After enduring the tragedy of his brother’s passing, Bruce Irons sheds some light on his experiences, emotions, and the consequences in the months following Andy’s death. In this heartfelt interview, Bruce reveals a different side that most have never seen. It’s a must read…
http://www.stabmag.com/elliot/bruce-on-andy

Here’s a clip from Sam Page at VelvetSea.tv (…be sure to check out their AM/PM series with Kai Otton and Craig Anderson) featuring Nick Riley and Luke Cheadle trading off peeling rights in black and white on a cold winters day

Twenty-one year old Kyle Thiermann recently gave a talk at the TEDxSantaCruz event last month. Kyle is a pro surfer with a passion to systemically effect change. Combining surfing great waves around the world with making a series of short films about current issues, he focuses on the power we have to create a better world through everyday actions that we take.
This TEDxSantaCruz talk is part of over 2 dozen surrounding our theme of “Engage!” This inaugural TEDxSantaCruz event was held June 11, 2011 at the Cabrillo College Music Recital Hall in Aptos, CA (Santa Cruz County). http://www.tedxsantacruz.org/
TEDx. x=independently organized TED event.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

With 10 days of relentless south swell pounding the New South Wales coastline, a massive low pressure in the Tasman Sea generated some of the best waves in years with people from all over flocking to the beaches to see what Mother Nature had in store. Filmmaker Marcus O’Brien was on hand to capture the beauty and power of the swell, showing exactly why we love this sport so much…
“People spend hours and hours perched atop the cliffs at Bronte (pronounced Bron-tee) marveling at the sheer power of the waves crashing to shore whilst observing surfers taking on the big swells. What do people think about as they look out onto the huge swells rolling in and crashing up against the shore? Always wondered…. and how therapeutic it is for so many people.”

It’s cool to see a great surfer getting get a spot wired for the first time. Growing up with a staple diet of heavy Irish slabs, Fergal Smith shed his full suit to his act on the world’s most infamous thick lipped left. Irishman Mickey Smith (Dark Side of the Lens) put this clip together like only he can…
Born and raised in NY, Scott Massey moved west to enjoy the beach and experience life on another coast. A designer by trade, his days have been spent inside of studios helping companies influence and intrigue consumers. His nights are spent working on more personal and self-initiated projects outside of the studio, such as his zine RRR and is in the middle of trying to design a book like a movie, frame by frame, memory after memory— recreating & changing the past. Scott has recently taken the leap to higher educational and is an MFA Candidate in Graphic Design at CalArts and is continuing to learn new techniques and methods of design.
What is your background as an artist? What mediums of art do you work with the most?
I am like most people, I drew a lot as a kid and took a lot of art classes during high school but it was never an option to be an artist, always just a hobby or relaxing technique. I let that rule my life till after I graduated with a degree in business, then I pursued a graphic design degree and now a masters. I enjoy any type of work using paper. Its easy to work with, fast drying and easy to cut or reuse, plus you can make mistakes and not worry about how much of a mess you’re making or the resources you’re wasting. In a way, I guess its really just non committal and not a serious attempt at making art. Also I don’t have a permanent studio right now, so I like to work small and make books with all the process and leftovers from making.


How would you describe your artist style?
Brushy, textural, well composed but messy as well. I like to draw something and then rework it or cut it up and use it in other compositions, same with photos, taking old ones from my collection or magazines and changing their meanings by collaging with other elements. I think this also translates to prints, I enjoy the process of making silkscreens and woodcuts, using the byproducts in compositions to see where that will lead. This is probably a result of using paper and mixed media, trying to change things that I’ve already done and make it something else, something new.

You have worked with some major brands in and out of the surf industry. What are the keys to creating a strong identity for a brand?
Talented people with good ideas that know how to collaborate and take risks. Its exciting to be around a group of individuals that are constantly trying to push a brand forward, looking back at was successful in the past and deciding that there is still more room to grow and tell a deeper story. Another important factor is authenticity, the story and the products have to be for real, if its bs everyone will know and it won’t matter anyway.

