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smorgasboarder<br />
SURF<br />
2023<br />
#57<br />
magazine<br />
NATURALLY<br />
YANN FaTrAS<br />
B-RAD SKATE<br />
BRAD SHAW<br />
BRIGHT SIDE<br />
BEN ROSS
Celebrating<br />
48 YEARS<br />
Celebrating<br />
45 YEARS<br />
Gerringong | 90mins south of Sydney<br />
Online<br />
+<br />
In-store<br />
Australia’s Largest Independent Surf Shop.<br />
Proudly Family Owned & Run.<br />
w w w . n a t u r a l n e c e s s i t y . c o m . a u<br />
S H O P O N L I N E<br />
1,000+ surfboardS swiMwear heaven IN-STORE VEGO CAFE
30<br />
52<br />
CONTENTS<br />
#57<br />
2023<br />
60<br />
76<br />
12 NEWS<br />
18 COMPETITION<br />
22 CONTROVERSY<br />
24 ACROSS THE DITCH<br />
30 YANN FATRAS<br />
52 TRAVEL<br />
60 ROAM<br />
70 BEN ROSS ART<br />
76 SKATE (B-RAD)<br />
84 THE BLANK PAGES<br />
98 ALOHA BARRY<br />
smorgasboarders<br />
Editorial | Amber O’Dell<br />
amber@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0420 615 107<br />
Editorial & Advertising | Dave Swan<br />
dave@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0401 345 201<br />
Social Media | Phoebe Swan<br />
phoebe@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0459 705 404<br />
New Zealand | Jiff Morris<br />
jeff@smorgasboarder.co.nz<br />
0220 943 913<br />
South Australia | Jimmy Ellis<br />
james@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0410 175 552<br />
Design | Horse & Water Creative<br />
mark, val, helen, taylah, sarah<br />
mark@horseandwater.com.au<br />
Accounts | Louise Gough<br />
louise@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
NATURALLY<br />
YANN FaTrAS<br />
smorgasboarder<br />
SURF<br />
2023<br />
#57<br />
magazine<br />
B-RAD SKATE<br />
BRAD SHAW<br />
BRIGHT SIDE<br />
BEN ROSS<br />
our cover<br />
photo: walkandseemedia<br />
(Yann Fatras)<br />
surfer: Jared Mell<br />
get involved<br />
Stories, photos, ideas, new and<br />
interesting surf-related stuff you<br />
want to share? Drop us a line on<br />
editorial@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
get your fix<br />
1. Subscribe - the mag is still<br />
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featured in this mag - they’ll have<br />
some free copies.<br />
3. A full list of stockists are online<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
4. Download or read it online at<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
Smorgasboarder is published by Huge C Media PTY LTD ABN 30944673055. All information is correct at time of going to press. The publication cannot<br />
accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements, or unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. The opinions and words of the authors<br />
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Variety<br />
is the<br />
spice<br />
of life<br />
It’s an age-old idiom that dates back to the 1800s. It<br />
originates from a line within a poem called The Task<br />
which was written by English poet William Cowper<br />
in 1875. And it is a proverb that has stood the test of<br />
time. It’s meaning being, if you keep doing the same<br />
old thing, over and over again, it will get tedious,<br />
monotonous and even boring.<br />
It captures one of the great truths about human<br />
existence, being the fact there is a great richness in<br />
diversity and pursuing different interests. Life is far<br />
more interesting when we try different things and vary<br />
our experiences.<br />
This belief has been verified by numerous scientific<br />
studies that show variety leads to increased<br />
satisfaction. Repeated exposure to a stimulus over<br />
time reduces its ability to excite. The effect is known<br />
as hedonic adaptation. Exposing yourself to different<br />
stimulus that excites increases feelings of euphoria.<br />
So where are we going with all of this? From the getgo,<br />
our ethos at Smorgasboarder has been to produce<br />
a magazine that celebrates a diverse array of board<br />
sports and surf lifestyle pastimes that we enjoy. It is<br />
part of the reason we have never identified ourselves as<br />
a shortboard surf magazine, or a longboard one for that<br />
matter, or a SUP mag or a skate mag. We enjoy doing<br />
all of these things. We figure life would be pretty boring<br />
if you only partook in just one past time.<br />
Shortboard when the conditions are right, longboard<br />
when it suits, paddleboard to mix things up, skateboard<br />
when the ocean is windblown and snowboard<br />
whenever you can. And if the opportunity presents<br />
itself, go wakeboarding, learn to foil, wing surf and<br />
broaden your horizons to everything and anything. And<br />
being surfers, there’s also a love for the great outdoors,<br />
camping, glamping, secluded getaways, fishing, hiking<br />
and mountain biking. That is what Smorgasboarder is<br />
about, variety in all its magnificence.<br />
With that said, in this edition we feature one hell of<br />
a talented French videographer, showcase the work<br />
of an Australian artist, interview the inaugural winner<br />
of Australia’s first skateboard competition, travel to<br />
Papua New Guinea, step inside some amazing surf<br />
shacks, check out a troopy that is something different<br />
altogether and provide an exposé of the latest shapes<br />
from Australia’s immense number of talented surfboard<br />
artisans. So, please enjoy, and if there is something you<br />
would like us to feature more of, or perhaps something<br />
we have not yet shone a light on to date, please let us<br />
know. This is your magazine.<br />
Get in touch at editorial@smorgasboarder.com.au.<br />
The Smorgasboarders
photo: walkandseemedia (yann Fatras)
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Perfect Swell<br />
The first of<br />
its kind<br />
Covering six acres and offering up a pretty<br />
staggering variety of waves, the world’s largest<br />
surf park just had its grand opening an hour from<br />
São Paulo, Brazil.<br />
The gigantic wave pool is a part of the newly opened Boa Vista Village,<br />
and is nothing short of astonishing. Then again, what can you expect<br />
from the world’s leading surf park and wave technology company,<br />
PerfectSwell.<br />
Of course, while we couldn’t help but be enamoured with the wave<br />
pool, Boa Vista Village doesn’t just stop there. The innovative project is<br />
a result of a huge collaboration between high-income Brazil-based real<br />
estate developer JHSF and inventor and developer of PerfectSwell and<br />
SurfStream wave technology, American Wave Machines.<br />
Nestled in the Brazilian countryside, the main component of the<br />
development is actually a residential hub boasting a club house, beach<br />
resort, commercial shopping area, 18-hole golf course, international spa,<br />
equestrian centre, tennis courts and town centre – with each and every<br />
one being anchored to the central wave pool.<br />
Director of operations and JHSF wave manager, Eduardo Grinberg, said<br />
Boa Vista Village surf park caters to everyone, from beginners to surf<br />
champions who are always searching for a place to train.<br />
“These waves are the real deal. Everything that happens in nature,<br />
happens in PerfectSwell.”<br />
During the development’s grand opening celebration in late July, JHSF<br />
hosted a classy pool party and flew in plenty of world-champion surfers<br />
such as Olympic gold medallists Italo Ferreira and Carissa Moore to<br />
carve it up and test the surf park to its limits.<br />
If anyone knows their waves, it’s these two. While Italo commented<br />
about the wave pool’s amazing training potential for those who surf high<br />
performance, Carissa simply said, “It was insane, so much fun, honestly<br />
exceeded expectations. I have not stopped smiling, and I probably won’t<br />
until tomorrow.”<br />
While many are dubbing the wave pool at Boa Vista Village as the<br />
world’s biggest and best, it’s also probably the world’s priciest.<br />
Nonetheless, big projects like this one reinforce that surf facilities are<br />
becoming a more mainstream feature in international developments, and<br />
we are more than excited about that.
news<br />
surf watches<br />
Turning tides<br />
Although many of us have spent years honing in our skills to read the<br />
waves – sometimes it’s just convenient to have a little device on your wrist<br />
that does all of that for you.<br />
BUSINESS FOR SALE<br />
Contact Peter 0417 727 875 peter@kpsgroup.com.au<br />
Recently, many of the Smorgasboarder crew have gotten into surf watches. And<br />
while our stance on these handy devices is that they should not replace your<br />
instincts, but rather confirm them, we have to admit they are pretty neat. It’s just<br />
astounding how detail oriented some of these watches can be, from displaying<br />
local tide data to tracking the number and calibre of waves you’ve surfed.<br />
While some of us are a bit sceptical, we can’t help but be fascinated about the<br />
new technology emerging in the world of surfing, so here are a some of the most<br />
advanced surf watches we could find that especially piqued our interest.<br />
nixon<br />
High Tide<br />
$319.99 AUD<br />
As lightweight and sleek as it is handy, the High<br />
Tide has plenty of useful functions and a clear, bold<br />
screen that makes it easy to read when you are<br />
amongst the waves or out after dark. The watch’s<br />
main feature is that it comes with pre-programmed<br />
locations that display precise sunrise and sunset<br />
times, tidal information and moon data.<br />
While you can only choose from 550 beaches<br />
worldwide, we were stoked to know that over a<br />
third of those surf breaks are from Australia and<br />
New Zealand. So, if you’re surfing in this corner<br />
of the world, you should be able to find a beach<br />
near you. Of course, we are a stickler for product<br />
sustainability, so it’s a huge bonus that the watch is<br />
made from recycled ocean plastics too.<br />
In addition to being small, light and durable, this surf<br />
watch stands out from the rest thanks to its GPS tracking,<br />
which is super helpful for people wanting to find their<br />
way back after trekking to uncharted surfing, running and<br />
swimming spots. However, we think one of the Search’s<br />
coolest features is it’s detailed surf statistics, which tell<br />
you everything you need to know about your latest surf<br />
session from your top speed to your wave count and the<br />
distance you’ve paddled.<br />
It’s real-time surf conditions are also impressive too,<br />
with graphic depictions of tide charts, wind and swell<br />
data, location maps, moon phases and sunrise and<br />
sunset times. Of course, you also get a ton more global<br />
tide locations (1400 to be exact) and lots of other useful<br />
functions like an alarm, stopwatch and synchronisation<br />
compatibility with the Rip Curl Search App and website.<br />
rip curl<br />
Search GPS 2<br />
$499.99 AUD<br />
garmin<br />
Instinct Solar<br />
Surf Edition<br />
$799.00 AUD<br />
You really couldn’t ask for a more high-tech and<br />
all-encompassing surf watch. I mean, some of<br />
the stuff they built into this thing is just insane. In<br />
addition to countless bells and whistles like visual<br />
tide data, ocean conditions, GPS tracking, weather<br />
information and surf activity (just to name a few) the<br />
Instinct Solar also has a heap of sporting and health<br />
features, such as a heart monitor and alert system, a<br />
sensor that gauges how well your body is absorbing<br />
oxygen and a stress calculator.<br />
As the name suggests, the watch even has a solarpowered<br />
battery complete with a solar intensity<br />
measurement system and a power manager where<br />
you can view how various settings and sensors<br />
impact the watch’s battery life. You can tell this<br />
watch was custom built for people that are out on<br />
the water all day.<br />
1/12 The Terrace,<br />
Brunswick Heads NSW<br />
p: 02 6685 1283
news<br />
A decade of<br />
surf and smiles<br />
When you take on plenty of 6000 km<br />
return trips, venturing off into every<br />
little nook and cranny from the Sunshine<br />
Coast down to the South Australian<br />
border, there are some places that just<br />
stay with you.<br />
Here at Smorgasboarder, The Rivermouth Café<br />
and General Store is a favourite of ours. Nestled in<br />
Tomakin, a small seaside village on the south coast<br />
of New South Wales, the venue exudes a healthy, hip<br />
and beachside vibe and has often been a welcome<br />
sight for us during our travels.<br />
As you can imagine, we were stoked to hear that the<br />
café is reaching its 10th anniversary later this year,<br />
and it was an absolute pleasure for us to sit down<br />
with the venue’s owner, Katrina McDonald, to chat<br />
about the amazing community they have fostered<br />
over the years.<br />
Katrina simply said it has been a pretty special<br />
decade for The Rivermouth, and they have no idea<br />
where the time has gone.<br />
“We have had some super busy summers with the<br />
holiday makers and ongoing local support from the<br />
community combined with the travellers that come<br />
to the Eurobodalla Coast and our beautiful area in<br />
Tomakin.<br />
“Great stories have been heard and talked about<br />
next to all of our surfboards and memorabilia on the<br />
floor. Lots of memories come back, mainly the old<br />
boys and how they used to ride similar boards.<br />
“It would be amazing to actually find out how many<br />
people have come through the doors day in and day<br />
out, including travellers and our local supporters.”<br />
Readers may remember the last time we caught<br />
up with the beloved café all the way back in edition<br />
49. In 2020, we were met with shocking photos of<br />
stark red skies and the ashy remnants left over from<br />
bushfires that ravaged through the south coast of<br />
New South Wales.<br />
Thankfully, the town of Tomakin was spared, and<br />
despite the lingering issues that the flames brought,<br />
both the café and the locals pulled together to<br />
support the unfortunate areas where other homes<br />
and businesses were not so lucky.<br />
When talking to Katrina, it’s made clear that both<br />
the community and The Rivermouth are thriving, and<br />
have remained strong despite the many trials and<br />
tribulations they have been through.<br />
“We copped some testing times through a couple of<br />
Covid19 lockdowns and bushfires. I didn’t know if I<br />
could pick things back up physically and mentally,<br />
but here we are, going into the 10th year.<br />
“I would like to thank our staff, friends and the locals.<br />
I also wouldn’t be here without my family’s ongoing<br />
support and everyone that has stepped into and had<br />
a little piece of the café.”<br />
As one of these loyal visitors, we highly recommend<br />
stopping by The Rivermouth if you are in the area.<br />
And even if you aren’t, we assure you the venue’s<br />
warm atmosphere and fresh, mouth-watering food<br />
are well worth the detour.<br />
The café even stocks a healthy stash of<br />
Smorgasboarder magazines, which we all know are<br />
best enjoyed after a surf and in an amazing café with<br />
a coffee in hand.<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
14
READERS PHOTOS<br />
readers photos<br />
Just noticed Leighton Clark advertised my new board in your mag.<br />
Thought I might share a photo of it in action (with me) whilst on<br />
holidays. He'll probably not be too impressed I added side bites.<br />
F1's surfbreak Muli Meemu Atoll July 2023.<br />
if this does get published please add my thanks to the locals<br />
Ali, Ibrahim, China, Hameed and crew.<br />
Cheers,<br />
SIMON MCLEAN<br />
READERS PHOTOS
alk<br />
he<br />
lank<br />
Yes, they’re all coming out of the<br />
woodwork to walk the plank<br />
(points for the number of puns used?).<br />
Jokes aside, Mark Riley’s balsa workshops have<br />
proven a real hit. So many people from all walks of life:<br />
male, female, young and old are signing up to custom<br />
craft their very own beautiful wooden surfboard and<br />
experience the sensation of riding something they have<br />
built with their own two hands.<br />
This ripper is by a bloke by the name of Gene, who also<br />
happens to be a chippie - great little fish and wave to<br />
boot. Lumbering along nicely :) .<br />
Balsa surfboard kits, one-on-one<br />
tuition sessions and workshops<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
16<br />
balsawoodsurfboardsriley.com
email: outereye@gmail.com | phone: 02 6655 7007<br />
outerislandsurfboards.com
WIN!<br />
Surf<br />
IS FREE<br />
Competitions<br />
Winner!<br />
GHOST RACKS<br />
Beautiful boards require racks that don’t detract from the<br />
presentation. You want to see the boards not what’s supporting them<br />
and that is why Ghost Racks created their near transparent, super<br />
strong acrylic rack system. The appeal is undeniable and the reason<br />
why the racks have taken the world by storm.<br />
The good folks at Ghost Racks now make every kind of rack<br />
imaginable from surfboard racks to skateboard racks, corner racks,<br />
horizontal, vertical, multi-angle, free standing and overhead options…<br />
you name it they have it. Better yet, Ghost Racks cater for a diverse<br />
array of board shapes and fin setups too, so your board doesn't<br />
get jeopardised. We love them so much at Smorgasboarder we are<br />
offering up a set of Ghost Racks for one lucky reader in every edition.<br />
A massive congratulations to lucky reader<br />
Colin Mcmahon, the proud new owner of<br />
a beautifully shaped wooden surfboard by<br />
none other than Shapes by Steve O.<br />
By now you know that, here at Smorgasboarder, we love giving<br />
away free stuff. That is why in our last edition we gave our readers<br />
the chance to score a 7’2” hollow wooden surfboard hand-crafted<br />
by Stephen Halpin – one of the most innovative and eco-friendly<br />
board shapers we know.<br />
We were touched to discover that the winner of this edition’s<br />
random draw was Teresa Mcmahon, who entered the competition<br />
to win the board for her husband, Colin. When we reached out to<br />
him, he said he was very grateful for the win and to have such a<br />
beautifully crafted board.<br />
“I have had three surfs on the Stephen Halpin’s board, and it gets<br />
better each time. Even from my first outing I could tell the board is<br />
very easy to paddle and catch waves on.<br />
“The interest in the board from others has also seen a steady<br />
flow of comments about how impressed they are around the<br />
workmanship and design of the board.<br />
“I have been out in mainly knee to chest high shore break and the<br />
most noticeable is the speed of the board from take-off and how<br />
well it holds the line. It also allows me to execute solid smooth<br />
bottom turns with ease.<br />
“I am looking forward to each surf I have with this board, as<br />
the more I surf with it the more I discover about it. It<br />
is performing way above any expectations I had,<br />
and I am excited to have it.”<br />
Congratulations Colin! We are so stoked to<br />
hear that you like it.<br />
Once again, a massive thank you to<br />
everyone who entered, signed up to our<br />
newsletter and visited our socials. You’re<br />
all legends.<br />
Things you need to know…<br />
We’ll pick a winner on Tuesday 31st October 2023, so you have<br />
plenty of time to enter.<br />
We will announce the winner on our Instagram via an update to<br />
our GHOST RACKS COMP post.<br />
This competition is open to Smorgasboarder readers worldwide.<br />
The prize will be your choice of either a vertical or horizontal<br />
wall rack from the Ghost Racks surf range. We will even post<br />
the racks to you at their expense! This is a game of chance.<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
18<br />
how to enter<br />
This is a game of chance.<br />
Go to our Smorgasboarder<br />
Instagram page:<br />
a. Follow our Smorgasboarder Instagram page<br />
b. Like the GHOST RACKS COMP post<br />
c. Share it on your Instagram page<br />
d. Tag Smorgasboarder and Ghost Racks on your<br />
shared post<br />
It’s that simple.
