pads. Every once in a while I’ll get the pads and go skate the Monster Vert ramp… It’s just … Up to you. I think I will wear pads more just to get some new tricks under my belt. Like when your trying McTwists or frontside 540’s; there’s no way you can learn that without pads. I will use pads to do that. But I’d rather skate without them, use my skills that way. That’s just how I like to skate personally. I think the judges work it out anyway. Do you think? This is my opinion, the guy without pads gets scored a little higher. Depends which contest and who’s judging … Definitely. There is a romance to just skating with your board. Yeah, I watched X-Games last year. Andy McDonald was in there doing these marathon runs, 540s all that. But Rune Glifberg won… That’s a perfect example right there. So while you were in the States if the chance to skate Bob’s came up would you go for it? You mean the Mega Ramp? Yep, definitely. So you’re up for it? I’d like to have a go. [Laughs] Like Sheckler and Lizard King, those guys have thrown themselves over it. But don’t get me wrong … I would be scared! But it’s something I’d love to try. So with the Fuel thing, from what I heard you just rang up and got a job?

This page: Frontside Grind, Singapore. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Photographer: Steve Gourlay.

Yeah, sort of. I called someone I knew at Fuel that I met and asked if I could come in for a meeting. I think I was around 18 or 19 at the time. Brought my resume in, told them what I’d been doing, I’ve been skating for this long and I think there’s room for someone to do some more stuff there at Fuel. They gave me a couple of little projects over a couple of years then about two years ago I signed a full contract with Fuel, Fox Sports and all of Foxtel which was really cool. So now I’m doing ‘Corbin Present’s’, ‘This Week In Action Sports’, movie, game and music reviews. On top of that I’m doing stuff for all of Foxtel as well. Being more of a face for the whole network. BUT... do you get free cable? YES! It’s in the contract! Nice. [Laughs] I think everyone does, all the presenters. Was there a teething period there? We all get sick of seeing kooks on TV trying to talk about skateboarding. Did you have to clue them in or were they pretty on it. Thanks for that, cheers. I totally know what you mean. I get tons of kids on Facebook and Twitter that are just psyched on the show. It’s not much, just presenting a bunch of skate shows, but they’re legit shows so it’s good. That’s all you need. But you’ll watch some shows and they say one thing wrong and they have lost you. I have probably said one or two things wrong before. You’ve complemented a skater on his frontside indys? No I haven’t done that one, you can shoot me if that happens. So they wasn’t a teething thing where you’re just “whoa… that’s not for me”? Nah, no. But at the start there was some hesitancy from the skate industry. Some people weren’t sure whether it was right for them to come on the show. But I had some support from guys like Dustin Dollin, Andrew Currie and guys like that. I had faith in it from the start because I knew I wouldn’t cross that line. Like, there does have to be a happy medium with the mainstream, but really I’m just presenting skate shows. I’m not on reality TV or whatever. You’re not crying with your dad or anything? Well I didn’t say that … It was you. So at the start we had people a bit hesitant to be a part of it. Now I get people ringing me asking to come on the show. They now know I’m not going to ask them a question that is stupid. That’s my job buddy. Yeah, I’m leaving that to you.

