Pauly Jefferies has been on Cornish beaches since he was a kid picking up litter at a Foster's surf event with his dad. Decades later, he's the man running the show at Boardmasters, working with the WSL to turn a stretch of Fistral into a world class competition arena. This year brings the event's biggest change yet, an upgrade to QS4000 status, pulling in a stronger international field and raising the stakes for every surfer chasing a route onto the Challenger Series. We caught up with Pauly to find out what goes into building the event from the ground up, what a typical competition day actually looks like behind the scenes, and who he's got his eye on beyond the hometown favourite.
Pauly, what is your current role at Boardmasters this year, and what was your pathway up to that?
My current role at this year's Boardmasters, and over the last three or four years, is as contest director. I work with the WSL to facilitate and deliver a top level surf event. I have to set up the infrastructure, work on the timings of the event, and the safety communications. It's a fairly comprehensive list that requires a small team behind the scenes all year round to put this in place.
Over the years, I've worked in surfing since about 1983, where I started with my dad as a litter picker at the Foster's surf event. From there, I worked with Dave Reed for many years and learned my skills, mainly as a judge. I travelled the world with the world teams and the European teams, so I got a lot of experience as I travelled, and then naturally progressed into taking over and working mainly for Surfing England as their event director over many years. That's how I got involved.
Thoughts on what the upgrade to QS4000 means?
This year's upgrade to a QS4000 is fairly significant. It's a huge opportunity to both spectators and surfers alike. With only a few events in Europe offering 4000 points and above, it's crucial for the athletes to chase these points down to progress into the Challenger Series and then the dream of making it onto the WCT. So points, any points of that amount, are worth an awful lot. It's a win-win. If you're a competitor at this year's event at 4000, you're going to get some very high level, in fact world class, surfing.
What does your role look like in the weeks leading up to the event?
My role leading up to the event is fairly mixed. We start planning for the following year pretty much the day after Boardmasters finishes. We have a debrief and then look forward to how we can improve and make things better.
Leading up to the event, I'll be looking at the surf forecast and weather patterns, and this will determine how logistically we can run and complete an event. Myself and Harriet, who is actually my right hand woman, and I probably couldn't do it without her, then work on everything from communication, staffing and infrastructure, all the way down to what healthy snacks we can put in the fridge for the 30 plus staff at the event.
Run us through a typical day for you during the event.
A typical day for me is getting up around 5am, 5.30am, normally very early, and making my way down to the beach. Once there, I meet Harriet and we fire up the coffee machine and get to work. Harriet concentrates on the communications to athletes and staff, and the socials to the general public. I'll be checking the conditions and planning my day, monitoring weather patterns to see how much we can run that day. Basically a lot of it rolls around weather and waves for me, which of course is the nature for any surfer. We follow the weather patterns, then I go about setting up for the day.
I mark out the event area, learning from how the rips are running and where the best peak is on the beach. I would have monitored that leading up to the event, and each day I'll put flags where I think the best waves will be at that tide. As the day goes on, they will move in conjunction with the tide and surf.
Once I've done that, I'll put out the rash vests for the day. There's a lot of rash vests, obviously, across many categories, so we sort those out and get them ready. Then the big boss, Rob Gunning, will turn up with his team from the WSL, and we'll discuss our thoughts on the day ahead and the day before. We make sure that as a team we're all reading from the same page before the competition commences.
The staff, media crews and technical team are there also. They'll be setting up all the replay, the actions and a lot of technical equipment in the tower, and getting that tested and ready to go. The commentators will then come in, I'll meet those, and we'll set up their notes relevant to who will be surfing that day. They like to know the plan, and they do a lot of research into individual athletes so they know what's going to happen for the day.
The head judge will also call a meeting each morning, and they'll talk about waves from the previous day or in the past to get their criteria absolutely spot on. People's careers are at stake here and they take their job extremely seriously. It's a very professional setup, and because of the technical aspects they now have, particularly at 4000 level, they're able to do recalls and call waves up, look at the scores, look at the relevancy and break down the wave. It's really important that they're all in unison as judges, looking at the same thing, which is normally set by the head judge. The head judge is a key role to all of this.
Once they're set up and ready to go, once the horn goes, the whole machine starts and off we go. Throughout the day I'll monitor every part of the setup, from beach marshals, flags and safety cover to judges, to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible. That's my main role every single day for Boardmasters.
Favourite Boardmasters memory?