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
19
One and the same<br />
If<br />
waves were roads and<br />
surfboards were cars – who is<br />
responsible for an accident?<br />
It is an interesting parallel, but when you think<br />
about it, can’t most of the unspoken rules of<br />
surfing be traced back to how we approach<br />
courtesy, fairness and fault while driving?<br />
As the Christmas holidays near, the streets and<br />
waves of many coastal towns will soon see an<br />
influx of holidaymakers looking to soak up the<br />
sun at our beautiful beaches. Inevitably, traffic<br />
will build up, and streets and surf breaks will<br />
become congested.<br />
In that setting, imagine a car travels through<br />
a green traffic light but becomes stuck in the<br />
middle of the intersection due to the queued<br />
traffic. The lights change. Another vehicle who<br />
now has a green light and right of way drives<br />
through the intersection and collides with the<br />
queued vehicle causing injuries to both drivers.<br />
Then, imagine perhaps a similar surfing<br />
scenario. A surfer on a wave has right of way.<br />
Another surfer paddling out sees the surfer on<br />
the wave heading to their left and consequently<br />
heads right to avoid a collision. The surfer on<br />
the wave however then cuts back, gets caught<br />
in the wash and hits the surfer paddling out.<br />
Both scenarios are similar, despite being on<br />
land and at sea, but the question still remains –<br />
who caused the accident?<br />
The first car by blocking the intersection? Or<br />
the second car by failing to avoid the queued<br />
traffic despite having the right of way? Is the<br />
second driver entitled to simply assume that<br />
all others will comply with the road rules at all<br />
times? In terms of the surfer on the wave, do<br />
they always have right of way? What happens<br />
if the surfer on the wave partially loses control<br />
of their board in the wash (even with a legrope<br />
on)? Was it the fault of the surfer on the wave<br />
or the surfer paddling out?<br />
To understand who is responsible when<br />
surfing, what if we looked to the rules and<br />
regulations of driving? In Queensland,<br />
the road rules are set out in the Transport<br />
Operations (Road Use Management – Road<br />
Rules) Regulation 2009, which covers how<br />
Queenslanders should drive in a safe manner<br />
on a day-to-day basis – from how to safely<br />
perform a U-turn to how to parallel park safely.<br />
Other States and Territories around Australia<br />
have similar, but not the same, legislated road<br />
rules.<br />
Many cases over the years have considered<br />
the liability of drivers who have failed to comply<br />
with the road rules. The principal case being<br />
Sibley v Kais (1967) 118 CLR 424. In Sibley, the<br />
Plaintiff looked to the right before entering an<br />
intersection and being struck by an oncoming<br />
vehicle from their left. The Plaintiff argued that<br />
the Defendant breached the “right hand rule”<br />
(that at unprotected intersections vehicles must<br />
give way to the right) and should be held liable<br />
on that basis.<br />
While undoubtedly a relevant factor, the High<br />
Court held that a breach of the right hand rule<br />
(or indeed other road rules generally) does<br />
not determine who caused an accident. The<br />
paramount consideration is whether the driver<br />
acted reasonably in all the circumstances. This<br />
means that drivers must not simply assume<br />
that other drivers will drive according to the<br />
road rules.<br />
When two vehicles are entering an intersection,<br />
they are both obligated to take reasonable<br />
care and remain vigilant. In some situations,<br />
this may extend to anticipating the negligence<br />
of others or even irrational behaviour by<br />
pedestrians.<br />
For example, in Manley v Alexander (2005) 223<br />
ALR 228, a driver was found to be negligent<br />
after impacting with a pedestrian lying on a<br />
roadway at 4:00 am. There, the High Court<br />
found that had the driver been paying attention<br />
to all that was happening on or near the road<br />
they would have seen the pedestrian and<br />
avoided the impact.<br />
However, there are limits to what a driver<br />
has to do to avoid liability when others are<br />
acting unpredictably. It will often depend<br />
on whether the driver has any reasonable<br />
opportunity to take steps to avoid the accident<br />
from occurring. More recently, in Lim v Cho<br />
[2018] NSWCA 145, a driver was found not<br />
to be liable when their passenger leapt from<br />
the moving vehicle and suffered catastrophic<br />
injuries.<br />
Ultimately, these types of cases are very<br />
fact-dependent. There is often no clear<br />
answer and no consistent recollection of the<br />
accident by witnesses. In most instances,<br />
even where claims succeed, there is usually<br />
an accompanying reduction for contributory<br />
negligence to reflect the injured driver’s relative<br />
contribution to the accident.<br />
What is clear is that, similar to driving, surfers<br />
are not entitled to simply assume others will<br />
surf safely – they must remain vigilant and if<br />
they anticipate danger, they must respond to<br />
it. So, maybe the rules of driving and surfing<br />
aren’t so different after all?<br />
schultzlaw.com.au<br />
i<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
20
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
P: 03 9587 3553<br />
E: rory@okesurfboards.com<br />
OKESURFBOARDS.COM<br />
1/1-7 Canterbury Rd, Braeside, VIC 21
controversy<br />
words: dave swan<br />
So, the topic of today’s conversation is knobs. And no – I’m not talking about the world’s<br />
greatest surf wax. This is about that special group of people who seem to simply enjoy<br />
being unpleasant in life.<br />
So, the topic of today’s conversation is knobs. And no – I’m<br />
not talking about the world’s greatest surf wax. This is about<br />
that special group of people who seem to simply enjoy being<br />
unpleasant in life.<br />
Concerningly, knobs seem to be steadily growing in number<br />
and can be found in all walks of life, across all ages, all sexes,<br />
professions, all industries and all pastimes. Unfortuantely,<br />
surfing is no different!<br />
Here at Smorgasboarder, we have strict No Knobs Policy<br />
enshrined in our world domination business plan. It states,<br />
‘We shall be free from knobs in their many forms. They serve<br />
to only bring us down. Knobs are prohibited from working in<br />
our organisation. We do not wish to do business with knobs<br />
in any shape or form. We will endeavour to avoid knobs at all<br />
costs. We will never become knobs.’<br />
So, if you too live by a No Knobs Policy, one gem of wisdom<br />
you can now take to the bank knowing our stance on<br />
knobbiness: if a person or business is featured in the hallowed<br />
pages of Smorgasboarder, they’re clearly not knobs! Of<br />
course we must stress, hand-on-heart, that this truth in no<br />
way implies that surfers or surf business who haven’t yet been<br />
in our mag are knobs. We’re confident they will most likely be<br />
very nice people we just haven’t been met yet. (However as<br />
they say, ‘Squirrels are just rats with good publicity’, so you<br />
never know, there might be the odd logical conclusion to jump<br />
to... But I digress!)<br />
So, why do knobs exist? And how can we remove them from<br />
our lives? Am I a knob?<br />
Why do knobs exist? Honestly, I don’t know.<br />
Most likely to challenge the rest of us to be<br />
more patient. Do knobs indeed realise they<br />
are knobs? Or are they just oblivious?<br />
Perhaps they do know<br />
they are knobs but<br />
simply don’t care<br />
because of some<br />
personal traits.<br />
If so, what<br />
could these<br />
traits be?<br />
One common trait across knobs seems to a keen sense<br />
of self-importance which manifests itself in both a lack of<br />
consideration for others and a rather overinflated ego. The<br />
person who’s rude to waiters or cuts you off in traffic on<br />
purpose, for example. Another such trait is that knobs tend to<br />
often be the tight-arse who don’t shout a round. (Note: even<br />
if youre not a fully fledged knob, never be a tight-arse. It’s a<br />
one-way ticket to knob-dom).<br />
So, assuming you can effectively spot one, how do we<br />
remove this narcissistic, selfish, too cool-for-school, tightwad<br />
from our lives?<br />
Simple. Call them out on it. They don’t like it.<br />
Yes, it is important to be diplomatic and endeavour to<br />
tactfully inform them that they are indeed a knob – we’re not<br />
calling for confrontation and conflict here - but as my dad<br />
always said, “silence is golden but sometimes it is yellow.”<br />
Once called out, one of two things happen: They decide to be<br />
a better person and less knobby, or they stop interacting with<br />
you. Either way, a win!<br />
Now that I have provided what I believe is the singular best<br />
method to eradicate knobs from your life, we get to the next,<br />
even more important part of this: how to avoid becoming<br />
a knob yourself (as the affliction appears to be highly<br />
contagious).<br />
These are the top eight tips to avoid this fate:<br />
1. Do not hang out with knobs.<br />
Knob on knob is a no go.<br />
2. Do not force your views on others.<br />
Accept that everyone is different and they are entitled to<br />
their own opinion. You may have a certain perspective<br />
and another person may have a different perspective.<br />
Just because it is different, does not make either right<br />
or wrong. Try to put yourself in their shoes and see their<br />
point of view. Different views make for an interesting<br />
world and - as we said earlier in our editorial foreword -<br />
variety is the spice of life. Living life in an echo chamber<br />
only ensures you become one-eyed and insular.