So when you’re dealing with sponsors are they signing up a skater or a media personality? A skater. I’ve got a fair few years left. I feel like I’m only just starting to skate really well now, getting it together. I think that just has a lot to do with confidence. I feel like I’ve only just gotten confident at the TV stuff in the last year too so maybe that’s helped me out in life. I spoke to someone in a similar situation and they said they deal as a media personality, pays a lot better than a skater. [Laughs] Yeah! Well it’s a combination I’m not going to lie. With Element first up I’m a skateboarder but then I do the television and also I help design stuff for the range every year. If I’m going to be apart of something then I really want to be involved, be all over it. Looking at how you went about ringing up to get the Fuel job and you’ve got a website, you’re not afraid to put yourself out there. That can be frowned upon in skateboarding; did you feel heat for that? Yeah, I definitely got heat for that. A couple of years ago, yeah a 100%. Now I just find it funny. If you go to America, even the guys that aren’t mainstream, that’s what you have to do, you have to get out there in front of the kids. That’s how you survive, that’s how you live; doing media and stuff like that. I think it’s kinda funny now if someone is still thinking that. But they’re out there. The vibe I got was people were uneasy as what you were doing was a little new but for the past like year I can’t believe someone still going on about it. Yeah. Like when I first brought out my website, I’m walking a fine line between skating and the mainstream but I think as long as I’m keeping it legit it’s ok. There definitely was a time there when I did get some flack for it. With websites like skateboard.com.au everyone is going to be getting some flack though. [Laughs] [Laughs] Yeah but that’s the way it should be. Absolutely. That’s why skateboarding is so good, I’ve always said that. It’s rad that you’ll have a kid that will yell out and speak the truth. But at the same time people have to live, make money. I was labouring for a bunch of years, carrying bricks around a building site, then I worked in retail, then I almost had to go get a proper career. I’m doing something I really really love, I’m passionate about it and if I can help skateboarding grow a little bit in Australia and a bunch of my mates can get paid to do what they want to do and I’m a little tiny piece to help that… I’m stoked. I have a really good group of friends in skateboarding that don’t really give a shit what I do, they know I’m a good

person and I’m doing it for the right reasons. What’s it like to find out how your ex-girlfriend’s love life is going on the front cover of a magazine? [Laughs] You know what… I don’t really… [Laughs]… It’s funny… A little surreal. In Sydney it’s crazy at the moment. Pick up the newspaper yesterday and it’s ‘Corbin Harris spotted easting at a Café”. Who writes in with this stuff? “Spotted” it’s like Gossip Girl. Yeah, Sydney Confidential, it’s kinda crazy. It’s really different to any city in Australia. Paparazzi running around shooting people, a bit weird. Yeah I had the feeling it was far more aggressive up there for that sort of thing. Oh mate it’s full on! FULL ON! If you’re out with someone like Ruby Rose there is bound to be at least four paparazzi chasing her around. That is fucked up. In Melbourne people seem to ignore that sort of thing. Sydney and Melbourne… It’s like L.A. and New York really… You guys are New York. [Laughs] Did that (the paparazzi) freak you out? That window into a different world? At the start it was… crazy. We were seriously buying toilet paper, I reach up to grab the toilet paper and at either end of the Coles aisle there are these fully huge lens cameras taking pictures. In the supermarket! They had snuck in hiding their cameras under newspapers. WEIRD! So we go to the car and drove home and there is fully a guy on a motorbike following us taking pictures. INSANE! And that was my first introduction to that. Obviously it’s eased off now so it’s fine. Does that affect what you want to do? That maybe it’s better to stay off the general public’s radar? I think it did yeah. But to do stuff like the book and to promote skateboarding to a wider audience, get the right idea out about skating then that’s (staying off the radar) not going to last too long. Going away to the States, it’s so much fun cause you don’t have to worry about anything. It won’t end up in the newspaper the next day. So you do feel mellower there, like walking down the street? Nah, nah. No… I’m not Russell Crowe. [Laughs] Like if you go out in Sydney you… watch what you do to an extent. You can’t be the typical loud drunk skater like everyone else gets to be? Yeah, instead of some kid calling me out it’s going to be some mum who saw me on Kerry-Anne. [Laughs] I realise I’m pretty lucky, so I don’t mind keeping a bit cruisey.

Pierre Minhondo after the amazing reaction we got at the premiere for people creative ’ s latest flick , nice try , we decided we had to talk to the man at the helm , pierre minhondo . pierre has created some all time classic snowboard films and there seems no end to his ambition to keep creating more . read on for a ‘ behind the scenes ’ look at people creative .

