Worm: Spring Sessions

Fats Domino - I'm Ready [2001, Subtitled]

"Inspiration..." Part One

HANG TEN Nº4

The Blasters - So long baby goodbye

A-PHONICS - Desert dels Marcians

Noseriding: the art of balance in surfing..BY SURFER TODAY.COM

Noseriding: the art of balance in surfing

28 June 2013 | Surfing

Noseriding is the ultimate maneuver in classic surfing. The art of hanging five and ten toes was born in the early 1950s, but has been conquering new grounds and enthusiasts in the modern world.

Longboarders say it's one of the most accomplished maneuvers in surfing. Noseriding is a wide concept involving a large number of maneuvers and tricks.
Hang Ten, Hang Five, Stretch Five, Hang Heels, Front Foot/Heel Hang and Back Foot/Heel hang are some of the variations of noseriding, a maneuver best performed on waves around head-high, or less in size.
David Nuuhiwa, Corky Carroll, Paul Strauch, Lance Carson, Rabbit Kakai, Matt Kivlin, Joe Quigg, Mike Doyle, Dale Velzy and others were the pioneers of riding in the forward half of the surfboards. All the weight on the tip of the plank. How could it be possible?
In the early days, surfers tested their balance skills in small waves, by slowly cross-stepping across the board. The Hang Five was successfully completed, and then the Hang Ten.
"A sport within the sport", wrote Bill Cleary, in 1963. Surf judges started counting the number of seconds spent on the nose of the surfboard. Ten consecutive seconds would be a great achievement.
There were also tricks to shape the best surfboards for noseriding. An extra-wide front end for increased lift and stability, concave under the nose, light boards, rocker and thickness combinations, and even fin design have been tested to improve the experience.
In noseriding, the surfboard cuts through the water. Once on the front end, the entire surfboard behind becomes emerged on the water, most times. The front of the board generates lift to counterbalance the weight of the surfer.
In 1965, Tom Morey, the inventor and pioneer of bodyboarding, organized The Morey Invitational, a surfing competition that would crown the rider who would spend the most time on the nose, over the course of 21 rides. Mickey Munoz won the regular foot category with 67 seconds, while Corky Carroll conquered the goofy-footer division with 62.2 seconds.
The contemporary generation of noseriders include Joel Tudor, CJ Nelson, Tom Wegener and Chad Marshall. Kelia Moniz, Belinda Baggs, Chloe Calmon and Kassia Meador are some of the best noseriding in the female field.
The first ever Malibu NoseRiding Championship takes place in California, in October 2013.

BY: http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/8972-noseriding-the-art-of-balance-in-surfing&usg=ALkJrhjJbUGkWy0GK8Qp5-irX2sFfPdSlg

BEACH PARTY TRIBUTE!

Modern longboarding: the art of the cool....Surfer today .com

Modern longboarding: the art of the cool

Is longboarding a sport itself? Is riding single fin boards a different art? Could longboarding also be called surfing? Why do longboarders tend to ride away from the contemporary surfing world?

Today, when we think about longboarding, we often blend two different worlds: ultra-competitive log riding with complex and heavy maneuvers, and ultra-retro, traditional longboard activities, in which style rules the line-up.
On one side, the professional approach delivered by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) and the International Surfing Association (ISA). Compete, improve, win.
The competitive rules for longboarders have board requirements. They say that the length should at least 9 feet, measured from the nose to tail on the deck of the surfboard. Traditional Malibu models with multiple fins and channels are allowed, too.
Commitment, degree of difficulty, variety of traditional and modern maneuvers, use of footwork on the board, speed, power, style and flow, and combination of major maneuvers. That's what it takes to crown a longboard champion.
On the other side of the log club, meet the new traditionalists, those who are trying to bring longboarding to its original roots. These conservative loggers have peculiar guidelines, beliefs, values, and lifestyles.
Led by Joel Tudor, an impeccable wave rider who got tired of the modern way the surf industry approaches his sport, the classic stylers of longboarding are trying to get back to the past.
"With riding a longboard, there's a really beautiful part of it, and that's like, the trimming, the noseriding... When I was competing they almost wanted to discredit that whole part of it as being uncool. They were losing sight of what separated us in the first place and made it cool", Joel Tudor explains in "The Ductumentary".
For modern, old-school noseriders, style is everything. Style is an obsession, a religion with waves in the center of the sport.
Traditional longboarders get tired of noseriding, too, because they believe there is more to the art of single fin management, than just perfect Hang Five and Hang Tens.
In the longboarding world, being cool is not as easy as it appears in surf videos. You got to be simple, clean, creative in trimming, while based on style and "design".
Sharing waves and exchanging boards during longboard meeting is compulsory. You shouldn't use the words "contest" or "competition". Joel Tudor founded The Duct Tape Invitational. Classy.
These retro surfing intellectuals have also different visions of what the perfect wave is. In fact, they believe the best wave does not get over the chest-high level.
The stylish logger mentality also requires a full commitment to the no-leash vow. Forget interference calls and heat points. Most important of all: don't get caught riding a thruster, in a two-foot day, at Malibu. It would be the mortal sin of the modern logger.
Critics underline the excessive emphasis on style, as well as the hipster hype behind the neo old-school longboard movement. But style may well be the most attractive feat for the next couple of decades. Are you up and logging?
Discover "Longboarder's Start-Up: A Guide to Longboard Surfing".

BY: http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/9572-modern-longboarding-the-art-of-the-cool

1950s 60s Biker Surf Cult Classic Montage!

SURF A PIG IN Blue Magazine Japan......GREAT ARTICLE!!!!