I've got a couple, particularly associated with when I was young, a teenage boy watching my world idol surf on Fistral Beach. I'm a true advocate for British surfers and British surfing, so watching Russ Winter take the home win on home turf at the 2002 Boardmasters against some of the world's best surfers was definitely a highlight for me. It was judged differently then and his competition was extremely tough, and it wasn't regional. Russ is definitely an ambassador for British surfing.
In recent years, the incredibly gifted Lucas Skinner, reigning Boardmasters champ, has been a true pleasure to watch and grow into the force he has become. With the step up to a QS4000 this year, we'll hopefully see Lucas cement his place as a true WCT contender within the next few years.
Everyone will be supporting Lukas. Any other surfers who have entered you think particularly worthy of attention?
With the upgrade of the QS to a 4000 this year, Lukas is always the hometown favourite, but as it's upgraded now, you're going to attract a lot of other surfers, and we do have that. With the addition of some of the WSL Challenger surfers, we have to seriously see them as podium finishers.
The women's field also has some super talented names, including Ariane Ochoa from the Basque Country, an incredible talent who's definitely pushing towards that CT. We also have our very own Alice Barton, who qualified for the Challenger Series this year and is looking to get a great performance here on home soil. I'm sure we'll all be behind Alice to get a great result.
In the men's, the current title holder and junior global sensation Lukas Skinner is, without doubt, one to watch and the favourite for the crowd, an incredible surfer with a very promising future. But others to note include the runner-up last year to Lukas, Spain's Sean Gunning, who's already on the Challenger Series and looking for that holy grail of a CT slot. The points will mean a lot to him. We also have Guilherme Ribeiro from Portugal, sat at 19th on the Challenger Series, and a win will surely put him in a great position for a CT slot. All of the top WQS surfers are in the event, but a note from me is Germany's Zola brothers, Hans and Kai. They're exceptional talents and I'm sure they'll be pushing forward for a slot on the Challenger Series too.
What would your ideal conditions be for final day?
My ideal conditions would obviously be the classic North Beach at Fistral, with a light offshore, a solid four to six foot, and probably a nice 16 second swell period. The addition of 25 degrees with a bluebird sky would of course make the occasion a whole lot better. I'd love to see some of the best surfers surf in perfect North Fistral.
To keep up-to-date with what’s happening at Boardmasters and for ticket info:
Noa Deane is a 23-year-old surf prodigy from the Gold Coast of Australia. He is a hard-working freesurfer that will go countless days perfecting manoeuvres in international waters. Noa is respected by the legends of the sport and looked up to by the youth. In the past five years, Noa has dropped some of the world’s most talked about web clips, destroyed a couple of big-budget surf films, and won Surfer Poll’s “Andy Irons Breakthrough Performer Award.”
He is in short one of those guys that are defining the art of freesurfing in modern times. Steve England had a chat. Action/Indo photos: Andrew Shield Urban photos: Volcom
Sorry to hear about your injury. Always sucks, but I am sure you will come back frothing.
Yeah, can’t wait to be back in the water again.
How does the WSL getting into air shows sit with you?
I guess it’s pretty hard to tell being they have only done one of them so far; it could be cool if the waves provide and the people in the event go for it. Do you think they are a more exciting format, or do you think they should modify the main heat format, so it reflects modern air surfing?
In a way they are both similar because you are competing I think one is a bit more serious than the other, and maybe the air shows bringing a little more fun back into surfing.
Is the Waco pool the best air section ever?
Definitely, a very nice section that was in the same spot every time, wouldn’t say best ever but it was sick. How did you find the comp?
I was saying as a format I think this has more chance of entertaining people, at events like the Olympics than standard heats. I had a lot of fun in the comp I think because it was just fun and no one was too serious, also there being a wave every 45 seconds I guess that makes it a little more fast paced to watch than standard competitions Pools in general: yay or nay? Would you be happily surfing a series of wave pool events or would you still miss the ocean?
I can see it going almost like freestyle snowboarding (or whatever it is called) and halfpipe. I could do a series of events in wave pools but I would way rather just surf in the ocean, I think once they make the waves in the pools way bigger then it could be a little like snowboarding in that aspect.
I liked the Waco comp, looked fun, but then I saw a couple of spontaneous airs in France that blew me away. I think it was the freedom of expression and being in the moment as much as anything. Do you feel the same, or do you like the pressure and anticipation of lining up a ‘run’?
