Stoked Magazine

DEATH OF THE STRAP ON 61 //

THE STATE OF SKATE 18 //

APR ‘17 | Edition 4 | 55 ZAR

LOST ART OF SUB'ING 36 //

STOKED

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Cover and above: Photographer: JON COULTHARD

Issue 4

CONTENTS 08 Skate Trip: Cape Town 13 The Kloofnek Bomber 18 The State of Skate 24 Thalente Biyela 32 Tanika Hoffman Profile 36 The Lost Art of Sub'ing 44 Confronting Trauma 59 Street Shred 63 Death of the Strap-On 68 Brolin Mawejje Profile 78 Heading for the Hills 84 Jed Anderson Profile 94 Below Zero 104 Base Jumping Free Diver 110 Chasing the Perseid 116 Red Bull Ace: A Review

LETTER FROM THE ED If mind-blowingly talented South African surfers and skaters are what you've been pining for, then this months issue is right up your ally (or barrel). Up and coming locals, game changing orgs, as well as twists and turns in the snow industry are the business in this edition We manage to catch up with Deรงio Laurenรงo (otherwise known as the legendary Kloofnek Bomber) on page 13 and he gives us his side of the story regarding his speed ticket scandal that gave Western Cape law enforcement a pounding headache.

Roll back the years on page 36 with a glimpse at the

EDITORS Robyn Hunt Sarah Beath Devon Pastoll Cameron Seegers CONTACT US info@stokedmag.com contribute@stokedmag.com

forgotten art of Stand Up Body Boarding and the conspiracy that led to its demise.

If you're getting tired of your 9-5 take a peek at page 76 where we look at the increasing trend of kids dropping everything and choosing the path of the Snowboarding Hobo and living life on the slopes.

There's so much incredible content smashed into this edition thanks to the cretins here at STOKED and, of course, the wild, wondrous, and wicked contributors who always add much-loved flavour to each edition.

CONTRIBUTORS A huge shout-out to all the talented individuals who made this issue possible with their contribution of articles and photos.

Creds with the stories.

SUBSCRIBE Get the latest STOKED couriered directly to you with lank goodies each month.

Only R120/month www.stokedmag.com

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SKATE TRIP* Cape Town STORY // MATT PRICE IMAGES // MATT PRICE

AND GARY HILLIER

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Most skateboard trips are bit thrown-together, rather than planned out. Skateboarders as a whole are the kind of people who like to stay spontaneous, so why would they bother to travel any differently? This particular trip was planned well in advance, but that didn’t stop it from being thrown together. The blend of skaters was about half European, a quarter American and a quarter local, making for a nicely diverse group.

Chuck in the fact that most of the people involved had never met or skated together, and were staying at

someone’s house they had never met before, and it all made for a very off-the-cuff feel. Luckily for everyone involved we were all in some way shape or form skateboarders and somehow that’s just enough to make a situation like that work.

No one really had any set plans and no one really had much of an agenda, aside from skate and have a good time, which was perfect because that’s just what we did. These are some photos from a nicely thrown together adventure in Cape Town, South Africa.

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MOSES SHREDDING A RAIL WITH A TRUCKBURNING NOSEGRIND

AARON HOMOKI HITTING A FRONTSIDE BLUNT IN SUBURBAN CAPE TOWN.

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LOUIS TAUBERT SMITH-GRINDING HIS WAY INTO WOODSTOCK.

LOUIS TAUBERT WITH A FRONTSIDE WALLRIDE IN AN EMPTY POOL

CHRIS PFANNER WITH A LAWLESS BACKSIDE FLIP IN FRONT OF THE PROVINCIAL LEGISLATIVE BUILDING CAPE TOWN CBD.

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WOODSTOCK BLADERS REMINDING US THAT SKATING THRIVES IN ALL FORMS WITH SOME AERIAL FLAIR

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Deçio Laurenço «the kloofnek bomber» story – Jaques van Jaarsveld

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e had an awesome opportunity to meet up with Deçio Laurenço, soon to be South African Champion.

While it was challenging getting hold of the man, it was well worth the wait. After wading through the rumours that surround him and his escapades we were blown away by his story and how the truth had been distorted. In talking to him we have gained a tremendous amount of respect for the guy, his character, his way of thinking, the fact that he is so down to earth and genuine. Deçio rocked up to the interview on a scooter using his board as a seat and wearing his down- hill helmet, ready for action. It was impossible to miss him.

S: We’ve been dying to find out more about “Spoofing the Traffic Camera”. This is the video clip that, in my opinion, made you the (in)famous ‘Kloofnek Bomber’.

One of the rumours going around is that Helen Zille personally contacted you.

What’s the real story ?

DL: I didn’t speak to anyone from the government, not one person. I think they realized they didn’t have a leg to stand on.

We didn’t even receive a photo because I think I was standing in front of the number plate. They got hold of André (the driver in the video) and I think he paid the fine. They wanted to prosecute me under the laws as if I were a car but by that virtue, skateboarders would be allowed on the roads. There were too many confusing laws and they

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dropped it as there wasn’t much to stand on.

S: Did you expect this Youtube video to go viral (1.5 million views) the way it did?

DL: Not at all! When the views started going up it was crazy – it was so cool. It probably could have been a lot more but somewhere along the lines the video was flagged with an age restriction of 18 years, so you’d have to log in to your account to watch the video and a lot of people are too lazy to do that.

We’ve made a few videos before and they didn’t get that type of attention. The main aim was just to make a professional video.

After Spoofing the Cam we felt it necessary to make a safety video to encourage safety awareness. With that video we compared skaters to cyclists.

S: Do you feel that “Spoofing the Traffic Camera” contributed to the NCS’s (National Skate Collective) efforts in legalizing skateboarding?

DL: Definitely. In partnership with the NSC’s goals, I refer again to our safety video that was made after Spoofing the Cam. I believe that it did help towards it and also think that Helen Zille was clever in realizing the need for skating facilities.

S: What was the story behind the Mercedes Benz Ad? Did they approach you and how did it all come together?

DL: It wasn’t actually an ad, it was a short

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film showcasing all our different skills. I was introduced to the idea shortly after Spoofing the Cam. It kinda faded away for a while but later on a bunch of us got together again to talk about the concept and story. I don’t even know who came up with the original concept to tell you the truth. A group of creatives including Dylan Colderhade, Luke Apteke, Kayl Jansen and a few other guys working together as a collective, Bring Back Choir Boy, punted the idea to me as a short film. There wasn’t a lot of budget for it, basically these guys were forking cash out of their own pocket to make it happen and Mercedes pulled strings to get the car.

S: The word on the street is that you received quite a lump sum of cash for this ad… is there to this rumour? Is our sport at the point where riders are getting paid well for these things?

DL: It was hard work and no, they did not pay me a cent. The whole time I was contemplating whether to ask them to pay me coz they never mentioned a fee. I eventually gathered up the courage to ask them for some form of compensation because I didn’t want to be exploited, you know, and many of the other people there were being paid…

They mentioned that after the shoot if any money came from this idea that they would compensate me for it. I haven’t seen any money from it as yet though.

S: So, Goodluck decided to use

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S: Did you get a lot more attention after these 3 videos? I.e. were people stopping you along side of the road?

DL: I definitely got more attention, yeah.

Some attention was nice but other attention was not so tasty. I just get pissed off when people start asking me the same kinda questions and I don’t know…everyone likes attention but for me it’s strange. Sometimes I don’t wanna be seen or noticed. It’s just that I don’t wanna be looking like I’m cool, or “that dude” – it makes me feel uneasy.

When it’s people I know, like my mates, then I dig it. When you’re on top of the world and you’ve got all these people around you, you’ll see who your true friends are when you’re in a bit of a struggle. You know what my worst thing is? When people introduce me as “that dude”. I’d rather let them find out themselves, or if I choose to let them know myself.