You are an MFA Candidate at CalArts. There must be a vision behind becoming a Master in Fine Arts. What is your goal with having that higher education?
Tough question… one that I have been asked by several friends, family, taxi drivers and random strangers met in airports. Its also a question I have to ask myself and think about heavily before the next semester begins, during which time I will have to develop and design a thesis. My main reason for becoming an MFA is that I felt like there was more to learn about design, that I was too readily falling back on old ideas and answers to design problems. CalArts promotes a way of thinking that produces unexpected or defined results, it pushes the students to search for new ways of thinking & making, which is exactly what I wanted. It also put me in an environment where I could come into close contact with artists, writers and designers, to collaborate with and learn from. After school, I want to continue projects like RRR but on a bigger scale, working closely with friends, artists and companies in an effort to develop a true shared experience, one that’s honest, inclusive and interesting.


How did the idea for RRR come about? And what do you hope to accomplish with RRR? Or better yet, what is your intention with creating RRR?
RRR was started as a way to collaborate with like minded creative people from both inside and outside the surf industry, the idea that a group of people with different backgrounds, from different generations and geographic locations can come together to make something worthwhile was the main intention (or question). The idea that you can take the best from one individual and mix it with another person’s idea was also something I was interested in while making the book and it remains to be the biggest challenge. The other intention was to do something for the Surfrider Foundation without them really asking for it. The first RRR came out shortly after the battle over Trestles and this was a way to show our appreciation for all the work they done over the years. As a result they have been very supportive of the project.

Is RRR considered a magazine or a “zine”? What would you say is the difference between the two? And why do you think the zine, a traditionally independent, underground thing, has risen to more of the mainstream?
I would consider RRR more of a zine than a magazine, maybe more of a collective artists’ book than a zine. Traditionally, I think magazines have to cover a wide variety of issues and topics within a genre, for instance fashion or art, and that a big effort is put towards the idea of something being sold or bought. Where advertisers can not only buy ad space but also have room to sell or publicize product within stories, pr for companies can influence stories, sections and features of magazines.
However, I think true zines are created more in an effort to express a passion or appreciation for something and usually the entire book is dedicated or dictated by that subject of affection. For instance, RRR is dedicated to the how we live in the world and react to environmental issues, a product is not being sold and the artists are free to react to the theme however they like. Companies cannot influence or use content from the project, unless the artist decides to sell them the rights on their own. Zines are also created with the idea that they will be shared and distributed between friends and family, sold with the idea that production can hopefully be covered (not sure we’ve done that yet as a number are given away and traded). I don’t know anyone that has gone into making zines for the money, its more for the fun and joy of making something.
I think zines have risen to a mainstream level for a couple of reasons, but one of the biggest that I can see is digital technology. Design programs have made it relatively easy for people to compile work in a book format, printers (ranging from black and white copiers to offset press) are readily accessible and cheaper than before, and the internet creates channels for collaboration and distribution. On a deeper level, I also think that the advance of technology creates a need in people to make and share physical goods that tell a curated story in more inventive and creative ways than a typical blog. Make zine and move away from the screen!

How is RRR different from other zines?
The idea of mixing artists’ work and voices drives the design of the book, we take liberties with the work that is contributed, using pieces from one artist and essentially collaging it with others to make a new piece. Most zines will give an artist a page or spread which divides the piece into several smaller sections, we wanted a more cohesive book with a unified voice. An outcome similar to having all the artists in the same room at once collaging and making the piece together at one time (I’d actually prefer this method in the future). Most zines also specifically ask for content based on a defined theme, where I think RRR allows the artists to react to a loosely structured brief and take it where they want. Then we react while putting it together in a book format.

How does the curation process for RRR go? Is there a common thread between all of the contributors?
It’s a mixed bag actually and I think that’s what gives it a nice feeling. We look for artists, designers, photographers, and writers (however few have written in the last three books) that share a unique appreciation for life and the environment. A number of them are surfers, like Kassia Meador or legends like Art brewer but it was also important to get perspectives from the urban dwellers and country folk from not only the US but abroad. We try not to judge based on where or when you were born, we’re more interested in people that have a different way of seeing or thinking. In the past two issues, we’ve tried to be more inclusive, inviting artists that write to us, visit the show or buy the book to contribute to the next one. It tends to keep it fresh and move forward rather than just stay the same.


