It’s no surprise but it sure is exciting…John John rips. Clip from Transworld’s film Surprise Excitement Party.

World traveler, surfer, artist. Phil Goodrich wants to perpetually travel the earth in search of the perfect wave while looking for the next beautiful image to immortalize via his brush against an open canvas. He has found that perfect medium of doing what he loves, painting, and still having time to participate in the activity he loves most, surfing. His passion is obvious…as you’ll see below.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist? And when did you start surfing?

I grew up in Indialantic, Florida. My father bought me a surfboard when I was ten (1981). He had a friend at work that surfed and I think that he found the guy to be interesting and cool.

What is your art training? Formal or self-taught?

My father is a scientist/engineer. We used to make projects in the garage. I drew cartoons in grade school and enrolled in college in San Diego. I thought I wanted to be a graphic designer until I sat for too long in front of a computer. I switched majors to Studio Art and graduated in 1993.

What mediums do you focus on?

Oil paint on wood is my favorite.

What’s your creative process? Do you paint based on images in your head or from real life experiences?

I base my paintings on photos or groups of photos. I stare at the photos and then stare at a blank piece of wood and I try and find common contours within the grain of the wood.

Do you see a connection between surfing and your art? Does one inspire the other?

I used to dream of being a professional surfer… When I realized that I wasn’t good enough to get paid to surf I just wanted to figure out a way to do something I love and get paid and still be able to surf. I based everything on surfing. I went to Point Loma University because it was on a cliff above decent waves… I started to travel to third world countries with great waves because it was affordable, but then I started to appreciate the beauty found within their cultures… My art is an expression of what I find to be beautiful, but it has also become a form of currency to fund my traveling to surf spots. I have traded huge bodies of work to various resorts in many countries…

What do you gain creatively by travelling to places like Indonesia and beyond?

Indonesia is an ultimate place to work. The color of the jungle, Indian Ocean, birds, insects, reef burn a lasting impression on my mind.

How do you create lasting images that transcend trends?

When I look for images to paint its like choosing a shirt at a thrift store…. I’m not looking for whats hip at the moment; but something timeless. I use wood because I can find the rhythms of the subject within the grain.

Being an artist, you still have to make money, but the average person may not spend a lot of money on art. This seems like it could make it hard for an artist to spread his work. How do you find a happy medium between staying comfortable financially and getting your work out there?

People tell me all the time that I sell my work for too cheap… I would rather hear that than have critics that think I’m ripping people off. I still find it rewarding to sell a painting at any price as long as the purchaser is excited and satisfied. I moved from California to South Carolina to be with my wife. The cost of living is much less here. The waves aren’t as good, but it leaves me more time to paint and network. It also allows me to sell art at an affordable price.

As far as surfing goes, you made the cover of The Surfers Path. Tell us about that image and that session.

That was taken in Nias 2005 by Paul Kennedy. I stayed 6 months on Nias that season. It was September and fairly crowded that day but the waves were flawless. It had stormed during the night so the morning had that extra clean light. the photographer was in one of those small dugout canoes in the channel. He was in such a good position for that photo, when I came out of the barrel into the channel I could have stepped into the little boat. It was quite a buzz to hear that the image made it onto the cover. I had daydreamed of something like that but never really believed it would happen.

What can we expect to see from Phil Goodrich in the near future?

Hopefully more of the same. Paint, surf, travel. I’m enjoying life and I don’t set unrealistic goals so I don’t get let down.

For more of Phil’s work, stay in the loop at:

It’s not too often you hear of female filmmakers in the surf industry? Why is that? We weren’t so surf but it just so turns out that Hayley Gordon, an Encinitas resident, recently began sending us some clips she was putting together, so we decided to ask her about the lack of women in surf filmmaking.

Hayley, originally from Eastern Long Island, New York, moved to Encinitas three years ago. She has been making videos since fifth grade, and made her first surf video edit in 2006. Combining two passions in life: surfing and filmmaking, and Hayley is stoked to be able to start focusing on making her own videos in the last few months after finally buying a new camera and an updated computer to edit it.

How did you get started in filmmaking? Do you have a formal education in filmmaking?

I’ve been making short videos on and off ever since I was maybe 10 or 11. It all started with the video camera my friend’s parents owned and let us play around with. Eventually I got my own camera and started videotaping everything. However, editing was hard back then since the technology for at-home editing was still pretty rudimentary. I eventually got an early version of Adobe Premiere and made a couple of short surf videos. I went to school and studied film at the University Of Michigan. It was mainly theory based, but I think I definitely learned a few things while I was there.

What was the draw to filmmaking for you?

I absolutely love the interplay between images and music. That’s my favorite part of any movie. If a film has a good soundtrack that suits the visuals, I’m hooked. I think the soundtrack is 50% of a good movie, no matter what the genre. I think a great example is the recent movie Drive. The soundtrack added a really unique dimension to the film that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. But that’s just my opinion. I also love the emotion that films can draw out of you. It’s such a unique experience.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I started out watching surf movies like Shelter, September Sessions, Thicker Than Water, and others from those same guys…the Malloys, Jack Johnson, and Thomas Campbell. Those were my favorites. I think Shelter is probably my favorite surf video of all time because of all the nostalgia for me, but right now I love Modern Collective and what Kai Neville has been doing. The new snowboard movie Art Of Flight blew my mind. I’ve also been inspired by filmmakers I’ve discovered through Vimeo. Even just going to the movies and observing the cinematography and overall filmmaking techniques is fun. I want to draw as much inspiration as I can, but I also want to find my own style and not just be derivative.

Do you find that being a woman in surfing allows you a different access to or give you a different view of the sport?