KLOOFNEK

longboarding as the theme for their ‘Trickery’ music video, this is a huge step forward for the scene. What was your overall experience while doing the music video? Did you enjoy it?

DL: Skating on shoots is not fun. I’m in my leathers the whole time sweating like a pig, performing like a monkey which is not what I actually wanna do. When I’m in my leathers I wanna bomb hard, go fast and do crazy shit you know. But when you see the afterproduct for the first time, it all becomes worth it. It’s nice to help people and get to know them.

S: You’ve won the last 5 consecutive races and you’re most likely to be the next SA Champ. Are you feeling any pressure?

DL: It’s hard balancing college life and skating. It’s my last two weeks of studies and I’ve got to skate and I haven’t been able to get much training in. Usually before comps I want to be heavier; I want to train hard to put more weight on, I’m not too worried in terms of skills. The other thing was that after Spoofing the Cam when I went to the Fair Cape Race, I felt that if I didn’t win I would have been showboating. This put a lot of pressure on me coz I felt like I needed to prove myself, and I just kept the same mentality throughout the rest of the race season.

»They wanted to prosecute me under the laws as if I were a car, but by that virtue, skateboarders would be allowed on the roads. There were too many confusing laws and they dropped it as there wasn’t much to stand on.«

S: Would you say it’s become an addiction to be on the podium?

DL: That’s a very weird thing for me…

I’ve skated at a lot of comps before and I never used to get on the podium so I wasn’t worried about that. At downhill comps what I learnt is that you won’t lose the race because you’re not better than that ou – you lose it just because you make the wrong choice in that time. Maybe it’s that second you push-off, or maybe it’s air-braking before the corner. The slightest and smallest thing can change it. It’s not necessarily your skill that always matters: it’s like, at the time, you didn’t react in the best way possible but you did your best anyway.

S: What do sponsorships mean to you?

DL: It’s actually hard work and you’ve got a lot of responsibilities such as social networking and photo shoots. If people think I get money from the sport, I don’t get paid by

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BOMBER

my sponsors – I get paid by publicity. The only time I see money is when I win races where there are cash prizes involved. It’s all about enjoying the sport and not expecting anything out of it.

S: Has life changed since being sponsored?

DL: When I really wanted the things sponsored riders get it wasn’t there, but I feel I’ve worked hard to get where I am now and deserve it. When my sponsors give me things I still always look after it as though I bought it myself. I still even have my first pair of Puma shoes ever given to me.

S: How long were you skating downhill before you got sponsored?

DL: I only got sponsored this year so, in other words, I’ve been skating 8/9 years before getting sponsored.

S: Who’s your role model and why?

DL: Um…that’s a good question. I don’t think I’ve really ever had a role model. The only time I might have had one was in trick skating. My Dad bought me a Powell Peralta video when I was 11, but after that then I thought nah I just wanna beat everyone.

Before "Spoofing the Cam", Deçio had spent the whole year working as a waiter to save up for his leathers. On the day of the Hot Heels 2012 race it was his first time wearing his new leathers.

It just shows his determined attitude as well as his commitment to the sport.

S: Do you consider yourself a role model?

DL: I don’t like people looking up to other people. When you’re more in the limelight, it does become a responsibility when you have to be a role model but I haven’t given it much thought. I just live my life the way I normally would. Skating for me was an outlet to be free. It’s like a personal thing you know. I don’t want anyone to try push themselves to be anything like me, you must enjoy it.

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F LO ND ICA A EBB AFR S AM THE OUTH ILLI BER S W N IN GER E VA

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concerns, opinions and suggestions of their respective province. One aspect that we should focus on across the country is the youth. When this topic was brought up while having a chat with Vincent Domanacie (Kingdom Longboards), he said that he seriously doesn’t dig the mindset of that there’s only age bracket, and that only these guys will properly get into the sport. Furthermore, he says that it’s crucial that we need to reach right down the age-scale to the youth and make it not accessible but also affordable for them.

SHIFTING FOCUS YOU SAY?

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e feel that there is two key areas aren’t getting enough attention that need to be seen to so that longboarding can continue growing. The first is that we need to focus more on entry-level skaters and see what we can do to develop their skating. There aren’t any training workshops or camps to encourage entry-level skaters, the likes of which you see in skateboarding or surfing. There are about 150 downhill skaters in South Africa, and our main events are downhill events. It’s awesome that we are able to respect what they do and froth over the level of skill it takes, but what about the 2000+ skaters that don’t race? Who’s looking after them? We need to keep the sport fun and enjoyable by focussing on all aspects of longboarding – cruising, freeriding, dancing, bowl riding and even park. All of these form part of longboarding and so we should make them available and embrace each one.

While we’re talking about events, sponsors and organizers don’t always have the time to get events together. Skater-organized and run events could be the way forward to bring about more events. It also provides an opportunity for fresh ideas for events to be brought to light. Take the Inchanga Natural Descent for instance – South Africa’s first freeriding event with Durban’s Valley of a Thousand Hills as a backdrop. So much of win! More of these novel events need to happen.

The second aspect of longboarding that isn’t getting enough attention is spectator friendliness.

When organisers approach sponsors, one can imagine one of the first questions being “how many people are going to be there?” A.K.A. “how many people are going to see my brand’s name?” This fact brings on the conversation of, and ties in with exposure. The more exposure our scene gets the better. Apart from that, as Keith Hockly so fittingly said “well-organized events are like the fertilizer for the sport.” One event that stood out with regards to being a well-organized event is The Sokkie Jol, organized by Koffie Jacobs that took place on the 12th July in J-Bay at the J-Bay Winterfest. It was an event that catered for the spectators, as well the riders and it demonstrated that sponsored and un-sponsored riders could enjoy events together.

SPREADING STOKE, SUPPORTING LOCAL

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s we all know, the international longboarding is much more developed than ours is. Fact.

Consequently, the international market for longboarding equipment is equally as advanced. It is understandable that South African skaters looked to the international companies and online stores to get there fill of longboarding gear. But the phase of acquiring ones gear via international corporations is now over thanks to local companies supplying more and more of the internationally acquired gear you need. What consumers don’t or forget to realise is that international retailers don’t push anything back into our local scene – they actually make much more money off you. This aspect is simple – keep it local because it keeps things flowing.

YO MAN, WILL YOU SPONSOR ME?

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ponsorships: the sponsorship situation in South Africa is out of control. Two things that have really struck as topics that need addressing is the number of really young okes that are sponsored, and the disregard for sponsors that riders seem to show. When asked what he thought on the matter, Greg Parry suggested, “If a company sponsors you, it should be seen as a privilege and should do everything you can to push the brand’s name and promote the product.” When asked, Daniel Domanacie (Kingdom Longboards) said that it’s awesome that groms are getting exposure, but then when companies sponsor them they’re put onto a pedestal and aren’t given the opportunity to work their way up – progress in their skating. Back in the day guys were bombing concaveless boards with the only trucks available – Randals.

Now, younger guys get such hi-tech gear that there isn’t any way to discern between them and the top guys, the veterans. I’m not by any means suggesting that we go all the way back to the days of using bearings as wheels, but we should provide a platform for the younger cats to constantly improve.

Furthermore, sponsored riders need to become more involved not only with the companies they’re sponsored by, but also with and in their community.

Gone should be the days where all that sponsored riders do is show up to events, change their wheels, ride, and disappear until the next event. If there are workshops in communities where sponsored riders show the peeps a thing or two and just hang out with them, then imagine the following of skaters each rider can bring to events –spreading the stoke while keeping the youth out of possible dangerous situations they could find themselves in on the streets of their community. If riders don’t agree and commit to these terms, or terms of a similar nature, then companies shouldn’t be sponsoring them.

