Roll out the Red Carpet

In the eco-friendly and ultra-stoked green world of cinematographer Dave Homcy, of Shelter and A Brokedown Melody, and Patagonia Ambassador and waterwoman Crystal Thornburg, their presence has been in high demand of late to promote and talk about their involvement in the award winning surf film/social documentary Sliding Liberia: A Story of War, Peace, and Surfing. The film made its O‘ahu premier on Saturday, July 26 at Café Hale‘iwa on the North Shore.

The two Country staples presented the film to over 400 people in attendance, who were treated to West African cuisine, a viewing of the film, live musical entertainment by the soundtrack musician Jon Swift with West and South African music performed by Reggae McGowen and Benjamin Sands of Badenyaa African Diaspora Dance Theater, joined by Kapono Ciotti of Jamerek.  

Homcy and Thornburg followed up the well-received opening with a chat at the Chinatown Boardroom’s Surf Discussion Series in August, where they talked about surfing, making surf films and what really matters in life. In addition to promoting the film, the two have been keeping up with the environmental group Surfers For Cetaceans, where they met up with Dane Ward and Joel Parkinson in Chile to engage the local culture about their environmental and economic hardships. Strategically speaking, a good portion of the cultural awareness and education took place in the lineup. —Kevin Whitton

 

Press Play: Make way for the Kids

Taylor Steele does it again, this time teaming up with Australian Kai Neville to film and edit this much anticipated and satirical surf film, Stranger than Fiction, based around the idea that everything we know about surfing and today’s top surfers is all a sham. From Shane-O admitting he “is afraid of heights and not a very good swimmer” to computer enhancing waves and moves to make them look bigger, the reality is that the cast of this movie rips and yes, the double-grab flips are REAL!    

Different from previous Taylor Steele surf films, the younger generation seem to steal the spotlight from the usual cast of stars. While still bestowing segments to stalwarts like Benji Weatherley, Andy Irons, Taj Burrow, Rob Machado and many others, it’s the youngsters such as Clay Marzo, Julian Wilson and Dane Reynolds who seem to snag the longest and deeper seeded spots. So many surfers featured means shorter segments for each, but the action is top shelf throughout. As has come to be expected from Taylor Steele, this movie consists of almost entirely land shots at regular speed with quick cuts to a variety of fast paced music and a mirage of locations spanning the globe. But what might catch you off guard is the shift from straight punk rock music to mostly indie and electronic rock from bands you probably never heard of.    

The bottom line is there is nothing ground-braking or entirely new with this movie, but who cares when you’ve got the world’s best surfers absolutely tearing apart every wave they catch. The news flashes are humorous and break up the surfing, allowing for a breather between high-octane segments. This movie definitely gets the imagination going for your next jaunt into the ocean. One last observation: where’s Slater? The eight-time world champ is nowhere to be seen. A departure from the norm, but I guess we all know there’s nothing fake about his surfing. Drooling is permitted. —Tyler Rock 

 

Whatevas: Zeke's Dome

You’ve probably seen Ezekiel Lau’s shiny dome zipping by in the lineup, followed by three fins out the back and a boatload of spray continuing the arching turn high into the air. For nearly a decade, the young regularfoot has sported the cropped top, not out of fashion, rebellion or its mystifying effects on the ladies, but based on a deal with Dad.

Don’t ever say that Zeke lacks commitment. He’s been landing bigger airs then ever, surfing with even more focus and power and staying true to his word since the day he shook on the deal, when he was only five years old. Zeke’s surfing future looks bright, and our bet is that he’ll be growing out his hair sometime in the next four years.—Kevin Whitton 

FSM: Why do you shave your head?
Zeke: It’s a thing between me and my dad. If I win Nationals, I can grow it out.  FSM: How long have you been rocking the shiny dome? Zeke: For almost ten years now. 

FSM: Who coined the look first, you or Kelly Slater?
Zeke: I’m not really sure, but it might have been about the same time. I remember watching videos of Kelly when I first did it and he still had hair.

FSM: So do you go through a ton of sunscreen?
Zeke: I rarely put it on my head. Sometimes it gets burnt, but not much. I just put it on my face.  FSM: If you win Nationals, are you going to grow your hair out? Zeke: Yeah, I’m going to grow it out. I wouldn’t keep it John John long, but I’d grow it long enough.

Caption Action results

We received a ton of emails and letters over the past month and had some good laughs at the captions. It was a tough pick and we even had to disqualify one of our photographers after he tried to submit a caption under a fake name, but the readers came through with some great quips. A big mahalo to Oakley for putting the shades up for grabs and for all the people who entered. Congratulations Thomas, now you can rock out with your shades on, day or night.  Win: “Competition gets so fierce on the WQS that a few unruly surfers resorted to paying off a gang of photographers to block fellow WQSer Dustin Barca’s exit from this Pipeline cavern.” —Thomas Feast  Place: “Here comes Dustin Barca pulling in backside down the Pipeline red carpet wearing a dashing spring suit made by the designer Oakley, and the paparazzi are going nuts.” —Ronald LaVecchio  Show: “Hey guys, over here, Michael Phelps is surfing Pipe now!” —Tom Cooper