As far a surfing goes, what kinds of boards do you ride? What gets you the most stoked?
Depends on the day… I’m originally from NY, so I can have fun on most shapes ranging from heavy logs to tiny short boards. My favorites are the “bicycle” which is a 5’8″ blue batwing quad shaped by EC, it flies in all types of surf and can turn on a dime. The other one is a green twin shaped by my buddy Gavin, 5’10″ fish, which I just got fixed and that thing feels like it skates over the water. Those two are definitely my prized possessions but I also like when the waves are good enough to take out my Al Merrick Whip and Pin tail, lately it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like.
For more of Scott’s work check out:
by Tetsuhiko Endo
One of my many fond memories of drinking excessive amounts of rum finds me in front of an old Scottish castle, on banks of Loch Lomond chasing sheep through a field while wearing a Men’s Warehouse bespoke suit. I learned an indispensable life lesson that night: never underestimate ungulates. A crook was what I needed, but I was, instead, holding a bottle of Pusser’s Rum which is the same stuff that kept the British navy staggering around the poop deck for over three hundred years. All things considered, it worked out great for them. Less so for me. I assuaged my disappointment as not catching any sheep by jumping into the loch, which, let me tell you was some pretty raw business, but not really important to us right now.
The point is rum — one of the few spirits that actually tastes better when swigged straight from the bottle. To do so with Vodka brings back long blocked-out memories of teenage excess. A pull off a bottle of Scotch or Bourbon in anywhere but the secrecy of your own home will be expensive and inevitably draw the sideways glances of America’s new breed of liquor snobs (or “drinkies” as they have no doubt named themselves on their ironic Facebook pages and blogs,) and then you will be forced to waist your hard won tipple by pouring it on them in disdain. Straight gin is about as nice as embalming fluid, liqueurs are too sweet, rye is too fiery, brandy too esoteric, and cognac completely acceptable if you are at least a baron within the dwindling circle of French nobility. Tequila is the only other drink you can swig with any swagger but in the English-speaking world, it lacks rum’s historical cachet, so we’ll leave it for another day.
Rum, according to historian Wayne Curtis, is the only alcohol made from an industrial waste product, i.e.: molasses. Also called “treacle,” in Britain, it’s a byproduct of the sugar making process and is delicious on cornbread and in cookies. Certain versions contain minerals and trace vitamins, if you are into that sort of thing. Fermenting and distilling molasses originated in the colonies of the Caribbean as a way to get rid of vast quantities of the sludge that were just being thrown into the sea or used to make mortar – apparently, the colonial Caribbean was like Candy Land with slaves. The Spanish called it “ron” the ever contrarian French, who made it from cane juice instead of molasses called it “rhum.” The etymology of the word is still debated but I prefer the theory that it came from the archaic term “rumbullion” which meant “tumult” “uproar” or “ruckus.” How much would the classic Wu Tang Clan song have benefited had it been called “Bring the Rumbullion”? Form the Caribbean, rum spread across the world on English boats. In fact, the British navy didn’t officially abolish its daily rum ration until July 31st, 1970, also known as “Black Tot Day”
DISCLAIMER: Korduroy.tv has no affiliation with Bacardi Rum, we just thought the video was cool. Oh, and if you’re under 21 in the USA or under 18 in other countries, close your eyes, rum is bad and you shouldn’t drink it.
The purpose of alcohol is not to get drunk; it’s to make you feel a certain way. Case in point: the Martini. Here is a drink in a ridiculous spindly glass made of pure gin with a dash of fortified wine (vermouth) and of all things, an olive thrown in. When was the last time you voluntarily drank anything in which “olive” was an ingredient? And yet, it’s wonderful – you know why? Because James Bond drinks Martinis. So did Humphrey Bogart and Winston Churchill. Jack London drank them in between writing about dogs in Alaska and surfing in Hawai’i, Hemingway drank them by the pitcher, FDR drank them and won WWII…and when you drink one, you join this illustrious club and get to bask in all their wonderful connotations (albeit in a shallow and fleeting way) for as long as it takes you to regally sip the nasty stuff. What a cheap and wonderful escape from life’s daily exigencies.
The pedigree of rum drinkers skews decidedly more working class, but that’s the point. You can’t drink a martini while crossing the Cook Straight on a rough day, or while sitting in the bed of a fruit truck on your way across the boarder between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. But a bottle of rum is the ideal companion for such pursuits. George Washington was a rum drinker (Barbadian rum being his favorite) and so was Paul Revere.  Hunter S. Thompson loved the stuff, although you really want to pick and choose how much you emulate a guy who shot himself in the face with a shotgun.
Rum is the drink of the rough and the ready: Sailors, smugglers, soldiers, pirates and all other miscreants who thumb their nose at polite society to dance on the edge of something a little more wild. Maybe not the type of person you want to be every day, but a fine legacy to borrow for a bottle or two – at the beach, around a campfire, on a long journey or a lonely sail. Or you can just take a swig wherever you are and be reminded of past adventures – your own, and those of others — in one fiery swallow.
Tetsuhiko Endo has lived on four of the seven continents. He enjoys straight liquor, but can’t play pool or gamble to save his life. Â He has never tried a cigarette but will do almost anything if he thinks it will impress a pretty woman. Â Before he started writing, he worked at an office in Downtown Manhattan and taught break dancing to street children in Uruguay, though not at the same time. He’s a competent singer but atrocious at subtraction. Â He finds women’s magazines fascinating.
Korduroy contributor Jeremy Asher Lynch was on hand at The Wedge to capture Albee Layer throwing himself over some ledges and taking a little punishment.
Nightscape photography provides a glimpse into what most of us are missing while we sleep. With our sights set on the daytime sky, it is rare that we get to actually appreciate the beauty that the darkness can bring. This award-winning timelapse is the result of over 1 and a half years of work, 31 hours of shooting images over 6 nights in Australia.
Surfer Danny Fuller has been working behind the lens as well, shooting moon-scape photography. Although Danny’s approach to nighttime exposures are quite a bit different from the timelapse above, his work still explores the relationship between the ocean and darkness. Check out Danny’s work and more in this episode of InnerViews.