Blue Magazine Japan!!!!!!!

look ma! there is stuff written about me!

matt's write up.
check the video, it gives you an idea about the magnitude of the articles Junko and Takashi put together. I am so honored to be a part of this.

below is a translation of the article:

An ancestor of modern surfboard designs Restoration of PIG   A guy called Mike Black is the source of the message   Right now arising from a blog generated in Southern California are indications of a revival of the standard Pig. Centering in Southern California, people with Pig Fever are steadily increasing in number. It looks like the source of the infection is this maniac blog. He is the ringleader of this Pig Movement, and (probably) the world’s number one lover of Pigs.   It somehow always existed in the surf scene, but until now a Pig Movement had difficulty surfacing. To those who know, pigs have a unique, recognizable outline, but it seems that most people only see a simple longboard. Even photographers who are shooting icons of this movement, such as Alex Knost and Robbie Kegel, riding pigs frequently don’t notice the difference. Editors are the same. Because they don’t have designs which are noticeably different at a glance as do the Fish and Alaia, it is difficult to see tangible signs in the media.   Moreover, there is a reason that pigs will not become caught up in a global type movement encompassing places such as Hawaii and Australia. That is that one can’t enjoy them unless it is a Southern California type of wave. With the exception of one spot in a place like Waikiki, one can’t expect that this movement will rise in Hawaii, which has wave qualities the exact opposite of what is most appropriate for pigs. On the other hand, basically since the short board revolution in Australia, which is the basis of evaluation, with the exception of some log freaks in one part of Noosa and Byron Bay, log culture is essentially out of sight, out of mind. Of course, even within California, the farther north you go, the lower the penetration rate of pigs becomes. Michel Junod of Santa Cruz says, “In this area there are various things that lead the mavericks. In Southern California wave quality, culture and quiver differ greatly.”   Having said that, it is unnecessary to be conscious of the limits of the movement. Rather, to the contrary, if one at least understands the Southern California type of wave quality and logging, then it is possible to love pigs anywhere. For example, there are many followers of the Southern California movement in Japan and Europe, and in places where wave quality is relatively present, pigs are probably accepted as the best trim board.   Well, there is a person who plays a central role in that kind of Southern California Pig Movement. “Surf a Pig” also provides links to board design forums, as well as support to pig freaks around the world. It has secretly, quietly expanded the range worldwide a little at a time.   The beginning of a long trip looking for pigs   Mike Black is not even a pro surfer or a shaper. He is, of course, not even a surfing journalist. On this point, he differs from industry people like Derek Hynd and Richard Kenvin for the fish or Tom Wegener for the alaia who have skillfully used the media to plant the spark for their movements. “I am not a surf world person. My occupation is a math teacher. I am just a regular surfer,” says Mike. In the end surfing is no more than a hobby for him.   He is originally from Texas. Because his grandfather’s brothers lived in San Clemente, he often came to California with his family and camped in San Onofre. However, he was completely ignorant of surf culture. In 1988 he drove to California by himself using money he had saved up. It is a three stringer pintail board with a narrow nose and a wide point aft of center , with the entire length being full belly. On this board Mike surfed at San Onofre, and then after returning home to Texas, continued to surf. This is what he used to learn how to surf on a single fin longboard. When he moved to California in 1996, he brought this board with him. It was in bad shape, so he had Tyler Hatzikian, who he knew through a friend, overhaul the board.   After that, for a while, his eye drifted to stylish nose riding surfing on a Nuuhiva type of nose rider, but in the end he returned to the pig. “Basically I use a parallel stance, and I don't really do cool tricks or anything on the nose. Since becoming an adult and becoming wiser, when I understood what it is that I really like, I noticed that I really want an old style D fin pig.” From this, Mike’s long journey to find a real pig began.   First he looked on the internet for a bing, but a vintage bing was too expensive. He then decided to order a present day bing. The shaper was Matt Calvani. Mike’s order was for an offset stringer with a resin panel in a particular shade of green, 10 ounce Volan Cloth, 10 foot pig. Matt made the pig to Mike’s specifications. “I was satisfied to finally have a real pig in my hands. On the day that I received that pig, I got the “surf a pig” domain name and started my blog. I put a photo that I had taken of Matt Calvani’s pig on it.”  This is how in 2008 the extreme maniac blog “surf a pig” started.   The Shared Consciousness of the Mania to which the Blog Gave Birth  Led by Matt Calvani’s pig, Mike obtained various shapers’ pigs, such as those of Lance Carson, Jim Phillips and Dano, and compared how they rode. He tasted each one of the different designs, and while slowly ruminating, came to understand how a D fin functions, the perfect feeling of fitting in a pocket, and the peculiar sensations of a pig. After that, in an exchange he had been having with Gene Cooper, he requested a shape. Gene was not keen at first, but readily revised his evaluation of pigs after seeing Mike’s riding. This is how Mike’s model, the Blackboard, was born. It is extremely unusual for a surfboard model to be made for an amateur anonymous surfer. However, Mike’s extensive knowledge of pigs, his clear vision of the ideal shape and his passion were on par of a pro surfer.   Each of the boards that he has obtained or for various reasons had to let go has a story. There is a board that didn’t feel right. There is a board that he doesn’t want to ever let go. There is a difficult board that he came to understand painfully and conquered after a long time. Regardless that they are all pigs, the same variety of surfboard, why do they each differ in their ride and character??? After surfing, there was a time when he was at wit’s end. However, this, for him, is the attraction of a pig. He is not a shaper, but he has an enormous amount of first hand experience with the relationship between design and function in the water, and also the feeling for the ride of the board under one’s feet. He has patiently gained a feeling for how the actual function changes depending upon the things like the template, full rail or not, the volume of the form, and balance. For that reason, he gets great joy when he finally gets that board made. This stoked feeling is directly uploaded to the blog, so a lot of people feel that real joy with him. Because there is little information or resources on pigs, even though “surf a pig” is an amateur production, because of Mike’s own learning and growth, it has given birth to many similarly minded people. “I frequently receive emails from people who are looking at the blog. They say, “I’m making this.” “I think this.” “Look at my pig.” “I restored it like this.” Each one has his or her own answer as to what a pig is. I like pigs, but just by having some experience riding them, I am not an expert in them. If I’m asked, I’ll tell my opinion and my preferences, but I also like hearing other people’s opinions. Even when sometimes I don’t have the same opinion, it becomes a resource for the people who are looking (at my blog). For me, it’s good if the post supplies comparative information on pig sense. This is what this blog is about, and I am thinking it is an honor to be able to do that.”  Potential growth of Pig Mania If you look at Alex Knost or Robbie Kegel, Cody Simpkins, you can believe that the fuel for this movement was there before, but the type of pig that they like to ride and the type that Mike pursues are clearly different. In comparison to the relatively modern pig that young surfers favor, Mike is undoubtedly pursuing a pig that has historical value. He got into pigs just three years ago, but in that time, he has knocked on the doors of a lot of shapers and he has been able to have shaped what he has told them what he personally has been looking for in an ideal pig. This passion has come through in the blog and transmitted to a lot of people, and has caused a lot of people to become interested in pigs. When a surf icon briskly hops aboard making a board design explosively popular, the quality and structure of the movement is fundamentally different. The drama of the revival of the pig these days is, by one definition, part of the soil. However, for that reason, one can also say that it is stable. While looking at “surf a pig,” the outline of a pig looks at first unexciting and then mysteriously gradually becomes beautiful. As such, there may be the potential for pig mania to increase around the world. Formidable, Mike Black’s pig fever. That infectious fever is also starting to spread further now.  Mike Black Born in 1972 in Texas. Started surfing in 1987, moved to California in 1996. Fell for old Pigs, and started a blog, “Surf a pig” in 2008. His main occupation is as a math teacher, but he has the face of an independent filmmaker and also produced works called “Invasion! From Planet C” and “Jazz the Glass.”   What Mike Black Considers to Be the Five Elements of a Pig   Having a narrow nose  Having wide point in the rear   Having a full rail Having a flat rocker   Having a slight belly bottom along the full length (a belly that is rolling)   Having a D fin and wide tail block attached to the end of the tail    BY: http://surfapig.blogspot.com.es/2011/07/blue-magazine-japan.html

