We’ve been very contest-centric recently, and I wanted to get away from that for a second; take a break, as quick as it may be. So, over this past weekend I busted out my old DVD collection to try and get back to some roots inspiration.
For the record, I am ashamed of this lackadaisical showing. I should be better.
Looking at this photo I have realized a few things:
1) I don’t have nearly enough Surf DVD’s
2) If you look through someone’s collection of surf movies, you can have a pretty solid guess at their age group
Guess how old I am.
Closest guess in the comments gets sent a free surf movie.
A few things you might notice about this group of movies:
- Only high performance surfing
- No ‘classics’
- No Taylor Steele
- All “modern” movies
Immediately I went to eBay and ordered a few new flicks. I will update when these come in the mail.
In watching a few of these greats – Modern Collective, specifically, I was filled with nostalgia, and I really wanted to go for a surf. Mission complete. It made me miss what surfing used to be. Surf magazines and content was as much about the experience, the travel, the stories, and the adventure as much as it was about the surfing.
Maybe it’s my fault for consuming too much social media content. I whine about this all the time. But I won’t take all of the blame. Surfers, videographers, editors, photographers, companies, brands, managers, coaches – everyone – needs to stop posting all of their content, all of the time. And their content needs to be more than just surf clips. Show your story. Give some background. Share your opinion and let fans of your surfing into your life a little. The common theme and complaint these days is that surfers, and surfing as a whole, has no personality. Bland. Stale. Dull.
One surfer and brand that I will pay homage to for the moment is Torren Martyn and his sponsor needessentials. They do fantastic work. If you’re not familiar with Torren, you should be. He is your favorite surfer’s favorite surfer. He is the Core Mikey February. He is John John Florence, if John John was not born on the beach of Pipeline, and instead raised in Byron Bay. And he just released a new project that is a must-watch; Southern Edge.
This movie is so good because, again, it’s not all about the surfing. It’s the story. The adventure. But, he is fucking ripping, completely alone most of the time, in really good waves. It is still a surf movie.
Here is the Full Length film. It’s worth your time.
In case you don’t have an hour and ten minutes – Torren and his friend Ishka set out to circumnavigate Tasmania via kayaks, surfing and living off of the land along the way. There is incredible surfing. Easy on the eyes type surfing; smooth and shredding. The maneuvers Torren is able to do on the boards that he rides, it’s outrageous. He surfs really good waves. The soundtrack is fantastic. Torren is an exceptional narrator. The whole project is an A plus. A little bit of personality, character, insightfulness; it didn’t kill anyone did it?
I expect this movie will win some kind of awards. Inspirational, motivational, all that jazz. Well filmed. I can’t say enough about it. Go watch. Then start planning your own expedition. Get outdoors & Go surf.
Cheers,
hwilsin
Drew Stanfield