I don’t really focus too much on this, but I would say yes. I think the girls have a different perspective on surfing, and bring different talents and personalities to the table. I really want to showcase this…I think there’s a severe lack of coverage in female surfing, and a lack of diversity of the surfers covered. You also tend to see the same faces over and over. There’s some incredible and relatively unknown talent out there and these girls deserve some credit. I don’t want to make it about guys vs. girls and who’s better and all that. I’d rather just showcase the girls’ talents and make something enjoyable to watch. I noticed that there’s a bunch of cool mini-films on the internet but it’s 99% guys. I enjoy watching the dudes, but I also want to see what the girls are doing.

Why do you think there are not more females out there doing what you are doing?

Honestly I have no idea! [laughing] I am not sure why filmmaking in general is so male dominated. I think if there are women out there that like doing this that they should get a camera and start shooting. I do think you’ll see more and more women get into filming though. Now that good equipment is easier to come by, hopefully more women will start. There are some great female filmmakers and photographers out there right now, and I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know some of them. I’ve also been lucky enough to become friends with the founders of Mahfia.com, a media group that is promoting women’s action sports using video as the main vehicle, as well as JettyGirl.com.

Where do you see women’s surfing going in the near future? And what have you observed in the progression of women’s surfing that has stood out most for you so far?

I see the talent continuing to get better and better. I see the girls launching (and landing) airs and throwing buckets, and the overall progression has been incredible over the past few years. It seems that coverage has been shrinking a bit rather than growing, though. You kind of see this with the women’s magazines that popped up then disappeared. Even the Surfline Women’s section is barely updated anymore. I really hope the tour adds more contests and that general coverage will be more widespread and democratic. I think it was very cool that Carissa Moore was included in the Sunset contest this year. That was fun to watch, I wished the waves were better for her heat. But at the same time, I wonder why the women’s tour has reduced the amount of events, and why genuine coverage continues to shrink.

Who do you enjoy shooting the most?

I enjoy shooting with people that are enthusiastic about filming and pushing their limits, aren’t too cool for school, and keep on paddling back out to get more even if it’s not the most epic day. The girls I’ve shot with so far have been awesome, and I have to thank them for helping me get going and giving me material to work with.

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What kind of equipment are you using?

I’m shooting with a Canon T3i and an assortment of fun lenses. I have become a lens nerd. I’m using Adobe Premiere to edit. Gotta love my Manfrotto tripod as well (at least when I don’t leave the tripod plate on other people’s lenses and then drive 2 hours to shoot. Whoops.). On my wish list is a setup to do water shots, and one of those pocket dolly sliders.

Besides surfing, what else are you interest or involved in filming?

All action sports. I recently started shooting skateboarding, and I’m hoping to get into some snow and wakeboard shooting in the future. I also enjoy doing travel pieces and just experimenting with imagery. And filming my friends goofing off.

What’s next for Hayley Gordon?

I would love to work on a full length surf video…something that will stand the test of time and people will continue to watch for years to come. Right now I’ve just been doing shorts and trying out new ideas and perfecting my technique, but my wheels are turning for a bigger project in the future.

Check out more of Haley’s work at http://www.leashless.tv/

We just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for being such a critical part of the first phase of Korduroy. You are the reason we have worked on top of our day jobs for the past two years. Your stoke is literally what has kept us kicking. Here are your favorite shows of 2011!

Top Videos in 2011

Honorable Mention

I’ve been looking for a way to address the hipster topic for a while now, and with the exchange between former Surfer Magazine editor Chris Mauro and Dane Reynolds, there’s finally a topic that opens the door. Here’s a summary of Dane and Mauro’s exchange…

Last October, Mauro wrote “Dane Reynolds’ Virulent Strain” an article describing “Daneophilia,” a fictional epidemic infecting impressionable young surfers. According to Mauro, Dane-o-Feel-ya is characterized by “languorous behavior… more commonly known as the fuck-its.” Dane, after announcing his departure from the ASP World Tour, fired back with a lower case, sixteen-hundred word “Declaration of Independence,” defending his decision and lashing out at Mauro referring to him as an out of touch dinosaur.

We’ve all seen Dane excel with abandon and crash in self-consciousness. He’s been pegged as the leader of surfing’s much loathed hipster movement, implicating him in many crimes against upper-middle class humanity. Mauro is not alone in his criticisms, Reynolds’ ambivalence towards fame and competition despite his hefty salary paints him as, well an overly-sensitive ingrate. And on the surface it’s an easy case to make, Dane appears to have it all: money, freedom, power. So why the melancholy interviews and awkward speeches? The majority of Mauro’s digs are indicative of how many feel about us 20 somethings: spoiled, out-of-touch, psudo-erudite tragedies infected with Dane-o-feel-ya. They caution that it will all end poorly. That this new hipster disease is a sinking ship. “Better to ditch the naive idealism, join the rest of society and pull our weight. Drop the act, and stop leaching the system dry with our arrogant navel pondering. This gripe is nothing new, just ask those who lived amongst the Luddites, Dadas, Beats, Hippies, and Punks. Society has always been quick to label its dissidents with labels and slurs. But the truth is, from Tom Sawyer to Holden Caulifield, we’ve all been, if even for a brief moment, disillusioned youths coping with the ugly side of the system that ironically supports our misgivings. But if Dane is merely another cog in history’s wheel of hapless over-privlidged youths, why do we care so much about him? Surely not because of his neck beard or hand scribbled t-shirts. The fact is that behind all of this apparent BS, Dane rips. He draws lines with a surfboard that reek of a highly refined craft. Even Mauro admits that Dane’s surfing is a thing of beauty. And with each session Dane is creating visceral art.

The very word artist is rooted to the Middle Age term of artisan: a person specializing in making something that directly contributes to their collective group. Ruling class aside, wealth and status have long been earned through a combination of creativity and practicality. But as technology has increasingly fragmented our once cooperative systems, the ancient human tendency to tinker for the common good has become adulterated. What used to be a simple equation is now a complex algorithm of self-promotion, marketing, overseas production and the nurturing of a “fan culture” that sustains it all.