As skaters that form part of this longboarding family of ours we need to ask the hard questions and face the brutal truths straight in the eye, together, so to form a steadfast mould for the SA longboarders of tomorrow. We have barely touched the tip of the iceberg of possibility in this bountifully talented nation of (and family) of ours. So let’s keep on improving so that we can keep on pushing.

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THALENTE BIYELA

STORY // JAN KLIEWER IMAGES // JON COULTHARD AND JAQUELINE BURGESS

Maybe you’ve seen or heard about the award winning documentary film I Am Thalente.

Basically, it is the story of South African skater, Thalente Biyela – once homeless runaway kid from Durban, who found his way back into life through his passion for skateboarding. It almost sounds too sappy, too good to be true – but filmmaker Natalie Johns manages to tell outspoken Thalente’s genuine story authentic and real, so that his true fairy tale comes off as amazing and touching as it really is. From picking up skating at the local park, being noticed by Tony Hawk, to pulling off makeing a move to LA to chase his dreams of becoming a professional skater. We wanted to learn more. So on a recent visit back to his native South Africa we tracked him down for a chat. Street life, skate dreams, being saved by movie stars… you could imagine Thalente’s got stories for days… here are a few!

S: Hey Thalente! To get this straight: You were born and raised in Durban South Africa, and then moved to LA after the movie was shot, is that correct?

TB: No, I moved to the States a bit before the end of shooting for the movie, so some of it was filmed over there. Now I’m back for a month or two. I’m getting to see all my friends, which is really cool. And I get to spend time with Tamy who I haven’t seen in about two years, which makes me very happy. Skating my local park with all my homies is another really nice bit. Since moving to California I’d only been back here once just for a few days.

S: And how did it all start for you? How did you get in touch with skateboarding?

TB: I used to surf before I started skating. My surfer friends had skateboards and they’d let me have a go on days when the waves weren’t that good. However, both, surfing and skating, were really sporadic then I’d

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only go every now and then. But so when the Durban park by the beach front opened in 2004 I could already tick tack a bit. I got my first proper board that I owned from my friend Braxton… so that’s sort of where I started skating officially.

S: But skateboards and surf gear do cost money – how did you end up in the situation you were faced with: Literally, living on the streets. And how were you able to still surf and skate?

TB: Well, I base being able to get surf and skate stuff on the feeling that I was a very blessed young man; people would always help me out. Yes, I was living on the streets, and yes, I was around dangerous people and a lot of crazy shit, but I was very fortunate to always have people that cared for me. So many people would give me their hand-me-downs… even though a lot of it would get jacked by the older street kids!

Living on streets started as an on and off thing for a

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few years: I would first run away from home about the same time I started surfing. I’d run away for a few days, sleep by the beach front, and then my step-dad would come find me and beat me up. I can’t even count how many times. Still he thought it would teach me a lesson and keep me from running away, but of course it would only make me wanna get away from there more. My mom was the only person that kept me wanting to come back home. But then she passed when I was about 13. And from the day after the funeral I decided I’d be leaving the family, and so from then I was on the streets permanently. I fell into a hole, felt really alone and empty. I started smoking heroin about half a year later. The thing is, when you’re on the streets you can really do what you want, you have the freedom to do what you want, when you want, with who you want; no rules, no mom or dad.

Some of that freedom however comes at a price.

S: So was this around the skatepark scene or somewhere else?

TB: This was around the skatepark. It was and still is a very big thing, cheap and easy to come by. I’d even make fun of the kid that got me into it first; like: Fuck that, I’ll never smoke that stuff! But fast forward a week or two I was like: Hey, can I try some of that?

S: So how did you manage to kick it? I’m sure there are thousands of kids with a similar vita – but for most these predicaments lead to a life in misery, or worse. How did you manage to change for the better and get to where you’re at now?

TB: A big part were all these wonderful people who believed in me, who kept telling me: Dude, you have potential! You can make something of your life! – What these people saw in me is something I still try to figure out to this day! Because: I don’t think I was an incredible skateboarder. I feel like skateboarding was only half the reason for them to say all this. I think they were also seeing the person that I am. And look at me, I did it; I made something out of my life already. I’ve left all these dark places and the misery I was in behind. And I like to think a lot of the opportunities I had and the good things that happened to me came through my mom, or her passing, guiding me in the right direction. I don’t really believe in God, I believe in my mom. She was the one putting me in the right direction. And the other half, the other mother figure in my life, is Tammy (Smith) who I knew from surfing and who would always come look after me at the skatepark whenever she’d be back from her trips as pro surfer. She was the only person who’d never judge me; no matter what I’d done or what I’d become – even when all other people had given up.

She endured dealing with me in my darkest days, she was my beacon of hope. She saved my life and has become my older sister/mother figure – the person closest to me.

»I fell into a hole, felt really alone and empty. I started smoking heroin about half a year later. The thing is, when you’re on the streets you can really do what you want, you have the freedom to do what you want, when you want, with who you want.«

S: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned on the street? Is there any special skill you’ve acquired and are still stoked on today?

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TB: Observing man! I’m a real good judge in character now. I can sit back and figure out my why into or out of a situation, and I can tell if someone’s trying to fuck me over. Plus, I don’t think I’ll fall victim to fast-talkers or pickpocketing – I know all about that! I’m also not a big fan of violence because I’ve been around so much of it.

»The film is pretty accurate. That’s who I am. There was no reenactment, no staging scenes or any of that. «

S: How did you get by living on the streets? What would your days be like? Was there some sort of social care in South Africa?

TB: No, you’re on the hustle man. You go stand outside the shop with a cup in your hand all day and ask for money. I was always too scared to do anything that could get me arrested. You’d only find me doing stuff that the real thugs would not do.

S: So I guess you didn’t really have any skate idols or people you looked up to then, did you?

TB: No, I was dealing with real life. The only positive inspiration I had back then really was Tammy. If I looked up to anyone it would be her.

S: So how did the whole Tony Hawk scene that’s pictured in the movie come about?

TB: You know what, that’s a bit blurry even to me. I’ve never asked for any of the stuff that’s been happening in my life… but yeah, there was this guy Dallas who

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was organising these cool skate camps for lowincome kids from rural areas. The Laureus organisation was sponsoring his project and sent Tony Hawk as their ambassador to open a new pool Dallas had built.

I also got invited to skate there and jumped in the mini ramp session. After the demo he came up to me and told me he liked my skating. Then he asked if he could send me product – and that’s how our relationship started: I told him I was really stoked but that I lived on the streets. “I don’t exactly have an address!”

I ended up giving Tony my friend Dorian’s address and he would send me Birdhouse product every now and again over the following year or two. A few years after Tony came over again for another Laureus thing, this time with Kevin Staab. We talked a bit, he asked what was going on, I told him I was still living on the streets, but nothing happened. A little later though – about the time Tammy was playing a bigger and bigger role in my life and she had made clear that I needed to kick my habit in order to be spending more time with her – Tammy went surfing with Natalie (Johns, film maker)’s younger brother and told him my story. Natalie heard about it and wanted to know more about me. So one day we’d go the park, film a few tricks and do an interview. She posted that on her Youtube, sort of as her support or motivational film to get people to fund me chasing my dream and going to America. While it didn’t work out as fund-raiser, the video blew up on

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the internet. People took it very well and got really and asked how they could help. However, Natalie felt like she needed to take measures into her own hands, she paid out of her own pocket and used her contacts to get me a working visa to get me over to the US and try for me to make it in skating. All the while she was now: Come on, we’re doing this film about your life!

S: That must have been a trip! How did it feel having a film made about you?