Words by Rick Baker — Photography by Mark Welsh

ierre, how’s your summer been? It’s been pretty stressful, actually! I mean, every summer is hard; lots of ups and downs as we sit in the editing room putting together the previous seven months of footage. This summer we’ve had a lot of problems with music rights, which is hard because outside of the actual snowboarding, music really makes the movie …To give you an example of how hard music rights have been, I edited Wille Yli-Luoma’s part to five different songs. But, I do feel like we ended up with the best edit and Wille and I were both happy with how it turned out. But, long story short, that same thing happened to numerous other rider’s songs and parts in the movie, as well. So the last time we spoke you had just gotten back from a bicycle trip from San Francisco to Tijuana with Robbie Sell. How was that? Must be a good decompression from all the filming,

jokingly ‘bootlegged’ the intro to PEOPLE to put with a web post about a premiere of the film my local store was putting on. I shot it from the back of the shop on my phone, purposely shitty. I put it on YouTube. In my mind I wanted to help promote the film. But I guess Robbie Sell saw it and left a comment calling me a kook. I’ve felt terrible about it ever since. I’m sorry Pierre. Don’t worry about it, Robbie just has my back and was probably bummed the movie was starting to show up on youtube. No hard feelings, though. But is internet piracy hurting you? DVD sales alone can’t be making you the big bucks, it must hurt seeing your work on The Pirate Bay? Yeah man, internet piracy is hard. I understand both sides, we are in a time where technology is making it easier and easier to see anything and everything in a matter of seconds, for free. When there is that kind of access, people lose sight that they are actually stealing what they are watch-

difference? Well, I’ll give you some background info ‘cause it won’t make much sense without it. We started Neoproto back in 2002. We made three films under the NEOPROTO name with the help from Kingpin Productions and Brad Kremer. By the time the last NEOPROTO movie was made I was broke and in debt (I spent all the profit and more on the movie ... bad business decision kids). Brad had left Kingpin and started directing movies for Mack Dawg and asked me to direct movies under the MDP umbrella; hence we started the People series of videos. We made three movies for Mack Dawg and it was great. Mike McEntire, AKA Mackdawg, is the coolest fucking dude on the planet. He has decades of roots in snowboarding and skateboarding. Anwyays, I’m getting off track … Brad left Mack Dawg and went to work for Burton. Mike wanted to move into doing other things outside of snowboarding, commercials and a

We spend every penny of sponsor dollars... to make a movie that we’re proud of, to make a movie that kids are stoked on.

traveling, and editing of the last few months? Yeah, the bike ride was fun. We just get a bunch of friends together who are into riding their bicycles and we fly into a town and start riding for a week or two. This year our friend Brian rode that trip on a single speed! It’s nice to have a getaway after filming for six months and before I start editing for another two to three months. You and Robbie have been on quite a few bike trips like that... Those bike tours we’ve been doing are badass, such good times. We’ve been talking about Japan or Iceland next. Robbie is a really good friend and is always down for an adventure. I’ve got something to get off my chest about you and Robbie Sell... Back on October 12, 2006 I

ing. A lot of that stuff is illegally uploaded and it hurts our small industry. We spend every penny of sponsor dollars to make a movie that we’re proud of—to make a movie that kids are stoked. It’s going to be harder and harder for us to make these quality movies and travel around the world to new spots that people are stoked on when we aren’t making any money. I think eventually we’re going to have to come up with a new business model, but for now it’s hard to make these movies with DVD sales dying. Talking about independents like yourself, you’ve just split with Mack Dawg and are now on your own again. Can you tell us a little about that, because I actually didn’t know about that until you told me. You’re just PEOPLE now. What’s the

bunch of other cool shit. So that left us to leave the MDP umbrella, keep the PEOPLE name, and keep making movies. Where does Gabe fit into all of this? Gabe left us this year to work for the big B. Burton. He just needed a change of pace and he seems really happy over there. He is working a lot with the Flying Tomato so be sure to look out for Gabe at any contest this year, he’ll be right behind Mr. White. [Laughs] Whatever happened with Justin Eeles? Justin owns PEOPLE with me. He’s sitting across the room at his desk right now. Nice Try was the seventh film we’ve directed together. With Mack Dawg moving on, many would consider People Films the pinnacle of the industry.