Perhaps there is some truth to the common dig that likens stars such as actors, musicians or athletes to spoiled perma-children. For the nature of our star/fan culture is not to teach but instill idolatry that serves the sale of associated products. And this marketing of products acts as a wedge creating a perceived separation between fans and stars when in reality, the star is just another person with a job. A job which just so happens to be an incestuous relationship between business and pleasure. According to wikipedia “hipster” culture is defined namely by a preoccupation with the authentic, which is perhaps a reaction to this perverted nature of modern day consumerism.  Maybe this is why Dane is leaving the tour, guys are buying $250 Redwing Boots and girls are dressing up like Native Americans, people everywhere are searching for something that finally feels real. 

In his post, Mauro compares Dane with the super competitive pro surfer Adriano de Souza, postulating that Dane isn’t participating with the same level of sincerity as Adriano. While Adriano’s overt passion might win heats, overlooking the value of Dane’s performances of reckless abandon is to miss something important. Aside from our generation’s quest for authenticity, we are attempting to detach from the fear surrounding the many problems that need fixing. Issues like environmental harm, divorce, cancer, stress, and loneliness will only be quelled by the service of adventurous minds contributing a mix of cutting-edge innovation with creative detachment, not unlike Dane’s surfing. A lofty comparison I know, and it’s an equally strong point that surfing alone isn’t valuable enough of a contribution to warrant the wealth and status given to the top pro surfers. For certainly the fabric of our culture wouldn’t unravel if competitive or free surfing disappeared tomorrow. But the pure act of surfing is a great place to start, it’s an activity that takes a tremendous amount of workmanship and dedication to perfect, and those traits are building blocks towards living an inspirational life of any sort.

And herein lies Dane’s new challenge, and the challenge of anyone who endeavors to make their way in the complicated socioeconomic landscape of today- it is essential that we see past the trends or anti-trends, the stoke lies in learning from people who live their lives connected to a practical reality beyond the chatter of people  bashing “hipsters” on their blogs or buying a lifestyle just to look cool. It is our job to somehow seek and relate substantial truths back to society rather just than perpetuate the self indulgence we’ve grown up with. When this is achieved Chris Mauro won’t have to write articles questioning our morals, the answer will be obvious and inspiring.

Editor’s Note 12/29/11

Here’s a follow up regarding Chris Mauro’s article. Firstly, I don’t back Dane in the belief that Mauro is a “dinosaur,” although I am sympathetic to Dane’s sentiments. The fact is that without Mauro’s opinion, Dane wouldn’t have written such a personal retort and we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to engage in this discourse. Banter from critics whether it be Mauro, Baja locals or anyone else is just a natural human tendency to humble the alphas in their group. I read once that chimps who display the most naturally gifted abilities get attacked by the rest of the pack, ensuring the eventual leader is either a chimp who second in skill or a severely humbled alpha who will be in service of the group. The ivory tower system of stardom separates us from those natural interactions so they instead play themselves out on blogs and internet forums. Reading Mauro’s post in this light, seems to reveal it as just a call for engagement with a star who ambivalence towards towards his job often leaves his fans in the dark (and it’s obvious Mauro, like myself, is one of Dane’s biggest fans). However, the nature of stardom is one of a peculiar isolation that’s seldom explained and rarely understood. And this isolation is magnified when the star is a deep, thoughtful person like Dane. But that probably requires another post altogether, maybe it should be called why “Why Dane and Mauro Should Be Friends.” Also I wanted to mention Zach Weisburg’s post on this topic which came out promptly after Dane’s declaration, it’s a good level-headed take on the exchange and influenced this post.

Having shot this over 5 years ago during one of Dane’s breakout WCT performances on Australia’s Gold Coast, I’ve haven’t known what to do with the footage. Originally it was going to be used for a 16mm film called “Corduroy,” he title of which minus the “C” was obviously used for this blog years later.. Well, we thought it fitting to finally release it after Dane’s announcement that he’s leaving the tour. Thanks for the stoke man and good luck movin’ on, we’ll enjoy watching it all unfold.

If you grew up watching the Lost videos like we did, then you will appreciate this new clip of Chris Ward doing his thing in Indo. If not, you’ll quickly see their recipe for what made them famous…loud punk music, high flying airs, a bit of debauchery, and some long tube rides. Warning…may not be suitable for children.

Remember the hype surrounding tour rookies Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds a couple years back?  Well, despite attempts to create another rivalry, it never materialized. Now with Dane declaring his independence from this coming ASP season, save a few choice events, Jordy can rise to the top, if you don’t consider the newly polished talents of Wright, Florence and Medina.  Here’s a clip of him dominating Honolua Bay, looking as confident as ever…

Geoff McFetridge is primarily best known for his simple graphic design, creating images that often provide the viewer with a bit of a puzzle, combining detailed and abstract aspects at the same time. From poetry, animation, graphics, 3D work, furniture, film, fabrics and silkscreened wallpaper, Geoff excels in a wide array of mediums. He has worked for some big time companies such as Patagonia, ESPN, Burton Snowboards, Nike, Girl Skateboards, Stussy and is a part of the Beautiful Losers Exhibition. His work is unique and simple, and we dig it!

How did you get started in your art? What was the first medium you found yourself excelling at?

Since I was a little kid I would have friends over and when they would say “what do you want to play?” I would say “lets draw!” they would look at me like I was an alien. For me drawing was play, play where you could go into space, or into a battle scene.

Where do you draw from for inspiration for your next piece?

I am never thinking about the work I am doing, but I am also always thinking about it. I think things are cooking in the subconcious. It is like looking at a farmers field, and under the field is a underground river, or aquafir. The farmer has to go to the well to get the water to water his crops. But the river below ground is always running.