TB: It was just surreal dude! Then again I’ve been weirdly used having a camera in front of my face from people filming at the (skate)park – though of course not to that extent.

S: Then the film was presented at the Laureus Awards in Shanghai. How did that feel?

TB: Yeah, Laureus flew me out to Shanghai and put me up. It was rad! But the bottom line is, I’m really thankful for them giving me this opportunity, and also for my story to be out to the world. Because I know it can inspire people. – I’ve been asked a lot: So, are you going to make money off of this? But the truth is: This film has opened so many doors for me and will continue to do so; so many opportunities that money couldn’t buy me. Of course I wouldn’t say no to a bit of money, but I’m way happier to hear a kid message me on Facebook saying my story is inspiring him to be a better person. That brings me more joy than a bunch of cash could ever bring me.

S: I’m sure you must be getting a lot of those

messages… But you were also welcomed on stage

by Benedict Cumberbatch and saluted by a ton of big name celebs and sportsmen. Any stories from behind the scenes?

TB: I broke a big expensive vase… well, Benedict Cumberbatch got me up on stage, I did my little talk, which was very nerve racking, we got picked up and brought back to this fancy hotel, and talked the hotel people into letting us have our own after-party on the second floor — with all the ambassadors, Olympic winners, a couple of actors and actresses, it was really cool. But so there was this big vase with all these flowers in – and I swear to God, I barely touched it! But it went boom! and smashed on the floor, glass everywhere. I was freaking out, thinking “Who’s going to pay for this?! I can’t even pay for my room!!” But all of sudden Bill Murray comes out of the woodworks, puts his arm around me and saves me from the situation. It was one of those moments when everyone is talking and the next second everything goes quiet.

S: An amazing story, ha… Back to the film: How do you compare the real Thalente Biyela to the “I Am Thalente”-Thalente in the movie?

TB: It’s pretty accurate if you ask me. That’s who I am.

Maybe some of the stuff is not how I live everyday – I’m not this positive everyday, I do have my struggles.

But I still think the movie is coming pretty close. There was no reenactment, no staging scenes or any of that.

There was talk about it at one point, but it pissed me off. I think documentaries should be about the moment: either you get it or you don’t. I didn’t want to

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take away from my actual story.

S: How did you feel coming back and skating “your” local park in Durban after all that happened now that you’ve spent a bit of time back home?

TB: Surreal man! I had almost forgot where I was from – but nothing changes here, ha. I took me two days and then I thought I hadn’t left. Back to the Beach Park! It felt good, cool to see a few young rippers; a warm welcome! It’ll be a bit sad to leave.

S: Before you have a trip with Tony Hawk coming up. Tell us more about that please.

TB: Yeah, we’re going to this opening of Skateistan park in Johannesburg. Tony invited me to join which is really cool. We’re also going to be doing something with deaf kids and kids with hearing problems. I’m glad to be a part of it.

S: And then it’s back to every day life in LA? How is that going to be?

TB: Well, you know, if I I’m not teaching kids how to skate at the local parks to earn a bit of extra money, skating and filming with my friend Lawrence. I also hang out alone a lot. I like it though. Lawrence and I are sitting on a little bit of footage, so when I get back I might start editing a part with him and try and put it out on my own. I don’t know… I don’t want to push myself in into skating – I feel if I’m supposed to that dude they’ll come to me!

S: So to end this: Where do you see yourself in five, in ten years from now?

TB: Oh, I couldn’t answer that. I’m going with the flow. Obviously, I want to make it in skating, that’s my dream and goal. But in the course of some more years I want to get more into public speaking. I want to travel the world and speak – even if I don’t make it professionally I want to be some sort of foreback.

Speak at events and conferences at some point.

Before my plan is to skate really hard and keep going!

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Surfing the Southern Peninsula

Tanika Hoffman WORDS // CRAIG JARVIS IMAGES// VARIOUS

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surfers’ home break is definitely the core base of - and has a huge influence on - her surfing skills, career, and style. Cape Town’s top female surfer, Tanika Hoffman is no different: After a quick learning spree at Muizenberg, Tanika Hoffman graduated to Long Beach and the waves around Kommetjie when her family moved into the neighbourhood. “Long Beach is a lot better than Muizenberg,” says Tanika. “It handles most conditions as well, making it quite a reliable and consistent spot.”

There are also a lot more to the waves in the area, which resulted in Tanika having a largely versatile style. “Living in Cape Town is really a huge privilege as a surfer, despite the cold water,” reckons Tanika.

“We have such a wide variety of waves, challenging

reefs, rocky points, good left handers and some really fun rights. So growing up and learning to surf in Cape Town often forces you out of your comfort zone, and you end up surfing many waves.” The joys of surfing an unpredictable beach break like Long Beach however, saw Tanika experiment with a lot of different ‘beach break boards.’ “I often chose smaller, fatter boards for the beach break surf, and I always had Spider Murphy supporting me along the way.”

Talking about Spider, Tanika is quick to attribute much of her meteoric improvement to Mr. Murphy.

“Having a good relationship with Spider has benefited me so much, as we often surf together, and he watches closely, and then shape my boards according to my style and needs.”

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Âť[G]rowing up and learning to surf in Cape Town often forces you out of your comfort zone, and you end up surfing many waves. ÂŤ

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Tanika took her small wave game from Muizenberg to Long Beach and became the surfer she is today.

“Muizenberg ensured that I always worked had to gain speed and momentum and not rely too much on the wave to help me through maneuvers,” recalls Tanika.

“Living at Long Beach also ensured that I was never to fussy and surfed all conditions, because I was always so hungry for a surf after school. I would just run down after school and go surfing regardless. So I surfed offshore and onshore, big and small...”

The other presiding characteristic of Long Beach is that it is always extremely crowded, quite possibly one of the most crowded spots in Cape Town on any given day. Many people simply cannot deal with a dogeat-dog approach to surfing in ridiculously crowded

situations, and would rather go somewhere where the waves are possibly not as much fun, but that much quieter in the water. Others would simply choose to sit it out and watch, not ready to go once more unto the breach. Yet others choose to go out there regardless and get waves in a competitive environment. Tanika chose the latter.

“It does get extremely crowded at Long Beach,” agrees Tanika. “It definitely makes it tougher because you always have to work hard and fight for your waves.

I think this has definitely made me much more competitive whilst free surfing, which I have taken into my competitive surfing career.” So crowds might not always be too bad.

TANIKA AT THE PANTIN CLASSIC GALICIA PRO. PHOTO: LAURENT MASUREL.

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THE BIZARRE (& FORGOTTEN) ART OF STAND-UP BODYBOARDING While his contemporaries lay flat or dropped knee, Chris Taloa chose to stand and deliver. So, what extinguished the bright flame of SUB’ing?

WORDS // JED SMITH IMAGES// BRIAN BIELMANN AND HANK PHOTO

“C

hris and Danny Kim would always hear: ‘Why don’t you just get a surfboard?’” remembers Brian. “But I think he really liked being unique. And, having the option to stand up or lay down.”

If you ask Chris Taloa, he’ll tell you the death of stand-up bodyboarding wasn’t from lack of interest.

It was killed off by the bodyboarding core, because it posed a threat.

“To me it was like, why don’t we stab this thing in the back now, so we don’t have to deal with this later?” he begins.

“Because bodyboarding could have gone in a totally different direction and I don’t think the guys pushing it at the time wanted it to go like that.”

Chris, who was part of the pioneering brigade of stand-up bodyboarders, recalls the exact moment it was assassinated. It was 1996 and he was competing at the World Games in Brazil. Stand-up bodyboarders were, at that point, still competing alongside prone riders (lying down) and drop knee’ers in the same division. Controversy had erupted in the lead up over how to score the stand-ups. Chris and his main rival, Hawaiian Danny Kim, had been consistently receiving scores in the excellent range for their wild blend of surfing manoeuvres (hacks, roundhouses, floaters) done standing up on bodyboards. Then, the tap was suddenly turned off.