That’s never really been your goal; I mean your first serious video was an Am video for Kingpin! That’s got to be a trip, coming full circle like that? I don’t know if we’re the pinnacle or whatever, it’s never been a goal, but it’s fucking cool to still be making movies and to still be progressing. I love snowboarding and I love being a filmmaker; being able to incorporate those two passions and lifestyles into a job is incredible. I was always a fan of your Neoproto work. One of the guys that works on the website here at Pop, Chris, pointed out that Shaun McKay is the only original Neoproto guy in ‘Nice Try.’ What are your thoughts on that? I don’t know. Are you saying that’s a bad thing? I think it’s good to change things up. I mean, I think it would be weird to make a movie with the same people in it for eight years. We’ve had to make changes and make a few cuts if that’s what you want to call them, but we’re also not these rider’s sponsors.

If you look at that original OG Neoproto movie, the majority of those guys are all still involved in snowboarding. Shaun McKay is still getting paid to snowboard and is filming with us, Nima Jalali still gets paid to ride and owns Ashbury and Videograss, Sean Tedore designs snowboards at K2, Preston Strout owns High Cascade Snowboard Camp, Corey Smith works at Comune, True Love owns Trilogy Arts, Chris Hotell works at Oakley and is married to Gretchen Bleiler, Robbie Sell shoots snowboard photography for a living, Tim Eddy, Jake Devine, and Filippo Kratter all still ride professionally and Stephen Duke is still working in the industry as well as Liam Barrett. Curtis Woodman still snowboards all winter cause he loves it and the only two guys who aren’t still involved in snowboarding are Aaron Keene and Jussi Tarvainen, but they both still ride. I thought it interesting that, much like you would have had with Shaun McKay back when you started, Will Tuddenham is essentially an

Am and he’s in your latest feature. In this era of travel budgets and everyone having a dollar value attached to their part, was it difficult to justify Will’s part? Well, to start off, Will is the coolest fucking kid. If you’ve seen his part you know he rips and he’s got really good style. Watching him snowboard is legit. He had no money all season and struggled to get on every trip he could. As for the sponsorship stuff, Rossignol came in and sponsored him into the movie. He’s not on Rossi anymore and once he finally get’s some real sponsor love I think you’ll see a lot more of him. But if the real question is can we just put people in the movie for free, the answer to that question is no. This is a business for us. I would love to be able to film anyone and everyone for free but I don’t think the ten sponsors would be stoked on paying a bunch of money to get their riders into the movie and then suddenly we just throw someone in for free. So you’re in the middle of premiere season for ‘Nice Try’. How’s the response been? In my brief 66

stint as a filmmaker, it was the reaction from people I didn’t even know at premieres that made me want to do another one. The response has been good. People seem to be happy with it and that’s a good thing. In the past you’ve said you were disappointed in yourself with the way PEOPLE was turned in. You said a similar thing about Down With People. It’s still early, and you’ve probably watched the same two second clips a hundred times during editing, but what’s you initial thoughts on your latest piece of art, Nice Try? I’m just a headcase. It’s better not to talk to me while I’m editing. I’m super over critical. Do you think your progression as a film maker and artist really makes it possible for you to ever like something you created months ago, let alone years? I have watched certain movies that I have made in the past recently and thought to myself, that was pretty cool. The human brain isn’t supposed to watch the same clip over and over again 200