So in that way it is easy to confuse day to day life with the inspiration for my work, but really the inspiration is more of a continuous stream of ideas that is ongoing.

You have a very simple approach to your art, something not everyone can get away with. How do you make it work so well?

That is the trick to doing simple work. You need an idea. I work hard at using simplicity to distill an idea, to make it clear. Then the simple (and the decorative) work I do has a purpose.

You have quite a résumé, working with likes of Spike Jonez and Sofia Coppola, companies like Nike and Patagonia (the list goes on…). Is there a favorite project you’ve had along the way? Something you’re most proud of?

I am very proud of the work I have done for Patagonia. I built a Tshirt line for their business and worked hard at distilling their spirit and ethos into graphics.

It is a tough question really. I am most excited about the newest things. I am very proud of the Virgin Suicides titles, or the Winter X Games graphics I did. I am proud of it, not because I ever want to see it again, but because it was early work that ended up being influential and before it’s time.

When you’ve achieved a certain level of success, how do you stay motivated to keep improving and keep creating?

I guess that is part of my answer to the above question. I never look back at my own work, and I rarely look at any other work going on around me. I mainly motivate myself by doing work that I feel will propel me forward. I never want to feel burned out, so my decisions about what to work on is based more on preserving my creativity and stoke, rather than money or other distractions. You have to protect yourself from the stoke moochers, and the things that do not nurture your creative life. Sometimes I feel like a pice of bread surrounded by pidgeons… it is better to be a bird than a piece of bread.

You grew up with a skateboard and didn’t start surfing until you were a bit older from what I understand. How did you get introduced to surfing?

I have a friend Tak who used to come skate a ramp we built at a friends house in Topanga. He would show up in trunks and slash the ramp. He was a surfer, the first surfer I ever knew. As a skater I thought it was funny that he surfed.

Over a period of time he sort of tricked me, my girlfriend (now wife) and our friends into surfing. We would go to his place in Malibu and drink green tea then pop in the water for sunset sessions at Old Joes or 3rd point. We rode longboards, Diffenderfers, Takayamas and Herbie Fletchers. . The first surf movie I ever watched was Morning of the Earth… it was a world away from what I had understood surfing as (shredding, neon, dudes) It was an amazing way to be brought into the world of surf. I was hooked.

What gets you stoked?

I was pushing my 8 year old daughter into waves this morning on the Cote de Basque and she popped up for the first time. I was pretty stoked.

What can we expect to see from Geoff McFetridge in the near future?

I have a show at Heath Pottery in November 12 through the end of December of this year. We are collaborating on pots and objects and I will be showing paintings, fabrics, wallpaper and drawings too.

I am doing a larger show at the Art Gallery at the California Polytechnic in San Louis Obispo early in 2012.

For more of Geoff’s work, check out www.championdontstop.com

This holiday season, you will likely receive something that include that nasty foam packaging that keeps your new gift safe and secure in its box. But as soon as that gift is taken out of it’s packaging, that foam no longer serves a purpose and goes right into the landfill. As we all know, styrofoam like this is no good for our environment. But now, there is a solution for some, who live near a surf shop that is participating in the Waste for Waves “Turn Your Trash Into Slash” campaign. Here’s how it works…

Step 1: Collect All of Your Waste EPS Foam

You probably got it when you bought a new TV, computer, or some furniture. Most cities don’t let you recycle this, and it just feels wrong to throw it into the trash can. A much higher use for this foam is to turn it directly into a new surfboard blank.

Waste for Waves can only accept clean, white, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam.  This is exactly the same foam used inside EPS/epoxy surfboards, and it can be recycled many times into new EPS. In essence, it must be hard white foam used in packaging. If the foam has been used to hold food, or is soft or flexible, we can’t make surfboards out of it.

Step 2:  Find a local surf shop participating in Waste to Waves

Check Waste for Waves list of participating shops.

Step 3: Drop off your waste foam in the collection box for Waste to Waves

Waste for Waves only accept:
- Clean, white EPS foam from packaging materials (such as what came with your new television)

Stuff Waste for Waves cannot accept:
- No food waste contaminated foam – it will contaminate the blank
- No foam “peanuts” – these aren’t EPS foam
- No broken surfboards – give them to Rerip.org instead

Step 4: Enter the Free Surfboard Raffle

Win a free shortboard shaped by Timmy Patterson and painted by Mike Losness, simply for participating in Waste to Waves.

Step 5: Foam is picked up, ground up, and reprocessed into a new recycled EPS blank

Marko Foam picks up the foam on their regular route to deliver new surfboard blanks to shapers. They then grind up the foam and reprocess it into new EPS blanks.

Step 6: Ask your shaper to make you a board from a recycled EPS foam blank made through Waste to Waves

Recycled EPS blanks shape the same and surf the same as “regular” EPS foam blanks. While you’re at it, have it glassed with bio-resin. More info on eco-friendly surfboards can be found on the Guide to Eco-Friendly Surfboards.

For more on Waste for Waves, visit their website at http://wastetowaves.org/

Kate Sikorski draws portraits of local female surfers in north Orange County on salvaged wood. Her unique style of drawings is made on top of 3 dimensional surfaces that are often metallic or reflective. If you look closely you can see how her drawings fracture and change as you move side to side in front of them giving her art depth that could not be achieved on a flat surface. She is currently working on a new series theme of Muslim women in surfing, where she will be collecting sketches, photos, video, and audio of local Muslim women participating in her Burkini Surf Visual Research Project.

How did you get into creating art and doing shows? Have you always had the mindset that you wanted to be an artist, or was it something you realized later on in life?