PLENTY OF NEW<br />
SURFBOARDS, SUPS, BODYBOARDS, WETSUITS,<br />
CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES.<br />
3. Don’t be authoritarian.<br />
It’s unhealthy. No-one needs to conform to your way<br />
of thinking or doing things. If there is one thing the<br />
pandemic has taught us, it’s that. Censuring people’s<br />
views and opinions, no matter how contrary they may be<br />
to your own, is a sure-fire way toward a dystopian future.<br />
4. Be respectful.<br />
While respecting people’s personal opinions, also make<br />
sure to respect their personal space, respect their time,<br />
respect their feelings and respect their property. In short,<br />
be considerate.<br />
5. Take responsibility kindly.<br />
‘If it is going to be, it is up to me.’ If you want to get<br />
ahead and live a certain life, that it is up to you to realise<br />
that goal and not someone else’s job or charitable<br />
responsibility to get you there. If you can bring others<br />
up with you, even better, but at very least don’t step on<br />
anyone else to get ahead.<br />
6. Pay your way.<br />
Don’t leech of others’ good natures. Be<br />
generous and again, be respectful.<br />
7. Don’t be a hypocrite.<br />
Never expect of others what you<br />
wouldn’t do yourself. Ensure your<br />
behaviour doesn’t contradict what<br />
you claim to believe or feel.<br />
8. Be kind<br />
The end.<br />
If, reading this piece, you feel<br />
excited, armed and ready to rid<br />
yourselves of some unpleasant<br />
knobbiness in your life, that makes<br />
us very happy. If however, reading<br />
this piece, you find yourself<br />
mildy offended, perhaps some<br />
self-knob-searching might<br />
be required? We know that<br />
obviously, as loyal<br />
Smorgasboarder<br />
readers, it’s definitely<br />
the former, but just<br />
in case, always<br />
remember the<br />
golden bit of<br />
advice “Offence is<br />
taken, not given…”<br />
Live knob free good people!<br />
159 ESPLANADE, PORT NOARLUNGA SOUTH, SA 5167<br />
PH: (08) 8386 0404<br />
smorgasboarder<br />
IT’S A STICK UP<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
OPEN<br />
BE OUR<br />
FRIEND ON<br />
7 DAYS<br />
Sticker packs<br />
available at the<br />
Smorgastore<br />
And of course, if you do like the sound<br />
of our Knobs, you can purchase Knobs<br />
Surf Wax at the Smorgasboarder<br />
store. Good bumps and sticky as.<br />
ARTWORK SUPPLIED<br />
COURTESY OF CURL<br />
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24
Across the ditch<br />
Apologies, following our trip there earlier this year we can’t but help continue featuring photos<br />
of this most magical surf break. In case you don’t recognise it, it is Raglan on the North Island<br />
of New Zealand, home of Mickey T (Mike Thompson Custom Shapes and Raglan Longboards).<br />
Head left and follow the rainbow.<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
25
Across the ditch<br />
SPRING HAS SPRUNG<br />
THERE’S A SMELL IN THE AIR …. SOMETHING HAS CHANGED!<br />
You wake up one morning in September and things are<br />
just, well, different!<br />
That anticipation of warmer weather is nearing. It’s early,<br />
but now the sun is up before I am. I still need a hoodie<br />
first thing, but that won’t be for long.<br />
As you’re grabbing hold of the last opportunities to<br />
partake in winter snow sports, you can’t help your<br />
attention being diverted to the summer activities just<br />
around the corner. Whether your game is hiking, biking,<br />
wake, SUP or surf, spring is in the air and summer is on<br />
its way.<br />
“When do we take the winter snowboard racks off the<br />
top of the truck?”, replace them with Ocean & Earth<br />
foamies for carrying the 10ft Adventure 60/40 SUP or<br />
Torq surfboards down the coast. Sure as sh#t, as soon as<br />
you do the ‘change-up’ along comes one of those classic<br />
spring snowstorms that sees the town blanketed in a lateseason<br />
covering, reminding us all that we don’t control<br />
any of it. Oh well, keep out the 159 Jones Stratos for a<br />
few more days of snow play.<br />
Spring-time is a “bitsa”… bits of this and bits of that.<br />
As I did yesterday, you can go and do some fast morning<br />
laps on the groomed corduroy before it turns to spring<br />
corn mid-morning. Or you can pop over the saddle, into<br />
the back and side-country for some touring once things<br />
have softened up. The 158 Season Pass splitboard is<br />
just perfect for those variable spring conditions that<br />
have softer powder patches intersected with wind and<br />
sun effected open ridges and roll-overs. Once you’re<br />
done, you boost back down the hill and get on the bike<br />
for some laps or just a casual ride around the lake edge<br />
to earn yourself a couple of beers at our local –Altitude<br />
Brewery.<br />
Without even realising I’d done it, I got home yesterday<br />
and in the last of the afternoon sun I pulled out the<br />
SUP’s and started prepping the little ding repairs that I<br />
neglected to do at the end of last summer. All of a sudden<br />
I’m searching the shed for my FCS surf leashes, finding<br />
my Volcom change-poncho in the process, but also<br />
searching in vain for my left Ripcurl surf bootie that I had<br />
obviously not put back in the water sports bin.<br />
Spring allows us to do so much. I remember that saying,<br />
that spring is all about “new life” – you know the picture,<br />
with the little lambs and their wiggly tails.<br />
It’s not just new life, more so a new lease on life.<br />
Hmmm… maybe I won’t take the snowboard racks off<br />
just yet!<br />
www.nzshred.co.nz<br />
NZ SHRED<br />
WORDS JASE JOHN
Across the ditch<br />
for those<br />
out in the<br />
elements<br />
100% NATURAL<br />
SUN PROTECTION<br />
Whether you’re in the surf, snow, or<br />
mountain bike trails, playing outdoor<br />
sports, or a tradie doing the mahi, this<br />
is made for you. Sweat and waterresistant,<br />
perfect for all skin types.<br />
SEASAP IS THE BEST ZINC!<br />
. ORGANIC INGREDIENTS<br />
. DOESN’T STING YOUR EYES<br />
. SAFE FOR ALL SKIN TYPES<br />
. PERFECT THICKNESS<br />
. SMELLS LIKE HEAVEN<br />
. STAYS ON FOR HOURS<br />
. HAND MADE IN NEW ZEALAND<br />
seasap.nz<br />
# 56 // smorgasboarder //<br />
27
Across the ditch<br />
Beachstreet<br />
“Beachstreet Surf Shop is a core surf shop, locally owned and<br />
operated, just up from Fitzroy Beach.<br />
We stock surfing products for all types of wave riding. Home to local<br />
brands Lost in the 60’s and Blacksand.<br />
Also offering trade ins, ding repair, hire equipment and stand-up<br />
paddle and surf coaching.<br />
Beachstreet Surf Shop, it’s all about surfing!”<br />
+64 6-758 0400<br />
chip@hotmail.co.nz<br />
Raglan Holiday Park Papahua<br />
“Six kilometres from a surf beach and five minutes walk to town over foot<br />
bridge. Whether you have come to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this<br />
idyllic New Zealand beach town or are a surfer seeking some world class<br />
wave action, Raglan Holiday Park is the perfect place to stay.<br />
With vehicle access by a lone road bridge, this virtual island has its own<br />
sandy beach, boat ramp, takeaway store, huge playground, skate park<br />
and picturesque walk bridge conveniently linking the Raglan Holiday<br />
Park to the Raglan Town centre. Our peaceful and well maintained<br />
campground has all the facilities you will need to make your stay as fun<br />
and relaxing as possible.”<br />
raglanholidaypark.co.nz<br />
You can book online or email<br />
stay@raglanholidaypark.co.nz<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
28<br />
Real Surf<br />
“Real Surf is a locally owned and operated Core Surf Store<br />
specialising in surfboards, wetsuits, hardware and rentals. Come<br />
check out our new store just down the road at 5/56 Kingsford Smith<br />
St, Lyall Bay, Wellington.<br />
We’re open seven days a week with a friendly and experienced team<br />
ready to help out with your next purchase!<br />
Alternatively check out our website for the latest products and sale<br />
deals at www.realsurf.co.nz or find us on social media.”<br />
+64 4 387 8798<br />
www.realsurf.co.nz<br />
team@realsurf.co.nz<br />
SUPcentre<br />
(Not Just A Stand Up Paddle Board Store)<br />
“What began as a specialist Stand Up Paddle Store over 10 years ago, has<br />
now grown in to one of New Zealand’s best SUP, Surf and Wing-Foil stores.<br />
Not only do we have a unique store in the heart of Newmarket, Auckland,<br />
but we also have a fantastic website. So no matter where you are located in<br />
New Zealand you can shop online and we will get what you need to you.<br />
We still carry a huge range of Stand Up Paddle Boards, Paddles, Fins<br />
and SUP Accessories. However, now you’ll also find a wide range of<br />
Surfboards, Surf Fins, Leashes and Wetsuits. Or if Wing Foiling is your new<br />
passion then check out our quality range of wing foil boards, wind wings,<br />
foils and foiling accessories. Whatever you need, visit us instore or online.”<br />
+64 9 520 3366<br />
www.supcentre.co.nz<br />
sales@supcentre.co.nz
Across the ditch<br />
MOANA<br />
SUP and Surf<br />
Your stand up paddleboarding specialists<br />
Moana SUP and Surf is Nelson’s iconic little surf<br />
store, locally owned and operated with a full range of<br />
SUP, Surf and foil boards. Moana SUP & Surf offers<br />
expert advice to get you geared up for paddling.<br />
The sister company Paddle Nelson, offers a range of<br />
unique paddling experiences for all to enjoy, including<br />
our latest and greatest Night SUP Guided Tour.<br />
We ship nation wide.<br />
Shop 2, 623 Rocks Road,<br />
Moana, Nelson, 7011<br />
boards@moananzsup.co.nz<br />
027 285 0772<br />
moananzsup.co.nz
WHAT<br />
COMES<br />
NATURA LLY<br />
Yann Fatras<br />
words: dave swan and amber o’dell<br />
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31
d indeed any creative endeavour for that<br />
atter, that professional training is a doubleged<br />
sword. While it can be beneficial to<br />
veloping technical skills, it can also erode<br />
e’s unique creative flair.<br />
There’s an argument when it comes to the arts<br />
and indeed any creative endeavour for that<br />
matter, that professional training is a double-<br />
hy is it that some of the most incredibly<br />
edged sword. While it can be beneficial to<br />
developing technical skills, it can also erode<br />
lented artists one’s and unique photographers creative flair. have never<br />
Why is it that some of the most incredibly<br />
en formally trained? Does formal training<br />
talented artists and photographers have never<br />
been formally trained? Does formal training<br />
cite a certain incite a certain homogeneity where where over time over time<br />
you become conditioned to approaching it like<br />
everyone else, in turn detracting from the<br />
u become conditioned to approaching it like<br />
eryone else and detract from the organic<br />
ture of self-taught creativity?<br />
nn Fratas is a case in point. This incredibly<br />
lented videographer has never undergone<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
organic nature of self-taught creativity?<br />
Yann Fatras is a case in point. This incredibly<br />
talented videographer has never undergone<br />
formal training and yet his innate skill behind<br />
the lens is there for all to see. We recently<br />
caught up with him to talk how he became so<br />
enamoured with film and photography and the<br />
path that led him here from his home in Paris.<br />
rmal training and yet his innate skill behind<br />
e lens is there for all to see. We recently<br />
32<br />
ught up with him to talk how he became so
Ther<br />
matt<br />
edge<br />
deve<br />
one’<br />
Why<br />
tale<br />
been<br />
and<br />
Yann is born in France, a country revered around the<br />
world for its deep, rich history in the fine arts. For<br />
as long as he can remember his world has been<br />
immersed in the arts – everything from music to<br />
painting and photography. The one constant growing<br />
up and into his adult years was that he was always<br />
surrounded by artists. His father and brother were<br />
musicians and many of his friends became highend<br />
photographers, so it was only natural that he<br />
too would develop a keen interest in the same. Yann<br />
picks up the story.<br />
“Art has always been really present in my life. Music,<br />
painting, photography, I love all of them.<br />
“Growing up, I always had a camera in my hand, and<br />
I guess that is where it all started. I have always like<br />
photographing people but like randomly and really<br />
organically. I think that’s where my vision comes<br />
from, it’s very natural. I don’t like too much setup as<br />
it detracts from the instinctive nature of photography<br />
and videography. I’ve always shot that way.”<br />
In many ways, Yann was drawn to the camera as a<br />
means of capturing life’s memories. He felt compelled<br />
to capture those special moments in his life with<br />
friends and family so they had a keepsake for ever<br />
and a day. It was these very friends that soon noted<br />
his talent behind the lens.<br />
“People started saying that they really liked what I<br />
was doing, so when we arrived in Australia I decided<br />
to step it up a bit. I got a better camera and then more<br />
better cameras, and then three years ago I decided<br />
to really do the whole leap into that side of things and<br />
get into it commercially.”<br />
It is here that we need to take a step back and<br />
understand what fate befell Yann for him to undertake<br />
his journey to our distant shores.<br />
“I was a very high-end pastry chef, working in<br />
massive hotels in Paris. My career was on the rise<br />
and I was preparing for a world contest of sugar art.<br />
But just before the competition, I had this motorbike<br />
crash and it crushed my body entirely. I was 25 at<br />
the time.”<br />
Yann was hit by a truck that had run a red light. It<br />
crashed directly into his side, what we Australians<br />
know as a T-bone accident.<br />
“I broke my back and half my bike. My whole leg<br />
was crushed and my hand was almost detached. It<br />
was a massive motorbike crash – like something that<br />
shatters your life for real. I very nearly died.”<br />
After a long recovery and learning to walk again over<br />
the course of two years, Yann returned as a pastry<br />
chef but constantly being on his feet all day after<br />
such a catastrophic accident took its toll on his body,<br />
but not his mind.<br />
“It pretty much broke my career, but I didn’t care<br />
about that aspect because I knew that something<br />
would happen. Since that day, I’ve always told myself<br />
to not plan too much – to go with the flow, but, go<br />
hard with the flow.<br />
inci<br />
you<br />
ever<br />
natu<br />
Yan<br />
tale<br />
form<br />
the
Yann was born in France, a country revered around<br />
the world for its deep, rich history in the fine arts.<br />
For as long as he can remember his world has<br />
been immersed in the arts – everything from music<br />
to painting and photography. The one constant<br />
growing up and into his adult years was that he<br />
was always surrounded by artists. His father and<br />
brother were musicians and some of his friends<br />
became well known artists, so it was only natural<br />
that he too would develop a keen interest in the<br />
same. Yann picks up the story.<br />
“Art has always been really present in my life.<br />
Music, painting, photography – I love all of them.<br />
“Growing up, I always had a camera in my hand,<br />
and I guess that is where it all started. I have always<br />
liked photographing people but like randomly and<br />
really organically. I think that’s where my vision<br />
comes from, it’s very natural. I don’t like too much<br />
setup as it detracts from the instinctive nature of<br />
photography and videography. I’ve always shot<br />
that way.”<br />
In many ways, Yann was drawn to the camera<br />
as a means of capturing life’s memories. He felt<br />
compelled to capture those special moments in his<br />
life with friends and family so they had a keepsake<br />
forever and a day. It was these very friends that<br />
soon noted his talent behind the lens.<br />
“I have always liked photographing<br />
people but like randomly and really<br />
organically. I think that’s where my<br />
vision comes from, it’s very natural. “<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
34
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
35
“People started saying that they really liked what I was doing, so when we<br />
arrived in Australia I decided to step it up a bit. I got a better camera and<br />
then more better cameras, and three years ago I decided to really do the<br />
whole leap into that side of things and get into it commercially.”<br />
It is here that we need to take a step back and understand what fate befell<br />
Yann for him to undertake his journey to our distant shores.<br />
“I was a very high-end pastry chef, working with some of the best chefs in<br />
Paris. My career was on the rise and I was preparing for a world contest of<br />
sugar art. But just before the competition, I had this motorbike crash and<br />
it crushed my leg and arm. I was 23 at the time.”<br />
Yann was hit by a truck that had run a red light. It crashed directly into his<br />
side. It’s what we Australians know as a T-bone accident.<br />
“I broke my bike in half. My whole leg was crushed and my hand was<br />
almost detached. It was a massive motorbike crash – like something that<br />
shatters your life for real. I very nearly died.”<br />
After a long recovery and learning to walk again over the course of two<br />
years, Yann returned as a pastry chef but constantly being on his feet all<br />
day after such a catastrophic accident took its toll on his body, but not<br />
his mind.<br />
“I had this motorbike crash<br />
and it crushed my body entirely.<br />
I was 23 at the time.”<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
37
“It pretty much broke my career, but I didn’t care about<br />
that aspect because I knew that something would happen.<br />
Since that day, I’ve always told myself to not plan too<br />
much – to go with the flow, but go hard with the flow.<br />
“If something happens, go with it. That brought me to not<br />
plan too much in my shoots. I always tell my assistant to<br />
make a shot list but learn to change things around to suit<br />
the moment – to be organised but also go with the flow.<br />
That’s exactly how I handle my life, and that’s what this<br />
accident brought me.”<br />
It’s an inspiring outlook on life, and one you can instantly<br />
see through his steely gaze. Yann lives his life with zeal<br />
and passion. You can see his commitment to this ideal<br />
and I must confess, hearing Yann utter these carefully<br />
chosen words, and the manner in which he expressed it,<br />
gave me goosebumps. It is surely a reminder to us all to<br />
live our life in the moment because we so readily forget<br />
this simple ethos.<br />
“Since that day, I’ve always<br />
told myself to not plan too<br />
much – to go with the flow,<br />
but go hard with the flow.”<br />
Following the accident Yann and his girlfriend considered<br />
their next steps and decided to “change life” which<br />
entailed a move to Australia.<br />
“Aurélie was a massive support. We kind of made the<br />
same decision together and wanted to see where life<br />
could take us. We wanted to do what we love and start<br />
enjoying every day, so we decided to pack up only what<br />
we needed and sell the rest.<br />
“We spent two years in Byron and then came up here to<br />
the Sunshine Coast. We have lived here for 13 years now<br />
and have two beautiful daughters, Léna and Charlie, aged<br />
nine and four.”<br />
Through this period Yann launched his business<br />
WalkAndSea Media where he is a visual storyteller/<br />
videographer extraordinaire working with businesses the<br />
likes of Suzuki, Surfing Queensland, Surfline, Pangea<br />
Maps, Heads of Noosa brewery and various fashion and<br />
lifestyle brands. One of the projects he has been working<br />
on most recently is with Travis Fimmel and the new beer<br />
brand he co-founded called Travla.<br />
“I love when people get together and bounce ideas off<br />
each other, and I learnt a lot working alongside such a<br />
creative person.”