When we hear the name Nate Tyler, it conjures images of big airs juxtaposed with Californian wild flowers. Talented surf film director Joe G. explores a deeper side of this surf star by showing his off-the-grid life his father has cultivated in the hills of Central Cali.
The Surfer’s Journal is relaunching their POV Shorts Series some of your favorite surf directors. Look for Cy’s episodes on Wayne Lynch coming soon..
After traveling the world on the WQS grind, Kepa Acero was not finding what he needed. Rather than focusing on contests and being caught up in one thing in life, he decided he needed to explore his other interests in the world. With very little knowledge behind the lens, Kepa purchased a few cameras, got an around the world ticket, and set off to document the people, cultures and waves he was visiting.
Kepa’s recent film “THE NORTHERN ROUTE” won the Jury Prize at the 2011 Amstel Surf Film Festibal for best local short. In the film, Kepa rides his bike over 670 miles along the “Way of Saint James” documenting the other travelers, waves, and culture he comes across along his journey.
Can you tell us about the trip that you took for your short “Northern Route”? How long did it take? Where did you go?
The Way of Saint James is a traditional road that people have been walking for thousands of years, all around Europe, crossing the Iberian peninsula, all the way to Santiago City in Galicia, and then to Finisterre (the most western part of mainland, where at old times, they used to believe that was the end of the world, “Finish-Terre”).
The northern Way of Saint James crosses all of the Spanish state from one side to the other along the coast…676 miles. I thought it would be a great experience to do it by bicycle, to get in touch with the the “pilgrims,” the different cultures along the way, with nature and waves.
I have wanted to make this trip for many years with my friend and photographer Iker Basterretxea “Roke”. We planned to also do it with Niega, the editor of “3sesenta magazine,” but he left to Australia, so we said, “Ok, let’s do it…” Grabbed the bicycle and that was it, easy and simple.
It took us 25 days to cross from the French border to Finisterre, nearly 1000 kilometers around the coast. It is full of mountains, and that was the first time I have ridden a bike in the last 15 years…so yeah, that was pretty hard. The first day I was looking like a grandma on my bike…I was so destroyed that I thought, “Naaa, I am never going to finish this odyssey”…but at the end, we made it!