Screaming Lord Sutch, Rockin' at The Towers 1983

Hobie Story - Part 1

Knost x Ellis | Bali

Knost x Ellis | Bali from RVCA on Vimeo.

1 Day / 2 Sessions in Bali with RVCA Advocates Alex Knost and Ellis Ericson. Video by Jimmy Jazz James, Song: TV California by Cosmonauts courtesy of Burger Records.

RVCA | Indonesia: rvca.com/b/post/rvca-indonesia-2015

Flama Surfboards VS Montjuich Surfboards... Por Surfyviajes.com

Flama Surfboards VS Montjuich Surfboards

Turno en esta ocasión para dos shapers que comparten taller en “Premiá de mar”, muy cerca de la playa en Barcelona, leyendo su entrevista te das cuenta de que saben bien de lo que hablan y de que llevan mucho tiempo metidos en esto del arte del shape.
Sergi y Didac, “enfrentados”, en lo que serà un duelo de palabras sin precedentes.
¿Cómo fueron vuestros inicios en esto del shape?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Yo empecé a los 19 años, después de darme cuenta que mi Full&Cas de casi 8 pies era insuficiente y que no habría nadie en la península que pudiera hacerme una réplica de una tabla de 1963. Siete años después empecé a dedicarme profesionalmente  a shapear y laminar tablas.
Flama Surf: Siempre había querido fabricarme mi propia tabla, pero todo el tema del laminado, toda esa parte de química, me echaba para atràs. Hacía años que trabajaba la madera y cuando descubrí la paulownia y las posibilidades que ofrecía para la construcción de tablas, me volqué por completo.
¿Cuánto tiempo lleváis construyendo tablas?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Profesionalmente desde 2003.
Flama Surf: El proyecto Flama empezó en 2010. Y llevamos tres años compartiendo instalaciones con Montjuich.

¿Cúal es el diseño del cual estáis más orgullosos?
Montjuich SurfBoards: La verdad es que al sólo reinterpretar diseños de época, lo que me hace sentir orgulloso es aproximarme al máximo tanto técnica como estéticamente a los conceptos de época. El modelo Monte Katum, que es una relectura del Bing Nuuhiwa noserider es el que más se me vende, con lo cual orgulloso de él debiera estar.
Flama Surf:  Una minisimmons 5’3″x 22 x 2 3/4 que hice hace 3 años, que va como un tiro. Es un diseño muy particular y caprichoso, al que cuesta acostumbrarse. Pero si lo que te va es ir a toda mecha, trazar líneas ámplias y carvear, deberías probar una minisimmons!
¿Tenéis tiempo de probar vuestras creaciones?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Algunos modelos se los dejo probar a test riders –sobretodo los modelos por debajo de 9 pies-, y los que son más pesados y voluminosos, me gusta testarlos con calma en Francia, con el feedback de riders locales.
Flama Surf: Lo que no tenemos es olas! Mediterranean sucks.
¿Con que tipo de tabla surfeais habitualmente?
Montjuich SurfBoards: En este momento voy desde un handplane Flama (mejor que algunas de mis tablas, ajajajaja), tambien tengo un kneeboard 4 y pico, un 9’3’’, pero ahora tengo a medio hacer un 10’2’’ de 15 kilos para las condiciones que me gusta: baboso y mediometrero. Tambien se puede incluir un 11’2’’ para remada de larga distancia que es muy agradecido para coger ondulaciones de barco oojjojojojo.
Flama Surf: Esa misma minisimmons en todo tipo de condiciones, aunque tengo naves distintas para todo tipo de condiciones. Surfear tablas distintas amplía la experiencia y te devuelve la ilusión por aprender y seguir enganchado.
¿Cuánto tiempo lleva la construcción de una tabla?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Depende del modelo y la virguería que me pida el cliente. De 15 a 30 horas.
Flama Surf: En mi caso empiezo fabricando el blank (que viene a ser como un cajón hueco y estanco, con outline y rocker ya definidos), lo que lleva unas 8/10h. Luego se shapea la tabla (4 a 6h) del mismo modo y con las mismas herramientas que si fuera de foam, pero con la diferencia de que al final no hay que laminar, y solo se le aplican unas manos de barniz. Esto me permite comercializar tanto tablas acabadas como blanks para que te los shapees tu mismo (en tu casa, o haciendo un workshop en nuestro taller).
¿Cómo afecta la forma del shape a la hora de surfear?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Afecta tanto… y más si lo combinamos, con el peso, el tipo de laminado, y el tipo de quilla, más la habilidad real del surfer, más el tipo de ola que realmente se surfea que a la hora de hacer pedido has de ser tan buen shaper como psicólogo.
Flama Surf: Exactamente del mismo modo como afecta conducir sobre dos, tres, cuatro ruedas. El shape lo es todo. Tanto las dimensiones como el resto de elementos hidrodinámicos de la tabla (cantos, rocker, cóncavos, quillas…) deberían hacerse acorde a las necesidades del surfista. Lo más importante en el momento de pillarte una tabla nueva debería ser: 1- saber las olas que vas surfear sobre esa tabla (grandes, pequeñas, tubos, fofas, o un poco de todo…). Y,  2- reconocer de forma sincera el nivel de surf que tienes y ¡aceptar que nunca serás Kelly Slater! Y recuerda: no hay tablas malas, solo surfistas malos.
¿Qué tabla recomendáis a un principiante?
Montjuic SurfBoards: Alejándome del concepto clásico, a todos los clientes que se inician, dependiendo de su complexión, siempre les recomiendo tabla neutra de iniciación a partir de 6’6’’ hasta 7’2’’. Siempre les digo que puestos a pecar, pequen de exceso (de volumen y de medidas). Llevo tantos años viendo como principiantes se compran papeles de fumar con lo que arruinan su entrada en el surf, que soy muy machacón en este aspecto.
Flama Surf: Cualquier cosa que flote mucho y sea estable. Las tablas de escuela son ideales para aprender. Y mucha gente comete el error de cambiar su tabla de escuela por una más “moderna” tan pronto como aprenden a coger la pared. Creen que así podrán hacer más maniobras, cuando en realidad es todo lo contrario: les costará más coger olas y lo pasarán mal intentando controlar un caballo desbocado.
¿Cuándo recomendáis cambiar de tabla?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Sobretodo nunca cambiarla hasta haberle sacado el máximo jugo. Hasta que el surfer no tiene verdadero criterio, se quiere cambiar de tabla cuando ya se pone de pie y hace algún giro. Cuando el nivel del surfer ya es a prueba de bomba, ya sea por ampliar quiver, pro probar cosas nuevas o porque tiene un bolsillo holgado, uno ya puede cambiar de tabla cuando quiera.
Flama Surf: Pues cuando salgas del agua frustrado y cabreado por no haber pillado una ola, o por haber surfeado fatal. Puede que el motivo sea que andabas con una tabla equivocada: o bien porque las condiciones pedían una tabla distinta, o bien porque te empeñaste en comprarte el último modelo de Dane Reynolds.
¿Cual es vuestro spot favorito?
Montjuic SurfBoards: Aquel que en mi día festivo no me encuentre clientela en el agua y pueda recordar que las tablas en el agua dan buenos momentos.
Flama Surf: No os lo voy a decir.
¿Pre-shape o shape desde 0?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Por principios shape a mano, pero por funcionalidad respeto a todo aquel que utiliza máquina de preshape. A los que nos dedicamos a un modelo artesanal de taller, no tiene mucho sentido la máquina, pero si se quiere hacer mucha producción a coste mínimo es necesario el preshape.
Flama Surf: ¿pre qué? Yo lo que tengo es una fresadora de rockers  y una prensa manual que me tuve que construir expresamente para poder hacer mis tablas huecas. Vamos, que aquí todo se hace manualmente.

