Like many adolescent surfers aspiring to one day make it to the pro ranks, Noah “Waggy” Wegrich’s path sprouted in the competitive landscape. That was until he saw a different avenue through the free surf world. Noah’s eclectic approach follows him every time he jumps into the ocean. Whether he’s threading tubes, launching huge airs, or drawing unique lines, Noah has a wide array of tricks up his sleeve. As he mentions, “It’s a blank canvas. Every time you go surfing, you can do something new.” At age 26, Noah continues to reside in Santa Cruz, California, and is finding himself traveling the globe chasing down any surfing adventure that presents itself.”
Inside This Soft World was shot on a single North Coast autumn day and is fairly typical of how Dave and Nathan work.
“We try and be subtle and zig while everyone’s zagging,” says Nathan, who managed to zig and zag and find enough clear water to avoid a single other surfer appearing in frame.
“I’m not really the full-time camera guy so the shooting relationship is more relaxed. We rock up separately and I’ve always got a towel around the tripod and I slip in and slip out. It’s never a production. We try and stay incognito. Dave is the master sandbank bloodhound, he sniffs them out, whispers about a little corner at such and such and he always goes for a little surf check on dark to see what the sands doing for the following morning. We go to the spot with a million closeouts and one good one, as long as there’s nobody there.”
Unlike much of Nathan’s other work, there is no higher meaning with Inside This Soft World. It’s simply Dave, surfing on a Wednesday morning… which can be argued implicitly has its own higher meaning.
“He’s so unhurried with a real economy of movement,” offers Nathan. “You know how dancers talk about ‘first position’, that stance or pose where they can spring from? Dave has that down. His first position is easy on the eye and he can be standing there relaxed, unhurried, in first position then he’ll just drop a hammer and blow your mind. It’s hard for me to edit it out, it’s the space between the notes, that’s where the music happens with his surfing.”
Recently Oahu was hit with a solid South swell.This usually happens during the Summer time in Hawaii. North Shore will go flat so most of us drive to the other side of the island to surf. This session Mason surfs for 4 hours and 55 minutes according to his Rip Curl GPS watch (There is a full breakdown clip in the video). He meets up with his Dad Michael and Uncle Derek to surf the 5-7 ft S swell. Mason really likes surfing Ala Moana because his Mom & Dad met there back in the day surfing.
Near drownings, broken bones, and the wave of his life so far. A heartfelt reflection on Cornish big wave surfer Tom Lowe’s pioneering efforts whilst paddling into waves of consequence at Irelands infamously hectic stretch of reef at ‘Mullaghmore’.
“The boys scored epic waves surfing on Lake Tahoe today!! Although all the resorts are shut down, we can still find a way to get outside have fun, stay healthy, safe, and distant from others. Just trying to live to the best of our abilities during all of this chaos! Hope everyone is scoring somehow and someway. Nothing but love to all of you watching!! Yeww! “