“In my first heat (at the World Games), I’d take off backside and do four huge roundhouse snaps into a full backside reverse 360, and I didn’t hear my scores,” Chris recalls. “(The judges) didn’t get it. There was a Hawaiian judge (from Brazil), and he understood what they were saying. He came and told me that they took my score sheets and had a huge fight about it in the judges tent. A couple of the international judges were like ‘fuck you, that guy is ripping,’ and the other ones were like ‘fuck you, that’s not bodyboarding.’”

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Chris couldn’t have disagreed more. To him, standing on your craft was the pinnacle of the sport – “the angel on top of that motherfucking Christmas tree,” as he puts it. “I believed that the board should be used for everything. Drop knee that fucker, prone that son of a bitch, and stand up - whatever the fuck the wave qualifies for you to do.”

But, the game had changed. As quickly as it had arrived, stand-up bodyboarding was gone, thrown onto a fluorescent scrapheap of discarded 90s action sports, alongside rollerblading, extreme frisbee and grip ball.

“I could have conformed and laid on my belly like everyone else and done all that shit but I didn’t wanna,” says Chris.

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tand-up bodyboarding began as a uniquely Hawaiian tradition, with roots as deep as the original Polynesians who took to the water on wooden finless alaias. Fast forward to the modern surf age, and the bodyboard came to represent the modern day alaia to many of Hawaii’s impoverished natives. It was the people’s craft. “(Stand up bodyboarding) really had a chance to form out there, kind of in the hoods of the west side of Oahu,” says Chris. “It was the drier, more uninhabitable part of the island and they kinda got forced in that direction during the colonisation times. You get a bunch of Hawaiians who love to surf, but couldn’t afford the surfboards, so they would ride anything they could get their hands on. They didn’t need fins, they were just dying to ride anything. Bodyboards were cheaper than surfboards.”

Meanwhile, the versatility of the board – along with its easy means of transportation – added to its appeal. When the surf was big, unruly and hollow, you rode the bodyboard on your stomach (prone). When it was perfect, hollow and rippable you rode drop knee.

And when it was down-the-line, small and fat – or perfect and hollow – you stood up. Often Hawaiians would start out standing up on the bodyboard until it creased and became too flexible, at which point they’d ride it prone.

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hris grew up in the intimidating arena of 1980s and 1990s Wahiawa, in Oahu’s central-west. His youth was shrouded in violence and dysfunction, but the ocean was always an outlet and a movement lead by the stand-up bodyboarding pioneer Danny Kim, from the West Side, was under way.

While some sections of the surfing community viewed bodyboarding, and in particular stand-up bodyboarding, as some whacky offshoot of core surfing, this was not the case on Oahu. For many, it was the modern incarnation of Hawaii’s ancient tradition of wave-riding; one in which ingenuity, creativity and joyous expression were the key ingredients, rather than performance.

Even so, Pipeline was still the best wave (spot) in the world and a guy on a 42” piece of foam without fins would always struggle to be taken seriously.

“To be able to do it at the level I was doing it, you

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»The death of stand-up bodyboarding wasn’t from lack of interest. It was killed off by the bodyboarding core, because it posed a threat.« stoked magazine SURF//

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“HE WAS ALWAYS OUTSPOKEN – SUPER FRIENDLY, BUT REALLY OPINIONATED,” RECALLS PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN BIELMANN OF CHRIS IN THE 90S. “HE TOOK PRIDE IN WHAT HE DID. THIS WAS BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN A LOT OF GUYS WERE DOWN ON BODYBOARDING. HE WAS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE TO FUCKING STAND HIS GROUND, GET IN A FIGHT IF HE HAD TO.”

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had to be completely out of your mind, and you had to be strong and you had to stand up to everyone and anyone,” says Chris.

Punch-ups were common. The North Shore in Chris’s youth was as heavily localised as it ever was. For the most part, it belonged to either native Hawaiians, those gifted enough to win the respect of native Hawaiians, or anyone else who’d grown up tough and knew how to throw down.

“You don’t got no fins, you’re on a little fucken thing and no one gives a fuck about you when you’re in Hawaii,” Chris recalls.

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hen it came to contests, Chris totally lost interest.

“I didn’t do the tours and take it as seriously as everyone else,” he says. “I’d go out in the contest and get as much speed as I could and launch the shit out of it. I didn’t give a fuck. I was like, ‘I’m gonna Christian Fletcher every contest I get into.’”

In the right waves, however, Chris remains convinced stand-up bodyboarding can still trump a conventional surfboard.

“Because there are no fins, you can side-slip it and the flexibility means you can sit in the back on the foamball, and if you know how to play the break right it’s easier than a surfboard. Surfboards have those fins that are trying to track you up. On that thing, I could play the barrel at V-Land from beginning to end and come out with spinners.”

It might not have reached the heights it should have, but stand-up bodyboarding isn’t entirely dead – especially in Polynesia. Hawaii remains a hotbed of it.

As for where it could have gone had it not been silenced professionally? That is anyone’s guess.

“Because no one pushed it, no one’s ever gonna know,” Chris says.

CHRIS TALOA’S GUIDE TO STAND-UP BODYBOARDING When you see guys doing it now, they’re not using their body properly. You’re supposed to use your body like a massive spring to absorb all that chop so you can have control of your board. Guys are so freaked out that they’re putting so much weight on their back foot, so it looks like they’re rolling the windows down.

They’re doing that because they’re putting way too much weight on their back foot. They don’t realise it’s not about how much weight you put on the back foot at all. It’s like a snowboard: you guide it with your back foot and the front foot is your fin.

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CONFRONTING WORDS // CARL BRADSHAW IMAGES// WAVES FOR CHANGE

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large number of children in South Africa grow up in violent and abusive environments. One organization has chosen a somewhat different approach to counteract the issues. Waves for Change uses the power of the ocean and its´ therapeutic benefits, a hook that might be able to inspire real change.

“We try to address kids who are off track and replace their negative risky behaviour with positive risky behaviour, being surfing. Cape Town is windy, cold and sharky.

Surfing here is a challenge and it helps you with all aspects of life,” says Matt Mattilla from Waves for Change.

When Tim Conibear arrived in Cape Town he became conscious of that surfing was a privilege for a minority of the city’s inhabitants and he predominantly saw ‘white’ people catching waves. Tim started to let children from township communities ride with him to the beach in his pickup truck. He realized that surfing helped the children to talk about daily hardships and together with his friend Bongani Ndlovu Tim founded Waves for Change in 2011. Since then the

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organization has had a positive impact in several Capetonian township communities.

Violence in Cape Town has increased during the last decades and the beaches, attracting surfers from all the corners of the globe, make up an idyllic facade of a city where crime and trauma are common features. South Africa has one of the best child protection legislations in the world but the enforcement of rights is lacking. Over a third of the children in the Waves for Change program live with somebody who is abusive, an alcoholic or incarcerated but the legislative support is proving difficult to find A PLATFORM FOR CHANGE Matt Mattilla from Waves for Change points out that toxic stress is a problem in the townships and that the organization tries to create a platform from which the root causes for behaviour can be changed. While the average Westerner experience is three traumatic incidents in a lifetime, children in the townships experience six a year. It can be the death of a loved one, physical

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Âť South Africa has one of the best child protection legislations in the world but the enforcement of rights is lacking.ÂŤ

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attack or rape. Surfing consequently becomes a way of developing healthy coping mechanisms. Waves for Change provides young adults from townships with the necessary means to become certified surf coaches.