Following his shoot with Travla, when Yann and I<br />
caught up, he informed me he was soon to jet off<br />
to Sri Lanka. Ohh, the life. Jokes aside, you can tell<br />
how hard Yann works and as they say, the harder you<br />
work, the luckier you become.<br />
“I got contacted by the producer of the film, which is<br />
a Sri Lankan guy that used to be a programer in New<br />
York and is now back in Sri Lanka with his wife and<br />
kids. He sponsors some of the riders that we were<br />
filming in Sri Lanka along with a crew of surfers that<br />
were part of the Sri Lankan Olympic team. They are<br />
really good surfers. I am leaving soon to shoot over<br />
there. It’s going to be something really big I think.<br />
“We will then travel a bit with the film. We are going<br />
to use our network to show it in as many destinations<br />
as possible, in particular Sri Lanka, here in Noosa and<br />
hopefully in San Franscisco and France.<br />
“Our main goal is to promote that country because<br />
it’s amazing. It’s got incredible surfers but no money<br />
to promote them.”<br />
The trip sounded incredible, and as some of these<br />
photos lay testament, it was. Yann forwarded a few<br />
of the photos before we went to print.<br />
With such a diverse array of clients, I asked whether<br />
this presented particular challenges to him and<br />
whether it also entailed investing in an extensive<br />
amount of different gear.<br />
“One thing that a friend and a very good artist told me<br />
when I started pursuing videography commercially<br />
was, ‘Mate, you’ll have to find a line and keep it.<br />
People need to recognise you for that line.’ I fully<br />
heard him, but I disagreed straight away because I<br />
didn’t think that it applied to who I am.<br />
“It could be that it worked for him, because when<br />
you think about painting, it’s true, you don’t want<br />
to paint with oil and suddenly you paint with water<br />
colours or something else – people need to recognise<br />
your style. But with photography and videography,<br />
because we show the world, we have to be able to<br />
show every part of the world and every category of<br />
the world. So, I don’t want to be put in a box. I think<br />
we live in a world where we need to be adaptable.”<br />
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This brings me back to my original point about<br />
being true to yourself and what feels right to you, as<br />
opposed to perhaps the conventional approach.<br />
“I grew up doing this. I may not be formally qualified<br />
but I have been to the school of life. I guess that is why<br />
my perception and intuition is different to someone<br />
that has learned it at university. I didn’t want to get<br />
into school, or learn how it’s done, because I didn’t<br />
want to lose that organic vision because I felt that’s<br />
what makes it interesting.<br />
“I love to plan my shoots, but I leave room for the<br />
unplanned side of it too. I like the organic nature of<br />
the unplanned and being in the magic of the moment.<br />
“However, that is something that you can’t have in<br />
Hollywood. There’s massive money at stake and<br />
every single step has to be written down. It kind of<br />
breaks the magic of the moment.”<br />
Considering the trash fire that has erupted in<br />
Hollywood at present, perhaps this pursuit has been<br />
wisely avoided by Yann. In case you are unaware,<br />
chaos has ensued as a result of big production<br />
companies beginning to entertain the idea of using<br />
AI to substitute the distinctive talent and imagination<br />
of writers and actors, who are already tethered by a<br />
system that values profit conservatism over creativity.<br />
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“It’s not really the gear, it’s what<br />
you do with it. Don’t get me wrong,<br />
I’ve got really good gear. I’m<br />
working with the Sony A7S III and<br />
R IV, and it gets me amazing videos<br />
and photos, but if you give that to<br />
someone that doesn’t know how to<br />
use it, they will give you sh*t.”
Considering where many creative industries<br />
(mostly the ones with a big commercial bosses<br />
behind the helm) are heading right now, it seems<br />
that art in all its forms is straying more and more<br />
away from challenging, fresh and unique brush<br />
strokes and more and more towards commercial,<br />
and what some may describe as boring, plain<br />
money-making crap.<br />
This is why, in an industry of painstaking,<br />
controlled perfectionism, Yann’s organic shots<br />
are just insanely refreshing to look at.<br />
This leads me to Yann’s gear, which is always a<br />
topic of interest for aspiring videographers and<br />
photographers alike.<br />
“I have been using Sony gear for quite a while.<br />
There’s something to it, and the form factor is a<br />
big deal. I’ve got all my gear in that brand, so it’s<br />
always felt silly to change just because of a trend.<br />
“Sony is comfortable, but Canon and Blackmagic<br />
are also amazing. Anything is good as long as<br />
you know what you’re doing. I just keep Sony<br />
because I love the form factor and the fact that<br />
it’s a bit smaller. Their lens range is also amazing<br />
and good for what I’m doing. It’s perfect both size<br />
and quality wise.”<br />
As Yann reaffirms though, great gear doesn’t<br />
necessarily make for great work. Personally,<br />
I have a set of tools at home but I can assure<br />
you my wife does not even remotely consider<br />
me a tradesman. I am possibly more like Frank<br />
Spencer. Our younger readers won’t even know<br />
who he is but suffice to say, clothes may maketh<br />
the man but tools certainly don’t maketh the<br />
tradesman.<br />
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“It’s not really the gear,<br />
it’s what you do with<br />
it. Don’t “I love get to plan me wrong,<br />
I’ve got really good<br />
gear. I’m working with<br />
the Sony S3 and it gets<br />
me amazing videos and<br />
photos, but if you give<br />
that “It’s not to really the gear, someone it’s what you do with it. Don’t get that<br />
doesn’t know how to use it, know they will give you sh*t. how to use<br />
it, it they too will look crap. Give will it to someone give who knows how to you<br />
sh*t.<br />
my shoots but I<br />
leave room for the<br />
unplanned side<br />
of it too. I like the<br />
organic nature of<br />
the unplanned abd<br />
being in the magic<br />
of the moment.”<br />
me wrong, I’ve got really good gear. I’m working with the<br />
Sony A7S III and Sony R IV and it gets me amazing videos<br />
and photos, but if you give that to someone that doesn’t<br />
“People talk about the colour science of say Sony and<br />
Canon, and yes, of course they’ve got different science,<br />
but give it to someone that doesn’t know how to edit, and<br />
edit, and both Sony and Canon will look amazing and vice<br />
versa. I think it’s just about always knowing the gear.”<br />
In terms of water housing, Yann uses SeaFrogs.<br />
“What I love about my SeaFrogs is that, in the housing,<br />
there are these little details like a pump that goes into it<br />
so you can create a vacuum seal inside it. I’ve never had<br />
any fog, which is amazing for me. It’s also got an LED for<br />
leaking, so if any leaking happens you can see it straight<br />
“People<br />
away. That was a game<br />
talk<br />
changer for me.<br />
about the<br />
“When it comes to the form factor, it’s a little smaller<br />
than the rest but that’s a good thing. I have been in really<br />
hardcore situations, and I’ve never had any issue with it,<br />
colour so I’ll keep working science with it. I’ve always said I’ll stay of with say<br />
the team that works. If I wasn’t happy at one stage, I<br />
would have gone for something else.”<br />
And this brings us to surfing. As we are all aware, there<br />
Sony is great surf and in France. Most Canon, of us have heard of Biarritz, and<br />
Hossegor and Lacanau, but how far are they from the<br />
French capital?<br />
“I was pretty much a holiday surfer and snowboarding,<br />
yes, and skateboarding of course was the link between those they’ve<br />
times. It’s<br />
only since I arrived in Australia 13 years ago that surfing<br />
became a entire part of my life routine.<br />
“We mainly surfed all through summertime and then<br />
got snowboarded different during the wintertime because science,<br />
it’s very<br />
easy to access. Going to the snow takes six hours by<br />
train, but it goes pretty quick. I’ve always been into<br />
that stuff and getting the cameras for it. I shot a lot of<br />
but skateboarding give too.” it to someone<br />
that doesn’t know how 47 t<br />
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This explains how Yann became an avid<br />
surfer, snowboarder and skater but I<br />
was curious as to how his relationship<br />
with the two top blokes behind Thomas<br />
Surfboards, co-founders Thomas Bexon<br />
and Jake Bowery, developed.<br />
“That’s the thing, like everything that<br />
I love doing, I need to understand the<br />
“I met beginning Jake of the when idea and then I I really was living here at<br />
get the whole concept of what I like.<br />
the Sunshine That’s why I work with Coast. surfboards, When we first came<br />
that’s why I do all of this stuff.”<br />
here, I was always in the water. I met<br />
both him and then Thomas back when<br />
Jake was still a glasser at Classic Malibu.<br />
“I’ve always been around Thomas and<br />
Jake, we actually all had babies around<br />
basically the same time. They’re my<br />
best friends. Jake’s daughter, Lilly, is<br />
incredible too. She blew up completely<br />
because of her series on Netflix. She’s
I must confess I have always envied those who reside in a place where<br />
surfing and snowboarding are a stone’s throw away. Living on the Sunshine<br />
Coast, I may be close to the surf but the snow is a couple of days drive.<br />
This explains how Yann became an avid surfer, snowboarder and skater,<br />
but I was curious as to how his relationship with the two top blokes behind<br />
Thomas Surfboards, co-founders Thomas Bexon and Jake Bowrey,<br />
developed.<br />
“I met Jake when I was living here at the Sunshine Coast. When we first<br />
came here, 10 years ago, I was always in the water. I met both him and<br />
then Thomas back when Jake was still a glasser at Classic Malibu. We have<br />
stayed very close friends ever since.”<br />
That explains the relationship, but I was equally interested how a talented<br />
videographer ended up working with them at the Thomas Surfboards<br />
factory. I thought to myself, surely this guy can’t be a surfboard shaper too.<br />
Many of us are lucky to possess one talent let alone a myriad of gifts.<br />
“No, I’ve made some boards, but nothing professional. I’m not a shaper.<br />
I’m surrounded by amazing craftsmen, and I will never say that I am a selfshaper,<br />
but if you give me a blank, I can make a board that works. It’s so<br />
good to see it under your feet when you are surfing.<br />
“That’s the thing, like everything that I love doing, I need to understand the<br />
beginning of the idea and then I really get the whole concept of what I like.<br />
That’s why I work with surfboards, that’s why I do all of this stuff.<br />
“Plus, when I’m surrounded with all of these guys it’s hard to not enjoy it.<br />
There’s always something happening, there’s always an idea coming up<br />
that’s so cool and then boom, it brings you some other vision. It’s so good<br />
to work with these dudes and be surrounded with that. I don’t want to leave<br />
that any time soon.<br />
“Anyhow, I don’t shape for them, but I cut boards for them one day a week.<br />
I was a furniture maker for about three years of my life.”<br />
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“The main thing for me now is just to<br />
really get into the organic flow of life.<br />
That’s the main thing that I want to<br />
bring with me – to just enjoy it.”<br />
There he goes, another bloody talent. While I thoroughly enjoyed this<br />
interview, his never-ending list of talents was starting to piss me off.<br />
As always Yann was as humble as could be.<br />
“Yes, I worked as furniture maker. That was after my accident when I<br />
was in the transition of becoming a full-time videographer. One of my<br />
dreams was to work with timber. So, I did that a bit, learned the CNC<br />
machine (automated cutting machine used in furniture construction<br />
as well as pre-shaping surfboard blanks) and that lead me to getting<br />
involved with Thomas and Jake.”<br />
As for the future, Yann will continue to pursue what comes naturally<br />
and go with the flow.<br />
“I just want to keep doing what I want to do at the moment. It’s been<br />
a few months since we had all of those issues last year (Covid). The<br />
main thing for me now is just to really get into the organic flow of life.<br />
That’s the main thing that I want to bring with me – to just enjoy it.
“I could stay from dark to dark in my studio, editing a<br />
real good piece, and I’ll be the happiest man, but the<br />
next day I could be out all day in the water, and that<br />
will be my happiest day.<br />
“I’m really trying to say to people that I go with the<br />
flow, I go organically. That’s the main thing that I want<br />
people to understand about me is that I’m hard to put<br />
in a cage. If you let me follow my stuff, something<br />
good will happen and then we can work together.”<br />
For those on the Sunshine Coast who are interested in<br />
checking out some of Yann’s still photography work<br />
he has a photo exhibition in Noosa on the 28th of<br />
October at L’air Studio in Noosaville. For his portfolio<br />
of videography and still work, you can check it all out<br />
at walkandseemedia.com or go to his Instagram<br />
handle walkandseemedia.<br />
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urfing th<br />
travel<br />
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travel<br />
e dream<br />
As the chilly winds and crisp swells start to melt away, now<br />
more than ever is a great time to get out there and celebrate<br />
the sunshine in a place you maybe haven’t before.<br />
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travel<br />
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Despite being a vibrant country with one of<br />
the highest concentrations of islands, coasts<br />
and reefs on earth, Papua New Guinea<br />
(PNG) is an incredibly underrated holiday<br />
destination – especially when it comes to<br />
surfing experiences.<br />
Sure, PNG has an abundance of consistent<br />
swells, gentle winds and perfectly shaped<br />
reefs, but the true surfing luxury of the island<br />
comes from its uncrowded world-class surf<br />
breaks. In fact, the southwestern pacific is<br />
one of the few places where you have the<br />
freedom to carve up some the best waves on<br />
earth without all of the competition.<br />
This is because, in contrast to other crowded<br />
surf destinations, PNG does away with<br />
all possible wave congestion by having a<br />
progressive surf-management plan that limits<br />
the number of people allowed at each surf<br />
break, which is a surfer’s ultimate dream,<br />
really.<br />
Now that the southern hemisphere is entering<br />
spring, peak surfing season is just starting<br />
to emerge in PNG. As it is located just south<br />
of the equator, the island benefits from north<br />
pacific swells during the northern hemisphere<br />
winter months, meaning visitors to the island<br />
are able to take advantage of the swells and<br />
experience challenging surf that often ranges<br />
from three to six feet.<br />
Adventuring to PNG is not just about the<br />
surfing, however. In addition to thick tropical<br />
jungles, high mountain ranges, fascinating<br />
WWII wrecks and spectacular coral reefs, the<br />
island also consists of around 850 tribes who<br />
speak over 839 different languages.<br />
Needless to say, the archipelago makes for<br />
an outstanding cultural experience.<br />
The surf and culture of PNG is truly as<br />
incredible as it is underrated, which is why<br />
we have taken the initiative to list some of<br />
the best experiences in the country, courtesy<br />
of our good friends at Perfect Wave – a<br />
surf travel business that have spent years<br />
finding the perfect swells and epic trips for<br />
adventurous surfers.