I remember watching the girls in preschool imitate a little blond girl’s paintings of tulips. I wasn’t interested in doing that so I painted a large self portrait on my easel using the three colors we were given: navy, light blue, and yellow. I distinctly remember coming up with reasons for why these colors could exist on the skin of the person I drew with paint: gloves, polka dotted tights, face make up. It’s funny to look at it now (my mom framed it)–I’m wearing a sweater, dress, high heels, and a big bow in my hair.

For some reason, as a child I was a sort of a realist about art as a future career. I thought that maybe I would be a graphic designer or draw up models for flying cars (I thought by now we would have those).

When I got to college (UCSB), I was determined to skip all the boring introductory courses I thought of as just “drawing boxes on a table.” I had things to say and I didn’t think I needed to do that stuff. Unfortunately the special, private art college, separate from the regular art department at UCSB did not agree and rejected my application not once but twice! So for a time, I set about proving to myself that I could do other things–that I all those high school honors courses wouldn’t go to waste.

I worked for Greenpeace for less than a year, in a couple different parts of the country, and sometimes was allowed to design a giant banner or do things like screw discarded computer parts into a giant skull on wheels. Eventually decided I wanted to be paid for that sort of thing and somehow got into grad school using largely my old high school art portfolio.

From where did you draw inspiration for your new series about Muslim women in surfing? What’s the idea behind it?

I had one serious boyfriend at UCSB. I stupidly delayed studying abroad so that we would both study abroad the same semester and then he promptly broke it off. I felt that I needed to do something to distract myself and embrace the semester I had to wait until I could leave for school in South Africa, so I decided to jump into Arabic–level 2. Around that same time I was taking a Surf History and Culture class where I discovered there were empty waves still to be found in Morocco and Mauritania. I started dreaming of designing modest surfing outfits for Muslim women to sell to Nike (maybe that would turn around Nike’s bad reputation; sweatshop labor was a big issue then).

Your design process is pretty fascinating. Can you tell us a little about how you approach a new art piece? What kinds of mediums do you use? And how do you get your hands on the different types of materials?

Sometimes I take the bus home without my skateboard and walk from the bus stop to my apartment. I like to walk through the alleys because I think the architecture of the beach apartments and houses are more interesting from the back. The ground also is not flat, but sloped, like rolling water. If you walk by rows of trashcans that often, you are bound to find some really weird stuff piled up to go out with the trash. I’ve pillaged the site of a condemned building in Long Beach before and sometimes I dumpster dive. This discovery part is really fun and putting all the pieces together with no plan or rules is also very relaxing and enjoyable. The difficulty and trouble shooting comes when I work with what I’ve made to create a drawing design or composition to fit on and within the wooden structure. It’s not really a step by step process, I kind of go back and forth. I like to start to use my knowledge of color and painting at this point to work with and bring together all the random pieces of already painted wood I found.

What would you say is the most difficult aspect in creating such unique portraits?

Being inspired to draw by the gutsy women I meet in the water happens every time I go surfing without me even thinking about it. Getting the women to pose can be a challenge because some women can be self conscious–or perhaps they think I’m crazy! The drawing part is always the hardest. It is my greatest strength, but perhaps because I am such a perfectionist about it. I have always felt that drawing is perceived as the masculine aspect of art, as opposed to painting. I am still the same embarrassingly competitive person who in elementary school played soccer with the boys while the girls sat together on the monkey bars and talked. I create a lot of work for myself because in my own work, want perspective, proportion, foreshortening all to be correct UNLESS the abstraction serves a compositional role or supports and feeling or idea I have about the pictorial elements in the piece.

We hear that you got to work as a permaculture farmer for a while in Kauai…In what ways did this experience influence your artwork? Your life in general?

It gave me a place to associate with the idea of utopia. In many ways it was paradise–the plants, the surf, the food, the people in the commune I farmed and lived with all agreed with the liberal views I had. But Kauai also showed me the gritty underbelly that exists in something that actually is too good to be true. Nothing is perfect in reality. After farming, I officially moved from the mainland to Kauai. My first night there, a friend of mine was raped on the couch next to mine by my new landlord, a self professed Christian.

We see the ugly aspects of the world if we hang around long enough. Instead of harping on the problems of the world, I feel I may have more potential to change things and at the same time be a happier person if I instead imagine a better world. Draw this better world and the next general will see it and live as if it is already true.

How do you think your artistic style has changed over the years? Have you always been into depicting surf culture through your artwork?

In some ways, nothing has changed–I’ve always loved how muscle and bone determine the specific structure of each individual. But I’ve gradually gained enough courage to go to the dump and haul out pieces of sh–t to beautify in my studio. I’ve both gained in drawing skill due to my professors and gained the confidence to ignore my professors when their personal artistic taste conflicted with my desired experiments.

How can people help with your new project?

They can go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burkinisurfproject/burkini-surf-series to read about my project and pledge as low as $1. Kickstarter is a sort of all or nothing deal. If I don’t raise the total funding goal amount, I don’t get any of the money pledged towards my project. I get goose bumps when I try to put into words how important I feel it is to provide all individuals the opportunity to play in the outdoors. These swimming outfits for Muslim women are used in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East, but have not quite caught on here in the US. Can you imagine wanting to run and swim and play outside with your friends or your kids but not be able to because you are afraid that you will have a seriously shameful wardrobe malfunction? America is a country built on the ideas liberty and equality. Regardless of whether you agree with the modest values of the women in this religion, I think these women deserve our respect and support to be able to navigate their religious values in a way the allows them to participate in sports, just like any other American girl or women.

What’s next for Kate Sikorsky?

Well I currently have some large car parts on my kitchen floor. I’m pretty excited about using them in my next piece. You’ll have to check out http://katesikorski.com or my Artist Facebook page to see how it turns out.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Mark Laurin began his action sports life as a snowboarder for 15 years, working in the music industry doing tour management and creating all the visual creative from video, photo, graphics, and more. He eventually found his way into surfing and has now embarked on a project exploring the connection between our daily habits and wilderness entitled Seeking For A New Port.