They learn how to swim, how to become lifeguards and are finally provided with a child youth care worker certification. The idea is that the coaches become mentors for the children, building a bond of trust through mutual experiences. But surfing is just a hook. Most of the work consists of engaging with the communities through teachers and parents, in order to reach children in need of support.

Waves for Change combines surfing with psychoeducation, where talking sessions and interactive exercises are important aspects. There is also access to a social worker and a psychologist. Even the coaches talk to the psychologist on a regular basis. Both teachers and parents express that the program has a positive impact on the children’s general wellbeing in comparison to other children from the same background.

Matt points out that surfing differs from other sports where aggression is awarded. Instead he sees surfing as a unique experience providing plenty of opportunities for failure and stress.

“When you are surfing you need to recognize your anger or sadness and calm down; which is hard if you are traumatized. In that context adrenalin helps.

Under water you run out of oxygen really quickly, so

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panicking is not going to work,” Matt says.

TOWARDS THE FUTURE Working within the South African context has its challenges, as the structural problems due to the relic of Apartheid are not easily solved. It is not uncommon that a burned train or a gang-warfare sometimes prohibits coaches or children from showing up for a surf session. Surfing cannot solve socio-economic deprivation on its own. Matt explains that their work is nothing compared to parents having employment or teachers showing up to school. The road to success often lies in simple solutions such as giving the children a proper meal before the session, since many are nutritionally deficient. A sandwich before the surfing session results in that the learning scores go up.

There is little money to be made in surfing and Matt is aware that substantial economic support from the surfing community in South Africa is a far-fetched dream. Even so, the bar for the future is set high. While the plan is to hand over the operational work in Cape Town to the local community, the objective is also to expand in South Africa. The next step is to look at places like Somalia, Liberia and Ghana. The main thing is to aim at vulnerable post-conflict communities with access to surfable ocean and youth that don’t have the best opportunities.

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56% 45% 45% 45% 33% 31% 25% 20%

have been victims of violence

Children in the Waves for Change Program Data collected by University of Cape Town and Waves for Change, 2015

have seen someone killed

have seen a family member being taken away by authorities

eat less than they should

report being physically abused

live with someone with an alcohol problem

report being sexually abused

live with someone with a drug problem

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Taz

mania PART III OF PHOTOGRAPHER RYAN CRAIG’S MAIDEN VOYAGE TO THE LAND DOWN UNDER AND BEYOND

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wo weeks into my time in Sydney, it looked as though all of South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania would be rocked by a massive, clean, long-energy swell. Jughead mentioned that South Oz would be all-time, but had already committed to another trip. Other surfers were unavailable or were undecided on how to approach the coming swell.

I knew that I needed to get out of Sydney, but the options seemed overwhelming (again). The conditions for Tasmania were predicted to be perfect, touched by a slight offshore breeze. Plus, Shipstern Bluff was a bucket-list location for me, a place that I knew I would eventually see but never had any idea as to when. There was a catch, though: Shipstern doesn’t like long-interval swell, and the seas were predicted to be about 19 seconds, a very long period.

With 12 hours to spare, I decided on Tasmania. I didn’t have a crew, and I didn’t have a plan, but I knew I had to see Shippies firsthand.

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» It was surreal to watch one of the most famously massive waves in the world without another soul in sight.« The hike to Shipstern is something you’ll never forget. It’s a gorgeous journey to the headlands, the sounds of bird chirping over your head while you breathe in some of the freshest air on earth. About fifty minutes into the hike, you get your first glimpse of Shipstern at a distance. I had awoken early and had arrived to the lookout well before sunrise. The swell was slow, but absolutely real. I relaxed at the overlook, bundled in a jacket while staring off at the horizon. There were no people, no boats, no skis.

Turns out I would leave in the dark after arriving in the dark. The period was in fact too long, and the uncharacteristically small crew that showed up rode very few waves. In total, there were two tow teams and three bodyboarders paddling, seven riders in all.

When the right waves came, there every bit as amazing and radical as the web clips I’ve watched over the past decade. At sunset, I stood on the edge of the reef, nearly showered by the waves, and there wasn’t a single person around. The boats had left with all the surfers, and the bodyboarders had begun their hike back. It was surreal to watch one of the most famously massive waves in the world without another soul in sight. As the day progressed, the swell interval began to drop, and the best sets of the day rolled through.

After a grueling two-hour and forty-minute hike back in the dark, I finally reached my car. I didn’t

end up getting the type of high-action photos that Shipstern is known for, but I saw it in an equally rare light: an empty one.

THE WILD FACTOR: A crisp, clear and full moon made the evening car-ride south from the Hobart airport almost eerie.

Around the Tasman peninsula late into the night, the drive was a roadkill massacre. Keeping my eyes firmly on the road but still taking in the scenery, I spotted a wallaby out of my peripheral bouncing toward my wheel. I couldn’t avoid the little guy and tagged him at a solid click. Now I understood why the road looked as it did. I car-camped that night at a spot close to Shipstern. As I attempted to sleep, I wondered if my loosely planned trip would pay off.

THE HIKE: I had heard how intense the trail was at Shipstern, but I figured that it wasn’t all that bad. Maybe the lack of sleep, the weight of camera gear, and me being a touch out of shape made the hike more difficult, but the trail is exceedingly tough on any day. After an hour or so, you’re greeted with your first glance of the wave in the distance. Hundreds of meters above sea level and a kilometer or so away, you can still hear the rumble of the lip as it breaks underneath the massive

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Shipstern Bluff. Another one-and-a-half hours downhill will get you to the Bluff, a magnificent spot that makes you feel insignificant in the grand scheme of the scene.

Up close and at the reef’s edge, Shipstern Bluff looks significantly less surfable than it already does in video clips. The amount of water that rushes over the reef as the waves bend toward the rocks is crazy.

It reminded me of a better (albeit smaller) version of Ghost Trees, which is close to my home in the States and barely classifies as a wave. With the swell direction and interval on hand, everyone was being extremely selective.

switches moods. As long as you’re not booking a ticket in the midst of a strong south-wind flurry, the clouds come and go, and the temperature and winds are tolerable. I tend to prefer slightly colder climates anyway, but I didn’t think Tasmania was inhospitably cold to begin with. With the abundance of hiking trails to check out, the colder weather makes for more pleasant outdoor recreation.

THE NON-SURF:

Tasmania tends to be streaky, weather-wise, with a few days of similar patterns before it suddenly

Hobart is a quaint little city with plenty of atmosphere and restaurants, while some of the national parks like Freycinet and Cape Hauy were absolute stunning. Tasmania has some of the most well-maintained and dreamy hiking trails I’ve seen. Apart from the surf, it’s worth a trip to Tasmania just to get out and explore what their national parks have to offer.

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Some things belong in the ocean.

Others don't.

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STREET

CRED SHRED

WORDS // STAFF REPORTER IMAGES// ERNESTO VALVERDE

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peaking with eighteen-year-old South African surfer Ntando Msibi, aka “Biggy Smiles,” he comes off like any promising young shredder lucky enough to grow up along Durban’s surfdrenched Golden Mile. Excitedly discussing his upcoming surf trips abroad, his preferred adjectives are “stoked” and “sick,” both pronounced with long vowels so that they become stow-kt and seeeeek.

Not long ago, however, Msibi was living a far different life. As a small child, Msibi wandered the streets of Durban, begging for money, searching for food.

He was harassed by police or older street kids. At night, with no family to take him in, he slept on the ground.

A trip to the beach with surfer/activist Tom Hewitt, however, changed the course of Msibi’s life. Though he could barely swim at the time, Msibi showed natural ability on a surfboard. By age 14,

Msibi was representing South Africa at the ISA Pro Juniors in Ecuador and he has since surfed for the South African National Junior team.