travel<br />
Nusa<br />
Island<br />
Retreat<br />
For surfers wanting<br />
somewhere uncrowded,<br />
easy-going and remote.<br />
perfectwavetravel.com<br />
Located on a sandy point and surrounded by an<br />
untouched private beach, Nusa Island Retreat is<br />
a collection of island-style bungalows that cater<br />
for up to six people, with the premium selection of<br />
bungalows being situated over the crystal-clear water.<br />
As the original and ultimate PNG surf resort, Nusa<br />
Island Retreat has an emphasis on relaxation and<br />
style while providing access to an excellent mix of<br />
surf breaks. The variety of waves, some challenging<br />
and other user-friendly, ensure Nusa Island Retreat is<br />
popular with both longboarders and shortboarders.<br />
Pikinini, for example, boasts an extremely fast, heavy<br />
barrelling and shallow right-hand coral reef break that<br />
can peel for up to 200 metres.<br />
The retreat is the most accessible, comfortable and<br />
stylish destination in PNG with the best bar and<br />
dining. As the resort is only a couple of minutes<br />
away from the capital town of Kavieng, visitors have<br />
plenty of access to activities such as fishing, diving,<br />
kayaking and mountain biking.<br />
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travel<br />
Rubio Plantation<br />
Retreat<br />
Perfect for those that don’t<br />
mind a little bit of adventure.<br />
perfectwavetravel.com<br />
Tucked away in the middle of a rainforest, Rubio<br />
Plantation Retreat is an idyllic stay that features<br />
rustic, traditional bungalow accommodation set on<br />
a 76-hectare plantation on New Ireland Province – a<br />
mostly unchartered surf territory.<br />
As well as a private beach, the retreat has a consistent<br />
A-Frame break directly out the front in addition to surf<br />
spots that range from mellow, longboard swells to fast<br />
and hollow reef passes. There are also plenty of great<br />
opportunities to explore the wild coast by land or by<br />
boat.<br />
The local chefs of Rubio Plantation Retreat serve three<br />
hearty meals a day as well as home-made breads<br />
and pastries with tea and coffee being available at all<br />
times. As cocoa beans are grown on the plantation,<br />
chocolate is the resort’s specialty.<br />
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travel<br />
Vanimo<br />
Surf Lodge<br />
An authentic PNG experience if<br />
ever there was one.<br />
perfectwavetravel.com<br />
Vanimo Surf Lodge is a collection of four<br />
traditional beachfront huts that blend<br />
perfectly with the surrounding town and<br />
positioned right on the island’s surfing<br />
frontier. Each lodge has enough space<br />
for 3 to 4 people, with plenty of extra<br />
room for surfboards and gear.<br />
Directly opposite the lodge is Lido<br />
Point – a peeling right-hander that can<br />
break up to 200 metres and is super<br />
consistent during the summer months.<br />
In addition to a wide limestone reef that<br />
offers a great combination of walls and<br />
barrels, Lido’s Left, another popular surf<br />
spot, is only a 250 metre walk away.<br />
The meals provided at Vanimo Surf<br />
Lodge are all cooked traditionally and<br />
made from fresh and locally sourced<br />
seafood, meat, chicken and vegetables.<br />
The lodge even grows its own red paw<br />
paws, which guests are welcome to<br />
help themselves to.<br />
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travel<br />
PNG<br />
Explorer<br />
Charter<br />
An exploration into all of the<br />
wonders that PNG has to offer.<br />
perfectwavetravel.com<br />
After flying into Kavieng in the north<br />
eastern archipelago of New Ireland<br />
Province, visitors can transfer straight<br />
onto a comfortable, airconditioned<br />
boat called the ‘PNG Explorer’.<br />
This charter is a 23-metre live-aboard<br />
boat kitted out with six spacious<br />
cabins, a loungeroom and plenty of<br />
storage for surfboards and gear. In<br />
addition to supplying two high speed<br />
tenders, surfers will also get access to<br />
two jet skis, making it even easier when<br />
traveling to the countless surf breaks<br />
scattered throughout the country.<br />
The PNG Explorer Charter gives an<br />
all-encompassing perspective of the<br />
island and access to everything from<br />
diverse coral reefs and secluded<br />
beaches to natural springs and cultural<br />
dances lit by fire.<br />
Perfect Wave certainly know what they<br />
are talking about when it comes to<br />
unlocking the many wonders of PNG.<br />
As travellers and surfers themselves,<br />
they provide honest advice, helpful tips<br />
and a variety of places to stay – each<br />
with access to the many surf breaks<br />
scattered throughout the archipelago.<br />
For those interested in celebrating the<br />
summer months with a trip to PNG,<br />
or anywhere else for that matter, we<br />
recommend checking out their website.<br />
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travel<br />
Adventure<br />
awaits<br />
Australia & USA World Surfaris Pty Ltd | Perfect<br />
Wave PNG Trekking Adventures | Waterways<br />
Travel | PNG Japan Ltd | Indies Trader Marine<br />
Adventures | Uruna Bay Retreat | Nusa Island<br />
Retreat | PNG Surfaris | Tupira Surf Club | Soul<br />
Safaris Surf Travel | Rubio Plantation Retreat (New<br />
Guinea Eco Tours Ltd) | Vanimo Surf Lodge<br />
Empowering<br />
Communities<br />
Since 1989<br />
sapng.com @surfi ng_png<br />
surfi ngpapuanewguinea<br />
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words amber o’dell<br />
With<br />
the<br />
grain<br />
roam<br />
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Surfing and camping go<br />
hand-in-hand, don’t they?<br />
Not just because some of<br />
the best camping spots sit<br />
adjacent to great surf,<br />
but because surfers are in<br />
their element in the thick<br />
of nature, whether that<br />
be on land or out at sea.<br />
For Robbie Marshall, camping and surfing<br />
have always been closely connected<br />
through a passion for working with timber<br />
and travelling way off the beaten track.<br />
In fact, you could say that he is most at<br />
home when he is whittling away a timber<br />
surfboard in some uncharted part of the<br />
Australian bush with his hand-modified<br />
Troopy by his side.<br />
As the founder of Soul Arch Surfboards,<br />
he certainly knows what he is talking<br />
about when it comes to shaping reclaimed<br />
timber. Some readers may even remember<br />
the last time we caught up with him in<br />
2018, when he was perfecting his process<br />
of crafting wooden surfboards using<br />
purely recycled building materials.<br />
Robbie continues to create some of the<br />
strongest and longest-lasting wooden<br />
surfboards available out of his workshop<br />
in Moruya, New South Wales. However<br />
we were incredibly curious when we<br />
discovered that he has since been<br />
expanding his horizons and channelling<br />
his craftmanship into the industry of metal<br />
and diesel engines.<br />
Robbie said his appreciation for working<br />
with timber first came along after he<br />
started making foam surfboards.<br />
“I tended to always add my own cedar<br />
stringers or fins, so naturally after about<br />
10 years of shaping I totally switched to<br />
making timber boards. You spend a lot<br />
less time fixing and more time surfing with<br />
timber boards.<br />
“Before surfing, I spent a lot of time out<br />
in the bush when I was younger. I had my<br />
first cruiser about 20 years ago and now<br />
things have gone a bit full circle, which is<br />
refreshing.<br />
“When I first pulled my 1974 FJ45 out of<br />
a paddock it had a timber tray on it. That<br />
is when my mate, Dave from Treehouse<br />
Shapes, suggested that I make a timber<br />
canopy for it. I couldn’t leave that thought<br />
alone,” he said.<br />
“The four-wheeldriving<br />
flame is<br />
burning pretty<br />
bright at the<br />
moment. It’s great<br />
to be able to access<br />
hard to reach places<br />
with no one else<br />
around and include<br />
the whole family.
oam<br />
There is a reason why ute modifications such as canopies are rarely<br />
made from timber. Most people that work with cars will know that<br />
carving, shaping and polishing wood is labour intensive, finicky,<br />
expensive and requires an entire new set of skills in comparison to<br />
working with aluminium or steel.<br />
But if anyone could fashion a neat, multipurpose space on the tray<br />
of a Toyota Land Cruiser out of reclaimed scraps of timber, it’s<br />
Robbie. Turns out, just as the inner workings of a wooden surfboard<br />
need to be carefully designed to enhance performance, weight and<br />
aesthetics, so too does a canopy for a ute.<br />
In fact, Robbie said that the Troopy’s camping modification was built<br />
using much of the same methods and materials that he uses for his<br />
surfboards.<br />
“I know how strong bent and laminated timber is, so that’s how<br />
I built the structural components of the frame. Then, there is two<br />
millimetres of cedar bent over the frame, then three millimetres of<br />
plywood and finally an Australian walnut veneer exterior. The canopy<br />
is fibreglassed on the outside and in between each layer with epoxy.<br />
“I have tested it pretty hard and it’s really handling well with no<br />
movement or cracking. The wooden canopy is similar in weight<br />
and strength to alloy but with no welds to crack. The combination<br />
of a good layup technique and fibreglass allows it to hold together<br />
perfectly.<br />
“For me, the main advantage was the cost, as I had my own<br />
materials and could supply my own labour,” he said.<br />
When it came down to the design of the build, Robbie clearly thought<br />
of everything. Not only does its finish look as smooth and pristine<br />
as a surfboard’s, but its sides are also tucked in for greater fuel<br />
efficiency with added rails that allow for a built-in roof rack for a<br />
canoe, swag or surfboard.<br />
After 11 months and countless hours, Robbie completed the canopy<br />
at the beginning of this year, and has already put it to the test with<br />
plenty of family trips the snowy mountains of Victoria, where he<br />
woke up to sprawling views and got to appreciate the crazy wooden<br />
patterns found in area’s native snow gums.<br />
Robbie said, just like surfing his own hand-crafted surfboards, driving<br />
and camping out of something he built has been very satisfying.<br />
“The four-wheel-driving flame is burning pretty bright at the moment.<br />
It’s great to be able to access hard to reach places with no one else<br />
around and include the whole family.<br />
“The highlights are definitely the Victorian high country, that place is<br />
amazing. There was a trip that myself and my better half did in some<br />
pretty morbid weather. We woke up in the snow, but it was so nice and<br />
warm in the canopy,” he said.<br />
Clearly, everything is a lot more rewarding after you have done it in a<br />
beloved, hand-modified 49-year-old Troopy.<br />
Despite spending a few busy years bush-bashing in the countryside<br />
of Australia, Robbie is excited to be getting back into the groove of<br />
creating for Soul Arch Surfboards, and said he will continue to put a ton<br />
of work into getting his timber surfboards perfect as he experiments<br />
with his craftmanship in both the worlds of camping and surfing.<br />
“It’s definitely time for me to make some more timber boards and throw<br />
them on the timber canopy and showcase what I do.<br />
“I will continue to work on some more camp solutions. Hopefully I’ll be<br />
able to offer something down the track, the first camper has definitely<br />
made for a solid blueprint.<br />
“I have collected a ton of timber over the years. It is a great thing to be<br />
able to breathe new life into old, recycled timber. There’s a lot of heart,<br />
soul and warmth to it,” he said.<br />
@soularchadventures<br />
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oam<br />
A path to<br />
seclusion<br />
words amber o’dell<br />
Winter may have<br />
now drawn to a close,<br />
but that doesn’t<br />
stop us yearning for<br />
isolation amid the<br />
untapped wilderness<br />
– especially now<br />
that we can get out<br />
there and enjoy the<br />
pleasant warmth<br />
of our coastal<br />
hinterlands.<br />
Ahh the serenity. In our increasingly<br />
busy lives we all must pause, press the<br />
reset button and get as far away as we<br />
possibly can from the daily grind. Of<br />
course, in our opinion, there is no better<br />
way to do this then by going for a surf<br />
or escaping for a few days to one of the<br />
many Unyoked cabins we have become<br />
enamoured with.<br />
In this edition, which also acts as our<br />
own personal celebration of spring, we<br />
thought to head down to New South<br />
Wales to the lush coastal hinterland of<br />
Kiama – a small coastal town two hours<br />
south-ish of Sydney.<br />
photos supplied courtsey of @the.wandering.boys
oam<br />
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oam<br />
Das<br />
Tucked within the hinterland of<br />
the Illawarra region of New South<br />
Wales, just two hours south of<br />
Sydney, this cabin is a perfect<br />
recharge for when your energy<br />
levels are feeling a bit low. Das<br />
is only 20 minutes away from the<br />
bustling coastal town of Kiama<br />
– close enough for a quick surf<br />
trip, but far enough away to feel<br />
the pleasant weightlessness of<br />
isolation. There couldn’t be a<br />
more perfect stay for springtime.<br />
$283 weeknights<br />
$363 weekends<br />
Price per night in AUD. Two-night minimum<br />
Friday/Saturday. No doggos.<br />
Single week night price an additional $30.<br />
Check in 3pm. Late check out at 11am –<br />
because sleep ins.<br />
What’s Provided?<br />
Bedding<br />
Gas stove<br />
Fan<br />
Towels<br />
Bar Fridge<br />
Plates<br />
Solar Power<br />
Fire Pit<br />
Hot Shower<br />
Picnic Table<br />
Composting toilet<br />
And, TP<br />
# 56 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
64<br />
Expedition<br />
Packing List<br />
Shoes<br />
Mosquito<br />
repellent<br />
Water bottle<br />
Sunscreen<br />
Flanno<br />
Spreadsheets<br />
Anxiety<br />
Busyness<br />
unyoked.co
oam<br />
As you probably know by<br />
now, Unyoked are experts in<br />
bespoke getaways that focus on<br />
nurturing people’s creativity<br />
and clarity. However, in<br />
addition to giving you a healthy<br />
dose of fresh air, these retreats<br />
also provide the isolation we so<br />
desperately need from the hustle<br />
and bustle of everyday life...<br />
Of course, to get there you need to drive past some of the<br />
most phenomenal surf breaks in Illawarra, so we highly<br />
recommended stopping in for a cheeky surf before trekking<br />
through the serene farmlands, mountains and grasslands of<br />
Wollongong that look like something straight out of a fantasy<br />
novel.<br />
Don’t stress though, despite being peacefully isolated and<br />
nestled in a pine forest clearing a fair bit above sea level,<br />
the cabin is only a 20-minute drive from the coast and all of<br />
those tempting surf spots.<br />
Unyoked has always been spectacular at granting access<br />
to these beautiful, wild places that have been previously<br />
inaccessible. Co-founder of Unyoked, Cam Grant, said their<br />
mission since day one has been to help people have access<br />
to these isolated, natural places more often.<br />
“There’s a few pieces that go into achieving this. Two of<br />
them, stay with us now, are physical and financial access.<br />
“Physically, our pioneering business model and obsessive<br />
design of our cabins make it possible for people to relax,<br />
think and be free in previously inaccessible and uniquely<br />
immersive natural locations in the same time it takes most of<br />
us to get to and from the office in the morning.<br />
“Financially, we’ve intentionally designed every piece of this<br />
thing to make it accessible as possible, while still allowing<br />
us to operate as required to create this unique experience<br />
in addition to providing our hosts with an appropriate level<br />
of income for the access they grant us all and the work they<br />
put in to do so.<br />
“We’re proud to have only ever put our prices up once in six<br />
years, despite increases in cost. But we’re all too aware that<br />
there’s a long way to go to making things truly accessible for<br />
everyone. We believe in a world where we all see and use<br />
nature like we do the gym, and we’re trying hard to make it a<br />
reality,” he said.<br />
As you probably know by now, Unyoked are experts in<br />
bespoke getaways that focus on nurturing people’s creativity<br />
and clarity. However, in addition to giving you a healthy dose<br />
of fresh air, these retreats also provide the isolation we so<br />
desperately need from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.<br />
While we often consider seclusion quite a negative thing,<br />
being isolated in the wilderness actually yields endless<br />
benefits for our minds and bodies. With more and more<br />
studies of this nature being conducted every day, we<br />
know now that these advantages range from everything to<br />
improved sleep quality, mood and brain development to<br />
reduced blood pressure, anxiety and stress.<br />
Simply, humans are proven to thrive after being somewhere<br />
far off and deep in the thick of nature, and there’s no better<br />
way to experience that then your own private cabin in the<br />
uninhabited coastal tropics of New South Wales.<br />
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urf<br />
hacks<br />
By Indoek (designer), Matt Titone (editor) and gestalten (editor).<br />
Words: Amber O’Dell
We travel around a lot in our editions, but even on adventures to the<br />
most far-off and glorious places on earth, there will always be that<br />
pull towards home. For surfers, it’s often a cosy place to spend time<br />
on dry land when they’re not riding waves, and as both volumes of<br />
Surf Shack demonstrate, they can take many, many forms.<br />
From city apartments, rural cottages and island bungalows to<br />
canyon cabin hideaways, converted surf vans and beach homes – if<br />
anyone could make a coffee table book full of houses interesting,<br />
its surfers. Contained within each Surf Shack volume is a diverse<br />
photographic compilation of surfer’s homes and the myriad of<br />
unique stories and trinkets found within each of them.<br />
As soon as you pick up one of these volumes, you can instantly tell<br />
how much passion went into them. Not only is their contents written<br />
like a love-letter to surfers and their quirky lifestyles, but the books<br />
themselves ooze quality, from their satisfying linen binding to their<br />
super stylish aesthetic and design. Whether you’re into the surfing<br />
lifestyle or not, Surf Shacks Vol. 1 and 2 are addictive reads, and<br />
describe themselves best through their blurbs.<br />
“Surfing is a way of life that’s<br />
dominated by the tides as much as<br />
by day and night. And every surfer<br />
has their own retreat – a place to<br />
crash and relax away from the water<br />
or the daily grind.<br />
“Individuals create these spaces to meet their needs, whether it’s a<br />
weekend bolt-hole beside the sea, a permanent base in the city or<br />
something in between.
