Quick

Exclusive Interview:

Kelly Slater

5

Places to Surf Before 2020

CONTENTS September 2018

09

12

16

24

The Jumble All things food, travel, and lifestyle.

What’s In Your Surf Bag? This months raddest surf products.

Inside The Wave of Kelly Slater Is Kelly Slater surfing’s otherworldly Shaman or simply a kid from Cocoa Beach made good? We get to know the man behind closed doors.

5 Places to Surf Before 2020 From Mauritania, to the Faroe Islands, to Italy, to Cuba, to Oman, to Western Sahara and beyond, here’s 5 places that you truly must try to surf before 2020.

4 | Break Magazine

09 12 16 24

Break Magazine | 5

Carly Quick John R. MacArthur

Editor In Chief President and Publisher

Ellen Rosenbush

Editorial Director

Hasan Altaf

Managing Editor

Katia Bachko, Christopher Carroll Lewis H. Lapham Andrew Cockburn Stacey Clarkson James Ben Lerner Violet Lucca Elizabeth Bryant, Joe Kloc, Rachel Poser, Kathryn Humphries

Senior Editors Editor Emeritus Washington Editor Art Director Poetry Editor Web Editor Associate Editors Associate Art Director

Duncan Barile, Matthew Hickey, Stepha-

Assistant Editors

nie Matthew Browne, Whitney Kimball,

Editorial Interns

Victoria Kate Bowman Lynn Carlson Shawn D. Green Giulia Melucci Jocelyn Giannini

6 | Break Magazine

Art Intern Vice President and General Manager Vice President, Circulation Vice President, Public Relations Vice President, Advertising

From The Editor Let me introduce myself: I am Break Magazine’s new Editor in Chief.

And beginning with the September issue—redesigned and reimagined—we will learn from one another what a magazine is, and what it can be, in our always changing new world.

Carly Quick Editor In Chief @carlyquick

To start, let me say that I am a magazine enthusiast, a junkie who from my earliest school days has been obsessed with flipping though the pages of magazines, first absorbed in their images and stories, later assigning and editing my own. I really believe that no matter whether a magazine is delivered to your doorstep or to your computer, printed on glossy stock or on cheap tabloid paper, appearing on your iPad or your cell-phone screen, it is still and foremost the work of an editorial team for a discerning audience, a beautiful and meaningful— we hope—package of ideas, words and images that a group of experts prepares for its readers.

While technology efficiently delivers news stories to our desktops, laptops and mobile devices, magazines are all about context—how ideas and images are presented in relation to one another and within a larger point of view.

Magazines are about trust and partnership: We, the editors, will strive always to keep you engaged; you, the readers, are free to engage with us or to reject us.

Car Quick

Break Magazine | 7

The Bible of

The Sport

We founded Break Magazine in 1960 with a mission: to bring our readers a slice of the entire surfing world with each issue. And for over five decades, we’ve made good on that promise. Every issue of Surfer is packed with award-winning imagery from the world’s best surf photographers, provocative interviews with surfing’s most intriguing personalities, and stories of adventure from the furthest corners of the globe. See why everyone calls us the “Bilble of the sport”.

www.breakmagazine.com

JUMBLE

the

FOOD The courtroom felt comically small, like a halogen-lit shoebox, even before people started cramming in. Tucked away on the basement floor of the Wellington High Court, the nondescript space seemed unceremonious, like where you’d go to protest a traffic ticket-not a venue for legal proceedings that could decide the fate of nearly 2,000 square miles of marine habitat. Yet one by one, a small regiment of black-robed lawyers filed into the room to speak for or against a highlycontroversial seabed mining proposal. Behind them were dozens of spectators clamoring for the handful of seats in the cramped gallery, with spillovers grabbing chairs from the hall outside and

blocking the walkway.

The judge frowned at this chaos from the bench and signaled the court officer to clear a path, and, while he was at it, to kick out the riff raff cluttering up the hearing.

Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to grant a permit for mining iron ore just offshore of New Zealand’s west coast. It’s controversial because it would be the first seabed mining operation of its kind anywhere on the planet, using heavy machinery to tear up massive chunks of the seafloor, keeping the valuable metals and spewing the unwanted sediment back into the water in vast dark plumes.

While the scale of its potential environmental impact isn’t yet known, scientists believe the effect on marine ecosystems will be catastrophic. Even without a comprehensive study of the mine’s environmental impact, the concept is distasteful enough on its face to earn the collective scorn of everyone from large-scale industrial fishing groups to everyday surfers.