I think for sure airs are going to be more exciting done in the ocean, it’s just like doing a trick backcountry snowboarding as opposed to a jump that is perfectly built for launching.
Is there any progression left in aerials or is it 1000/1 shots now?
I guess the pool ramps (if you can get on them enough) will fast track progression. I think for sure, no one has done a convincing off the lip kickflip. Lots of things are still to be done in the way of progression, and the pool is going to come into play with that … but does it matter if you didn’t do it in the ocean?
Following on from that what is your as yet unpulled masterstroke?
Not sure to be honest. What’s a typical day like in Noa world?
Pretty chill, feed the ponies with my girl maybe have a surf or a skate play some guitar.
Who would be on your all-time ideal boat trip? Surfer or not…
Be nice to go with some skaters and snowboarders; they would trip out I think; it’s such a weird experience but a good one. You seem to enjoy your time in Europe genuinely. Do you have a favourite country/destination, where and why?
I have a good time in Europe, the food and wine are exceptional, also the waves have a lot of power which is nice. I like going everywhere, hard to pinpoint one spot if I were going on a surf trip strictly I would have to go for Indo. Give two hoots about the Olympics?
Nah. Is surfing still cool?
Haha! I don’t think so at the moment. Five goto tracks for a road trip?
Dinosaur Jr- Freak scene, Pavement- Father to a sister of a thought, T-Rex- Debra, Jesus and Mary Chain- Head on, Hüsker dü- Diane.
Taz Knight chases a dream from Mavericks to Mexico.
My name is Tasman Knight, I’m 18, I’m from North Devon, and I’ve just spent six months driving around Mexico on my own.
Trying to fit six months of adventure in to one article is akin to making a movie from a great book. You get the idea, but never the true feel. I’ve been writing every day however. It was the only way to remain sane when camped on my own for extended periods of time. I think my longest stint was just over a week without seeing another soul. This doesn’t sound too long, but when that week is spent 100 miles from the nearest person, in the middle of the Mexican desert … Well, time is perceptive, anyway, for now I will do my best with what I have.
The idea started a while back I suppose. About 10 years ago, when my Mum and Dad decided to pull me and my three sisters out of education for a year. As a family, we bought an RV and drove from San Francisco to southern Costa Rica and back up the other side to the Outer Banks. I’m not going to spend ages telling you how sick it was, because obviously it was. But there’s something that has been bothering me ever since I got back. It’s a memory. The memory of countless barrelling right hand point breaks.
You see, Mexico was where I learned to surf. Well, I’ve been surfing since I was four … but popping up in the whitewater hardly counts. Mexico was where I really got hooked. It was a great place to learn to surf, but it is also a great place to get absolutely barrelled off your face. Absolutely kegged off your nut! What I mean is the waves are really really good, too good for an eight year old boy to fully appreciate. So here I am. It has taken 10 years, but I’m finally good enough to be in Mexico and get absolutely barrelled off my face.
My adventure started, as before, in San Francisco. I was staying with the same family we had stayed with 10 years before, Richard and Catherine Henry. They live in Half Moon Bay. Now, we’ve all heard tale of the monstrous beast that calls Half Moon Bay its home. So had I, at the age of eight when I was last here. The raging sea monster, who raises its foaming cobra head to strike at the wall of jagged rocks blocking its path. I am talking of course, of Mavericks. I’ve always been drawn to big waves. As a grom, I felt that the bigger it got, the more fun I had. That calling is partly responsible for the starting location of my trip. Searching for perfect right hand points was not my only mission, I also wanted to surf as many famous big waves spots as I could. What better place to start?
I was there for over a month. In that time I managed to catch five swells. It’s an amazing place, the long paddle, the golden sunrises in the morning glinting through the huge rocks making them look more menacing and hideous than ever. It really is a perfect wave, throwing huge caves over the boil and thundering out in to the bay. I had some really epic waves there, definitely the biggest waves I had seen and ridden at the time. The two most memorable sessions came within a week of each other, on the 13th and the 20th of December. The first was one of my best big waves sessions ever. There was a lot of wind forecast, so despite the swell being solid, it wasn’t given much interest. Those of us who were staying/living right there however could check it in the early morning. I was huddled up on the cliff, hiding from the wind in my DryRobe at about half five. The wind was strong but in a pretty good direction so the faces were still clean. It was only on for an hour or so, but with so few people out I managed to pick off a few of the biggest waves I had ever paddled at the time.