Msibi’s story is inspiring, but rare.

With more than one million street children globally, and an estimated 6,000 in Durban alone, the issue is a global urban phenomenon. Street children endure a wide range of emotional and physical abuse. Street life leaves children more susceptible to hunger and disease. Some turn to prostitution to earn money. Drug use among street children is rampant (nearly 60 percent of street children worldwide abuse one substance or another, according to a study in the Addiction Journal) as many turn to sniffing glue, gasoline or other easily accessible inhalants in order to escape the reality of the streets.

I caught up with Msibi to talk about his work with the non-profit Surfers For

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Street Children, a mentorship project founded by Hewitt aimed at empowering former Street Children as they move into adulthood.

S: What’s life like for street children in Durban?

NM: These are kids that ran away from home for all different reasons. Some had problems. Some just couldn’t be obedient at home. The streets are not easy to live in. If you’re on the streets, you have to do whatever you can to survive.

I was very young when I was living on the streets. So a lot of bad things happened to me. Older kids, many of them in gangs, were always trying to get whatever I had. If I had some money, they might come take it from me. When we made ourselves somewhat comfortable somewhere, the metro police would round us up and drive us away from there.

S: Can you talk about the work that you are doing with Surfers Not Street Children?

NM: There are still a lot of kids living on the streets in Durban. We try and get them to come down to the beach. When they are down there we invite them to surf. That’s also where our social workers can try and talk with them and try to help them. [The children] get to see how much surfing helps us.

S: Is it hard to convince kids who are living on the street to come surf with you? What kinds of things do you say to them?

NM: Sometimes it is hard to convince them. They might freakout and say, “What if I drown?” or “What if I don’t come back?” I just tell them “Once you get out there, it’s way better than getting high.” Once you convince them to get in the water, most are committed, though.

S: What happens after you get the kids surfing? Are there programs to help the kids with things like school or jobs?

NM: The surfing part is really sick and I love pushing the guys to get better at surfing, but there is a lot of other stuff we need to help them with. We have a mentorship program to help kids transition from street life. Simple things are important, like how to behave or react around people. We help them find jobs, which can be really difficult for former street children.

S: How did surfing change you? What do you love about it?

NM: For me, surfing makes me feel good everyday. As long as I’m surfing I feel like I don’t have to worry about anything else.

»We have a mentorship program to help kids transition from street life. Simple things are important, like how to behave or react around people. «

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DEATH OF THE STRAP-ON Why the moment for a step-in revolution may finally have arrived

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ou know when you get that feeling that you really, really want to say “I told you so”, but know that you shouldn’t because it is a total dick thing to do, but you still do it anyway?

Like when… oh, I don’t know… someone buys a rocker snowboard only to find that they can no longer turn properly (but still claim that it makes snowboarding more “fun”, as if not ever being able to properly hold an edge and eating shit on icy red runs is “fun”). Or when people try to change a lightbulb without turning the electricity off at the mains first, and electrocute themselves.

Anyway, that’s how I felt recently when Burton announced the return of the Step In, or rather, the arrival of the Step On. It was like a lifetime of “I told you so” moments rolled up into one, after which I proceeded to annoy everyone I have ever met who cares about snowboarding (and who thought the Step-in would never return) by saying “I told you so”, like a fucking annoying school swot who did extra revision for algebra when everyone else was assuming that the exam would be

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all about trigonometry.

I have long been a wilful contrarian, essentially taking positions that I don’t really even agree with just for the sake of making an argument, metaphorically poking the snowboarding bear that is doing a shit in the woods on the internet, while the Pope makes dope smoke signals. It’s much more fun than just agreeing with everyone else.

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ut, in a totally straight-up, legit, honest-to-goodness, I-am-nottaking-the-piss way, for the last decade or so, I have been mourning the demise of the Step-In, and longing for its return.

Not because Step-Ins were ever any good. They were total shite. Even gaper beginners who barely knew the difference between an Elguerial and a Sad Plant and were even dumb enough to wear mitts and salopettes back in the 90s (like, duh! Total douche) quickly worked out that Step-Ins were a nightmare in real world conditions.

Firstly, they didn’t really work if you were on snow. Given that the

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WILL STEP-INS LEAD TO MORE SKATE-INSPIRED TRICKS, LIKE THIS ONE-FOOTER FROM NICK VISCONTI? PHOTO: MATT GEORGES

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» Because snowboard schools adopted the Step-In with an avaricious zeal, the technology became inextricably linked to the generic image of a beginner douchebag « boot-to-binding interface was typically on the bottom of the boot, where, weirdly, there was also often snow, you would typically spend more time trying to hack ice out of the soles of your boots than you ever spent trying to ratchet your straps.

Secondly, they were more painful than wearing an Iron Maiden whilst having your eyeballs eaten by ravenous mutant rats and your testicles battered by a rabid little-person with knuckle dusters.

All the stiffness that should have been somewhere, anywhere else, was in the boot. So your ankles, shins, heels, toes and the ball of your foot would hate you all day, from the moment you put them on until the moment you strutted into the bar, slipped on the wet tiled floor (because the metal bit wasn’t grippy like a normal rubbery boot sole), fell on your arse and knocked yourself unconscious.

Finally, by wearing them you immediately signalled yourself out as a prick.

That was what really did for them.

People will put up with almost anything if it is considered cool (smoking for example, which actually kills you), but because snowboard schools adopted the Step-In with an avaricious zeal (in the hope that it would stop pimplefaced little Johnny taking so long to get ready every time he got to the top of the magic carpet), the technology became inextricably linked to the generic image of a beginner douchebag. That was terminal. The Step-In disappeared into oblivion in a cloud of smoke.

But from where I was standing (just to the left of the now defunct Sheffield Ski slope, picking my nose and thinking how I could bonk a local board bag) Step-Ins were a great idea – mangled by poor execution, perhaps, but they definitely deserved to exist.

HERE’S WHY: STRAPS ARE ACTUALLY ANNOYING Every time I get into my bindings I want the exact same level of tightness.

Not almost the same level of tightness.

I want it to be exactly the same, so that when I go for a tourist method, I know precisely the angle of my boots in relation to my bindings and thus where the heel edge of my board will be. Straps almost always left me wondering, “do I need another click”? And then I would go for another click and they would be too tight, and I would have to start the whole process again.

STRAPS BREAK I have tried just about every snowboard brand on planet earth and have broken straps on all of them. This usually happens at the top of the mountain, where it is coldest and the plastic is thus most likely to be brittle. This also typically happens to be the furthest from home. I have had to ride one-footed for 1500+ vertical metres so many times that I ended up carrying zip-ties in my snowboard pants, so I could lash my foot to my binding on the occasion of these all-too-regular emergencies.

And if they weren’t snapping, the little teeth on the straps were being blunted by my over-zealous cranking of the ratchets, leaving me unable to ever get them tight enough. When people say that ‘straps work’, I tend to show them the large plastic bag in which I have kept of two decades’ worth of broken strap parts, then flick them the V’s and laugh like Lord Voldemort.

IT TAKES TIME PUTTING ON STRAPS Sorry, but it does. Every moment that I spend strapping into my board is a moment I could be riding and doing

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tindy grabs off moguls, so that is a moment wasted. I also find it a bit awkward, and invariably have to sit down to get it right…which opens up a whole other point I need to make…

RE-INTRODUCING STEP-INS WILL WIND UP “PROPER” SNOWBOARDERS Some people seem to think that by not needing to sit down when you do up your bindings, you are a proper snowboarder. Well, I have been riding for well over a quarter of a century, spent multiple full winters doing nothing but snowboarding, can do several tricks that at one time or another have won Air + Style events, and guess what, I have to sit down when I do up my strap bindings (despite not being fat and being very stretchy). So you can blow me (ideally whilst I am sitting down, with your head in my lap).