LIFESTYLE

TRAVEL The High Court was hearing an appeal to a 2017 decision by the

McCabe set up community meetings in coastal towns up and down the North Island’s western shores, organized longdistance walks and paddles (including one with Dave Rastovich that spanned over 200 miles) to raise awareness and

he eventually became the chair of KASM. While

the scale of its potential environmental impact isn’t yet known, scientists believe the effect on marine ecosystems will be catastrophic. In 2014, McCabe and KASM enjoyed a major victory when the EPA rejected the TTR permit application due to a lack of information about the environmental impact. But TTR wasn’t ready to give up on the valuable iron-rich seafloor in New Zealand’s It was approved in a 2017 decision that shocked McCabe and his peers.

Break Magazine | 9

JUMBLE

the

food

The Best Poke Spot on The West Coast: Mainland Poke By now the world is very familiar with Mainland Poke.

The raw seafood shop has locations in Santa Monica, Glendale, and beyond, and continues to expand thanks to a dedicated design aesthetic and the steady rise of poke in general. Owner Ari Kahan opened the first store on West Third Street back in 2015. Mainland Poke opened yesterday, and is now keeping daily hours in Beverly Hills. Expect fish from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, with the addition of beer and wine coming soon. There’s apparently a new Mainland Poke app too, for customers who want to order in advance for easy pick-up, or (in the future) have their bowls delivered). This latest Mainland lands along South Beverly Drive, right next door to the also-hip Blue Bottle Coffee. It’s a two-level space, with room for seating on a second floor that overlooks the action below This latest Mainland lands along South Beverly Drive, right next door to the also-hip Blue Bottle Coffee. It’s a two-level space, with room for seating on a second floor that overlooks the action below. The main dining room downstairs keeps the same look as other Mainlands around town, with its minimalist attitude, wooden fish

10 | Break Magazine

scale wall, and tall front windows.

Mainland Poke opened yesterday, and is now keeping daily hours in Beverly Hills. Expect fish from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, with the addition of beer and wine coming soon. There’s apparently a new Mainland Poke app too, for customers who want to order in advance for easy pick-up, or (in the future) have their bowls delivered).

This latest Mainland lands along South Beverly Drive, right next door to the also-hip Blue Bottle Coffee.

It’s a two-level space, with room for seating on a second floor that overlooks the action below.

What's In Your Stay at the top of the heat with this months RADDEST products.

1

3 2 4 1

Rip Curl Search GPS

The Rip Curl SearchGPS Watch is like no other in the lineup. Track your surf, register your top speed and distance and rack up your wave count in each session.

Sync your data to the Rip Curl SearchGPS App or website to re-live your surf with location maps, image sharing and graphic charts which showcase your session. 100% water proof watch.

12 | Break Magazine

2 Quicksilver Wetsuits F’N Lite 2 neoprene features a new surface texture to minimise drying time between sessions, thermal Smoothie on chest and back panels – wind and water repellent to keep you warmer, WarmFlight® °Far Infrared x2 thermal lining – our warmest and fastest drying thermal lining, WarmFlight® lining on lower legs & arm panels, glued & blind stitched (GBS) seams that reduce sew through & water entry to keep you warmer, and a Hydrolock seam seal.

3 Channel Islands Bronzer Shelter The Rip Curl SearchGPS Watch is like no other in the lineup. Track your surf, register your top speed and distance and rack up your wave count in each session.

Sync your data to the Rip Curl SearchGPS App or website to re-live your surf with location maps, image sharing and graphic charts which showcase your session. 100% water proof watch.

r Surf Bag?

6

5 4 Famous Surf Traction Pad Inlet Model There’s no point in throwing down if you’re just going to come unglued. Luckily, Famous makes epic surf accessories including this sticky traction pad to keep your back foot in place while you rip the lip. It also comes in various colors, so you can match your grip to

5 Channel Islands FRP Fin Set Designed to enhance controlled flex and responsiveness, while providing remarkable memory and durability.

Al’s design creates drive from the rake and base, while allowing pivot with the narrow tips and smaller center fin.

6 Channel Islands Travel Light Coffin The Travel Light CX quad coffin is designed to save weight without sacrificing protection for your boards. Features include: Waterproof Hex Rip-Stop shell - 10mm padding on deck and bottom, 20mm of sandwich padding of Foam/ Bubble/Foam on rails.

Break Magazine | 13

The Summer Issue

I n s i d e t h e wav e of

K e l ly S l at e r Is Kelly Slater surfing’s otherworldly Shaman or simply a kid from Cocoa Beach made good?