The day of the 20th was a perfect Mavericks forecast, meaning that all the best big wave surfers in the world flew out to try their hand. That day was like a zoo. Near 100 people all competing over a small take-off zone … carnage. Quite content with the last session I had, I sat on the shoulder and watched all my heroes getting huge waves. I was out there for hours, but stayed pretty toasty in the wetsuits ION had given me just before I set out. I actually got seven waves which is more than most did I’m sure, but they were all off the shoulder. Didn’t stop them being awesome rides however, so I was pretty stoked.
While I was there I bought a 1977 Ford F250 Pickup. I spent my time between swells fixing it up, putting a bed in the back, making a roof rack and generally getting it ready to spend the next five months on the road. It took me longer than expected, but eventually I was waving goodbye to the friends I had made and heading south.
It took me a while to get through California, partly because it was so awesome and partly because I broke down just before crossing the border. It was an unfortunate delay, but thinking about it now it was probably a blessing, as it seems as though my timing has been impeccable ever since. I blew a hole in a piston chamber about five miles from the Mexican border. I was lucky to find the best engine mechanics in San Diego that same day, Kenyan Machine, I’d done a little mechanics before, so I asked the top guy Greg if I could help out with the labour to save money. Greg took sympathy on the English kid with no money and said sure. I ended up doing much more than just helping out.
I took the engine out and stripped it right down by myself. I also put the whole thing back together as well. A good thing about being there and being emotionally involved with the job, is I got to make sure everything was tip top. I worked every day, almost 12 hours a day for three weeks. For the first week and a half I was taking the engine apart, then cleaning and correcting everything. Gave it all a proper scrub down, sand blast, valve job, sanded the warps out the heads, cleaned the carburettor, adjusted the brakes. I did everything I could to make sure the engine was working as well as possible, plus it was given new pistons and re-timed by the guys in the shop. Because I was doing most of this myself I saved a bucket load of money, and gained some priceless knowledge.
For the next week I couldn’t do much as they were busy and I was waiting for them to do their bit (sorting the pistons out). Greg thought I did a pretty good job taking my own engine apart, so while I was waiting they said I could take the engine out a jeep that was sat in the lot. They said they would pay me a full mechanics salary, and the money I made would be taken off the price of my engine … How epic is that? I spent just over three weeks covered in grease and oil, living in the back of a mechanics.
While that was going on, I bumped in to charger and all round legend Gary Linden up in Oceanside. I stayed in his shaping bay for a few nights and got some advice one Baja and surfing Todos Santos. He really helped me out, even helped repair a board I had snapped at Ocean Beach. I met loads of cool guys in San Diego, I hooked up with a photog, Chuck, and had a fun session at Blacks. Scott Sutherland, who I met at the mechanics, ended up taking me to La Jolla every morning at first light to surf all the many waves they have there. All in all it was a pretty sick delay.
My next point of call was another big wave spot: Todos Santos. Like Mavericks, this huge righthander breaks over a boil out side a big rocky point, only Killers (its official name) is out on an island (from where it gets its unofficial name). I arrived just in time for an epic run of swell. I was there for a week. It didn’t get as big as Mavericks while I was there, but I still got a pretty good day, with the faces reaching about 25 feet. It’s an awesome place, the island is miles out to sea so the water is crystal clear, the waves out there are always double the size of the mainland and super fun. I met a really cool big wave rider, Diego Pertusso, out there. We ended up going out to the island together every day on his ski which was majorly convenient. He actually lives down in southern Baja where I eventually met up with him again to stay with him for a week.
From there I spent a little over a month driving down the Baja Peninsula, camping in the middle of the desert, fishing, collecting clams, surfing perfect right hand points. It was such an amazing experience having to fend for yourself and catch your own food. There was one place where the beach was teeming with huge clams and the rocks were perfect for fishing. I would get up, grab a bit of porridge, jump in the sea, surf the perfect right hand point all alone, then spend the rest of the day chilling, fishing, collecting clams and then surfing again in the evening. I was doing that every day for a week. I had a fire going the whole time on the beach, I would always have the clams by the fire for when I got peckish, then just chuck the fish on the grill as soon as I caught them! I didn’t want to leave that spot. I ate some pretty awesome food whenever I stumbled upon a village, the fish tacos in Baja are incredible. There’s nothing quite like a Baja fish taco. I can’t even describe how good they are.
