Charly Quivront on the road with friends chasing what storm Aline had best to offer between the Mediterranean Sea and Hossegor!
On the menu, they’re lucky to have found a shallow left slab in the Med featuring Kyllian Guerin & Sam Piter, and perfect sand-bottom drainers at home in Hossegor.
Vans Pipe Masters will run December 8 – 20, 2023 on the North Shore of Oahu.
Last year’s inaugural event saw Balaram Stack and Molly Picklum take the respective wins, with Balaram declaring afterwards that Pipeline, “Gave me something that I don’t know if I’ll top for the rest of my career.” The return of the specialty event will see the world’s best tuberiders face off in surfing’s Colosseum. With 40 men and 20 women, hand-picked by Vans, taking to the Pipeline this December in the latest installment of the enduring love affair between Vans and the North Shore of Oahu.
“I’ve got a photo of my dad wearing Vans Classics on the North Shore that he got for winning the contest in ’66, so Vans and surf contests in Hawaii go way back,” says Vans Surf lifer Nathan Fletcher. “My memories of coming to Hawaii as a kid are of Steve Van Doren at Pipe and Triple Crown, flipping burgers in a checkered apron. It’s cool to see that legacy continue with the Pipe Masters.”
Vans remains committed to giving back to the North Shore community wherever possible. So this year, as well as incorporating the art of local artist Solomon Robert Nui Enos into the event rollout and supporting grassroots Hawaiian organizations like Na Kama Kai, Sustainable Coastlines of Hawai’i, and North Shore Community Land Trust, half of the invitees into the Vans Pipe Masters are Hawaii residents and Native Hawaiians. Continuing the legacy of Hawaiian surfers performing on the world stage, at their hallmark wave.
Furthermore, Vans proudly offers equal prize money for men and women. International surfers like Noa Deane, Harry Bryant, Taichi Wakita, Mikey February, Sierra Kerr, locals Barron Mamiya, Maluhia Kinimaka, Kaulana Apo, and Moana Jones-Wong, and global superstars like the brothers Florence have equal opportunity to compete for the $420,000 prize purse and lift the hallowed Vans Pipe Masters trophy.
“Trophies aren’t everything, but certain trophies ignite memories of certain stories and that’s my proudest one,” said Molly Picklum, reflecting on lifting last year’s prize.
The Vans Pipe Masters features an innovative leaderboard format, where competitors surf three rounds in search of their top three highest-scored rides. The top four male and top four female surfers advance to the finals for a shot at taking home the hallowed trophy.
As a brand rooted in youth culture, Vans understands our responsibility to protect the environment in which surfing comes to life for future generations. As part of this responsibility, Vans will partner once again withSustainable Coastlines of Hawai’i for the event’s on-site waste diversion program. Having partnered with Vans for over 8 years, Sustainable Coastlines Hawai’i supports Vans’ objective of increasing environmental and social responsibility in our events. From this partnership, the 2022 Vans Pipe Masters successfully diverted 814 lbs, or 79% of all waste generated onsite, from being sent to landfills or incineration.
For more information about Vans Pipe Masters and how to watch this year’s contest, visit vanspipemasters.com.
Partnership between social impact companies United Repair Centre and Fashion-Enter with Patagonia makes it easy for clothing brands to join the repair movement
Today, the United Repair Centre London (URC London) opens in Haringey.
The new centre is the result of a collaboration between social impact companies United Repair Centre and Fashion-Enter, with outdoor clothing brand Patagonia. It will employ and train people who have challenges finding employment, such as those with refugee backgrounds, in high quality clothing repairs. With space for other brands to join Patagonia at the centre, its objective is transforming the apparel industry for the better.
The opening follows the success of the first United Repair Centre, launched in Amsterdam in 2022, as the result of collaboration between Makers Unite, Amsterdam Economic Board and Patagonia. United Repair Centre Amsterdam currently handles 30,000 repairs per year from brands such as Decathlon, Lululemon and Patagonia. URC London has capacity to perform 30,000 repairs a year by 2025.
Thami Schweichler, CEO and Founder, United Repair Centre, said: “The apparel industry has a bad reputation for the harms inflicted on the environment, and the people who make our clothes – but it doesn’t have to be this way. We must help customers keep their clothes in use for longer and practice conscious consumption in the future, if we are to have a living planet to do business on. And now, with the launch of URC London, we’re making it easy for responsible clothing brands to join the growing repair movement.”
