“What we experience as surfing on our screens perpetuates the uncooked idea that amplification is everything. That it actually matters. That we must worship the construct of this new way to watch as offering systemic value to society.”
Page 16
ESSAY: PIXEL BY PIXEL
Page 20
SURFING UNTIL 100
An interview with Felipe Pomar.
“As Toots descends he pulls water to match the wave’s speed, then glides for several long beats before hopping to a deep crouch. It sounds idiotic, but his is a real classic sort of crouch. His feet are parallel and pointing forward, arms extended as he prepares to head-dip the first section, everything held just so. Only in surfing can a crouch be so expressive.”
Page 26
BEING TOOTS
The inner world of Arthur Anchinges.
Support independent surf journalism.
Become a member.
Page 38
SINGULARITY
Virtual reality is coming to surfing, bringing forward the next tech for the tube.
“Rennie was a disorganized ditherer much of the time, but the moment he ventured forth with his Pentax in hand he was like an infantryman with an M4 carbine. Except his mission was more likely to end in tears of laughter than the other kind. He was simply relentless and fearless in pursuit of the shot.”
Page 50
LIFE’S A BEACH
The fine-art, lowbrow photography of Rennie Ellis.
Page 64
TINY DEVOTIONS
Moments in the abstract with Krystian Stjerne.
“What you don’t see from the safety of a computer monitor is the frigid Benguela Current seeping through 4mm of rubber, or the grueling mile-and-a-half-long trek back up the point with the wind shrieking against you. It doesn’t show you the carcasses of dead seals strewn in the sand.”
Page 70
THE SANDS OF WALVIS
How a fickle sandbar on the Skeleton Coast became the most captivating wave you’ll never surf.
The Surfer’s Journal is the perfect gift for every surfer.
Page 84
AN ASSEMBLAGE OF BONES
Jaleesa Vincent is the future of women’s freesurfing. Just don’t tell her.
“Gerry Lopez refers to Tamai as the Craig Kelly of Japan because of his pioneering backcountry discoveries. And Chris Christenson calls him the Skip Frye of snowboarding because of his timeless, heirloom designs. However you try to define him, Tamai has always taken a different approach to riding a board down the mountain.”
Page 92
THE SNOWSURFER
At home with Taro Tamai.
Page 100
PORTFOLIO: GROUP SHOW
Peak action and offbeat looks from surfing’s top shooters.
Page 118
UNDERCURRENTS
Our departments section opens with a workshop study of the Two Crows glassing room at the Waialua Sugar Mill, Oahu, where everything is in its place…but not to such an extent that the inherent art and color of the pursuit are forgotten.
Purist surf energy from Page One to close-of-book. Delivered direct to your door.
When I was going through those years of physical therapy I missed that connection with the ocean. As a SEAL, I grew to love the ocean—I realized surfing could be how I get that back.
Page 120
HUMAN INTEREST: ONE MORE WAVE
How injured Navy SEAL Dan Cnossen reconnected to the ocean.
Page 121
BLANK EXPRESSION: NO LOLLIPOPS
Find Tommy Peterson, and he’ll shape you something legendary.
Page 122
MISCELLANY
Quick visual hits and written doses ranging from Nikola Tesla’s take on waves, the greatest combination of grace and rage on a surfboard Craig Anderson has ever witnessed, and surf book recommendation sure to join the desert cannon with Thesiger, Lawrence, and de Monfreid. Plus more.
“Since its root periods, we’ve mainstreamed and commoditized surfing’s magic feeling, which has made the whole deal less erotic yet better funded as a categorical choice for human activity. And on and on. The original essence has become yet another rare and trace moment left behind.”
Page 124
SURFING AROUND: CUTTING CLASS
Musing on surfing’s history of romantic rebellion.