After I met up with Diego again in Southern Baja, I loaded up the truck with some of his old big wave guns, took a ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan, then followed the coast all the way to the state of Oaxaca. I had some amazing experiences on the way down camping in the jungle, drinking coconuts, getting kegged on random beaches with no one out. I must have found 100 beaches with Hossegor like potential, all of them unsurfed but by a few locals and maybe the odd travelling surfer like myself. I actually didn’t see another surfer until I got to Pascuales. I found one river mouth with a sick wedging right hander, when I met a local surfer from the area they had no idea it existed.
The difference between Baja and the mainland is crazy. Baja is one big desert, filled with beautiful table top mountains, cacti and perfect right points. The fish is also as good as it gets. The mainland is so green in comparison. Thick dense jungle climbing the slopes of massive mountain ranges. Huge palm groves along the coast with big rivers every 10 miles. The waves are all heavy beaches and hollow river mouths, the north swell creating sick rights and the south lefts. The culture and vibrancy of the mainland was a blessed relief after the emptiness of Baja. Actually surfing with other people made me realise how much I had missed it.
The truck was still going strong when I arrived in Puerto Escondido. I had seen a big swell coming a week before, and had made a quick dash through Guerro to get there in time. Puerto was the next big wave spot on my list. The incoming swell was definitely a big one, it was lighting up the Pacific and causing quite a stir in the surf media. I arrived the night before the main bulk of the swell hit. That evening I watched the sunset at Playa Zicatela as 30-40 foot waves detonated on the sand.
The next day was scary, the scariest paddle session I had had at the time. The swell came through with 30-40 foot faces, but it was the heaviest 15 feet I’ve ever seen. The waves here break super close to the beach, the sand less than a few meters below the surface. The energy of the huge swell gets focussed in that small area, making for some seriously heavy wipeouts. I got worked while that swell lasted, getting huge waves, hold downs and barrels. It was an amazing experience, I was really helped out by the local crew there. Local photographer Edwin Morales showed me the ropes and made my life much easier.
Puerto is a really cool place to hang out. Loads going on and always great waves to surf. After the big swell the banks were amazing and everyone was just getting kegged every morning. I had this magic 8’0” from Nigel Semmens which has been working like a dream this whole trip, but it really reached its full potential out in the huge dredging barrels of Zicatela. I had snapped it twice by the end of the trip, but it only seemed to get better! All told I snapped five boards eight times… But that’s Puerto I suppose.
I spent a while in Puerto, I had been travelling for over four months by this point and I needed to spend a bit of time in one place to get some energy back. I met up with some friends from England and we decided to head out to find some of those barrelling right hand points I’d heard so much about. Edwin pointed us in the right direction and my adventure started up again. We took a round about route, up through the mountains to see some temples and hot springs and then back down to the coast to chase the goose. We certainly found what we were looking for. Perfect, barrelling right hand points that completed my fantasy. I had a couple of waves which were ridiculous. 13 turn waves and deep sandy barrels, the image of perfection. We got some fun small days, trimming along on knee high waves, getting an average of three or four head dips per wave! The few bigger days we got were not as hollow, but we were not disappointed by the minute long whackable rights, and there were definitely still super hollow sections.
By this time it was full swell season for Mexico, and another monster storm was brewing off the coast of Chile. With my heart in my mouth, I said goodbye to my mates and steered course back to Playa Zicatela. The storm was ridiculous, the swell predictions were saying it was to be as big as it gets, maybe even bigger. I thought I must be getting popular, as all the big wave surfers who had flown to meet me at Mavericks were making the trek to meet up with me again down in Puerto. They may have just been coming for the swell, but I can’t be sure.
When the day arrived it made the last swell I caught look like ripples in a pond. It was ridiculous. 100 meters of beach got washed away and the sets were smashing through the beachfront restaurants and on to the road. The street was the new shoreline. It was like a hurricane had passed through over night. Part of the contingent who had arrived for the swell were Tom Lowe and Tom Butler. It sure was nice to have some fellow Englishmen to share the nerves with. I’m not sure what would have happened if they were not there, but the fact that they were definitely gave me a bit more confidence. The only minor was that neither had their boards with them, Lowey’s had gotten lost on the plane, and Tom had come strait from the XXL awards in LA so didn’t have any to start with. They both managed to borrow boards, but not their boards, and not great boards at that.