Haringey-based garment production company, Fashion-Enter, has joined as partner, with URC London operating out of its existing facility and training the team in technical repairs.
With a focus on high social and environmental standards, Fashion-Enter had faced potential layoffs due to key retailers moving production to cheaper facilities abroad. Now URC London will protect 15 UK jobs and provide a bridge into the circular economy.
Jenny Holloway, CEO, Fashion-Enter said: “Haringey in North London has a long history as a home of high-quality British garment manufacturing, but in the current market for cheaper production we could not maintain our high standards of quality or our ethical standards. We had to pivot the business quickly and be nimble! Now, we have an exciting collaboration to move into repairs. Our highly skilled team are absolutely delighted that they are contributing to a circular economy for fashion today.”
Strategic guidance from the British Fashion Council’s Institute of Positive Fashion and circular economy support from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation have been provided to URC London. It will initially provide repairs for Patagonia’s UK-based customers, with three additional brands lined up to join the facility in within the next 12 months, and space for more partners.
The partnership is part of Patagonia’s long-standing commitment to responsible consumption. Founded on an ethos of creating a quality, durable product, for the last 12 years, Patagonia has educated customers on why, and how they can prolong the lives of their clothes, through its Worn Wear programme. Patagonia offers free repairs, which can be requested through a newly launched Repair Portal.
Alex Beasley, Country Manager, UK, Ireland & Nordics, Patagonia said: “At Patagonia, we’re in business to save our home planet. But we know we can’t do this alone. With the launch of United Repair Centre London, we are looking to dramatically scale our impact and empower other clothing companies to move away from disposability and waste, and weave circularity into their business models.”
For more information about working with the United Repair Centre London please visit: www.unitedrepaircentre.com.
A bitter rivalry brewed between a father named Occy and his son, Sterling. Occy, a renowned surfer in his heyday, had never loved or supported his son’s dreams. He couldn’t bear the thought of Sterling surpassing him, and this rivalry tore at their relationship.
From a young age, Sterling had felt the pull of the waves, the irresistible call of the sea. He knew he was destined to be a surfer, to follow in his father’s footsteps, but his dreams were met with nothing but resistance from Occy. It was as if Occy had become consumed by jealousy, refusing to let his son shine in a world he once ruled.
One day, Sterling’s journey took him to a remote coastal village in Peru. There, amidst the wild beauty of the ocean, he finally found Occy. The reunion was tense, as years of resentment and unresolved emotions hung in the air.
The duel between father and son was mesmerizing. Sterling yearned to prove himself as the superior player and, in doing so, perhaps win his father’s recognition and love. They engaged in a game of pointing, testing their hand-eye coordination and precision. Occy, with years of experience, narrowly won this round.
Tragically, as they were leaving the field, Occy, who was still catching his breath, accidentally picked up a stray boomerang that had washed ashore. In a cruel twist of fate, the boomerang unexpectedly returned and struck Occy, leading to a fatal accident.
The world was left in shock as the legendary sportsman, Occy, passed away in such an unexpected manner. Sterling, who had finally bridged the gap between them, was left in mourning, with mixed emotions of victory and profound loss. It was a reminder that life’s twists and turns could be both unexpected and tragic, leaving Sterling to carry the weight of reconciliation and sorrow.
The evolution of the BL BLAST OFF over the last 18 years has seen it transform into a truly global event. What started out as in-person physical event in Sydney and Bali is now an international online stokefest!
The BL BLAST OFF VIDEO CHALLENGE developed by 1988 World Surfing Champion Barton Lynch, is a unique and exciting annual opportunity for young surfers from around the world to show off their skills and stoke in the water to a coaching panel of world class surf coaches and a global community of surfing families.
Across its many award categories, the BL BLAST OFF VIDEO CHALLENGE has become a haven of encouragement and support for the young surf community; as well as being a fun and competitive environment for surfers to elevate their skills and land on the radar of the surfing world as the world’s most promising future prospects.
This year, the BL BLAST OFF VIDEO CHALLENGE is presented by another exciting Lynch-led venture, the first ever surfing sports simulated game of its kind, BARTON LYNCH PRO SURFING. The project, developed by Barton Lynch and Western Australian-based studio BUNGARRA SOFTWARE, the game hits PC (Steam), PlayStation5 and XBOX platforms on November 17th 2023.