We get to know the man behind closed doors.

Photography by Guy Martin

H

ossegor at the time of the Quik Pro is a zoo. The menagerie is restricted however to the genus of homo surficus – albeit in its many regional variations. There are soulboy hipsters in trilbies, deck shoes and Frogskins wielding biscuits and caspers with self-conscious panache. There are übergrom towheads whose every sartorial inch is plastered with sponsors’ stickers, avatars of North County San Diego culturally displaced with baguette in hand. There are scruffy-haired teens from the posher environs of South Devon on the surf lig with their Alice-banded girlfriends. There is also, of course, a legion of the surf curious at the beach enjoying the dying embers of the autumn sun, and an equal number of shutterbugs and other media slags from every corner of the action sports media, brandishing their wristbands frantically in an attempt to get access to the top thirty-four practitioners of the sport of the Ancient Kings of Polynesia.

At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image. Kelly Slater has been the poster child for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew.

Somewhere along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard.

When we arrive in Hoss at the end of September, the Slater story is gathering towards critical mass. Having just pulled into the lead of the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) by winning the Trestles, California, event, the thirtyeight-year-old is focusing on scoring an unprecedented tenth world title. Shadowing Smelley Cat was always going to be a daunting scenario: everyone wants a slice of Slater, and your humble correspondent envisaged a riotous distraction of paps and autograph hunters wherever our subject may roam. There certainly was that. But what we also found was a supremely focused athlete who was, though elusive and contradictory, at times earnestly evocative of his sport’s elemental profundities.

Some people call me obsessive or driven or lucky or whatever.

I’m all of those things. Shouldn’t we all be?”

When we arrive in Hoss at the end of September, the Slater story is gathering towards critical mass. Having just pulled into the lead of the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) by winning the Trestles, California, event, the thirty-eight-year-old is focusing on scoring an unprecedented tenth world title. Shadowing Smelley Cat was always going to be a daunting scenario: everyone wants a slice of Slater, and your humble correspondent envisaged a riotous distraction of paps and autograph hunters wherever our subject may roam.

There certainly was that. But what we also found was a supremely focused athlete who was, though elusive and contradictory, at times earnestly evocative of his sport’s elemental profundities.

Over a period of five days we hung about in the Slater entourage a little, had some dinner, swapped some stories, and drove from beach

18 | Break Magazine

to hotel to golf course and back again pretending not to be part of Kelly’s constant, frustrating throng. We had heard that Kelly was scheduled to be playing golf with Quiksilver young gun Julian Wilson and team manager Belly at a golf course close to the centre of Biarritz. Perfect ty to have a chat away from the surf glare, right? Wrong. athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard.

As we pulled into the golf club, we knew something was up. Seeing the Crown At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image. Kelly Slater has been the poster child for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew. Somewhere along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard.

Over a period of five days we hung about in the Slater entourage a little, had some dinner, swapped some stories, and drove from beach to hotel to golf course and back again pretending not to be part of Kelly’s constant, frustrating throng. tre of Biarritz. Perfect ty to have a chat away from the surf glare, right? Wrong.

When we arrive in Hoss at the end of September, the Slater story is gathering towards critical mass. Having just pulled into the lead of the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) by winning the Trestles, California, event, the thirty-eight-year-old

Hossegor at the time of the Quik Pro is a zoo. The menagerie is restricted however to the genus of homo surficus – albeit in its many regional variations. There are soul-boy hipsters in trilbies, deck shoes and Frogskins wielding biscuits and caspers with self-conscious panache. There are übergrom towheads whose every sartorial inch is plastered with sponsors’ stickers, avatars of North County San Diego culturally displaced with baguette in hand. There are scruffy-haired teens from the posher environs of South Devon on the surf lig with their Alice-banded girlfriends. There is also, of course, a legion of the surf curious at the beach enjoying the dying embers of the autumn sun, and an equal number of shutterbugs and other media slags from every corner of the action sports media, brandishing their wristbands frantically in an attempt to get access to the top thirty-four practitioners of the sport of the Ancient Kings of Polynesia.

At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image.

Kelly Slater has been the poster child for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew. Some-

20 | Break Magazine

where along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard.

As we pulled into the golf club, we knew something was up. Seeing the Crown At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image. Kelly Slater has been the poster child for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew. Somewhere along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard.

Over a period of five days we hung about in the Slater entourage a little, had some dinner, swapped some stories, and drove from beach to hotel to golf course and back again pretending not to be part of Kelly’s constant, frustrating throng. tre of Biarritz. Perfect ty to have a chat away from the surf glare, right? Wrong.