“A person’s home says a lot about them and that’s<br />
especially true for surfers. This eclectic group of<br />
people live their lives close to nature, dictated by the<br />
swell of the surf – a lifestyle that shows in how they<br />
create their spaces… effortless environments filled with<br />
natural materials and found objects picked up on farflung<br />
surfing adventures, each home as characterful as<br />
its residents.”<br />
Through personal anecdotes, in-depth interviews and<br />
beautiful photography, these collections are a rare<br />
glimpse into the homes of your everyday surfers. Vol.<br />
1 especially explores the lives of a surfing legend with<br />
a mid-century modern bungalow in California, a board<br />
builder that resides in a converted bus, a Japanese<br />
yoga instructor with a hideaway in the woods and a<br />
magazine founder settled in a 1920’s home atop a cliff<br />
near Bondi Beach.<br />
Vol. 2 is more of the same (which is a good thing!) and<br />
includes surfboard designer Hayden Cox’s minimalist<br />
family home in Sydney, artist Geoff McFetridge’s<br />
ranch-style home in Los Angeles, fashion designer<br />
Cynthia Rowley’s cosy home in Montauk and many,<br />
many more. In fact, each volume has 288 pages worth<br />
of content, so you’ll hardly run out of stories to peruse<br />
any time soon.<br />
Through these surfer’s record collections, backyard<br />
gardens and painting studios we not only see their<br />
unique personalities (and their handy tips on how<br />
on earth to store a collection of surfboards in such<br />
tiny spaces), but also a universal love for the surfing<br />
lifestyle, which is a really nifty thing to have placed in<br />
the middle of your coffee table.
These treasure hunters set out<br />
to create awesome pieces of<br />
art from lost things – which they<br />
certainly did. Using materials<br />
such as weathered fiberglass<br />
boat pieces, nautical ropes,<br />
reef-crusted surfboard fins,<br />
fishing weights and even<br />
discarded sunglasses, they<br />
managed to create mosaics and<br />
sculptures that any other surfer<br />
would die to have hanging up in<br />
their homes.<br />
Indoek<br />
Of course, behind every cool series of books is<br />
an even cooler group of passionate and creative<br />
people. Best described as a company that celebrates<br />
coastal culture through many avenues, Indoek was<br />
founded in 2011 as a blog, before branching out into<br />
various passion projects such as films, books, product<br />
collaborations, art shows and photo series.<br />
Born out of a passion for the ocean (and a slight<br />
frustration with an industry that tends to misrepresent<br />
them), the company’s goal has always been to elevate<br />
surf culture and champion the creative personalities<br />
who have shaped it over the years.<br />
Similar to their Surf Shacks Series, Indoek has dabbled<br />
in other creative endeavours such as a book called ‘On<br />
Surfing: A Collection of Interviews with Surf Luminaries’<br />
and a project called ‘27 Frames’ where the brand<br />
sent 27 disposable cameras out to professional surf<br />
photographers to see what they could do with the oldfashioned<br />
ways of taking photos (spoilers: they can do<br />
a hell of a lot).<br />
The company doesn’t shy away from being that little<br />
bit quirky with their projects either. In 2013, Indoek set<br />
out to document the ‘herculean figure’ of Australian<br />
professional surfer Owen Wright by showcasing<br />
every single dimension of his body with a video<br />
and an interactive website. This experiment, named ‘The<br />
Anatomy of Owen Wright’, set out to study his tall build and<br />
enormous presence and how it breaks the stereotype of<br />
more diminutive professional surfers.<br />
Indoek’s physical space in Ventura County opened at the<br />
beginning of this year and represented a new chapter<br />
for the brand. The space takes the form of an art gallery<br />
and a creative hub for locals, with one of the company’s<br />
most recent exhibits, FOUND, being a collection of works<br />
by Jim Olarte, Mark Cunningham and Cooper Root that<br />
use materials combed from the shores of California and<br />
collected over decades.<br />
These treasure hunters set out to create awesome pieces<br />
of art from lost things – which they certainly did. Using<br />
materials such as weathered fiberglass boat pieces, nautical<br />
ropes, reef-crusted surfboard fins, fishing weights and even<br />
discarded sunglasses, they managed to create mosaics and<br />
sculptures that any other surfer would die to have hanging<br />
up in their homes.<br />
Indoek have so many other brilliant creative ventures<br />
spurred on by their love of surfing and the coast, so if<br />
you want to check out their other projects, they are all on<br />
display on their website.<br />
indoek.com<br />
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ENJOY<br />
THE<br />
RIDE<br />
Interview by Amber O’Dell<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
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One glance at the pastel colours and<br />
delightful characters in Ben’s artwork<br />
and two things are made abundantly<br />
clear ~ he bloody loves what he is<br />
doing, and everything is good.<br />
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According to Ben Ross, a regular day of his life in the<br />
Northern Beaches of Sydney goes something like<br />
this – he wakes up, takes the dogs for a walk, surfs, has<br />
lunch, paints, surfs again, draws, sends emails, watches<br />
a movie and falls asleep. What a life.<br />
As a creative, optimistic and easy-going guy, we were<br />
incredibly stoked to have the chance to pick Ben’s<br />
colourful mind, and knew we were in for quite a ride<br />
after he accurately described his artistic career as a<br />
full-time vacation where people pay for his brain.<br />
“Sure it’s a lot of work to be able to afford to be a<br />
full-time artist. There are a lot of meetings, emails,<br />
handshakes and the other normal things that a<br />
business owner does, but to be paid to draw and paint<br />
what’s in your brain – it’s definitely worth it.<br />
“I think the best thing about being an artist would<br />
have to be the respect. I was a builder for 10 years<br />
constructing people’s dreams and not once did<br />
they really respect you or treat you in a manner<br />
that was well respected. As an artist, the respect is<br />
unbelievable, but I suppose that comes with doing<br />
what you love and getting the best you can for your<br />
client.”<br />
Ben’s love for what he does certainly shines through<br />
his artwork. To put it simply, he paints summer, and<br />
that doesn’t just mean he draws sunny days, palm<br />
trees, sandy beaches and surf (although, he captures<br />
those very well too).<br />
Along with his simplistic 70’s Byron Bay style, every<br />
one of his pieces oozes calm, happiness and fun, and<br />
depicts a world full of charming characters that are<br />
not afraid to slack off and take their time enjoying the<br />
world around them.<br />
His art definitely speaks to those who crave simpler<br />
and more easy-going times, which is perhaps the main<br />
reason why his colourful perspective on life has taken<br />
the world by storm over the last couple of years.<br />
Despite having enjoyed drawing for as long as he can<br />
remember, Ben said his bright, feel-good art style<br />
only took hold recently after going through a not-sosummery<br />
time of his life.<br />
“When I was a builder I hated life and tried to jump off<br />
a cliff. Ultimately I failed, but the boys thought that we<br />
needed to get away, so we went on a boys surf trip to<br />
USA and Mexico. I was running out of money quick,<br />
so I decided to hit up a few bars in San Diego to see if<br />
they wanted me to draw for them.<br />
“I was put onto a woman in London that wanted a<br />
caricature in yoga poses all over her studio. I drew<br />
myself, and a few downward dogs later Benny Cools<br />
was born. She hated it and didn’t pay me, but that’s<br />
where my caricatures came from, so thank you to that<br />
woman. It’s been almost four years now and I haven’t<br />
looked back.<br />
“I went to Mexico after that and started painting and<br />
drawing my caricatures everywhere. The biggest<br />
inspiration for my style of art was Mexico, if you’ve<br />
never been I highly recommend, it’s such a clean and<br />
art filled place, it feels like the country is still in the 70s<br />
and pastel colours fill the city streets.”<br />
When it comes to Ben’s pleasing colour choices, you<br />
can pretty much trace every pastel shade back to the<br />
yellow sand, blue sea and pink sky of Mexico. After<br />
borrowing inspiration from the unique coasts he has<br />
visited and drawing from his memories of growing up<br />
surfing and watching movies like Point Break and Fast<br />
“As an artist, the respect is<br />
unbelievable, but I suppose that comes<br />
with doing what you love and getting<br />
the best you can for your client.”<br />
Times at Ridgemont High, Ben designed his iconic<br />
laid-back art style and the caricature that started it all<br />
– Benny Cools.<br />
This cartoon alter-ego was the first summer-loving<br />
character in a long list quirky personalities that are<br />
now seen all over the world in almost every medium<br />
you can think of. Ben is certainly not one to turn down<br />
a new art project, and said almost every job excites<br />
him as he enjoys every aspect of what he does.<br />
“Animations are always good as I don’t have to do<br />
much, it’s all the animator. I’ll draw a few scenes, send<br />
it off and a few months later the animation is in front<br />
of me. Word of advice for the youth looking to get into<br />
art – do animation. There is so much work, you get<br />
paid well and there is f#ck-all animators in Australia,<br />
so there’s a massive market. If you do, hit me up, I’ll<br />
employ you.<br />
“Murals are always more fun as I’m working onsite. I<br />
can have a beer with the owners and just talk shop. I<br />
do enjoy murals a lot more as you can really engage<br />
with the public, you’ll see a lot more smiles and that’s<br />
the reason I’m in the game.”<br />
Many of you have probably seen Ben’s colourful<br />
scenes plastered all over social media and starring<br />
on everything from shirts, shoes and beer cans to<br />
shopfronts, vans and giant wall murals. Big brands<br />
clearly love the positivity and colour behind his<br />
art, as he has a reputation for collaborating with<br />
internationally known names such as Platypus,<br />
Lululemon, Taco Bell, Triple J, Boss Coffee, Dickies,<br />
Rollie Nation and, as he will explain, some of the most<br />
iconic sports teams in the world.<br />
When asked what it’s like to work side-by-side with all<br />
of these huge companies, Ben said they are incredibly<br />
amazing to collaborate with, and even teased that he<br />
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“Big brands know my art and<br />
what I’ll produce for them,<br />
so they rarely ask for me to<br />
change or do anything. They<br />
just give me a budget and let<br />
me do my thing, which I love.<br />
The best way to work is when<br />
there are no restraints.”