WATCH 2022 BL BLAST OFF VIDEO CHALLENGE FINALS SHOW
The BL BLAST OFF VIDEO CHALLENGE is open to young surfers 14 years and under and of any skill level – it is a four week coaching program at its core, with a championship component that will see winners decided in multiple categories and age divisions.
At its heart though, the challenge has been established to build community and inspire young surfers to share their stoke for surfing with others. Video submissions can include footage shot at any time during 2023 and feature any style of surfing and on any type of board or craft.
The videos can capture anything from a single wave, or a single manouevre; they can be fully edited, or submitted as is – the only stipulation is that each clip be a maximum of one minute in length.
Submissions open from October 16th through until November 17th 2023, for surfers aged 14 years and under (as of November 17th) and from anywhere around the world.
2023 BL BLAST OFF VIDEO CHALLENGE KEY DATES
Submissions open: October 16th – November 17th 2023
Categories open to be won as part of the BL BLAST OFF VIDEO CHALLENGE, alongside overall divisional winners for 14s, 12s, 10s, 8s and 6s, this year include:
PEOPLES CHOICE
EXPERTS CHOICE
WORST WIPE OUT
BEST TUBE
BEST AIR
BEST WAVE
OVERALL ‘BEST EDIT’ PRESENTED BY GoPro
BEST GoPro POV
as well as a new category in…
A NEW EARTH CLEAN UP (AND GOOD WILL)
In conjunction with sustainability partner, A NEW EARTH PROJECT, kids will show us the great work they have done in their community by helping others or the environment.
The 2022 VIDEO CHALLENGE saw over 200 videos submitted from surfers in over 26 countries. Over 90 prize packs were awarded to kids around the world – in 2023, the event aims to connect with even more groms and families globally!
Says Barton Lynch of the return of the video challenge in 2023,
“My Blast Off is an initiative to spread stoke among groms that has been running since 2006.
That’s when we first ran our Sydney Blast Off in the physical event form and that quickly turned into the most stoked event on the Australian surf calendar annually, with 330 kids taking part. When we took the concept online in 2020, we automatically reached a much broader and more diverse audience and spread the Blast Off stoke around the world.
The Blast Off community and event has long been the breeding ground for tomorrow’s champions, with many former Blast Off alumni going on to be world champs at the highest level, this is something that I am very stoked about. This is the fourth year of the video challenge and I can’t wait to see the videos from very best and most stoked under 14s surfers in the world and encourage you to tune in and support the kids by heading to bartonlynch.com
As the days draw in, London Surf / Film Festival has just dropped its longlist of Shorties x Northcore as fresh inspiration for the season ahead.
Serving up 90 minutes of bite sized, homegrown, surf movie magic – from a middle finger to polluters, to pondering the existential question of what it means to be a surfer, or exploring pure stoke through epic odysseys, cold water sessions, tropical delights and littoral insights – these tales are told in under 5 minutes by the UK’s best surf filmmakers.
“Short films are a central pillar of modern surf culture, this year I’m delighted to see how many films feature or have been created by women, it’s much more reflective of our line ups. From a female sculptor to longboard aficionados, and from close knit communities to activists, scientists and road tripping explorers, these films celebrate just what is to be a woman of the sea, and it can be whatever you want.” says Festival Director Demi Taylor. “Until 5th November, we’re asking you, the surf community to support your favourite short films by watching, enjoying, sharing and voting for them. As part of our commitment to UK and Irish filmmaking talent, this year we have a £500 bursary for the winning film.”
The best films, as selected by the surf community and the jury, will be premiered on the big screen as part of the 2023 London Surf / Film Festival presented by Finisterre hosted 23-25 November at Riverside Studios
The filmmakers are the people who keep the stoke fires burning long after the wave is spent so watch all the films and share the stoke here:
LS/FF 2023 presented by FINISTERRE
12th London Surf / Film Festival presented by Finisterre is hosted 23 – 25 November at the iconic Riverside Studios, London. Bringing to the UK a hand picked line up of the very best films from across the globe exploring surfing and surf culture in all its guises, accompanied by Q+A’s, talks, good times and more, it is a celebration of the cream of international surf culture.
