HAWAII’S ALBEE LAYER WINS WORLD’S FIRST STADIUM SURF EVENT IN WALES

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More than 2,000 spectators turned out on Saturday 19th September to see the world’s first ever stadium-style surfing event, Red Bull Unleashed.

It was a surprisingly scorching afternoon in North Wales as the final eight riders went head-to-head at Surf Snowdonia’s artificial wave pool. In the end it was crowd favourite Albee Layer (HAW) who became the first ever Red Bull Unleashed champion, after a string of spectacular displays carried him to victory over the plucky Billy Stairmand (NZL).
The competition was able to bring the crowd closer to the action than has ever been seen before, paving the way for a new era in competitive surfing. The athletes and spectators revelled in the unique man-on-man duel concept, which saw pairs of surfers go head to head, wave for wave, in a best of five format.
As opposed to traditional half hour heats, there are no second chances at Red Bull Unleashed, every wave counts. Surfing heavyweight Jordy Smith (RSA) who was amongst the spectators said, “It’s cool, you both have an equal opportunity, and there’s no two ways about it, the best surfer always wins. You can’t afford to fall so you really have to walk the fine line between pushing it to the limit and pushing it too far.”
The unique stadium environment meant that the audience was less than ten feet away from the action. “The crowd’s right above you, as close as you can possibly get to someone on a wave,” said Smith, “some guys thrive off it, others don’t. It’s an arena for those who can feed off the energy of the crowd.”
Layer was consistently in charge of his competitors, picking up on the nuances of the tricky waves early on and mixing up his manoeuvres to keep the crowd and judges entertained. His musical selections were as sharp as his surfing, and it was clear from the early rounds that Layer was the man to beat.
Sprayed with champagne on the podium, Layer, who notoriously does not compete, couldn’t help but beam with pride. “I didn’t know what to expect coming here,” said the Maui local, “but it’s been incredible. Surfing so close to so many people, music
playing, heaps of energy in the air, to get the win is crazy. If more events were like this, I’d do them!”
Red Bull Unleashed Results
Final
Albee Layer (HAW) 3 def. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 1
Semi Finals
SF1. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 3 def. Jack Freestone (AUS) 0 SF2. Albee Layer (HAW) 3 def. Mitch Crews (AUS) 2
Quarter Finals
QF1. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 3 def. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 1 QF2. Jack Freestone (AUS) 3 def. Kai Hing (AUS) 1
QF3. Albee Layer (HAW) 3 def. Jayce Robinson (GBR) 1 QF4. Mitch Crews (AUS) 3 def. Ian Crane (AUS) 1
Round One
H1. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 3 def. Alan Stokes (GBR) 0
H2. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 3 def. Leo Fioravanti (ITA) 1 H3. Jack Freestone (AUS) 3 def. Evan Geiselman 0
H4. Kai Hing (AUS) 3 def. Kalani David (HAW) 0
H5. Jayce Robinson (GBR) 3 def. Hiroto Arai (JPN) 0 H6. Albee Layer (HAW) 3 def Ian Gouveia (BRA) 2
H7. Ian Crane (AUS) 3 def. Mikey Wright (AUS) 2
H8. Mitch Crews (AUS) 3 def. Reubyn Ash (GBR) 1

Who is JOB – Victory lap

The season finale episode is packed with the very best moments of Who is JOB 5.0. Watch Jamie and friends surf the best swells of the year from Tahiti to Mexico including the biggest South swell in more than a decade. Shopping carts, water-skis, rafts, and the infamous Supsquatch are just part of the best quiver ever assembled by a rag tag surf bunch affectionately known as #TeamGrom. Plus, the absolute best antics from his sidekick Poopies and their daring crew.

The uplifting art of Tom Veiga….

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We first became aware of Tom’s work this spring. We liked the colour and composition very much so we though we better catch up with the Brazilian artist and his inspiring work…

My name is…
Tom Veiga. I’m 34 years old, married and have two small children and I live in Garopaba on the southern coast of Brazil.

My passion for waves came…
In 2005. I worked as an art director at a design agency and lived away from the beach, but I always lived with my head in the waves. I began to create wave art in my spare time as a hobby. Just for fun at first but it grew, and I kept developing until I managed to create a style to interpret my waves. I increasingly devoted more and more spare time to drawing my waves until my first exhibitions began to appear and I started my first projects with surf brands. In 2012 I left the agency and went to live art.

I got into wave art because…
God made the sea perfectly, the flat sea is beautiful, the sea by itself is inspiring but when I see a wave coming on the horizon it is as if the sea has smiled at me and it inspires me to reflect these times.
Each wave around the world has a unique feature, big waves, small, high, low, wide, thin, hot, cold, blue, green. There are waves of all shapes. My passion is to be able to reflect most of these characteristics together in each wave with the least possible lines, using only curves and colours. My job is to interpret through my minimalism the characteristics of each wave around the world. That it is my challenge.

If you want to see more of my work…
I have already sent my art to more than 40 countries. It is a great joy because I did not think that my work would get in so many different countries and many places don’t have waves, so my art also brings a bit of the ocean to the homes of passionate surfers.

I have done exhibitions in Brazil where I live as well as Argentina, France, Spain, USA and Japan. And had the opportunity to do some projects with brands like Billabong Europe, Reef and Globe in California and Brazil as well as Havaianas and Mormaii.

I have also done many projects in conjunction with Surfrider and Save the Waves, because I believe that we have the mission as artists to support projects that have a greater purpose than the commercial, like the preservation of our oceans and beaches.

See more at www.facebook.com/TomVeigaSurfart

Silver


A summer Sunday, late afternoon, nobody in sight except for a few friends ready to take it on until the sun is ready to check out.

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