¿Cúal es el mejor material para fabricar una tabla?
Montjuic SurfBoards: Suelo usar espumas, resina y fibra que ya son standars de la industria. El foam US, Just, Burford, Walker son buena opción. En resina la Silmar o la Cray Valley es lo suyo, y por supuesto Hexcel es la opción en cuanto a fibra.
Flama Surf: Los humanos llevamos dos siglos produciendo cantidades ingentes de mierda, lo hemos contaminado todo –tierra, mar y aire– hasta el extremo que nuestra propia supervivencia está en peligro. Ya no la podemos cagar más, se nos acaba el tiempo. Por lo tanto, el mejor material debería ser aquel que desde su obtención hasta el fin de su ciclo de vida, deje el menor impacto sobre el medio ambiente. Y no me refiero solo a la madera: foams de origen orgánico, fibras y resinas naturales de origen vegetal son ya una realidad. Lo que hace falta es la voluntad de la industria y la exigencia de los consumidores.
¿Qué es lo que nunca falta en vuestro taller?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Mucho polvo, muchas visitas, muchos olores, y por supuesto muchas tablas.
Flama Surf: Polvo, mucho, mucho polvo. 

¿Qué les diríais a la gente que esta empezando a construir tablas?
Montjuich SurfBoards: Que como todo oficio artesano, se aprende de forma gradual a base de picar piedra y cometer errores. Nadie nace enseñado, y no hay ciclos formativos para “hacer tablas”. La experiencia, la única manera de conseguirla es a base de reiteración y convicción, y además, hoy día con toda la información en internet, no hay excusa para no saber la base. Ojalá hubiera tenido un turorial en Youtube a mediados de los años 90.
Flama Surf: lamentablemente, la competencia asiática y la industrialización de los procesos de fabricación de tablas –y cualquier otro producto–, hacen del trabajo artesano un mal negocio. A menos que seas discípulo de algún shaper gurú, la única posibilidad de subsistir como shaper es ofrecer un producto distinto, específico y totalmente personalizado. La parte romántica queda pronto cubierta por una gruesa capa de polvo.    
¿Dónde podemos encontraros para encargaros una tabla?
Montjuic SurfBoards: En nuestro taller a tiro de piedra de la playa, en Premià, a 20 minutos de Barcelona City. www.montjuichboards.com/donde.html
Flama Surf: En nuestro taller a tiro de piedra de la playa, en Premià, a 20 minutos de Barcelona City. Y en www.flamasurf.com
Algo que decir para finalizar,
Montjuic SurfBoards: ¡¡¡Qué no haya miedo a la hora de probar tablas diferentes!!! Todo funciona y todo depende de la subjetividad del surfer. No hay ni materiales ni diseños ni mejores ni peores, sino diferentes. En nuestras costas ya hemos estado muchos años bajo la dictadura de los estereotipos de la industria. Ya hace unos años que esto ya está cambiando.
Flama Surf: Firmo el comentario de Montjuich. Y aún añadiría más: déjate de historias, abre tu mente. Métete un día revuelto con un handplane y unas aletas y serás el más feliz de la tierra. Garantizado.