We paddled out despite it all, a long paddle from the harbour half a mile up the beach. I was riding a 9’0” which Diego had lent me up in Baja. The sets were huge, so big I wasn’t even scared, just in awe at the immense beauty of the 60 foot walls of water that were bearing down on us, travelling so fast that they were feathering for 3-400 meters before even breaking. It was a somber line-up. Those who had dared to paddle out were all shrouded in their own minds, eyes fixed on the horizon with grim determination on their faces. The sets were most likely to be the biggest waves ever to be seen at Puerto, but every man there would have committed if the wave had come their way. I turned my own eyes to the waves and waited.
It was impossible to know where the waves would come, and you had to be in the perfect spot to actually catch one of these things. As a result the chance of catching one was slim to none, and the chance of the wave which came to you actually being makeable was even slimmer. The end result was there were very few waves ridden that day. Half the line up got caught out by the huge closeout sets with came ploughing through, Tom and Tom included, both taking one of the heaviest beatings imaginable. Mark Healey got the wave of the day, a giant set wave which absolutely destroyed him. And yes, I managed to get one myself.
After waiting out there for over three hours I saw a good sized left coming through which I thought I might be able to catch. I looked around but couldn’t see anyone near me. At that moment, Kurt Rist buzzed passed me on a safety ski, he saw me looking at the wave and gave me a look. It said, ‘I got your back’. It was all I needed, I swung, paddled and took of on the biggest wave of my life.
I was extremely late, as I got to my feet I had to grab my rail to keep the board from being blown out from under my feet by the wind howling up the face. This also helped to keep the nose of my board out the water as the wave went over vertical. There was a slight moment of weightlessness as the majority of the 9’0” disconnected from the wave and I dropped down to the point where the board fitted the curve of the wave. Holding on for dear life I flew down the thing, going faster than I thought possible. Every ounce of my being focussing on making the drop and getting away from the monstrosity which I had managed to catch. Before I had taken off, it looked as though I may have been able to make the wave. Unfortunately I was put off course a little by the steepness of the drop I had to take. As it was, when I finally made it to the bottom and thought about shooting it to the shoulder the lip was already on its way down to land on my head. This didn’t appeal to me greatly so I picked the lesser of the two evils and straightened out.
I was immediately blown to pieces. The force of the explosion was so violent that it knocked me senseless. All I could think about was holding my arms around my head and neck as I was ruthlessly rag dolled back and forth. When I got back to the beach, someone told me I had been under for 20 seconds. I could have been under for 10 year for all the perception I had of time while that was going on. All I know was the flotation vest I was wearing eventually bought me back to the surface (I couldn’t have found it if I had tried) I grabbed a breath and shot my left hand up, searching for Kurt. I could see him racing towards me, bent over the handle bars. Unfortunately, I could also see a 40 foot wall of whitewater which was much closer. The ski was struggling to drive in the thick soup which the previous wave had left behind, and we both knew he wouldn’t make it in time to get me. I got a couple of deep breaths and went under.
This wave was promptly followed by another. After looking at the footage, I realised both held me down for 15 seconds, battering me from every angle. Luckily my leash held and I was washed in a fair way. I was washed up the beach not long after. As I struggled up the sand I was greeted by cheers from the spectators. Safe to say it was one of the better moments of my life.
The next few days were mental. I had a great time hanging out with all they guys, even got to say ‘Hi’ to Andrew Cotton as he flew in for a swell forecast the week after I left. The waves got a bit more manageable and the banks were perfect while my time dwindled. Every one was getting shacked off their heads. It was a great end to the trip. By the time the big swell passed through I only had 10 days left before my 6 months was up. I spent that 10 days getting shacked with mates and relaxing in paradise. It was such an epic trip with so many phenomenal experiences. It will take a while for it all to fully sink in.
Donald Brink is producing some fascinating boards based on some very interesting concepts, like foot size. Steve England caught up with him on a recent European tour to find out more about feet and asymmetry.
With cutting edge surfing and amazing art direction Volcom’s films have cut a swathe through surf culture since 1993. Their latest is set to be let loose in September. Come with us behind the scenes and chat to Mitch and Ozzie some of the main protagonists.
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What’s it like to be in a Volcom movie? As a kid BS was the highlight of my career. Everything I’d ever done surfing it all came down to that … it was the pinnacle. It’s all downhill from here.
Did the old movies like Magnaplasm inspire you as a grom? I remember watching them all and thinking ‘that would be the coolest thing in the world.’ Not getting into specifics of particular movies but even before I was sponsored being in a Volcom movie seemed liked the ultimate. To end up being sponsored and appearing in them now is mad. It was a pivotal moment when it came to figuring out what I wanted to do with my life.