has a few interesting stories about many of them that<br />
he can’t spill here.<br />
“Big brands know my art and what I’ll produce for them,<br />
so they rarely ask for me to change or do anything.<br />
They just give me a budget and let me do my thing,<br />
which I love. The best way to work is when there are no<br />
restraints.<br />
“I would have to say the best I’ve ever worked on would<br />
be for Carlton Football Club, as I’m a mad Carlton man.<br />
It was unbelievable to paint at their new facilities at<br />
Ikon park. Seeing all the boys train and shaking hands<br />
with the elite was a dream come true. I recently just<br />
painted at the MCG with Carlton and Great Southern<br />
Bank, which was another dream I never knew I wanted.<br />
“I’m currently on the way to the States to paint Kansas<br />
City Royals. It’s going to be a massive dream come true<br />
to paint for the MLB. I recently finished an art series<br />
card collection for Major League Baseball and drew<br />
clubs from all over the state. To be asked to draw for<br />
the Yankees was unbelievable for me. Almost every day<br />
is an adventure with the art world. I love it.”<br />
It’s no wonder why all these companies flock to intwine<br />
their brands with the summery, feel-good vibes of<br />
Ben’s art. Amid the stress and bustle of today, his<br />
simple and joyful perspective helps others to stop for a<br />
second and get lost in fun scenes and pastel colours,<br />
which is an impressive feat in itself. In our humble<br />
opinion, the world definitely needs more art like Ben’s.<br />
Of course, we couldn’t help but ask him about our<br />
favourite form of escapism – surfing. As you can<br />
imagine, we were incredibly stoked when Ben said he<br />
has a collection of 15 surfboards and rarely strays away<br />
from riding his favourite twinny.<br />
“Oh, I love to surf, I get out at least once a day, at the<br />
moment I’m riding a 6”6 Christenson Twin. It’s one of<br />
the most fun boards I’ve ever ridden and rides superfast<br />
down the lines and turns so smooth. I always feel<br />
like I’m Mikey Feb (February) out there.<br />
“I surf in Newport all the time. It has unbelievable waves<br />
and so many epic little groms doing some massive<br />
tricks. Australia is in good hands if this is the norm. I<br />
grew up surfing the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria,<br />
down Gunnamatta way and occasionally popping into<br />
the ever so versatile Point Leo. Unbelievable people,<br />
but there’s only really one good wave a month. It would<br />
be the best surf in the world if it was always on.<br />
“The sled I use at the moment is Christenson Twin Lane<br />
Splitter. I have a few Haydenshapes boards, with my<br />
favourite from him at the moment being a new series<br />
that isn’t getting much love – the Atelier. It’s a short<br />
board shaped like a mal, and it’s so fun and catches<br />
everything.”<br />
It’s not hard to see where Ben gets all of the inspiration<br />
for his art. He seems to never stop chasing all of the<br />
fun, weird and wonderful experiences that come with<br />
living along the coast, even if it takes him to the other<br />
side of the world. Ben said, as long as he can keep<br />
surfing, drinking, running, swimming, traveling and<br />
getting paid to paint and draw, his life is good.<br />
“I have some massive collaborations coming out this<br />
summer so keep an eye out, I’m very excited about<br />
these. I’m also writing a book at the moment, it’s really<br />
just about the struggles and stories behind being an<br />
artist. I have a solo show coming out early next year as<br />
well which will be a massive dedication to the soul that<br />
helped me get here.<br />
“With my art style I try to put people at ease, I was<br />
going through a really rough time when I first started<br />
drawing these caricatures and they have helped me<br />
through a lot. I really just want to keep illustrating<br />
calmness to let people know that life may be sh#t, but<br />
enjoy the ride. Stop for days and smell the roses.”<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
75
B-RAD<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
76<br />
Brad at North Ryde Skatepark 1981
As a former Australian Skate Out<br />
champion, past president of the<br />
National Skateboard Association of<br />
Australia, international skatepark<br />
designer and licensee of merchandise<br />
for mobile phone game sensation,<br />
True Skate, it’s fair to say Brad Shaw<br />
has accomplished a bit in his lifetime.<br />
words dave swan<br />
With that said, he’s pretty unassuming,<br />
I simply knew him as the dad of one<br />
of my son’s mates. Funny how you can<br />
meet and greet someone on so many<br />
occasions without knowing the weird<br />
and wonderful journeys of their past.<br />
Brad and I were watching our sons play<br />
footy a few months back and chatting<br />
away when our conversation turned to<br />
surfing and skating. I was curious as to<br />
why he was so knowledgeable about<br />
both, and that lead me to enquire as to<br />
what it is exactly he does for work. His<br />
answer prompted me to invite him for a<br />
coffee the following week and get the<br />
full rundown. Little did I know he was<br />
what I would refer to as a ‘living legend’<br />
of the Australian skateboard scene.<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
77
One of Brad’s latest creations,<br />
a new skatepark in Singapore<br />
Brad was involved<br />
in the early days<br />
of skateboarding<br />
in Australia, back<br />
when Bahne Super<br />
Flex Skateboards<br />
were the craze<br />
circa ’74.<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
78<br />
Building ramps in Mumbai, India 2002<br />
Brad Keirle Park, Manly 2003<br />
Brad was involved in the early days<br />
of skateboarding in Australia, back<br />
when Bahne Super Flex Skateboards<br />
were the craze circa ’74. He picks up<br />
the story.<br />
“I got into skateboarding basically<br />
around the same time as everyone<br />
else. I was around ten living in<br />
Sydney. The skateboard craze that hit<br />
Australia was massive after fibreglass<br />
skateboards with urethane wheels<br />
and some skating movies came out.<br />
It was a crazy time. Every kid in the<br />
street was riding skateboards.<br />
“I was into it for a couple of years,<br />
and then I stopped for a bit until<br />
about ’78. It was around this time that<br />
I went to this skate shop, Skateboard<br />
World, and was just blown away<br />
by how much skateboards had<br />
evolved. They were all so modernised<br />
and so much better to ride with red<br />
translucent wheels and wider trucks.<br />
“I pretty soon got back into riding<br />
with my neighbour. We used to skate<br />
these little banks around Sydney that<br />
were obfuscated drains and definitely<br />
not for skateboarding – places like<br />
The Boat Ramp and Harris Park Bowl<br />
were fun, but challenging. This is<br />
when I built my first skate ramp in my<br />
backyard.”<br />
By ’78, the pool skating craze<br />
had made its way from Venice<br />
Beach California to Australia, and<br />
introduced Brad to a whole new<br />
dimension of skateboarding. His<br />
go-to place, along with a bunch of<br />
his mates, was Pymble Pool, a huge<br />
eight-foot-six-high empty pool.<br />
“There were like 30 other local guys<br />
that went there. Everyone knew<br />
everyone because it was the only<br />
spot in Sydney. It was like the one surf<br />
break in town. It was a lot of fun but<br />
had four feet of vert and was scary.<br />
“When that closed, Manly Skate City<br />
opened up and it had all of these<br />
fibreglass ramps. This was a big step<br />
up because it was a smooth and<br />
a proper skatepark. The same 30<br />
guys would skate there for the next<br />
couple of years before another one<br />
opened up in 1980 where I lived in<br />
North Ryde, Sydney. It was a crazy,<br />
massive, concrete thing with bowls,<br />
halfpipes and banks. I was fairly<br />
kinked, but it was my local.”<br />
Brad left school at 16 and started<br />
working at Skateboard world<br />
in Burwood, where he also got<br />
sponsored as a team rider. When<br />
Brad was 17 he moved to Cronulla<br />
and soon discovered a love for<br />
surfing. During that period skating<br />
took a bit of a back seat as he<br />
didn’t have a car and there were no<br />
skateparks nearby. In ’83 he headed<br />
over to California.<br />
“I went to California for a month<br />
with Dave Mock and stayed down<br />
in Solana Beach with Chip Morton.<br />
He was the manager of the Del Mar<br />
Skate Ranch – the main skatepark
where the likes of Tony Hawk and all<br />
of these top pro skaters went. Back<br />
then, Tony was just 14 years old and<br />
a little skinny thing, but you could<br />
already see that he had something<br />
special.”<br />
Now, even if you don’t know much<br />
about skateboarding, it is likely you<br />
recognise this name. Tony Hawk is to<br />
skateboarding as what Kelly Slater<br />
is to surfing. Both are renowned all<br />
over the world as some of the all-time<br />
greats in their chosen sports.<br />
“I lived in California for basically<br />
seven years. I was mostly surfing in<br />
that time. The Del Mar Skate Ranch<br />
closed around ’88, so there was<br />
nowhere to skate anyway except<br />
some backyard ramps.<br />
“One of the guys I surfed with there,<br />
Rick, owned a restaurant up the road<br />
which I worked in for a few years .<br />
He grew up surfing Rincon, which is<br />
an amazing right point break, but he<br />
also used to surf a place called The<br />
Ranch which is a private 10-kilometre<br />
coastline with premium surf breaks.<br />
It’s extremely hard to get to and surf<br />
though.”<br />
For any of our readers who are<br />
unaware, The Ranch is, from a surfer’s<br />
perspective, one of the most coveted<br />
stretches of California coast just north<br />
of Santa Barbara. As it is private<br />
property, the only way to access it is<br />
by boat, or by way of invitation by<br />
someone who owns a parcel of land<br />
in the area.<br />
Envisage undeveloped hills<br />
overlooking a near perfect, consistent<br />
surf break with an empty lineup.<br />
Whether it be myth or legend, The<br />
Ranch is considered to be Valhalla to<br />
many surfers. Back in the 80s, it would<br />
have been even more so. That said,<br />
I have never been, so I can’t speak<br />
with firsthand knowledge. Needless<br />
to say, I was pretty envious of Brad’s<br />
experience. That is until he mentioned<br />
my nemesis, the one thing that brings<br />
out the Chicken Little in me.<br />
“My friend Rick was also friends with<br />
a surf legend named Ray Kunz. He<br />
worked on the gate at The Ranch,<br />
so we got free entry whenever we<br />
wanted. There was hardly anyone<br />
else there most of the time, which was<br />
great, although it was always a bit<br />
eerie because the water was cold<br />
and there was all this kelp. We were<br />
always there quite late too and I was<br />
very paranoid about sharks.”<br />
B-<br />
RAD<br />
Brad at Ryde Skatepark 1985<br />
Back then, Tony was just 14 years old and<br />
a little skinny thing, but you could already<br />
see that he had something special.”<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
79
Ray and Ric<br />
My Ranch access buddies<br />
There, he said it, sharks, and not any old sharks, this<br />
is where the mighty great white shark is seemingly in<br />
abundance. The Ranch is close to the area colloquially<br />
known as The Red Triangle, a roughly triangularshaped<br />
region off the coast of northern California<br />
where around thirty-eight percent of recorded great<br />
white shark attacks on humans in the United States<br />
have taken place — about eleven percent of the<br />
worldwide total. Anyhow I digress, apologies for<br />
my paranoia, back to Brad’s story.<br />
“We would surf at The Ranch and at Rincon a lot.<br />
Rincon, you know, is amazing. It is pretty rare to<br />
find it uncrowded, but it just has these perfectly<br />
shaped waves – probably the best I’ve ever<br />
surfed. We would see Tom Curren out at these<br />
spots sometimes. Surfing there was a real<br />
highlight of my time in California.”<br />
Towards the end of ’86 Brad moved back to<br />
Australia, albeit for only a couple of months.<br />
He had well and truly caught the travel bug<br />
and yearned to return to the United States for<br />
more adventures.<br />
During his time back home, there was a<br />
Coca-Cola skate-out event in Manly.<br />
Specifically, it was the Coca-Cola Pro-Am<br />
skateboarding competition series held at<br />
skateparks around Sydney for the first<br />
time in Australia. Long story short, even<br />
though Brad regarded himself as more<br />
of a ramp skater (and this being a street<br />
competition), Brad won the Manly<br />
regional comp.<br />
“Street skating is when you hit little jumps and boxes.<br />
Back then, it wasn’t like today where it’s so technical. It<br />
was basically just a small bunch of little portable ramps<br />
– no big bowls or half pipes. Anyhow, they had all these<br />
regional events, including one where you could qualify<br />
for a grand final of the Australian Coke Skate Out<br />
championships in Australia’s Wonderland. Even though I<br />
was a ramp skater, I ended up winning the whole thing.”<br />
I must at this point of the story inform our readers Brad<br />
wasn’t all too forthcoming with these details. I had to pry<br />
it out of him, such is his humility.<br />
Brad headed back to the US again for a couple of years<br />
before returning home to Australia around ’87 where he<br />
encountered a bit of a snag in his back-and-forth jaunts<br />
to America.<br />
“I was coming back to California via Hawaii when<br />
immigration went through my stuff and found that I had<br />
a diary note saying I had worked in the US the year<br />
previously. Basically, I got busted by immigration. I<br />
could have gone against a judge and pled my case,<br />
but I wasn’t going to risk it, so 12 hours later I was on a<br />
plane back to Sydney.<br />
“My visa was cancelled for five years. I couldn’t get into<br />
the US. I wanted to go back there though, it was great<br />
– I had friends, a job and a life there. So about three<br />
months later I figured out I could get in via Mexico. I’d<br />
been there before, I knew you could just walk over the<br />
boarder without ID, so that’s what I did.<br />
“I flew into Cabo San Lucas (in the Baja California<br />
peninsula in northwestern Mexico) and then got a flight<br />
back up to Tijuana (near the US border). It was like a<br />
45-hour trip, which was crazy. I had some friends meet<br />
me at the border and I just walked right over it and got<br />
picked up on the other side. I was there for over a year<br />
# #56 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
80<br />
Brad surfing Drakes at the Ranch, California<br />
Pic by Rick Doyle
Brad headed back to the US again for a couple<br />
of years before returning home to Australia<br />
around ’87 where he encountered a bit of<br />
snag in his back-and-forth jaunts to America.<br />
Brad surfing Drakes at the Ranch, California<br />
Pic by Rick Doyle<br />
illegally, went back home to Australia<br />
to see my family for Christmas, and did<br />
the same thing all over again for another<br />
year.”<br />
Ahh yes, my son’s friend’s dad is a<br />
criminal. Jokes aside, I think almost<br />
everyone around our vintage has<br />
possibly worked illegally while abroad in<br />
their younger years. ‘Things were different<br />
back then,’ we tell our kids, justifying<br />
why we broke the law. We certainly<br />
wouldn’t do it nowadays and advise our<br />
children not to do the same – responsible<br />
parenting 101.<br />
In between his California visits, Brad<br />
started being involved with a shoe<br />
company called Airwalk. This Southern<br />
Californian sport-lifestyle brand was<br />
intrinsically tied to action sports and<br />
music, and in those days was markedly<br />
bigger than the likes of both Vans and<br />
Skechers. It was through working for<br />
Airwalk, Brad got to meet Tony Hawk<br />
and a bunch of the pro skaters that were<br />
then on the Airwalk team.<br />
“In ’92 my father died, so I came back<br />
to Australia to help my mum out. I started<br />
working for Airwalk here for a while as<br />
a national team manager for their skate,<br />
snowboard surf and BMX divisions.<br />
Airwalk had the biggest action sports<br />
team in Australia, so we toured with Tony<br />
Hawk around Australia doing the Big<br />
Day Out Tour.<br />
“My good friend named<br />
Sin was head<br />
designer at<br />
Airwalk, which<br />
was how I<br />
came up with<br />
one of the<br />
iconic Airwalks<br />
shoes called<br />
the Vic.<br />
The Airwalk shoe Brad named the Vic<br />
I stopped working for them in 1997 when<br />
I broke my leg snowboarding.<br />
“Then, around ’98, me and a couple of<br />
other guys I knew created the National<br />
Skateboard Association of Australia,<br />
which I became president of for over ten<br />
years. We did a lot of skateboard events<br />
– everything from national titles and street<br />
events to all sorts of competitions, judging<br />
and coaching.”<br />
In 2002<br />
and<br />
2003,<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
81
Brad carving it up today<br />
at the Alex Headland Skatepark<br />
SMP Skatepark in Shanghai, China<br />
Brad during construction of the<br />
Rizhao Skatepark, Shandong, China<br />
Rizhao Skatepark, China<br />
Brad with his sons Noah and Mark<br />
and their True Skate boards<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
82
In 2002 and 2003, Brad<br />
went to India to design<br />
and build skate ramps.<br />