times, it makes you lose that initial feeling so when you watch the whole movie at the end of the summer it’s hard to not see all the mistakes, instead of just watching the movie. Now that you’ve just been though the entire post process, who’s footage was easier for you to edit? Yours or someone else’s? Give a shout out to the other filmers, who and what impressed you? I’ve worked with Justin Eeles, Gabe L’Heureux, and Corey Koniniec for a really long time. All those guys are amazing filmers, amazing individuals, and they all impress me every day. It makes it easy for me as an editor to work with them because we are all on the same page, so that makes it easy to edit all our footage the same. When I saw you and Gabe in SLC earlier in the year, Robbie seemed to be getting along with everyone. What where your expectations of an Australian snowboarder like and how’d Robbie do? I never looked at Robbie as an Australian snowboarder, that’s the beauty of snowboarding, I just looked at him as a snowboarder. And as far as expectations, Robbie already proved himself in snowboarding with parts like the one he had in Transworld’s These Days. Bringing him on our crew after that part I knew he was capable of anything he put his mind too. Louie Fountain also had an interview in the last issue of the magazine. Tell me something about that son of a gun that he wouldn’t want me to print?! Louie is a saint, there aren’t any skeletons’ in his closet. He is one most talented humans on the planet. Anything he does he is being done on a professional level. For instance he just started getting into cyclocross and is already winning contests. That’s just Louie. What’s his part looking like? Louie is sharing a part with a bunch of his close friends, at it’s a really fun part to watch. Jon Kooley is another guy we’ve had in the magazine. I read somewhere about a gnarly night you had taking him and Will to hospital from injuries from the same rail… Heavy! Yeah, that was scary. We were filming in Minneapolis with Jon Kooley, Will Tuddenham, and Zac Marben on this pretty big kink rail. Jon went down and hit his knee really fucking hard and I’ve worked with Jon for four years and every time he’s gone down hard, he just gets right back up, yells a bit, and then continues going for the trick he’s working on. This time was different, he hit his knee so hard on the corner of the rail that there was a huge hole in his kneecap and blood was just

pouring out. We rushed him to the hospital and when we dropped him off he said that we should go back and continue the session. We went back, but it just felt weird from the get go. Will got a Switch-Front-Side-180-50/50 and and was about to start working on a Switch-Front-Side-180 to Tailpress while Zac was trying a Switch-FrontSide-270 and coming really close. All of a sudden it’s Will’s turn and as he is coming to the flat bar of the kink his board slips out right before and he slams he falls on his ass directly on the flat bar, and this is a steel rail we are talking about. As his ass hits the rail the whole thing gives and break and he slams his whole side on the beam holding up the next down rail. He hit his ribs so hard that we were all worried he had internal bleeding so we rushed him to the hospital. Jon had to stay the night and go to surgery at like two in the morning to clean out the hole in his knee and Will was there till about midnight, and luckily he didn’t have any internal bleeding. The soundtracks to your films are always outstanding. Almost every part leaves me wondering ‘how’d they get that song?!’ What’s the best song you couldn’t get for ‘Nice Try’? Thank you for the compliment. I really wanted to use this Kiss song for someone’s part this year. I got denied. They want millions of dollars. I wanted to ask you about Videograss and the impact that’s had on what you’re making. Does an outfit like that make it hard to raise money for a film, seeing as how there’s an apparent cross-over of riders and their styles, be it real or perceived? Videograss is doing there thing and we are doing our thing. I ask this question because you and I talked about moving to Hollywood and selling out. Is that something you’d like to do, move to Hollywood and make feature films? Where do you see yourself come this December? Will there be another People film?! Or is there still more for you in snowboarding? I really enjoy doing what I am doing right now and there are a lot more things that I would like to accomplish in snowboard filmmaking. There will definitely be another People movie and there is still a lot of snowboarding left in me. There always will be. Well thanks for your time Pierre and I wish you all the best with Nice Try’s release. Thank you. You and your mag is a great representation of what snowboarding is, keep up all the hardwork.

Marko Grilc Words by Rick Baker — Photography by Adam Moran

first saw Marko Grilc in Airblaster’s ‘December’ film. In it, Travis Parker and Andrew Crawford tour through Eastern Europe. They come across this guy that can do every trick in the book. Then the following year David Benedek puts out ‘91 Words For Snow’ with this funny guy from a small town in Slovenia. The guy is Marko Grilc. One of the few snowboarders I actually “fanned out” about when I got to meet him. Why? Because the guy can snowboard! He just won the Air & Style event with a switch back 1080 late cork!

This page: Crippler 540 off a wallride, Austria. — Over page: Frontside 540 Mute, Cardrona, New Zealand.

This page: Frontside 720 Mute, Northstar, Tahoe. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Photograph by Adam Moran.