The films helped you get to where you are now? For sure. It gave me a level to achieve.I wanted to be Dustin Cuizon so badly. Then when I was on the team I got two waves in Creepy Fingers. It’s not what I wanted but to be featured as a kid was huge. I was still stoked. Any young kid would be. You’re being showcased on a world wide stage. I’m still so grateful to be involved in anything they do.
How is being in Indo filming with Ozzie Wright… Ozzie’s 156 Tricks from my childhood memories … was so different. I had a whole wall of his photos and art. Pretty baffling that I’m here now on a trip with him filming for a section.
He’s still a big influence? He’s certainly got longevity… He’s a legend. An actual legend. If I can get a section in a movie when I’m nearing my forties… He’s still reinventing himself. He’s still surfing more than anyone on this boat trip and having more fun than anyone. Surfing all kinds of boards … whether it’s one foot or whatever. He’s stoked if he’s doing the biggest air of the day or a cheater five.
Stoked to be working with RT on this project? I’m excited for this movie. He has a vision. We are all working towards the same goal. I can’t wait to see it unfold. I want to do more trips, film more with this crew, get the best I can for the film. I’m really excited too see how it turns out. You’re involved with what he’s trying to accomplish, you’re part of the film, rather than a puppet on a string.
Best filming trip? Definitely South Australia with Ozzie. Just us two in the water. Pretty low key, it’s an isolated spot, you don’t get many camera crews allowed down there. It was a privilege. We partied with the locals, the waves were just insane, it’s the sickest spot.We all got to embrace the real Australia. I love going to the desert. That was the best for me.
Tell us about Carlos Munoz? Everyone on this trip has baffled me in some way … in the way that they surf. I’ve been surfing with him a few years now and even more than Dane Reynolds he is the most sporadic surfer in the world. You never know what the kid is going to do when he takes off on a wave.
How about Yago? Intimidating to surf with him? (Mitch does a hearty laugh) He’s out there every second of the day doing back flips. As soon as the boat pulls up he’s out there. You can’t even try and comprehend. You just have to stick to your own game plan. He will blow you out of the water nine times out of ten. I’m just trying to keep up now with the way that everyone’s surfing. He’s definitely proven to me over and over again he’s the future. One of the coolest kids coming out of Brazil and I’m stoked on the path he’s taking. He’s doing it right and I’m stoked to be working with him. The kid’s insane.
Droid? He is been my favourite surfer to watch on this trip. So different to everyone else. It makes you think about the way you surf. He shapes boards for specific turns that he wants to do?! The shit that he does is so different to anything I’d ever try. It’s just baffling.
Miguel Tudela? Peru’s pretty sick. He did two flips the other day at Lance’s Right which was pretty baffling. I was all ‘it’s perfect flip conditions’ the kid went out and did two. I was all ‘right, I’m going back to the boat!’ I’ve known him for a few years and the worldwide crew from all over are so sick. He’s been ripping the whole trip.
How do you see your career path if you weren’t with Volcom? I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else. I would probably not be surfing. I’d be f@cked. What we’ve been trying to accomplish in all parts of my career they’ve been amazing. It’s the raddest thing in the world.
What was your first impression of Volcom films? The first film I watched was ‘Alive We Ride’ before I rode for Volcom and my friend Spillsy surfed for them and was like the first Aussie rider in there and I was like ‘Oh my God.’ It changed the way I looked at everything and it was the first time I had ever seen such awesome youth. I don’t know, it just made me want to shred so much. It changed my life. I had to ride for Volcom and I was stoked when I got to. I think they are just the best movies they are cult classics … So much heart and soul.
The trips I have done for the films have taken me to the next level. I mean I got to go on trips with people like the late Barney Barron. Barney was such a big influence on me. He was the life of the party in and out of the water every day. If you were surfing with Barney it was like being at party. Every wave he surfed made me laugh my head off. He was always painting and drawing and just being hilarious. I did crazy trips with Bruce Irons and he was shredding … it was awesome.
What do you think about this movie? I can’t wait to see it. The Volcom team is in a really awesome spot. The characters in the team are massive and everyone has a really good personality and surf with a lot of character so yeah I can’t wait to see it.
What do you think of Mitch? Mitch is heavy hitter. He don’t muck around, he wants serious shit. If the surf isn’t the best best waves you have ever seen he just stays asleep. He gets lots of sleep and that’s good for health and healing and when he does surf like three foot he does airs that are like five feet. He does he biggest airs, it’s sick. Mitch rips.
