The Fletcher Family Dynasty

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:52:54 PDT

Is there another family in the action sports world who've had as big of an impact on the board riding community as the Fletchers?

The Currens? The Hos? The Keaulanas? The Malloys?

I've never seen Chris Malloy skate, but I doubt he's got moves like Christian. Naysayers might posit that the Fletcher family's collective talent for board sports is rivaled only by their inherent ability to self-promote. But it would be foolish to write them off as strictly slick..

Surf Like Slater

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:37:44 PDT

Our comrades over at Surfer magazine have from time to time enlisted the teaching skills of a certain 11-time world champion to give the average bro or brah a glimpse into what it takes to surf like him. I doubt there's a surfer in existence today who wouldn't make a deal with the devil to surf like Slater, but in all likelihood this is about as close as you're gonna get. These tutorial features have been sprinkled into the publication over the past couple years, and now, for the first..

Mini-Wedges with Nick Rozsa

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:25:31 PDT

Unless you fancy long walks to the nose and First Point Malibu, odds are you aren't excited by one-foot waves. However, if you can find a way to take that one-foot wave and wedge it into another one-foot wave, voila! You've got yourself the equivalent of an aquatic mini-ramp.

Case in point, this recent session with SaltyBeards' Nick Rozsa and filmer Chris Papaleo. Discovery of this fun little wedge and light winds turned into an all-day skate session for Nick.

16 Remain in Saquarema Prime Event

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:15:27 PDT

With three days of competition done and dusted in unexpectedly good conditions this week in Saquarema, Brazil, only 16 surfers remain from the 96-man field. A dying swell provided much more action than expected, allowing for a full day of heats today.

There were standout performances by many of the remaining surfers, including Kolohe Andino, who posted another heat win over Nat Young and Jean de Silva in the three-man no-loser round.

Fellow Tour rookie Gabriel Medina is..

Saquerema Prime Event Begins

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:35:22 PDT

The Saquerema Prime Event is underway in Brazil with some surprisingly large swell in the water for Round 1. The highest seed in the event was meant to be John John Florence, who pulled out after winning the Billabong Rio Pro last week. No need to be chasing down Prime points when you've become a World Title contender.

Gabriel Medina nearly suffered a shock elimination in Round 1, needing a last second left to squeak through in second place behind Jonathan Gonzalez.

Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd Arrested and Facing Extradition

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:29:31 PDT

Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson was released from a jail in Frankfurt, Germany on Monday, May 21, for his involvement in the apprehension of an illegal shark-finning operation off the coast of Guatemala. He is currently under house arrest while the German courts decide whether he should be extradited to Costa Rica for the incident in question, which occurred in 2002.

The video below is part of a documentary film entitled Sharkwater, which chronicles the altercation between the..

Reunion Island's Finest

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:42:32 PDT

Pro-surfing's list of stars used to consist unwaveringly of three nationalities-- Australians, Brazilians, and Americans. However, with the rise of internet-driven publicity and surf-corporations scouring the globe for the next generation of up-and-comers, all that's changed.

Perhaps nowhere is the increased diversity in surfing talent more evident than in the small island locales of the world. These two clips, one of the World Tour's Jeremy Flores and the other of Adrien..

Nico Von Rupp's Sanctuary of Green

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:31:16 PDT

The west coast of Ireland and Scotland has been likened to a "cold water Indo" for the countless reefs, coves, and slabs, which are bombarded by powerful North Atlantic swell for much of the year. Here European tube-hunter Nico Von Rupp finds himself a lonely left that pumps out tube after tube. If it wasn't for the 6-mm wetsuit, booties, hoodie, and gloves, Nico coulda sworn this was Macaroni's.

Josh Kerr's Gold Coast Grovel

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:32:05 PDT

Currently sitting at number three in the world after a semifinal finish in Rio, Josh Kerr dominated in conditions ranging from dribbly lefts to heaving closeout beachbreak. And now, for the first time in his career, he's in world title contention.

Kerr met up with his filmer Matt Kleiner on Australia's Gold Coast for two days and was greeted with great weather but very minimal surf. Given that Josh is one of the most versatile surfers around, he had no trouble standing out in the..

Dege O'Connell Highlight Reel

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:03:56 PDT

Dege O'Connell is yet another prime example of the depth of talent on Maui. With an impressive list of big names like Walsh, Payne, and Marzo coming out of this small island, as well as a couple recent additions in Layer and Meola, it's hard to believe that Maui has even more surfers we'll be hearing about in the future.

Currently residing in Hana, on the isle's North Shore, Dege O'Connell has a variety of big and small waves to choose from. Here's Dege's highlight reel..

