Tales of surfers from the edge of the Australian continent and fringes of society, who through their unique relationships with the ocean have discovered who they want to be and the way they want to live. They ride on their own terms, for the pure, simple stoke of it, and each wave is another step on the path to self-discovery.
The O’Riginals are artist Billy Bain, design student Dan Johnson and gardener Lachie Rombouts.
PART 1: BILLY BAIN
In an alternate universe, Billy Bain may have gone on to be an elite professional surfer. He cut his teeth in junior contests and enjoyed success, the thrill of sponsorship and even a few magazine spreads. The future was seemingly laid out before him, but inside there was conflict. Billy wanted to draw and paint.
The O’Riginals Part 1 follows Billy’s story from up-coming grommet through to his decision to leave his suburban beach home and move to the city. It captures the struggles that came as he tried to adjust, and eventually the acceptance that he was on the right path and that he hadn’t abandoned surfing, but rather, he’d embraced in a new way that was even more fulfilling.
“Like so many kids who show promise as talented juniors, their journey with surfing doesn’t just stop when they finally decide the contest rash vest isn’t for them. If anything, it’s just getting started, that’s what makes Billy’s journey so cool. That – and the fact he’s doing it on his own terms,” said O’Riginals director Vaughan Blakey.
Mick Fanning is jumping out of his skin. It’s taken four days to get here and waking to the sight of six-to-eight foot A-frames unloading right in front of the camp has got the three-time World Champ’s blood at maximum fizz.
He suits up, skips down the boulders, jumps in a rip and is swept towards the impact zone just as the first true set of the morning begins stampeding over the horizon. Collision is inevitable. Line after line of unimpeded ocean power aims to unload directly onto the famous blond cranium of Kirra’s favourite son. As we watch Mick get obliterated, Mason Ho stops waxing his 6’4”, returns it to his board bag and picks up a knifey looking 6’8” pintail. “It’s a lot bigger than it looks out there, huh,” he says with a smile that’s all eyebrows. “Brah… the Search has delivered again!”…
Welcome to Rip Curl’s latest episode of #TheSearch, Outer Inner Space. More HERE.
Not every day you see people surfing in bikinis and boardies in North Wales. But this was the scene when the O’Neill youth hit Surf Snowdonia to get a wave riding fix after a surf light June.
The crew hacked, slid, flew, dropped, laughed and just had a ball in the new Med style weather we now have. Dive in to see Lukas Skinner nearly go in to orbit, see them answer the question as to whether it’s possible to acid drop in to the wave and if that little dry runner in the corner is rideable.
If you’re a young surfer aged between 13 and 17 you can win an all expenses paid weekend in Snowdonia with only flipping Jordy Smith at the end of September!
Details HERE…
This winter was a big one for me, the first time in my career where I had self funded everything and I was hungry to score some good waves and content, I wanted to prove to myself that I was good enough but also show other people that I could surf too.
Before I knew it September came around and G-Man gave me a call telling me there was a swell coming in. I flew across the same day and stumbled into a fortnight of the best waves I’d ever seen. I’ve been going to Ireland during the winter since I was 15 thanks to the kindness of the McDaids and what turned into a quick visit accidentally turned into three months, which was actually cut short because I tore my hamstring tendon connecting to my knee via a tasty 10ft lip landing on my leg, but hey few months later when I started to walk again I was back out there! Every time I go to Ireland I meet more and more of the locals and they have all been so welcoming and humble to me, it feels like a home from home.
Scoring waves and getting content during the UK’s winter months is damn frustrating. Pumping surf but unfilmable sessions hidden within the months of howling wind and rain, but then there’s an hour period when the weather gives you your golden ticket and it all becomes worth it.
We chased swells across Ireland, Scotland, Kernow, England, and Portugal, by this time my summer job savings were running low, so I was in full budget mode living off strictly pastal de natas and Ucal chocolate milk, not the healthiest time of my life but we were scoring waves and that’s all that mattered. My love for pastal de natas died during a dawn surf check that ended in Lidl bakery and after spending 6 euro on 15 custard gems, because the boys insisted it was impossible, I attempted to eat them. A slight dizziness and dry heaving in the car park but apart from that … challenge complete.
Budgeting in Ireland isn’t hard as long as you have a chicken fillet roll a day you should have enough money backed up for a few Guinness with the lads on a Saturday night. It was a funny one because every time we chase a swell or a day this winter we always came back unsatisfied after being squished for the fourth time in a row then a handful of times average sessions would just turn on and that’s what this edit came down to, a couple sessions here and there, but you never know when these magic moments will be, I guess why that makes them so special.
Big shout out to Clem for all his hard work behind the lens! Also to all my other Irish crew, the Strandhill massive, Bundoran boys, and the Lahinch lads for being so welcoming and friendly. I’d also like to thank the McDaids, the Pearces, Josie, mum, Fourth Surfboards, Xcel, FCS and all my other close friends in Kernow for their love and support.
This edit is just a little teaser for what is coming, I feel like I haven’t released anything since I was 16 and doing cutbacks at high tide Fistral isn’t really an edit ha-ha! I would love to have some backing and support to really show what I can do. Angus Scotney