POR: http://surfyviajes.com/el-arte-del-shape-flama-surfboards-vs-montjuich-surfboards/

Els A-phonics: Albufera Stomp

Invasion! From Planet C Selected Surf Clips

Mike Black: Mining the Stoke

Back in 2006, tired of my corporate career and carpeted cubicle, I decided to pursue a more enjoyable means of earning a living. I found myself at Cheka-Looka Surf Shop…scraping the wax off rental boards, trying to convince the guys I was slightly more than a kook. After a brief hazing from Jeff and Bubba, I was told I had the job…under one condition…I needed to go home that night and watch the greatest surf movie of all time: Invasion From Planet C.
Since then, we’ve shown the film at numerous surf movie nights and birthday parties. If you haven’t seen Invasion From Planet C, you need to… but first read our interview with the brainchild behind it, Mike Black.
Mike Black: Surfer, Interplanetary traveler, Math teacher
How long have you been surfing?
25 years.
Any favorite surf spots?
any clean empty point.
Ever surfed in the Pacific Northwest?
I have had the pleasure. My buddy lived in Cannon Beach. We scored some beautiful little peelers in some amazing settings around there.

How did the Bing Feral Pig, come to be?
I have ridden and owned many pigs in my life. Reynolds Yater, Hap Jacobs, and Dale Velzy are a few of the craftsmen that come to mind when I reflect on who shaped some of them. I run Surf-A-Pig, a website devoted to pig surfboards. I constantly receive many emails from all around the world that contain stories and photos of people making and riding pig surfboards.
I love the way a pig rides. In the beginning of 2009 I sold my quiver of “nose rider” logs in an effort to fund a new quiver of pigs. I wanted to see what was currently being made in the swine family. With the proceeds from this sell I went straight to Matt. At the time, I didn’t know that much about pigs, but I knew Matt was the go to guy. Matt shaped me a beautiful board that treated me well. So well, I will not sell it. Ever. Although this BING Matt shaped me was an AMAZING board, I started poking around to see who else was doing what.
Enter August 2011. I have been exclusively riding pig boards for over 3 years. I approach Matt again. I ask him if we can put some kind of collaboration together. I feel like I have significant experiences that might be able to contribute to designing the ideal pig board, I feel like he has the skill and the foundation to execute what I am thinking about. I bring over many pigs from my herd. I tell him what experiences I had on the boards. Additionally I show him video and photos of how the boards preformed and in what conditions the preformed in. He takes it all in. We pass some numbers back and forth, and some ideas for the aesthetic of the finish.
Matt gets after it. He shapes it. I am there and observe it all. I am so stoked and full of anticipation.
Finally the board is finished. When I go to grab it from the shop… as soon as my hands touch it, I know it is perfectly balanced. Sometimes you know a board is perfect just by feeling the rail. This was that. I get it in the water. My first session was in thigh high pier dumpers. Even in these meager conditions, I knew this board was AMAZING. The next morning I get it on some clean waves. Immediately I felt this board was the single best board I had ever rode. By my third session I was beside myself with the board’s functionality. This is the one board quiver. Matt is a magician.
How long have you been teaching, and what turned you on to that profession?
I’ve been teaching for 15 years. I never thought “when I grow up, I want to be a teacher!” Rather, after I received my M.A. in Pure Math from UCSB, I suffered a head injury while surfing some AMAZING glassy walls at Rincon. Simultaneously during this time of life…the time right after I graduated, as I was trying to find out what to do with my theoretical math degree, I was working at Clyde Beatty’s glass shop in Santa Barbara. The head injury made me realize life is short, and I should do more than “huff resin”. I heard Long Beach was hiring un credentialed teachers, I got a job with them, and have since learned teaching is my calling.
Can you please define the quadratic formula?
The quadratic formula is a collection of symbols humans use to model objects subject to gravity.

How did you meet your partner in Stoke Films, David Potter?
I befriended his brother in college. His brother was friends with my friends neighbors.
When did you first get involved with film?
David Potter had me acting in some of his adult humor projects. From being around David, I started to think about stories and writing. David is an amazing artist, a technical wizard.
In your interview with Liquid Salt, you mentioned a “Bollywood-style motorcycle bounty hunter surf story project”…anything come of that?
Not yet. We have some amazing scripts floating around. David and I are great friends and enjoy working with each other, but both of us are more focused on other projects right now.
The logistics of filming , editing, marketing, and distributing your own product are painful to say the least. I am very proud we pulled off the projects we have, and I hope to have more collaborative work with David in the future.
Any favorite surf flicks?
You know , I really don’t watch surf flicks. I really enjoy watching empty waves break. I swear if someone made a flick full of empty point surf from all around the planet, that shit would be on all the time. Like a video of logs burning.
I understand you’re currently working on a sequel to Invasion From Planet C…
Ok, I made that up…but now the seed has been planted. ;) What’s on the schedule for you and/or Stoke Films in 2012?
Currently David and I are laying low. David has a super crazy project that I acted in being finished. Hopefully that will be out soon. We’ll see!
Mike was nice enough to send us over a few copies of Invasion From Planet C. You can pick one up for yourself, here. When Gnar-Gnars not in the water or manning the classroom, he maintains a pretty killer blog…dedicated to boards with meat & D-fins. Check out Surf a Pig.
Blast it!
– Shawn

BY: http://stokeharvester.com/mike-black-mining-the-stoke-2/

 

THE LAB WITH MIKE BLACK by SLIDE MAGAZINE

THE LAB WITH MIKE BLACK

Story and Photos by Justin Coffey

What drives a man? You might ask Mike Black. He seems to be fueled by fire, or perhaps Pliny the Elder. He's someone I hold in high regard, set atop some kind of surfing-meets-science pedestal floating above a slow, peeling, righthand pointbreak – pig perfect. He's a math teacher, a father, and a friend. He surfs pigs, shoots long rifles, enjoys an IPA, and is an integral part of the progression of my surfing. To tell you the entire tale would take too long and, honestly, it'd be best told above a beer. That said, I think it's important to shed some light on “The Lab.”

Nestled in a white picket fence, yoga mom type neighborhood, The Lab takes up two-thirds of what was once a two-car garage – the other third occupied by an assortment of princess paraphernalia and a 15’-by-8’ chalkboard where Mike does math… and doodles. Four pig-shaped surfboards are perched on the wall to the left as you enter; three other boards occupy the space above a small desk on the opposite wall. 

Oil paintings and other interesting art, as well as words of wisdom and an eclectic mix of things, both known and unknown, are scattered around the room. An octopus light sits on the desk, one eye covered by a beer cap. Pictures of pigs and people surfing pigs hang in the free spaces between boards, while a meteorite that Mike found as a kid hangs from the garage door opening device. Eclectic is an understatement.