Over a period of five days we hung about in the Slater entourage a little, had some dinner, swapped some stories, and drove from beach to hotel to golf course and back again pretending not to be part of Kelly’s.

Hossegor at the time of the Quik Pro is a zoo. The menagerie is restricted however to the genus of homo surficus – albeit in its many regional variations. There are soul-boy hipsters in trilbies, deck shoes and Frogskins wielding biscuits and caspers with self-conscious panache. There are übergrom towheads whose every sartorial inch is plastered with sponsors’ stickers, avatars of North County San Diego culturally displaced with baguette in hand. There are scruffy-haired teens from the posher environs of South Devon on the surf lig with their Alice-banded girlfriends. There is also, of course, a legion of the surf curious at the beach enjoying the dying embers of the autumn sun, and an equal number of shutterbugs and other media slags from every corner of the action sports media, brandishing their wristbands frantically in an attempt to get access to the top thirty-four practitioners of the sport of the Ancient Kings of Polynesia.

At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image.

Kelly Slater has been the poster child for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew. Somewhere along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard. At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image. Kelly Slater has been the poster child for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew. Somewhere along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard.

Quick Facts At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image. Kelly Slater has been the poster child for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew. Somewhere along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer of which your auntie has ever heard.

(WCT) by winning the Trestles, California, event, the thirty-eightyear-old is focusing on scoring an unprecedented tenth world title.

Shadowing Smelley Cat was always going to be a daunting scenario: everyone wants a slice of Slater, and your humble correspondent.

Over a period of five days we hung about in the Slater entourage a little, had some dinner, swapped some stories, and drove from beach to hotel to golf course.

(WCT) by winning the Trestles, California, event, the thirty-eightyear-old is focusing on scoring an unprecedented tenth world title.

Shadowing Smelley Cat was always going to be a daunting scenario: everyone wants a slice of Slater, and your humble correspondent.

“

My best performances happened because my mind was in the right place. The mind is definitely stronger than the body.”

When we arrive in Hoss at the end of September, the Slater story is gathering towards critical mass.

Having just pulled into the lead of the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) by winning the Trestles, California, event, the thirty-eight-year-old is focusing on scoring an unprecedented tenth world title. Shadowing Smelley Cat was always going to be a daunting scenario: everyone wants a slice of Slater, and your humble correspondent envisaged a riotous distraction of paps and autograph hunters wherever our subject may roam. There certainly was that. But what we also found was a supremely focused athlete who was, though elusive and contradictory, at times earnestly evocative of his sport’s elemental profundities.

22 | Break Magazine

Over a period of five days we hung about in the Slater entourage a little, had some dinner, swapped some stories, and drove from beach to hotel to golf course and back again pretending not to be part of Kelly’s constant, frustrating throng. We had heard that Kelly was scheduled to be playing golf with Quiksilver young gun Julian Wilson and team manager Belly at a golf course close to the centre of Biarritz. Perfect opportunity to have a chat away from the surf glare, right? Wrong.

As we pulled into the golf club, we knew something was up. Seeing the Crown Prince of surfing dressed in chinos and Polo shirt, we could deal with. But it was the battery of long lenses trained on the eighteenth tee like the guns of Navarone that truly disturbed. Turns out, this was a well-publicised charity event, in which sports stars from across the disciplines were scheduled to turn up and raise the profile of a children’s hospice.

“This guy, who could hardly speak English, stuck a microphone in my face and asked me to say something for ‘the surgeons’,” Kelly tells me later. “I didn’t know what he was talking about. He said it about four times before I realised he was talking about ‘the children’.”

With our allotted time running out, with loads of casual conversations and group hangs but precious little in the way of journalistic quotes, on the way back from golf we finally manage to spend an hour in Kelly’s sole company to do an interview (albeit with Julian

Western Sahara Photo by John Callahan

Places to Surf Before 2020 From Mauritania, to the Faroe Islands, to Italy, to Cuba, to Oman, to Western Sahara and beyond, here’s 5 places that you truly must try to surf before 2020.

BY ELLIOT STRUCK AND PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN CALLAHAN

Break Magazine | 25

iceland Ever wanted to dance with the devil in the pale (green) moonlight? Iceland, a first world country with every possible modern amenity, engaging culture and world class waves is still, somehow, very young as a surf culture (though, no less enthusiastic for it). “You’d never envision that you could find waves that good, in a place that cold,” says photographer Chris Burkard. “I didn’t know what to think, I thought I’d landed on the moon.”