What do you think of Yago? Yago is like a freak of nature. He’s like ‘Robotron’. He is 16 and six feet tall, his bones are made of rubber even though they have broken. He rips everything. He is cross between Damian Hardman and Christian Fletcher. He can do eight turns to the beach and the craziest airs you have ever seen. He’s an absolute freak.
Carlos? Costa Rica’s finest. Looks like a palm tree and surfs like a God! He’s classic!
Droid? Droid is one the biggest natural talents the world has seen. He is super humble and the natural ability inside of him is another level. It is so instinctual. He can play the guitar like a freak and he can surf with pure instinct. It is really good to watch. He fits the wave, there’s no thinking, he is an animal.
What’s this trip been like and what’s it like to be a veteran on the team now? It’s been a really cool ride and the flavour of the South and Central Americans … to have that international vibe is amazing. They come from such different backgrounds. As an Aussie we are brought up on the Aussies and Americans owning all the media and whatever you see, so it is good to see the guys having the chance to display their moves and personalities and I think it will bring something new. I would love to know all about these guys and where they grew up as opposed to us who grew up in first world countries like spoilt brats. A lot of these guys come from places where they had to fight so hard for anything and you can see it in the lineup … they are working so hard.
Who are your favourite guys that you have filmed with over the years? Gavin Beschen who is one of the most unique individuals I have ever met. He’s a really inspirational guy but you will never got to the bottom of him. You will never figure him out. And then we had like Brad Anderson who filmed ‘Computer Body’ in Australia who was really funny. Somedays you would look at the surf and it was would be really good and you’d be like ‘Where’s Brad?’ and he would have like disappeared into town an hour’s drive away to pay for some exotic massages.
156 Tricks was sick because I met ‘Hollywood’ who was making movies way before iMovie and the like. We call him ‘Hollywood’ because he was he only person we knew that could make movies! Then he decided he didn’t want to travel around the world visiting amazing places for a year filming, so I had a friend ‘Cowboy’ who was like one of my oldest buddies and a cabinet maker, so we hired him! We had one day in France where I surfed a shorey and I was having a full shorey bash and it ended up with like 50-60 people all on the beach screaming and applauding and it was like best session of year. Cowboy was in the next town shacked up with a beautiful French woman. I couldn’t blame him … But I was definitely bummed! But he did a great job on that film. He is the kind of guy that can do anything, modelling, filming, cabinet making, drumming.
Do you think that part of surfing is gone: party first and everything else falls into place, instead of work your brains out until they are fried? I do feel it is so professional now and everyone has to try so hard. There is something to be said about living your life and surfing when you are in the mood and capturing it when the planets come together. You just get that special feel. Like you can have surfing as a job but I don’t think you should ever feel it is a job. It should be a celebration of how you feel. Volcom has always embodied that and captured the life we live.
How has surfing for Volcom affected your life? For me it was almost like college. I quit school and hooked up with Volcom and luckily it wasn’t a bunch of robots doing their job, it was a bunch of artists that were so into everything: music, art, surf and skate. There were so many mentors who schooled me on everything I need to know. I wouldn’t be half he person I am now without their help.
What has this Indo trip been like? The surf hasn’t been that great a lot of the time so this trip has been a little like a slumber party with 15 dudes all wrapped up in blankets in a dark a room with the air-con on watching movie after movie after American teen movie. The other day was hilarious, Yago said, ‘Hey you guys, what’s a boner?’ Haha! He opened a Pandora’s Box of ‘A boner is…’ and fifty words to describe it. We had a boner-thesaurus.
So one filming trip went to South Oz which is a really sharky. How does it feel being a father surfing these places? It is pretty unnerving to surf these places. The first day we had to surf a spot where I know a kid had been killed. And my leggy broke and I had to swim across the channel worrying about being eaten by a shark. The second day we came in and Nate, one of the filmers, was like, ‘Did you see that Great White, there was a 20 footer right there. I would have screamed but you guys were already coming in.’ I looked down the beach and saw a 20 foot Great White jump out of the water and eat a seal. It is pretty frightening, no one is ever in the water and the waves are incredible but … every beach you go to there is a remembrance plaque where someone has been eaten by a shark. So the ratio is terrible. It is scary. For me now as a family man with two children I definitely self preserve a lot more than I used to and try to stay alive as long as I can. So surfing death defying waves I’m over it! And sharks … I don’t like them!