Malibu Inlet and Lagoon Get a Face-Lift

Sun, 20 May 2012 12:49:07 PDT

Southern California's most iconic summer pointbreak, Surfrider Beach in Malibu, has been suffering from a pesky closeout problem in recent years. The inlet has been breaching at the east end of Malibu Lagoon. And as a result, the upper points are starved of sand while the wave at First Point is being broken up by a sandbar.

The current positioning of the inlet is also causing problems for the city of Malibu due to the rapid erosion of the land surrounding the historic Adamson..

Pipe Masters Lookback Part 1

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:37:42 PDT

Our comrades over at Vans just dropped a mini-documentary on last year's Pipeline Masters event, which, as you may recall, enjoyed some of the best conditions ever seen in competition. As Shane Dorian put it, "I've been in the Pipe Masters since I was 19 or 20 years old. I've been in a lot of them, and this year was probably the best one of all for sure."

Here is episode one of three-- the early rounds:

Caribbean Costa Rica

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:13:56 PDT

For most surf-travelers, Costa Rica conjures up images of dense jungles and brown-sand beachbreaks. This may be largely accurate on the country's more popular Pacific side. But if you have the time and knowlege, Costa Rica's Caribbean coast is holding some gems. Here, East-Coast-Americans Balaram Stack, Eric Geiselman, and CJ Hobgood venture south, following local pro Gilbert Brown and his dreadlocks as he leads them to some unexpected treasures. For more on this trip, check out Surfing..

The Talented Mr. Dylan Longbottom

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:27:32 PDT

Australia's Dylan Longbottom is one of the premier hellmen of our sport-- one of those rare humans who takes joy in being terrified. A standout performer in the most deadly conditions, Dylan was one of the only surfers to actually make it out of a proper beast during the Tahiti Code Red mega-swell. In this highlight reel we see some of his more notable sessions at Shipstern's Bluff, Teahupoo, West Oz, Kirra, and a couple of secret haunts.

In addition to his barrel-riding antics,..

Indonesian Tunnels Through the Eyes of Hugues Oyarzabal

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:44:04 PDT

Frenchman Hugues Oyarzabal just returned from a 5-month stay in Indonesia, and unlike most traveling surfers he's got more than some tall tales to show for it. As a goofyfoot, Hugues found an endless supply of winding lefthand tubes on Bali's Bukit Peninsula and on several outer-island missions.

Lucky for us, he was able to strap on his Go-Pro for some of the most mesmerizing POV shots to date. With the help of his girlfriend's land angles, he crafted this 33-minute film..

West Oz Winter in Full Swing

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:23:41 PDT

While those of us in California are preparing for a hot summer and small waves, our friends in places like Western Australia are already in the full swing of winter. Winter in West Oz means big swell and chillier waters, much like it does for California. Best mates Ry Craike and Dino Adrian have already been scoring, as evidenced by these two fresh clips.

Rasta in Hawaii

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:22:47 PDT

Here we have a winter in Hawaii clip from Dave Rastovich's time on Oahu. Rasta talks about venturing past the Pipeline scene to the shore's other waves, and does a bit of experimenting with surf sleds.

Rasta has strayed from the norm in many areas of his life and career, and surfboards are no different. The Australian's board of choice in Hawaii for the last couple seasons is not exactly what you'd expect in North Shore juice-- a winged twin-fin shaped by Akila Aipa (which you..

John John Florence Wins First WCT Event at Billabong Rio Pro

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:20:50 PDT

The finals of the Rio Pro saw some impressive performances from the stacked field. But the most convincing display of surfing came from the least seasoned competitor-- rookie John John Florence, who won his first WCT final today at age 19.

As predicted earlier this month by the absent Kelly Slater, it was only a matter of time before Florence bagged his first contest victory. Now, having won in the heaviest of waves at the Volcom Pipeline Pro in January, and in the smallest of..

Driftwood Collective's Board Recycling Project

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:03:28 PDT

Driftwood Collective has released its third episode to give you ideas on how to recycle your old surfboards. Much to the benefit of the environment, many companies are taking steps to go green.

That responsibility falls on surfers, too, as materials that have been used in the past to make surf planks are quite harmful to the environment.

Recycling the old surf plank does take some muscle work, but the results are priceless. Check out the video below by Driftwood..

Surfing Mag's Swimsuit Issue Videos

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:47:07 PDT

Surfing Magazine's annual Swimsuit Issue is here, and if you haven't held it in your hands yet, maybe this will ease your pain. Our comrades over at -ING have cut a few short films to supplement each of their shoot locations from the issue. Here are two of them: Hawaii and the Salton Sea. Enjoy.

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