I think the Australian girls are super cool... Very communicative and funny. They are some of the most beautiful girls I have seen anywhere. So they definitely are a very cool part of Australia. I hope that you guys realise that.

Firstly Marko, congratulations on the Air & Style win! There were some ridiculous tricks thrown at that event. I read somewhere that you didn’t know if you’d win, even with that switch back ten late cork you did! That says something about how contests seem to be pushing the level of snowboarding right now. How many times had you tried those tricks before? I have done the switch back ten a few times but the backside ten double I have done just a couple of times in September. I had a bad slam on it in October so I didn’t really do it til a couple of days before the Air & Style at the Stockholm Snow Jam. I was there and I was just like “I’m gonna go for it!” And it worked out. At the Air & Style the jump had a lot of hang time so it was cool to do those tricks. You have become a bit of a regular down in Australia and New Zealand these last few years. You obviously like it down here? I love it down there. The felling of going from full on summer to winter is pretty cool. And I always have fun riding and the mood down there is pretty relaxed so it makes me really stoked. For sure I want to go there next year. I’ve heard the Australian girls don’t mind you too much either, that’s got to be a bonus? I think the Australian girls are super cool. Very communicative and funny. They are some of the most beautiful girls I have seen anywhere. So they definitely are a very cool part of Australia. I hope that you guys realise that. Whilst we’re talking about the southern hemisphere, you’ve spent quite a bit of time in Indonesia and Fuji surfing. With all the contests and

the limited time between southern and northern winters, how important is surfing to you? I surf in Bali every year for a month or so. It is super cool to get some surf in the off time; brings a good balance into my summer. But I wish I had more time so I could surf more. It seems like every time I start felling it I need to peace out. [Laughs] This is going back a few years, but when the Airblaster film, “December”, came out a bunch of friends and I got together and bought a car in Paris and drove to Slovenia and Slovakia. We even got to shred your home mountain, Vogel. It was so cool, with all those single person chairlifts and the crazy park they had there. I always wondered, “Why is that mountain covered in such weird hills and bumps?” It’s like a moonscape up there. What’s it look like in the summer? In the summer it is just a bunch of rocks. But in the winter it is definitely the place to be. Not so much for filming but for riding pow with your bros or doing some laps in the park. Definitely a sick, sick home mountain. How did that December part of yours come about? I mean, you were a kid in Slovenia. How’d you end up snowboarding with Travis Parker and Andrew Crawford? Let alone 91 Words For Snow and the Burton team and everything else. How’d you ‘make it’? I was just doing a lot of contests back when I was young, which led to Burton and Red Bull. Then Travis and Crawford were going around Eastern Europe so they gave me a call. I was so stoked to have those legends riding my home hills. And then a couple weeks later David Benedek gave me a call then I was just tripping.

You’re still focused on contests. And you’re winning them. That seems counter to what most snowboarders your age are doing. Why do contests and not try and film full time? I have been filming for a couple of years and it was super cool. But it seems like the trend in snowboarding nowadays is going towards contests a lot. So I just followed the trend. I might be a bit older but I think it is more of the state of mind and your health that matter. You just had the premiere for The B Movie in your hometown of Ljubljana. How’d that go down? I can’t imagine how that must have been for you. After winning the Air & Style I knew that the premier might be a bit out of control. The party was cool; all my friends, good music. Made me stoked to see that everybody was happy for me. Well what now? You’re on top of the TTR World Tour rankings; the northern winter is just getting started... You’ve obviously got an invite into any event you want. Are you at the top of your game? I did get invited to all the major events and I am in spot number one at the TTR but it will take a lot to keep it. So I will just try to have fun and do my best and hopefully it works out. But for sure some people are very amped to get that title. Well best of luck Marko, I know Australia fucking loves you and I hope you can make it back down here again. Yes brothers, I love Australia too. If I would move somewhere, it’d definitely be down under. And I can’t wait to come back next summer!

FOR AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT DANNY’S 20 YEAR CAREER GO TO DCSKATEBOARDING.TV