Beach break in Rizhao, China<br />
Brad went to India to design and<br />
build skate ramps. He would<br />
spend the next five years in China,<br />
namely living in Shanghai and<br />
Nanjing, travelling with his wife<br />
and another business associate and<br />
endeavouring to spread his love of<br />
skateboarding and building parks.<br />
However, this was well before<br />
skateboarding was introduced into<br />
Olympics, so its popularity was<br />
nowhere near what it is today. Very<br />
few in China skateboarded back<br />
then, but nowadays there are some<br />
300 skateparks. Indeed, it was<br />
around 2005 when Brad managed<br />
the SMP skatepark in Shanghai – the<br />
biggest skate park, not just in China,<br />
but in the world at the time.<br />
While he was in China in 2006,<br />
Brad also surfed with his buddy<br />
Graham McKnight at Hainan Island<br />
in the south and Rizhao in the north.<br />
“They had perfect, peaky point<br />
breaks and clear, warm water.<br />
When I surfed Rizhao, I was the only<br />
westerner around.<br />
“I’ve built and<br />
designed a lot of parks<br />
in China over the years,<br />
and indeed all over the<br />
place. Around this time<br />
I was involved with the<br />
Chinese Extreme Sports<br />
Association judging<br />
“I think I was the first person to surf<br />
comps and running<br />
events.<br />
this beach break. People were in<br />
awe. I think they were just wondering<br />
what this foreign guy was doing.”<br />
In 2007, it was back to Australia, this<br />
time living, skating and surfing on<br />
New South Wales’ far south coast<br />
in Ulladulla. However, when Brad’s<br />
mum got sick he moved back to<br />
Sydney with his wife and son.<br />
“Around 2008 I was also a private<br />
investigator for a while, mostly doing<br />
surveillance work. I remember I was<br />
watching a very important person’s<br />
house once who had death threats<br />
against him. The neighbours had lit<br />
fire bombs in the house next to his<br />
accidently. Woops.<br />
“In 2009, Cary Pogson and I started<br />
my skatepark business, Sk8Scapes,<br />
which I still have today. We<br />
started building skateparks around<br />
Australia. I was actually still doing a<br />
lot of stuff in China back and forth.<br />
That’s when, in 2013, we got the<br />
contract to build one in Guangzhou,<br />
which ended up being the biggest<br />
skatepark in the world. It’s about<br />
15,000 square metres, over three<br />
football fields, and it’s in the middle<br />
of ten universities and 160,000<br />
students.<br />
“I’ve built and designed a lot of<br />
parks in China over the years, and<br />
indeed all over the place. Around<br />
this time I was involved with the<br />
Chinese Extreme Sports Association<br />
judging comps and running events.<br />
“All last year I was busy building a<br />
big skate park in Singapore. I am<br />
also setting up a skatepark company<br />
in India with a few guys. My wife<br />
is Japanese, so we will launch my<br />
business in Japan very soon as well.<br />
Brad has not only been busy with<br />
skating in the real world, he has<br />
also taken a keen interest in the<br />
virtual world being the international<br />
licensee for merchandising for a<br />
<strong>digital</strong> skateboard game.<br />
“The game is called True Skate. It’s<br />
become the number one skateboard<br />
game in the world with over two<br />
hundred thousand users a day, so<br />
it’s just massive. The parent company<br />
from Melbourne, True Axis, also<br />
does True Surf, which is a huge<br />
game as well that sponsors the<br />
World Surf League.<br />
“There is also going to be a<br />
snowboarding and BMX game<br />
down the track, as we are planning<br />
to have a complete action sports<br />
portfolio. True Skate is probably the<br />
most serious thing I am working on at<br />
the moment because it’s such a big,<br />
global opportunity.<br />
“We are currently in talks with the<br />
International Olympic Committee<br />
about our game’s e-sport platform,<br />
because the Olympics is reportedly<br />
going to undertake e-sports very<br />
soon.”<br />
It is clear Brad has quite a few things<br />
on the go. Almost as many things as<br />
boards in his impressive skateboard<br />
collection which dates back to the<br />
sixties, but that’s a topic for another<br />
story down the track.<br />
Like I said earlier on in this story,<br />
it’s funny what you find out about<br />
someone who you feel you’ve<br />
known for years when you have a<br />
chat watching your kids run around<br />
a footy field. Brad Shaw, it is both<br />
a privilege to know you and share<br />
your story.<br />
sk8scapes.com.au, trueskate.com/<br />
merch<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
83
hand made<br />
the blank pages<br />
20 23<br />
smorgasboarder<br />
words dave swan<br />
PHANTOM IS<br />
QUICK LIKE<br />
LIGHTNING<br />
So, why get your board made by a local surfboard<br />
shaper? Aside from the assured craftsmanship, i.e.<br />
you know who made it and where it comes from,<br />
there’s the ensuing relationship that can be forged in<br />
the process. A relationship that can develop through<br />
time that will see you receive tailor-made boards<br />
crafted specifically to the way you like to surf and the<br />
waves you ride. In my opinion, you just can’t get the<br />
same experience by buying something off the shelf.<br />
In terms of the relationship that can develop, it is hard<br />
to describe it to someone who hasn’t undertaken<br />
the process. The best way I can convey it is through<br />
sharing the following conversation between my<br />
daughter and the incredibly talented Chris Garrett.<br />
Hopefully Chris doesn’t consider this too intrusive.<br />
Being so humble, I am sure if I asked him, he would<br />
dissuade me from doing so, but for me, it just speaks<br />
volumes about what I am talking about, and indeed<br />
what a wonderful human being Chris is. It is also<br />
incredibly important to point out Chris’s views of<br />
myself, which are of course 100% true and accurate. I<br />
am a top bloke.<br />
# 56 // smorgasboarder //<br />
84
Phoebe: AHHHH I LOVE MY BOARD!!! Oh<br />
gosh. Mum and dad just gave it to me. I cried.<br />
So very nice and I feel so very privileged that<br />
it’s one of your boards! I am so thankful, it’s<br />
absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to ride it.<br />
Ahhh thank you, thank you, thank you so much<br />
Chris. I feel very spoilt and very lucky, but I just<br />
love it.<br />
Phantom (Chris Garrett): Hey Phoebes, it was<br />
an absolute delight to make this for you and I’m<br />
stoked that you love it so much. It’s even more<br />
special as it’s for your 21st and I have great<br />
respect for your dad. Dave & feel humbled to be<br />
a part of this momentous occasion. Wishing you<br />
all the best for the years ahead and welcome to<br />
the phamily. Love & light xxx<br />
Phoebe: Well, I am absolutely proud to be<br />
welcomed into the Phantom family. The<br />
board goes unreal thanks once again. XXX<br />
Then a few weeks later.<br />
Phoebe: Aahhh CHRIS I LOVE MY BOARD. Ohh<br />
I just had the best surf and that board just keeps<br />
getting better. It is so fun and I just am so stoked.<br />
I love it so much!! Just want to say a huge thank<br />
you again.<br />
Phantom: Hey Phoebe!!! That is such a lovely<br />
message and thank you for taking the time to let<br />
me know. This makes my heart sing…it doesn’t get<br />
better than that! Thank you, thank you, thank you<br />
XXX<br />
And there you have it. Truth be told when I read<br />
these messages it brought a tear to my eye.<br />
When I picked up the board (it was a surprise<br />
present for Phoebe’s birthday), Chris greeted<br />
me and hugged me, he was just so excited about<br />
building the board for her. I just love this guy.<br />
We have shared so many laughs and had so<br />
many great chats through the years of producing<br />
Smorgasboarder. I didn’t know Chris before we<br />
started the mag and now I love him like family. I<br />
cannot speak highly enough of him as a person<br />
and as an incredible surfboard artisan and artist.<br />
As for the board itself, Chris and I decided to<br />
present Phoebe with something a little out of the<br />
ordinary. After all, smorgasboarding is all about<br />
variety and experiencing new things. It is 9’2” (a<br />
little longer than what she is used to riding) with<br />
the added length for getting some momentum<br />
on the predominantly gutless Sunshine Coast<br />
waves. It is a quad, again IT IS built for speed to<br />
get some momentum and boy does it fly. And it<br />
is made with a super lightweight EPS blank and<br />
6-ounce fibreglass cloth. It of course also features<br />
Chris’s incredible artwork. Naturally, if you’re<br />
going custom, you want it full custom, particularly<br />
if you’re intending to celebrate a milestone event.<br />
Chris may have semi-retired, but I wasn’t going<br />
to miss the opportunity to get a board from him,<br />
albeit for Phoebe, although being her dad I am<br />
of course authorised to ride. Chris is amongst a<br />
few shapers on my bucket list I have to acquire a<br />
magic board from. Thank you once again sir for<br />
the experience and the board which is so quick it<br />
almost moves faster than the eye can see. Or, as<br />
the old jungle saying goes, ‘Phantom is quick like<br />
lightning.’<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
85
Gut Slider<br />
Review by Peter ‘Slug’ Slater<br />
Been surfing since my parents bought me a Scott<br />
Dillon pintail mal for Christmas in 1970 when I<br />
was 13, I’m 66 now. 53 years later after a knee<br />
replacement in 2017, and with a knee that won’t<br />
bend much, I was in a place where I thought my<br />
salt water therapy days were over, until I read an<br />
article about the Gut Slider boards made by Ocean<br />
Foil, Keith ‘Robbo’ Robinson in Nambucca Heads.<br />
I contacted Robbo to ask a few questions and to<br />
talk all things surfing. Now courtesy of Robbo and<br />
Bart Watkins of ‘Boards by Bart’ in Maroochydore I<br />
now have two Gut Slider boards. My ‘Torpedo Gut’<br />
board from Bart I first got in the water in February<br />
this year, just in time to get smashed by the big<br />
swell that came in. Then the ‘Gut Slider’ from<br />
Robbo arrived in June so I’ve had a month surfing<br />
that. They are both similar boards, but with definite<br />
design diferences. Robbo is continually evolving<br />
the Gut Slider design and shaping nuances to suit<br />
the unique style of surfing on your guts.<br />
So, what’s the difference between stand up surfing<br />
and surfing on your ‘guts’?<br />
Apart from the obvious, the main things I’ve had<br />
to adjust to (and I still am refining my technique to<br />
this new style of surfing), is that there is no ‘pop<br />
up’, no back foot that can be loaded up to steer<br />
the back end of the board and no front foot to load<br />
up to accelerate down the line. The board gets<br />
steered by using hands on the rail back from the<br />
nose, leaning hard with the inside hip and using<br />
feet as outriggers to enable hard turns.<br />
The nice thing about the take off is that you can<br />
paddle into and ‘take off’ ridiculously late due to<br />
not having to deal with the pop up process. It’s<br />
something I discovered by mistake due to paddling<br />
into a wave that was literally breaking on me as I<br />
took the drop. Lying on your guts means you can<br />
ride out the buffet of the wave breaking on you<br />
as you drop and then trim toward the shoulder or<br />
back up into the green water pocket. Deliberately<br />
padding into something that is breaking has ended<br />
in tears, I have gone over the handle bars a couple<br />
times but that’s just a part of the fun of what we<br />
do.<br />
In conversation with Robbo<br />
regarding the unique technique of<br />
Gut Sliding resulted in his advice<br />
to trim immediately along the face<br />
as you feel the waves momentum.<br />
That was something I’ve learnt to<br />
get right the hard way after going<br />
over the falls a couple times as a<br />
result of trimming too early and<br />
getting sucked up the face of<br />
the wave. A main difference in<br />
technique is to break the golden<br />
rule of looking where you intend<br />
to go as you pop up. But riding<br />
the Slider I’ve learnt to look and<br />
aim at the bowl, rather than<br />
the wave wall, and then look to<br />
target where you want to go.<br />
This gives the board momentum<br />
and avoids the steep face of the<br />
wave sucking the board over the<br />
falls before the board has some<br />
speed to utilise the boards<br />
design characteristics.<br />
Another technique that is unique<br />
to riding on your guts is to use the<br />
feet/legs as outriggers to assist<br />
with turns and slowing the board<br />
to tuck into the steep section<br />
of the wave face. This is advice<br />
Robbo gave me and a technique<br />
I’m yet to get wired. How to surf the<br />
Gut Slider boards is still very much<br />
an evolving learning curve combining<br />
my already known techniques while<br />
adding new techniques and deleting<br />
pre-known concepts that are now not<br />
possible due to not having the ability<br />
to weight up the back foot in turns.<br />
My surf hero was/is Jeff Hakman —<br />
‘Mr Sunset’. Right from the time I first<br />
learnt to stand up to now I always try<br />
to emulate his huge bottom turn. A Mr<br />
Sunset Bottom turn is so far out in front of the wave<br />
that the inside rail scraps on the sand on the beach<br />
before driving back up into the pocket :D.<br />
I’ll make some comments about the design of<br />
the Gut Slider style boards but I’m definitely no<br />
authority on board design theory and concepts.<br />
Both boards are similar length, width and thickness,<br />
6’2” x 23” x 3”. As they are both custom shaped<br />
for me, my personal physical details were factored<br />
in by Bart and Robbo. I’m 5’7” and 98kg, hence<br />
both having reasonable volume. When discussing<br />
with Robbo and Bart pre-shaping the boards, the<br />
only design request I had was that the board be<br />
reasonably easy to paddle and able catch smallish<br />
to medium sized waves. I’m more than happy now<br />
to watch the young chargers take on anything that<br />
is over five foot.<br />
the Main design<br />
difference<br />
between the<br />
two boards is:<br />
The Torpedo<br />
Gut by Bart<br />
is epoxy, has<br />
a rounded<br />
nose like<br />
a mini mal<br />
and wide<br />
fish tail<br />
with about<br />
55 litres of<br />
volume.<br />
The rails have a<br />
soft chime shape<br />
with double<br />
concave from the<br />
mid section to the<br />
tail. Fin set up was<br />
originally a quad.<br />
I’ve had Bart put a<br />
rear fin block in for a<br />
central stabiliser fin.<br />
The Gut Slider<br />
by Robbo is PU<br />
with a rounded<br />
pin nose and tail. The<br />
rails have a very defined<br />
chime edge.<br />
The edge of the chime makes the<br />
effective surfing bottom of the board<br />
as 19” wide, hence when the board is<br />
going rail to rail in turns the board is<br />
behaving as a 19” wide board rather<br />
than a 23” width. Slight concave<br />
in the nose to flat mid section and<br />
then double concave from mid to<br />
tail section. Fin setup was a thruster.<br />
With the Ocean Foil boards Robbo<br />
supplies a leg rope, Slider fins are also<br />
specifically designed for the board<br />
and a Darc stabiliser rear fin.
Both boards are lightning quick when straight lining<br />
along the face. I was surprised at how fast they<br />
really are.<br />
I’ve changed around the fin setup on both boards a<br />
few times to experiment with what seems to work<br />
best, especially in the conditions we get on the<br />
Sunny Coast and specifically as my ‘home’ break is<br />
Geriatrics Reef near Alex Surf Club. The fin setup I<br />
like is Semi Keel fins with the small Darc stabiliser<br />
in the tail. I surfed the boards just as a twinny but<br />
I found that the tail seemed to be sliding a bit too<br />
much and I need the stability of a rear fin just to<br />
keep the twinny setup honest.<br />
I bought a set of Raido keel fins from a local Sunny<br />
Coast fin manufacturer and they are great.<br />
The photos attached show as best as I can the<br />
design characteristics of each board. I don’t have<br />
many photos of me actually on a wave as my wife,<br />
Yvee, who is the official Gut Slider photographer<br />
and not a surfer, keeps saying to me “Do<br />
Something when I’m taking photos”. I’m not sure<br />
Yvee has yet captured the concept of how surfing<br />
works :D.<br />
Those of us who are now in our 60’s, 70’s and 80’s,<br />
the original surf tribe, owe Robbo a huge thanks<br />
for coming up with purpose designed boards that<br />
enable us to keep doing what we love. I know<br />
Robbo is flat out making Ocean Foil Gut Sliders at<br />
his shop in Nambucca Heads. Robbo is fantastic in<br />
his customer service, before shaping my board he<br />
would contact me to discuss exactly what I wanted<br />
and after it was delivered to me he reached out to<br />
talk about any questions I had. He was great passing<br />
on his experience and ideas on the unique technique<br />
of how to get the best out of the Gut Slider style of<br />
surfing.<br />
I’d love to call out to anyone on the Sunny Coast<br />
riding a Gut Slider style board to contact me on<br />
Facebook messenger so we can get together and<br />
exchange thoughts and surf war stories. Maybe the<br />
birth of the ‘Sunshine Coast Gut Sliders’ is imminent.<br />
Peter ‘Slug’ Slater<br />
0414559797<br />
# 57 // smorgasboarder //<br />
87
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