The Boy's Journey Family Surf Film : Robinson Shapes a Board! (Or starts to anyhow...)

This weekend Robinson embarked on the first part of his journey. Christian Boalt of Token Surfboards is so keen on our project, he's offered to shape (and teach us how to shape) surfboards for our film. I've rarely seen Robinson so focused.

Visit the updates section on our Kickstarter page to watch a little video of some of the day's journey.

Today's Thoughts

Happening: Matthew Fisher at Sardine


One of our favorite non-surfing, apparently surf inspired artists Matthew Fisher is having a show at the Sardine Gallery in Brooklyn coming up. One of his pieces hangs on our wall at home, and his fascination with the fluid design of nature and his semi-blocky, slightly-cartoonish, half-whimsical compositions have always had a kind of authenticity of vision to them.  


"Sardine is pleased to present Black Water Don’t Shine Like the Moon, a solo exhibition of drawings by Matthew F Fisher. It opens Saturday, Jan. 31st, with an opening reception from 6 to 9 pm. It will be open through Sunday, February 22nd. 

This show brings together a group of drawings that are the soul of Fisher’s artistic process. 
Completed over the past few years, they reveal a time when Fisher finds his voice amidst the elements of land, sea, and sky. Combining ink and collage on book pages with hand-made or found frames, the simplest forms become timeless deliberations on existence. With all the beauty and heart one can muster, real, ideal and everything in-between, exist simultaneously."

Old News

This Week In Not Surfing

In this week's This Week In Not Surfing we attempt to capture some of the magic that is Tyler Breuer, one of the most central people in the New York surfing, a one man incarnation of a human surf culture hub thing. Captured in the final half hour before his impending birthday party, we barely have enough time to cover even a couple bases before being pulled into the festivities. We will undoubtedly be returning to the Tyler Breuer subject matter in future podcasts.

* This Podcast may contain blue language, possibly fabricated and/or dramatically embellished stories and adult themes. *

What does it look & sound like to be a Brooklyn 8 year old commuting to school in the morning? 
Find out. Showing now in the updates section of "The Boy's Journey" Kickstarter.

The Boy's Journey

Yes. The Mastic Bureau Comes Through Again.

This about sums up what we're ostensibly all about here. Fleeing troubles through getting back to basics. And note the shout out in the very beginning. Thanks Mastastico.

Today's Thoughts

Olive Bowers is not exactly a veteran of the ocean, but at 13 she has enough experience to know what she likes and what she doesn't when it comes to surfing. Best is catching a clean wave in the summer; worst is some of the sexism that still lingers in the sport... 
Read on the Sydney Morning Herald here.

There is at least one place in this country, along a quiet, palm-fringed cove, where nobody is talking about viral loads or death rates, treatment centers or protective suits. Instead, the focus is more elemental and more peaceful: on the rhythm of the waves, the pull of the ocean, the sets coming in... 
Read on The New York Times here.

Ballet! Surfing! A Journey!

Commuting on the subway in New York isn't just for the people going to and from their 9-5. Robinson commutes from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side of Manhattan to take ballet class twice a week.
The other day I followed through his normal route and made kind of fly-on-the-wall documentary of the sights and sounds of his journey.
Watch the full film on The Boy's Journey page.

This Week In Not Surfing

This week's "This Week In Not Surfing" we talk to environmental do-gooder, surfer and Texan Brandon Elis in the most elliptical fashion possible for what might be our most abstruse podcast yet.
Stay tuned for the surprise ending!

References:
Suktinis
Our Radioactive Ocean
The Lost Bird Project
And Surfing in Lithuania... (more links on this later):

Today's Thought

An excerpt from an email from a friend who is motorbiking around Vietnam...

Vietnam bike road trip. Day (?) After riding on a small road through mountain jungle, I came upon a military station. I asked them if they had food. They made me a bowl of instant noodles and mystery meat, which I later realized was dog. I was offered homemade rice whiskey (which you can't politely reject), except they gave me a full cup to shoot instead of a shot glass. Then they gave me another, which got me drunk pretty quickly on an empty stomach. Then they butchered another dog for dinner as I'm eating. Then a superior guard came to inspect the unit, and they hid me away in another building to finish my dinner. I left some cash and quietly snuck out the back to continue driving through the jungle. Later that night still on an isolated trail, I had burned through my reserve gas bottle, and was starting to get pretty nervous. (The bike doesn't have instruments or a fuel gauge.) Eventually I came upon a tiny village and stopped to ask if they had any. Before I had a chance, I was taken by the hand to a dinner table. Where once again, I had to do shots of rice whiskey. One with every member of the table. 8 shots later, I had eaten 3 pieces of some sort of mystery dog organ. Which was impressive because at this point I thought I was able to identify all of the dog organs. Anyway it tasted like something Anthony Bourdain might have politely eaten and then spit out. And I was really glad I got the whiskey beforehand. Even though the whiskey tasted like gasoline. I got 2 liters of petrol and politely returned to the road. Headphones back in: Bob Dylan: Isis: (resume play)

Yes.

Happening : Matthew Lusk at PF Gallery

The tyranny of deliberate ignorance and depthless fanaticism must be addressed and redressed with a special sort of diligence. One must stand in solidarity with artists, commentators and thinkers against the impulses of the idiotic.  On Friday night we  will be celebrating critical thought and free speech. Join us if you please at the PF Gallery.

www.picturefarmgallery.com

The Boy's Journey : The York Surf Interview

Adlin Deliz runs a great New York surf blog called York Surf that covers surfing, sells gorgeous jewelry and interviews interesting people. Our project is proud to be up there with Dion, Ty and Kassia...
Click the pic to be magically transported to a place where I am much clearer about The Boy's Journey.

This Week In Not Surfing

In today's inaugural eighth installment of "This Week In Not Surfing" we talk to childhood hero and actually-writing surf journalist Jamie Brisick about not surfing, surfing, not surfing and life choices.

References include:

David Remnick : King of The World
Norman Mailer : The Fight
Christopher Hitchens : Arguably
C.L.R. James : Beyond A Boundary

Pan-o-rama!

via Le Sabich!

Magic Carpets From N. Oldfield

This is a short film by Nathan Oldfield featuring Dave Rastovich riding Gary McNeill Concepts. Please visitgarymcneillconcepts.com.au to find out more about these extraordinary surfboards. The song in this short is called ‘Raah!’ by Pepa Knight. You can check out pepaknight.com to hear more of his seminal work. Visit nathan-oldfield.tumblr.com or @nathanoldfield on Instagram to keep up to date with photographs and future films or email nathanoldfield@yahoo.com for photograph/film bookings.

Mention the name Gary McNeill to discerning surfers worldwide and they’ll associate him with two things: extremely high performance left of centre surfboards; and his renowned team rider Dave Rastovich. By a stroke of coincidence, Dave was born in 1979, the same year that Gary began shaping at just sixteen years of age. Currently, as their long shaper/surfer relationship continues to grow in depth, experience and creativity, their collaboration in the design progress is reaching new heights. Put simply, Gary is putting together the finest surfboards of his career and a lot of people are getting excited about them.

The Boy' s Journey Kickstarter

Help us make a film for the surfers who aren't yet surfers!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1697105539/the-boys-journey