The idea behind the project is to touch base with watermen, artists, and surfers from Alaska to South America, learning how these they create balance between the virtual world and the real world. Marc and his crew will be examining how computers have changed where these creatives live, surf, and relationships they have with kids & friends and over all lives. Seeking For A New Port is a project powered by GotSurf.ca. Marc is one of their collective filmakers and they are helping to provide him a platform to share his project.

Tell us a little about where you grew up and how you first got into the surf scene.

I grew up on the south shore of Montreal, in your typical suburb where you’ve got direct access to all resources and plenty of opportunities available. All you really need is some motivation and the world is yours! I’ve been in contact with water at a young age. I grew up having swimming lessons, going out fishing and going out on boats. As I grew older, skateboarding and snowboarding took up most of my time, and with it came stills and videos. In august 2008, a friend of mine invited me on a weekend surf trip to New Hampshire, and that’s basically when I got bit by the surfing bug. From then on my life followed a totally different path.

How do your local breaks in the Atlantic Northeast compare to other places you’ve surfed? Do you feel that the surfing experience up there offers something special or unique that other parts of the world do not?

The breaks I’ve surfed in the Maine and New Hampshire are cold water beach breaks that pick up swell mostly during hurricane season… this means paddling out in random peaks in a 5mm wetsuit. Most of the time, we do the 5 to 6 hour drive only to get choppy waist high surf…so we now opt for exploration! When we’re not traveling we river surf around Montreal, or we make the 13 hour drive to Nova Scotia when we know a hurricane is on its way. The surf in the Atlantic Northeast is so different from the other places I’ve traveled, from the water temperature, the breaks, the lineups, the sets; it’s all very different yet anywhere you go the passion that unites surfers in the water is universal. There’s dedication and passion involved when you are a land lock surfer and manage to surf 100 days a year. I guess that’s why I’m so stoked when I surf; there’s so much time and effort put into just reaching the beach, that you enjoy the surf that much more.

How did you get into filmmaking? Have you been doing it for a while or is it something more recent? What had you been up to prior to teaming up with GotSurf?

Prior to this, I’d been working for a music label for 7 years doing tour management, graphic design and music videos for French Canadian bands. At the same time I had my own small video production business. I studied both visual and music management so it felt like a good environment to grow and develop my skills. In the last few years, I started to focus on working more as a freelancer in projects that inspire me and aren’t music related. I especially wanted to bring together my passions for surf and visual. Back in June 2009, I did a little “newcomer” project (Surf101) in Costa Rica to get in touch with Montreal’s growing surf scene. A year later I teamed up with Olivier Barrette-Laperrière for GOTSURF, and now here we are after a few surf clips!

What is the idea behind your new project, “Seeking for a New Port”? What inspired you to embark on this journey?

Working as a freelancer and being in front of my computer a minimum of 10 hours a day made me realize that most of our life is lived through a screen. If sitting in front of a computer wasn’t enough, we now carry our access to this cyber world with us everywhere through our smart phone. This “life 2.0″ has somehow become more important then what surrounds us. This reality got me feeling like I had to do something in order to help the future generation, instead adopting this crazy lifestyle the 265 days a year when I’m not surfing. The idea of connection kept coming to me. The way I see it, there are two main connections: connection with nature/human contact and connection to the internet. We are losing connection with nature/human contact due to our connection to the internet. Seeking for a new port is about finding out if it’s still possible to keep a balance between the two, and how to achieve it. My own balance in the past couple of years was maintained through surfing, so I decided to explore this phenomenon further. We are following the coast through different climates, economy and culture to see how watermen, surfers, and fishermen are able to use the internet as a tool and still maintain a strong connection with the wilderness.

Can you describe how the process has gone so far? Where have you been and where are your next stops?

We left Montreal on July 24th and crossed Canada to Skagway, Alaska in 7 days. From there we took a ferry to Sitka where, for the next two weeks, we were welcomed by locals I’d contacted prior to our departure… thanks to the internet! Then another ferry brought us to Prince Rupert, BC and we drove through the Canadian Rockies. After a quick stop in Whistler, BC., we drove to West Vancouver to hit yet another ferry heading to Tofino. Partners from GOTSURF, Adam Dewolf and Raph Bruhwiler, with all their knowledge and good will welcome us during our stay. Time for the fourth ferry, this one crossing USA borders to Port Angeles, WA. We surfed in Wesport a total of 3 days and then continued our trip south. We went through Oregon quite fast, because it was really windy and there was a lack of contacts in that area. As we set our wheels in California, the swell picked up, so we surfed several spots from Crescent city to San Clemente where we stayed for the Hurley Pro. We got to surf Trestles 6 hours a day! Next stop was in the San Diego area where I filmed a few interviews and enjoyed the party scene since the surf wasn’t good. On October 9th we arrived in Baja California and surfed places like the Seven Sisters, Pescadero area, and the East Cape. After spending 5 weeks in Baja, we’re going to get on…guess what… yes another ferry! This time from La Paz to Topolobampo so we can get into the mainland. We plan on staying in Mexico on the mainland for the next 3 weeks then head down to El Salvador for 2 weeks in December. After spending the holidays there, we want to get to Nicaragua in early January and end the trip in Costa Rica sometime in February. Then the fun will be to drive ALL THE WAY back to Montreal…

Is there a particular theme or message that you hope viewers gain from watching your film?

I just hope that people will understand their role as an active part of the earth and take better care of our planet instead of spending all their time in a cyber world. It’s just a matter of balancing it all out. Internet is indeed a great tool and I do believe we should be aware of the technologies at our disposal, but that doesn’t mean losing touch with the real world and neglecting our planet and mental health. Internet must remain just a tool or activity without overwhelming our lives.

What kind of difficulties or challenges have you experienced along the way?