We downed a tall brown bottle of Ballast Point and then plotted our search for Pliny the Elder, a much sought after IPA. Tom, Mike’s old mate, came through the back door with wonderful news: the pretentious pizza place down the street (no idea the name) had Pliny on tap, for a limited time. Onward!

One dog, one daughter, and four dudes, most eager for an IPA, and maybe some tiny corndogs. We ate kumquats from a tall tree in the parking lot before taking the first table within our reach. An odd bunch, undoubtedly. Mike’s daughter took “photos” with her toy ATM while Tom ordered a round (which, unfortunately, our hostess dropped in a mighty mess). One round turned to three and conversation bounced. By the time we paid for our Pliny, all three of us were feeling the effect. We wandered back to the The Lab, eating more foraged fruit and chatting about the power of Pliny.

Here’s where things got good...

There was this game – I can’t remember the name – it involved a metal loop attached to some string that hung from the ceiling, as well as a hook in the tool closet across the room and a long sheet of paper upon which Mike had written the rules. Something about a pirate, or a man who’d lost three fingers? I can’t be certain. We swung the metal circle. “MISSFIRE!” must be shouted before the pendulum swings past half. Ten tries, with an abacus at either end to keep track of how many times you’ve looped the hook, or whatever.

Tom cooked chicken. We stuffed our faces and licked our fingers. Then we sat in a circle and consumed a custom Rice Krispie, after which we all lost our minds. Or so it seemed. Shortly thereafter, Mike took down a well-read copy of Natural History written by our famous beer brother, Gaius Plinius Secundus (see: Pliny the Elder). Mike read from within – ideas, inspiration, the seemingly obvious, something about suicide – and then, after a few hours and perhaps additional IPAs, the part which Mike felt was most important: “God is man helping men. This is the way to everything glory.”

Sliding of the swine…

The next morning the sound of big white knuckles knocking on a window awoke me. I peeled my face from my pillow and peered out the side window of the van, which faced west toward the water. It was dark. Not even the slightest sign of sun. Chris was standing outside the van. “You awake?” he hollered. “Kinda sorta,” I said from inside my sleeping bag. “Gimme a few minutes and I’ll be good to go.” We had made arrangements to meet Mike at the Carl’s Jr., near the trail to Trestles, at 5am. As I may have mentioned, Mike is a math teacher, and this was a weekday… maybe a Monday? So we had but a small slice of time to shoot something before Mr. Black had to teach trigonometry. I slipped into a pair of pants, pulled on a wool sweater, a brimmed hat, flip-flops, and climbed out of the van. We loaded the truck with camera equipment and headed toward the hamburger stand. 

You’d think that a midweek morning would be kinda quiet, maybe 10 or 12 people. Wrong. This is Southern California, kid. Everyone is waiting for waves. Eager and up early. We parked behind a line of cars and unpacked. Mike drove past in his Midnight Creeper cargo van, parked, and pulled out his pig. We hiked the trail together, talking about his board the entire time. A blue panel pig with no name. A real mystery. Matt Calvani and Jim Phillips both ran their hands along the rails and couldn’t come up with anything. When we walked beneath the train trestle and over a sand dune to see the surf, we were greeted by windswept waves that stood up, fluttered, and fell – rolling right with a great deal of gumption. It was glorious. We filmed and photographed while Mike mined some stoke. A damn fine way to spend a weekday. 

About Mike: Mike Black is creator of Invasion! From Planet C, the first (and only) sci-fi surf movie, as well as Jazz the Glass. Mike is also the curator of Surf-A-Pig, a blog dedicated to swine shaped surfboards. He is also a contributing writer for SLIDE Magazine. His 4th Annual Pig Luau will take place in between trails five and six on the San Onofre Bluffs, from June 27th through June 29th. There’ll be a pretty big pig (served midday on the 28th), lots of logs, and plenty of interesting people. So if you’re in the area, sneak down to San-O and join us for a few days of swine, surf, and shenanigans.

  

http://www.slidemagazine.com/blogs/news/14483965-the-lab-with-mike-black

CRAZY CAVAN..... LA VERDADERA IMAGEN DEL AUTENTICO ROCK AND ROLL!!!! ...POR NASTY FRANKY ART

http://nastyfrankyart.blogspot.com.es/

Chris Vail Cooperfish surfing

The Cramps - Like A Bad Girl Should

CJ Nelson on his 9'10'' South Coast Surfboards "Australian Slasher".

CJ Nelson on his 9'10'' South Coast Surfboards "Australian Slasher". from CJ Nelson on Vimeo.