And he’s right. The selection of photos Burkard sent Stab for this location was the hardest to whittle down: Endless surreal, otherworldly landscape with perfect barrels grinding through the foreground. “I fell in love with the whole environment and everything about the location itself,” continues Burkard.

ang

Angola? Ye Southern A tropical Atla and sub-Sa the border incredible l Skeleton B in 2015 wa built on a ra biz class, a Thus, unsu rife. Luckily world away locals of An arms. Cultu Portuguese You’ll need your pocke a long way.

26 | Break Magazine

japan “I fell in love with the whole environment and everything about the location itself.”

Angola? Yes, there is surf. This nation in Southern Africa, dripping in varied terrain like tropical Atlantic beaches, a labyrinth of rivers and sub-Saharan desert that extends across the border into Namibia, is home to some incredible lefts that haven’t been blown out a la Skeleton Bay yet. The capital, Luanda, which in 2015 was the world’s most expensive city, is built on a rather wild divide: At the top, oil-rich biz class, and at the bottom, gutter-poor locals. Thus, unsurprisingly, corruption and bribery is rife. Luckily, the world-class lefts are found a world away down in the south where the true locals of Angola welcome travellers with open arms. Culturally, expect a mix of post-colonial Portuguese with local Angolan tribal influence. You’ll need Angolan kwanza and US bucks in your pocket, and a little Portuguese dialect will go a long way.

gola

es, there is surf. This nation in Africa, dripping in varied terrain like antic beaches, a labyrinth of rivers aharan desert that extends across into Namibia, is home to some lefts that haven’t been blown out a la Bay yet. The capital, Luanda, which as the world’s most expensive city, is ather wild divide: At the top, oil-rich and at the bottom, gutter-poor locals. urprisingly, corruption and bribery is y, the world-class lefts are found a y down in the south where the true ngola welcome travellers with open urally, expect a mix of post-colonial e with local Angolan tribal influence. d Angolan kwanza and US bucks in et, and a little Portuguese dialect will go y.

Break Magazine | 27

Mozambique Thanks to Globe’s film, Strange Rumblings, the world swiftly came to realise that Mozambique, the southern African nation whose long Indian Ocean coastline is dotted with popular beaches like Tofo, as well as offshore marine parks, was also home to a Superbank-esque righthander, now known as the African Kirra. Visually, Mozam is a trip: In the Quirimbas Archipelago, a 250km stretch of coral islands, mangrove-covered Ibo Island has colonial-era ruins surviving from a period of Portuguese rule. While Mozambique is known for the surf at Ponto do Ouro, Tofo and African Kirra, they’re but a pinch in the hand of other amazing tropical waves on offer. Yep. And that’s only half of the paradise puzzle: Mozambique is the Caribbean of Africa. Warm, blue water and mellow, safe vibes. Know any Portuguese? Don’t be shy. And, some Metical, South African Rand and a few Euros will all get you what you need.

“You’re surfing slabs, points, perfect beachbreaks… it gets the largest amount of swell in the world, those islands,”

28 | Break Magazine

best surfboard travel bags 1. FCS Triple Travel All Purpose Cover

This all-purpose case is made of 10mm Dual Density padding, which provides protection against drops.

2. Pro-Lite Finless Coffin Travel Bag Pro-Lite has made a lasting impression on the community.

norway If you’re into devastatingly beautiful setups and gorgeous, open-minded people, then button that parka and step off the plane into Norway.

This is a big country, so a plan is required to yield max pleasure. But if you’re simply after the most wave-rich zone, then take photographer Chris Burkard’s lead and shoot for the Lofoten Islands. “You’re surfing slabs, points, perfect beachbreaks… it gets the largest amount of swell in the world, those islands,” he says. “I really was baffled by the whole environment. There’s always a photograph you leave behind there. It’s a really hard place to score. Iceland, there’s always somewhere to go, because it’s an island, you can just go to the other side of the island. But in Norway, you’re settling in a spot. You’ll have the best trip of your life, then go there the next year and have the gnarliest experience you’ve ever had. These places take time.”

3. Dakine Regulator 2.0 Triple Surfboard Bag The revised 2.0 Regulator has a Limited Lifetime Warranty, meaning if the bag breaks and it ain’t your fault they replace it.

4. Creatures Of Leisure Triple Cover Creatures wanted this to be an essential for the serious traveller with three boards—a smart quiver for a quick trip.

5. Channel Islands Triple Board Coffin This is the sort of cover you can imagine Dane rocking as he makes his way to LAX.

Break Magazine | 29