I’d say that the hardest part would have to be the long distance relationship through Skype calls and Facebook e-mails. But then again, these social networks are a great help in a way; it allows me to keep in touch with my girlfriend as much as possible. Finding a good, free internet connection is a challenge, however. And when you think about it, that’s another reality that most North American kids grow up with; free Wi-Fi everywhere. Try to find Internet in the Baja desert… Another thing that’s been challenging is finding drinking water out here, which back home isn’t an issue we have to face. You begin to appreciate and cherish every drop of water, trust me!

We understand that you have a pretty sweet ride to get you down the coast…Can you tell us a little about the RV and how it has added to the whole experience?

I’ve always dreamt of having one of those epic surf safaris from the 70’s to go on discovering empty breaks and remote pieces of paradise… so I figured there was no better way to visit our continent than the old fashion way; in an RV! The goal was to be able to surf and stay everywhere and anywhere we want; total freedom. With the RV, I get to jump on the roof at sunrise for a better lookout at the surf conditions, while my buddy Fred is inside brewing coffee… now that’s a classic morning! The best part is not having to stay put at a single break. We can pack up everything, drive out to explore a bunch of other places and gain not only greater knowledge, but a better surf experience. All this thanks to our GMC Élite 1984!

What can we expect to see from Marc Laurin in the near future?

When I come home from this journey, I’ll take the time to plan out how I can push the envelope. These past few years I’ve realized the importance of future generations. I think it’s important to open their eyes on the rest of the world and keep them from drowning in a cyber universe. So I guess maybe I’ll aim in that direction…

Stay up to date by checking out Seeking For A New Port’s at http://seekingfornewport.gotsurf.ca/en or https://www.facebook.com/seekingforanewport

Kelly surfing in Tavi is a beautiful thing…what else is there to say?

And can anyone get more vertical (i.e. turn at :25)?

Our friends at Quality Peoples are working on a very cool project in collaboration with Hand Me Ups and PEACE. Hand Me Ups is raising $7500 to help rehabilitate PEACE’s community center in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which sorely needs it. As lovers of the land south of the border (maybe you do too), here is another chance to give back.

About This Project:

Hand Me Ups is excited to announce the expansion of their mission of Providing Opportunity for the Youth of Tomorrow to their very first international project in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico by partnering with Mexico based non-profit, PEACE Mexico. Titled appropriately, the Hand Me Ups International Helping Hand Tour is dedicated to raising $7,500 USD by January 1st, 2012, for the re-development and enhancement of the PEACE community center which serves the surrounding underdeveloped communities with alternative schooling, after school programs, English classes, computer classes, an adult GED program, and job skills training.

A community center like this is an important asset to Puerto Vallarta as it provides the necessary resources needed to conduct dynamic educational opportunities for children and adults by reducing and potentially eliminating the high drop-out rates while improving low test scores, low literacy rate, and low parent to child engagement.

For more info, head to http://www.handmeups.org/rehabilitate-a-community-center

Based in Southern California, we may not totally understand the ramifications of cold, snow, and ice. However, as promoters of stoke, we appreciate amazing athleticism, high flying acrobatics, and creative interpretations of fun. In the following clips, you’ll see an incredible display of skiing (which is just as rad as snowboarding these days) by Tanner Hall and a DIY style snowboard jib park made out of trees, hand rails and other natural features…

With the growing awareness and discussions about our environment, infographics, carbon calculators, and other tools to figure out exactly the impact that a product makes are popping up everywhere. From Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicals to Decarbonated Sports innovative new tool called the Surfboard Carbon Calculator, you can see how the products you are purchasing are affecting our planet.

Decarbonated’s new tool allows users (both individuals and companies) to calculate the carbon footprint of their surfboards, with both a simple and full version. The full Surfboard Carbon Calculator is more accurate but also more complex. It takes into account over 90 variables, from size, resin and foam type, fiber layers (type and number), fin set up and number of repairs. They are also offering each user the ability to purchase carbon credits to carbon offset their surfboards, annually ¾ million surfboards are made a year which equates to roughly 220,000 tons of CO₂.

Why is all this important, you may ask? Well, Rick gives an in depth explanation  behind their tools as well as what purchasing carbon credits actually does.

Tell us about your website Decarbonated Sports. What is the goal/mission behind it?

Our mission is to make surfing and other extreme sports proactive in tackling climate change, sounds easy when you say it like that. Our sports create greenhouse gases; carbon dioxide and others through our equipment, travel and everyday lives which are fuelling climate change, which, without trying to sound all Armageddon, is going to change our lives for the worse. By reducing surfing’s carbon footprint we can help protect our waves, our sport and our planet, as surfing is one of few sports that will actually be affected by climate change, so we have a greater needed to do something.

Can you explain carbon footprinting in layman’s terms for those who don’t quite understand what it is?

Yes, carbon footprinting is the process of mapping where greenhouse gas emissions are created either by a product, event or company. E.g. a product; from extracting the raw materials, transport, processing into usable constituents, using utilities such as electricity, gas and water, the different shaping processes themselves and maintaining a surfboard through repairs. Take the stringer as an example;

A tree has to be harvested reducing the amount of CO2 absorbed, cut down by some form of chainsaw requiring fuel, which creates emissions, and then it is transported out of the forest to the mill, creating more emissions by using a diesel engine. The mill itself requires electricity to cut the wood. Then the stringer is transported again from mill to foam manufacturer, then to the shaper, then there is some wastage from the shaping process. Finally a surfboard is made, and then you drive and fly it around (although the calculator doesn’t account for how much you drive/fly with the board). Each stage needs, inputs such as gas, electricity, water, chemicals all of which create CO2 and other greenhouse gases that damage our environment. All the greenhouse gases emissions are turned in to what’s called Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e) as a single measurement of emissions created, to allow easy comparison.