Pro Shaper Profile: Gene Cooper

Paul Strauch: The Gentleman Surfer By PILGRIM

Paul Strauch: The Gentleman Surfer

February 3, 2015

[Paul Strauch surfing Montauk, summer of 2014. Photo by James Katsipis (@letstaukgrams)]
Paul Strauch Jr. is arguably the most stylish and influential surfer to come out of the ‘60s Waikiki scene. Known for his ingenuity and versatile grace, Strauch pushed the boundaries of surfing maneuvers in waves both big and small. His most notable move is now known as the Cheater Five or the Strauch Crouch; he squats low on his back leg and extends his front foot out to the nose to increase stability and avoid wind resistance while noseriding big waves (12ft Sunset, for example), a move both practical and elegant.
Never basking in the spotlight, Strauch’s authority in the water has always been of a quiet confidence, though he’s won his fair share of competitions over the years. He was one of the few surfers on the official Duke Kahanamoku Surf Team, and spent his formative years observing and learning from the Duke. Now in his early 70’s, Strauch still surfs and is heavily involved in the preservation and cultivation of surf history, serving as the Executive Director of the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center in San Clemente.
Strauch tells us about growing up in Hawaii in the ’50s, his time spent living in New York, and his experiences learning from Duke Kahanamoku.
Chelsea Burcz: How and when did you become interested in surfing?
Paul Strauch: I was born in 1943, and when I was about four my dad wanted me to develop my chest because I had trouble breathing. He wanted to build my appetite and make me physically stronger. He had already been a surfer for a long, long time. In fact, he had one of the first balsa boards. His father was responsible for importing the wood from Ecuador, and then he had someone fashion a surfboard with my father’s guidance. He began surfing in Waikiki when he was a teenager with redwood boards — so that was my background. I didn’t really start surfing at age four, but that’s when I started going to the beach with him and he would push me on his redwood board. I got my first board when I was 10, it was a 8ft hollow board that we got from someone, without any fin on it of course. Starting on a board like that, it really helped me learn all about weight displacement. After that, I got a redwood board which was finless as well. I started surfing in Waikiki at a place called Baby Queens where most people started, and then graduated to Canoes which is another spot in Waikiki. Then, eventually I started surfing at Queens.
My first balsa board was made when I was 12, it was a 8’6” balsa board that Tom Blake shaped in our back garage. He made one for my dad, which was a 10’6”, and then he made a 8’6” for me. We went down with him and purchased all the balsa wood and then he brought it up to our house. He then fashioned it himself cutting a portion of the front end of these long planks off. He cut it on a bias for about 3 or 3 ½ feet on one edge of these blank board strips and then glued them to the top of the board creating a scoop in the front end of the board, like the old Malibu boards. It was 1955 when he made that board. I used to watch from our back door — we had a rear garage in our property so that’s where he worked. I just watched quietly, observing what he did until finally he invited me out and said, ‘You have any questions?’ I started asking him little questions about what he was doing and why and as a result, I learned a great deal from him.
Blake was a quiet man, he would ride his bike up to our house. We lived on the slopes of Makiki and so he had to walk uphill to our house. He was a vegetarian at that time, so he only ate nuts and grain and fruit and green vegetables. I learned a lot about what he was doing in terms of the shaping of the boards and how he did certain things on the rails. For example, he made a 10’6” balsa board for my dad which had a square tail. When he got down to cut the plan shape for my board, he cut a swallow tail in the back end on the tail. I said ‘Why are you making it like this instead of like the tail you made for my father’s board?’ He explained to me that, in his opinion, the pintail was the fastest turning board if you could control it, because all you had to do was lean over and it would roll automatically. He said, ‘You’re so light, you’re not heavy like your dad, when he steps back he’s going to press down with his weight on the board and then as he leans to an edge it’s going to roll over. The square tail gives him more flotation, but he can handle and distribute his weight better than you can because you’re so light. So I put two pintails on the tail of your board because when you step directly back it’s going to press the tail and cause drag and all you have to do is lean on one edge and it’s going to automatically turn in that direction.’ That was one of the first things I learned about hydrodynamic design.
I went through the whole process, putting together the boards and then fiberglassing the boards. Blake had this little fin mold for the skeg and I told him it looked awfully familiar. He said, ‘Yeah, it should, it’s from the tail of a B-52 bomber.’ He had two parts to the mold, so he would put some sort of mold release on both sides and then start laying up the fiberglass on one side and then put resin in it until it was saturated. He did it on both halves, and then he flipped it over so one half was on top of the other one, and then he had bolts running through it where he just tightened it up and squeezed out all the excess resin. When it was cured, he would take it apart and pop it out, and it was basically finished except for the edge line around the entire fin.

[Paul Strauch at Sunset Beach, 1963]

[Paul at Haleiwa, 1960. Photo by John Severson.]
CB: What was the atmosphere like growing up in the early ‘50s in Hawaii?
PS: My dad knew a lot of the Beach Boys [in Hawaii]. I learned very quickly from watching the Beach Boys who ruled the roost out in the ocean. I learned there was a hierarchy, and if you were disrespectful to that hierarchy than you paid the price. I saw them bash in faces because someone was rude or discourteous or they did something that had the potential to injure somebody else indiscriminately. They regulated the entire area and ruled by their own authority. Watching that, you realize very quickly that you have to have respect for your elders. If you just treat them with respect and are courteous, you’re welcomed. It’s social etiquette no matter where you go, and it’s a shame that it doesn’t seem to exist anymore.
Duke Kahanamoku’s favorite line was, ‘Hey, you catch this one! More will come and I’ll get mine later.’ That was his attitude and it was true. That might be questioned now because there’s such an overpopulation in the ocean, surf wise, that there may not be another time. But I still think that idea holds true, there will be another wave. One thing I see that a lot of the guys practice when they come to a new area is that they’ll come out and just sit in the line up and wait until they are invited by someone — I’m talking about in Hawaii. That holds true in Makaha because it’s the old world of sociological structure out there, you have a hierarchy out there, too. If you’re not part of the family there and you paddle out and you just sit and wait, they’ll say, ‘Why don’t you catch this one?’ Because they notice how patient and respectful you’ve been. It was the way I was raised being Hawaiian. My mother was three quarters Hawaiian and a quarter English, and my father was a quarter Hawaiian and three quarters German. We had Hawaiiana in our household and it was practiced on a regular basis. Part of the Hawaiian culture is honoring the people who have come before you, but also honoring places where you are a foreigner. I was taught that you always ask for permission first, and you always ask silently, mentally, by putting the thought out. In all cases I’ve always been given an answer, it’s either an affirmation or it’s a warning not to enter. It comes in different ways, it comes with the wind. If you have a soft soothing wind, like a puff of air, that’s usually encouraging you that it’s ok, but if you have an abrupt hard wind that blows and stops and blows and stops or rain, you’ll know exactly what the answer is.

[Phil Edwards picks Paul Strauch as a top ten noserider in Surfer, Vol. 6, #5]

[Paul Strauch on far left with the Duke Surf Team, 1965.]

CB: Tell me about your experiences learning from Duke Kahanamoku.
PS: I was a part of the Duke Kahanamoku surf team. I like to make the declaration that when I was born, Duke was 53 years old. So when I met him and was on the Duke Kahanamoku surf team, he was in his senior years, he was already 70 years old. I’d seen him on the beach when I was growing up when I was 8, 9, 10 years old, he’d always be down at the beach, either paddling a canoe or surfing. When I actually started surfing a lot he had already migrated to sailing boats, but I had the good fortune of being asked to become a part of the Duke Kahanamoku surf team, and so I got to be very close with him. Because of my hawaiian background, we would talk to each other in Hawaiian, I can’t speak it fluently but I can understand it and I can use a lot of the words. He was very gracious, a gentleman, and very kind and extremely humble. We had some great laughs, he loved to be around people. I’ll never forget we were on a tour through different states in the US, we had flown up to Hawaii for an event sponsored by Pan American airlines and the May Company, which is a department store chain. We were autographing pictures and giving them away. I remember a man came up to Duke and said ‘Hey Duke, I saw you in 1932 on the east coast in New Jersey. You were there and you were an Olympic star! I remember meeting you and talking with you, do you remember me!?’ It was abrupt and forceful, and I remember looking at Duke and Duke looks at him and he immediately sticks out his right hand, and as his hand’s being extended he looks at the man and says, ‘Gosh, it’s so nice to see you again.’ That greeting took the anxiousness out of his system and the man returned Duke’s smile. It was something very special to see, the way he disarmed him. That’s how he handled himself, just a gentleman.