What was the inspiration behind it?
I believe that surfing is a way to be in a close relationship with nature, but also a way of life to be in a close relationship with people and cultures you find along the way. The waves keep me motivated, but in the end, you carry all these experiences inside yourself for ever. That is the important part for me in a surf trip, not only as a surfer, but also as a human being. Do it by the natural way, on the the bike, by land. You experience everything that is going on around you…straight contact with people, nature. It is a great feeling.
How were the waves?
It was hard to find the right waves with the right tide on the bicycle. You put all your hopes on a break, it takes you a long time and energy to get there, and once you get there the waves are shit. You cant go back another 20 miles. You have to surf there. I feel like back in the times when there was no cars, no trains, no nothing… you must have surfed shit waves a lot of the time, but it is great.
Anyway, we found a couple of nice left-handers deep in Asturias and Cantabria. It felt so good to find some good waves after all that effort.

Can you tell us about any challenges that you faced along the way? In other words, was there anything that happened that was unexpected?
The worst part was the bicycle. I wasn’t used to ride a bicycle so my balls where destroyed!!! It is pretty funny to watch on the video now but…
It was great to meet all the pilgrims along the trip. We all slept in the refuges in The Way, sometimes 30 people in one room. I got to know many of these people at dinner time and everyone had a reason to do The Way of Saint James: religious, mystic, or simply just walkers…or crazy surfers like us…
There was a very interesting man I met, who used to be a millionaire. One day he decided to give all his fortune to an orphanage, burned his passport and all goods, and started walking all around the world…around America to India. I found him in a dirty shelter-refuge somewhere in the way…it reminded me a bit of the story of Chris McCandless in the book “Into the Wild”.

How did you get started in filmmaking? Tell us about your other projects, “5 OLAS 5 CONTINENTES” and “THE FINAL FRONTIER”?
Actually, my first experience filmaking was last year, with the “5 waves, 5 continets” project. I used to compete a lot on the WQS and all that. I was traveling around the world and that was always nice. But competing, I felt that you had to focus on that beach, on your heat. Your world is limited to those 20 minutes. I was traveling around the world but not knowing what was going on around me. I had many other interests, worries, philosophical preoccupations. I wanted to know what was going on in these countries…mostly my interest were people, cultures and nature, including there waves, of course.
One day last year, I decided to buy an around the world ticket. I bought some cameras and I traveled by myself to Africa, Indo, Australia and Chile. My goal was to surf five unknown, world class waves around the world. I didn’t know anything about filmmaking. I didn’t know much about the places I was going to. It was just me, my surfboards and my cameras…
As soon as I went to Namibia, I slept in the desert by myself and I was filming with my camera in the shorebreak by myself with my camera and my tripod, editing the videos in my car in the middle of the desert. That was a great experience, very deep. Below is a autofilmed, autoedited video in the desert. I was the car to charge my batteries and long distance internet connection to upload it…
I met many people around the world and made some good, local friends who I taught how to use the cameras. They began filming me. In Indo, I found some perfects spots were I surfed by myself, missing my brothers to surf with…
That is why my films are technically no good. I don’t know how to use the cameras. The people that I met didn’t know how to do it either. But the experiences and relationships with waves, nature and people are real. There is no artificial details. Even a lot of the music is done by my friend Unai Azkune and me, recorded on the computer at home. It is all real and full of sensations and feelings.
I try not to get too technical, but rather to put my feelings on the screen. All the feelings takes surfing to another level, takes the sport activity to a spiritual experience. All this experience is inside you now, you can’t see it but it is with you. These experiences change the way you see the world, the people…you see a lot of poor people, a lot of injustice too.. and you find a lot of contradictions in our lifestyle back home.

What’s next for Kepa Acero?
My next trip is going to be to Alaska and Patagonia. My goal is to go on search and find places that have never been surfed yet. I take the influence of the 70′ surfers, where they just to go with the surfboard and the backpack, and do it by myself, with my cameras again. I don’t have much information, but that is the adventure…by land, shooting and finding new places, new people…
I am going to buy my ticket tomorrow, then there is no way back.
I am going in August to Alaska, spend there 45 days…then to Peru, spend there one month… and as the days get longer in the southern hemisphere, I will go down to Patagonia and try to find new waves there…
For more, check out
Our buddies at Mollusk Surf Shop added this video to their Vimeo channel and we couldn’t help ourselves… Behold excerpts of radness from David Elfick’s 1973 cult classic Crystal Voyager with a rootsy soundtrack overdub. Featuring Greenough getting massively slotted on his kneelo spoon, hand building his boat “Morning Light”, and exploring some secret Channel Islands perfection with Nat Young and Richie West.