Why create a surfboard carbon calculator? How did you come up with the algorithms for your carbon calculator?

The reasoning behind first calculating surfboard carbon footprints was to create a benchmark, so surfboards can be compared by actually how ‘ungreen’ they are to find the greenest surfboard. By knowing the carbon footprint of a surfboard, you can find where the majority of the emissions are created and start reducing it. The surf industry and others really annoy me when they throw around statements that their product is ‘green’, yet don’t actually quantify how green it actually is? It would be great if surf products were all carbon labelled, so you could make an informed purchasing decision.

The Surfboard Carbon Calculator all started at university where I made a standard PU surfboard and a Plant based one, and I wanted to know how green the plant board was compared to a standard surfboard. It turned out the green surfboard only created 175lbs of CO2 compared to the Polyurethanes 408lbs, which applied to the whole surf industry would mean nearly 276 million lbs of CO2 saved a year. Unfortunately after testing this specific plant surfboard didn’t surf as well (it was marginal though), there’s no point releasing an eco-product that has a poorer performance because all it will do is fuel some people negative perceptions of eco surfboards. So instead we created the Surfboard Carbon Calculators to educate surfers of their environmental damage, and offset their surfboards; performance without environmental compromise.

How do you hope this will affect the consumer?

The most important thing is educating surfers, making them aware that surfing does impact on the planet, once people are aware of what, where and how much damage we create people can look for better, more sustainable ways of reducing surfing’s impact. Simple things like driving efficiently to the beach and back, car sharing, buying eco-surfboards where they know the impact has been reduced. The biggest bits of advice is to buy the right board for you, one that’s glassed heavily enough that it will last and a board that’s not just gonna sit in the shed unloved, if it does sell it 2nd hand. By increasing 2nd hand board sales, less board will be made = less CO2 created. And hopeful surfers will carbon offset their surfboard reducing the environmental impact of surfing.

When a user calculates the carbon footprint of their surfboard and then purchases carbon credits from your company, what do you then do with that money? What does purchasing carbon credits actually mean? And how are we assured our money is actually used to offset that footprint?

When you purchase carbon credits for whatever amount your boards create, that exact amount needs to somehow be reabsorbed. We work with a company that is registered under the UN Kyoto protocol that ensures the carbon credits created are legal, environmentally positive and absorb that specific amount. There are hundreds of ways of absorbing CO2, from simply planting trees to building multimillion Dollar renewable energy projects. One great example is the energy efficient stove donated to some of the world’s poorest, the stove uses the same fuel (wood or coal) that the people receive it use, but instead of simply having a fire on the floor the stove maximizes the heat created from the fuel.

Energy efficient stoves:

• * One tonne of domestic coal when burnt creates 2.5 tonnes of CO2
• * Say the average family’s old inefficient stove/fire used 2 tonnes of Coal a year therefore released 7.5 tonnes of CO2.
• * And the new stoves are 50% more efficient
• * By using the new efficient stove only 50% coal is used to create the same amount of heat.
• * So 50% less CO2 is released into the atmosphere, that’s a saving of 2.5 tonnes of Carbon dioxide equivalent of Greenhouse gases a year.
• * If 1000 stoves are provided to a community then 2500 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (equivalent) have been saved and can be sold as Carbon Credits.

* So not only does it help the environment but means the people that you have bought the stove for save time and money by buying or collecting less fuel

How is surfing different from any other sport out there..say MLB baseball, which uses 50+ balls per game, or skateboarders who go through decks, trucks, and wheels, or triathlon which athletes utilize a ton of gear ranging from a wetsuit, bike, helmet, shoes, shorts, socks, etc.?

They aren’t, we are not saying surfing is the only sport that is bad for the environment, and we are definitely not saying don’t do any sport, we just want to help make our activities more sustainable. But surfing is different because we have this image that we are super eco-hippies, which we don’t necessarily deserve. And the second point is sports like surfing, snowboarding and Skiing are controlled by atmospheric occurrences, which will be affected by climate change. You can play baseball in the rain, you can skate indoors and you can run in heavy winds, but the specific conditions to create decent clean swell are so specific that any change of the climate will probably reduce this window further. So we as surfers has more to lose, especially with rising sea levels some of our low tide waves will eventually be lost. So we really have more emphasis to do our bit.

What other options do you suggest for a surfer to do about the carbon footprint that a surfboard brings to our environment?

4 simple rules; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reabsorb.

Reduce the amount of CO2 that is created by buying greener surfboards and by buying and selling 2nd hand boards.

Reuse, surf all your boards till they snap or sell/exchange them, or have extra fins plugs to make your boards more diverse and can even make a board feel brand new, try a 4+1 longboard…soooo much fun.

Recycle; very very few surfboards are even partially recyclable. But if it is definitely at the end of its life, don’t put it in Landfill, use the foam for repairs or make a table, mirror or chair? Art? There will be someone out there who wants it! Rather than putting a brand new board on the wall of a bar, what a waste!

Reabsorb; Carbon offset your surfboards, so there’s no net gain of CO2

Is your outlook a positive one? In your experience, are you seeing change in how people choose their next surfboard?

Yes, it is, the is no definitive guidelines to eco-surf products/surfboards that actually quantifies the environmental impact, which makes it harder for surfers to actually know how much CO2 they have saved, using the calculators give them an indication of how they have helped tackle climate change.

We are hoping over the next few months to start working with shapers and surf companies so we can reduce the carbon emissions of surfboards and other surf products, so it’ll be easier for surfers to find green solutions.

What are the plans for Decarbonated in the future?

We have a couple of really exciting projects in the pipeline; the scientific testing of eco-surfboards performance, couple of big conferences and trade shows. We are constantly looking for new ambassadors, so if you’re a competitive surfer, artist or really want to be involved drop us a line.

For more, visit http://www.decarbonated-sports.com