[Paul and Duke]

[Paul at Sunset Beach, North Shore of Oahu.]
CB: You are one of the very few surfers that have surfing maneuvers named after you, do you remember how you arrived at these maneuvers? Was it a competitive tactic or a creative expression?
PS: We all have our idols, we all look up to people for different reasons. There were several surfers in Waikiki that I had a fond appreciation for, one of them was Ed ‘Blackout’ Whaley. He was part Hawaiian and he stood erect, and it was very graceful. He never looked like he was nervous or out of control, and he kept his feet very close together. While everyone else had their feet separated and were crouched down, he was the opposite of that, so it really struck me. There were others like Conrad Canha, he wasn’t very tall, he was like 5’6” but he was a goofy footer. He was one of the guys I learned a lot about weight displacement, just watching him surf how he displaced his weight up to the tail and how he could swing the board around and run up very quickly. He took very short abrupt steps to gain pressure and weight displacement to maximize trim on his board.
There were several that were extremely graceful. Joey Cabell, for instance, had a great finesse and I used to look up to him. There was this Hawaiian guy, and he used to surf in Waikiki, named Dickie Boy Abby and gosh, the way he turned the board around and then ran up to the nose, I’ll never forget him. Both Phil Edwards and Dewey Weber, although they surfed completely differently, I admired both of them because they used their body weight and their torso and their arms to help when they would turn their body, they would bring their board around like a delayed reaction, but it was very, very stylish in how they executed their maneuvers. I paid attention to those people particularly since there were no magazines back then. The first surf magazine that came out was John Severson’s in 1959 and I’d already been surfing for a while already, so the ones that made a biggest impression were the ones I could see in front of my face. When the Californians came over and the magazines came out we were able to look at surfers as they were captured in photographs and then learned from them, too.
Most of my surfing was all functional, it wasn’t always for show and tell. It was all about getting the board to react to take advantage of the steepest part of the wave and then make it move faster through the white water to get back to the shoulder. Riding the nose in Hawaii, there’s always so much wind coming up the face of the wave, especially when you get into larger waves, and just to penetrate on a take off, to trim the board, it was a lot easier if you didn’t have your body acting as a big wind obstacle. It was more aerodynamic to crouch, so [the Cheater Five] was a functional maneuver.

[“Be respectful of others who are just as privileged in the surf as you.” – Paul Strauch at age 19, Surfer Vol. 4, #1]
CB: You lived on the east coast for some time?
PS: I opened up my real estate company in 1966 in Hawaii, I’m a third generation real estate broker. My grandfather migrated from Germany, he was a chemist by background and then he eventually became a real estate broker and developer, my father followed suit and so did I. One of my real estate clients offered me a position to head up his marketing department in New York City, so that’s when I went to New York in 1985 and I was there for 7 years. We were marketing to all the large architectural firms in New York, so I got to experience Manhattan like the back of my hand because I went to all these different buildings. It was really an experience, but it was like landing on Mars when I first got there, it was completely opposite to everything I had been accustomed to in Hawaii. I lived in Manhattan for two months and then I bought a home in New Jersey, in Maplewood, and I would commute back and forth to New York. Then eventually we opened up an office in Bloomfield, New Jersey so I worked out of there and also worked in New York.
CB: You mentioned surfing Seaside Heights and Lavallette last time we spoke?
PS: Seaside Heights and those areas are mostly beach breaks, but the waves were really good. I enjoyed it. Sandy Hook particularly, that wave is an exceptional wave. I also surfed out in Montauk a couple of times during the winter, and the waves there get really big and it’s really great if you get the right conditions. I couldn’t believe how much of a surfing population there was on the east coast back then in ‘85, not that that was an early time, but it was very well received and very popular.
CB: Did you get to know the surf community at all when you were out there?
PS: I knew Grog down there in New Jersey and I went into his shop down in Seaside Heights. I was only surfing on my off time for the most part.
CB: Now you’re involved with the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center on the west coast.
PS: I was asked if I’d give thought to becoming a board member here, and so I said sure. I wanted to make sure Hawaii was not overlooked in the process because this is a California museum, that was one of my primary reasons for joining the board of directors. I served on a board for about six years and the position for executive director became available and they asked me if I would consider it. I thought I could make a meaningful difference in contributing my background and expanding the organization to its benefit with my contribution, so that’s why I’m here.

[Paul Strauch, 2007]
CB: The last time I saw you you were in Montauk working with the people at the Montauk Surf Museum, could you tell us about that project?
PS: The mission statement for the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center is to preserve, protect, and educate those who have an interest in surfing and surfing’s heritage. We are trying to preserve surfboards, photographs, and any archival information connected with wave riding for the benefit of future generations to enjoy. We try to make sure that is preserved in an accurate manner. We were asked recently to come out to visit Montauk by a good friend of mine, Rusty Drumm, who has been working diligently to develop a nonprofit in Montauk to celebrate its longstanding surf history. So I went out with the purpose to see what their plans were, and we had a really great meeting with Jimmy Buffett, who’s a close friend of Rusty Drumm’s and several others, and to lay a foundation to what and how they would be undertaking this mission to preserve Montauk’s history. Jimmy Buffett is a very strong and important patron for surfing heritage here in California and he has an interest and property in Montauk as well, and so he is very interested in preserving that history, too. I understand they have a space to operate from at the Montauk Lighthouse where they will illustrate Montauk’s history and make it part of a visitor tour. This will be in addition to the Montauk Museum, which celebrates Montauk’s fishing and cultural history. It’s an exciting opportunity for the whole entire New York community to have a museum where they can start to build and share a history that is a very important.
– Words by Chelsea Burcz


BY: http://pilgrimsurfsupply.com/paul-strauch/

The Planet Rockers@High Rockabilly 2014