Rincon is best known for it’s long peeling righthanders on a big winter, west swell. But regardless of the season, the Queen of the Coast is rarely empty. Here’s a different glimpse of her during the “off season” as Santa Barbara’s Travers Adler slides down a few summer slopes.

Summertime Lowers always provides a healthy dose of ridiculous combos at the Skatepark…this time around with Andrew (riding his hand-shaped board) and Dane.
Ricky Muniz got inspired to do something he had never tried before, pulled out his camera to document the process and began building. Inspired by the late Tom Blake as well as Tom Wegener, Ricky utilized the internet (blogs, forums, etc.) as a resources to create something he had never seen in person before. He set out to improve upon an alaia he had previously built by giving it more flotation yet keeping the wood construction. The result: a hollow 4’11″, finless, wooden, kookbox-esque board.
How long has this project taken you to complete?
This is actually part of what I like to call my “Dream Projects”. I started with skateboard decks, a hand-plane, surfboards (P.U. foam), a couple of Alaia’s and now the 4’11 WOODbox. For this last project, I spent months drawing, thinking about the building process, design, tools I would need, etc… but from the moment of buying the wood to sealing the finished shape it took approximately two weeks; working by myself, and with some surf in between.
There was a lot of “off time” in the process waiting for wood glue to dry which I used to start working on the edit and the custom cover. I just got in touch with a local supplier who has the vent plug, which I’ll soon install. I hope to have it ready for the next swell.

What is your background in woodworking? And how did you learn to make a hollow wooden board?
I have never seen any other hollow wooden board so I had to improvise. I live in Puerto Rico and we have a strong surfing culture but this kind of equipment is not common around here.
I got into woodworking influenced by various family members, from arts and crafts to furniture building. Recently, I finished my bachelors degree in Industrial Design, during which I got to better my skills by collaborating with other professional woodworkers on furniture design. At that time I was spending a lot of time sailing, so I started focusing most of my free time to learn about boat building techniques and hull design. There was a lot of reading and research, but a big step was getting the opportunity to help build an 18’ wooden boat with a local boat builder.
As a surfer, all this process helped me understand better my equipment and I started seeing on the web (You Tube, Swaylocks, Korduroy.tv, etc.) what Tom Blake, Bob Simmons, George Greenough, and many others shapers have done on recent times; they all rode and worked on refining their equipment with whatever material they had available at the time. This inspired me to start the exploration into the world of surfboard design. In the last two years I’ve shaped two P.U. surfboards, various alaia shapes and my first prototype of a hollow wooden surfboard.

What made you choose that design?
The first and only wooden board I had seen two years ago was a Tom Wegener alaia in a surf shop and I haven’t seen them since. The bottom contours and feeling of the wooden shape immediately inspired me to go in that direction. After shaping and riding the Alaia I started thinking about working on a similar design, but with better flotation. This led me to a hollow wooden board, and it was designed so that I could build it while working alone on my backyard with the tools I already had.
This board has a strong influence of Tom Blake’s paddleboards on it’s shape, build and flotation, and Tom Wegener’s finless creations for their bottom contours.

What are the dimensions, bottom contours, rocker, etc?
It’s made out of Cedar wood since it’s the lightest wood available in Puerto Rico. 4’11” x 17” x 3” slight hull entry to single concave. Very soft nose rocker (3/4” aprox.) and almost flat tail.

And lastly, what types of waves do you intend to ride it on..?
I intend to ride this board with a clean swell on one of the softer reef breaks in the area, preferably front-side on waist to chest high waves. At the moment in Puerto Rico finless surfing is almost non-existent so I’m starting to explore the possibilities around our breaks.
I hope everyone enjoys the building process… Any other questions feel free to post them, or go to my website to see other projects…
For more on Ricky’s projects, check out www.wix.com/rickymuniz11/idprojects