These petty little rules that “proper” snowboarders rely on to define themselves as “core” belong in the same bin that Donald Trump puts his post-crank (as in “crying wank”) tissues into after seeing himself being mocked on Saturday Night Live. (Also in that bin you will find not putting down the safety bar, not wearing a helmet, and pretending that your dad isn’t rich.)

The Step-In binding is the ultimate fuck-you to the supposedly right-thinking snowboarder. It’s a bit skier-ish. It makes life easier. It is made by Burton.

Which means it has to exist.

THERE IS A WHOLE NEW CATEGORY OF TRICKS THAT STEP-INS CAN UNLEASH Snowboarding has spent three decades desperately trying to look like skateboarding, what better way than to finally realise this younger-less-coolsibling ambition than by making bindings more step-on-and-offable?

I have already seen an Instagram clip of a dude doing a hippy jump before landing onto (and connecting into) his board to do a “normal” snowboard trick, which not even Scott Stevens can do with strap bindings.

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This is just the start. The possibilities for one-footed, or even no-footed airs are huge if we can crack this technology. Like launching a massive Christ Air and then landing straight into a monster Eurocarve. Surely that would be a good thing? It’s got to be better than a Backside 1440 mute Triple Cork?

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f course there will be issues.

When you are riding in powder it might be really difficult to get sufficient resistance under the board to stomp into the binding. Snow will almost certainly get clogged and frozen into the ratchet in the high-back.

But I think it is great that Burton are trying to innovate. Our sport is all about breaking rules, doing things differently, and if that means making some mistakes in the pursuit of a better experience then we should be applauding those who are bold enough to try.

People seem to be hating on Burton for doing this (who, God forbid, have managed to survive as an independent, rider-owned brand for 40 years without selling out to private equity hawk).

Their main crime seems to be designing and making a board / boot / binding interface that actually works together – apparently this forces people to buy everything from Burton.

I don’t think it is evil that Burton seek to integrate all their hardware and try to improve on all the ‘connection points’ between different bits of gear.

In fact, I think it makes sense… but the reality is that if I need to change my board in order to try out Step-Ons, I probably won’t bother. Which is a shame, because I am pretty sure that I could do a Christ Air to Eurocarve if I had Step-Ons. I am thus hoping that some other brands will see the potential of a strapless world, and potentially even a universal system, and at that point I might just make the leap. I have been hoping that this day would come for years, but even I can’t bring myself to go all-in and get a Step-On just yet.

But I really hope that it works. Just so I can say “I told you so”.

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“Innovation is the life-blood of our sport, and if for one moment we think that it’s not worth trying to improve something, then… well, we should become skiers”

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NICK VISCONTI FAMOUSLY PULLED OFF THE CHRIST AIR BACK IN 2011 BUT THAT WAS WITH NO BINDINGS AT ALL. PHOTO: TIM ZIMMERMAN

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Brolin Mawejje WORDS // JASON HORTON IMAGES // VARIOUS

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or most of us, snowboarding is simply about fun: we do it because it is insanely enjoyable. For others, it’s a way of life, an obsession, a discipline, and for a lucky, talented few, a career. But hold on… what’s with the ‘lucky’ and ‘talented’? Tell any pro snowboarder they made it through luck and talent, and they’ll laugh in your face. They made it through determination and massive amounts of hard work.

Then again, they probably had something going for them that most of us don’t have: opportunity. In his book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field, and if you apply that to a young person’s sport like snowboarding, you need to have practically grown up on a mountain to have a real shot.

So, what if you were born in Uganda, a troubled, landlocked country with almost no snow, let alone mountain resorts? What if you spent much of your childhood without your mother, afraid of your father?

This was the hand dealt to Brolin Mawejje, and Far From Home is the compelling documentary that tells his story. The story of a lonely, fearful African child who was, at the age of twelve, sent to live with his long-lost mother in the USA, and who grew up to overcome his anger issues and depression to become a highly promising medical student, and a snowboarder with a dream to represent Uganda at the Olympics.

We appreciate most the things we work hardest to achieve: the satisfaction we feel upon reaching a goal is proportional to the barriers we had to overcome to get there. So with that in mind, watch Far From Home, and walk around in the skin of Brolin Mawejje for a while: it’s a truly inspirational experience.

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Uganda’s Olympic promise BROLIN ON HIS RETURN TO UGANDA FOR THE FILMING OF FAR FROM HOME. PHOTO: SEAN KERRICK SULLIVAN

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KEEPING UP WITH HIS STUDIES. HE FINISHED HIS UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY AND PUBLIC HEALTH AT WESTMINSTER COLLEGE WITH A 3.7 GPA. HE AIMS TO CONTINUE HIS STUDIES IN MEDICINE AND BECOME A DOCTOR. PHOTO: SEAN KERRICK SULLIVAN

BROLIN AND HIS AMERICAN BROTHERS. PHOTO: SEAN KERRICK SULLIVAN

BROLIN SHREDDING THROUGH THE FROSTY FORESTS OF ARGENTINA. PHOTO: .BEN GIRADI

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» What does it take to be a doctor?

Simple. Hard work.

Devoting yourself… snowboarding is like medical school, the two are the same thing – everything in life takes hard work «

TRAINING HARD AT CAMP OF CHAMPIONS. PHOTO: FAR FROM HOME

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HEADING FOR THE

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The Rise Of The Snowboarding Hobo: Why riders are tuning in and dropping out

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he plight of millennials has been well documented everywhere from the smack-stained pages of Vice magazine to the crisp pink folds of the Financial Times.

A generation faced with the prospect of having to save the planet, fix the global economic system, solve the housing crisis, hold down eight jobs just to pay the rent and also work out whether skinny jeans will finally go out of fashion in favour of something more practical (evidence from Shoreditch suggests this is already happening), have – in many cases – chosen to flick the Vs to their parents’ generation and opt out in favour of something more achievable, like having fun and making a nice cup of coffee.

Instead of gently caressing an officious middle-manager’s testicles and grinding away on a slippery corporate ladder for 15 years, just to buy a cramped flat with poor sound insulation that’s within easy reach of

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a crack den, many have abandoned the societal structures around which baby boomers built their lives, and decided to live a more itinerant, sensation-seeking existence. The old world just looks too damn horrible to engage with, there must be a better way.

In parallel, snowboarding has ceased to be the money-printing machine that it once was. Young kids are opting to live in virtual worlds, eat sweets, drink litres of sugary, caffeinated, flavoured acid-water, and even worse, ski (for fuck’s sake) in greater numbers than ever before.

This has left snowboarding – even with all the quarter quell excitement and TV eyeballs of the Olympics – somewhat impoverished and unable to provide a gilded existence for all but the most incredibly bouncy and twisty human beings. So it comes as little surprise to see the rise of the snowboarding hobo, and their weapon of

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» A generation faced with the prospect of having to save the planet has decided to live a more itinerant, sensationseeking existence« apr '17

choice: the pimped out passion wagon.

A few years ago, before Eric found himself following Travis Rice’s slough around the Pacific on increasingly hair-brained expeditions, ‘Brothers on the Run’ was a neat little webisode series that detailed the Jackson brothers’ van-based “longest navigable road” expedition from Alaska to Chile. It contained some great riding, a barebottomed glance into two of snowboarding’s best and most lovable riders’ lives, a bit of ukulele playing, fishing, Sam Masekele overdub and some slightly dodgy-looking jewellery-making (it probably seemed like a good idea at the time, John).

One of the stars of the show was the thugged out death-black van that John and E-Jack put together for the trip. It looked badass, and made what was already an incredibly romantic and seductive idea (intercontinental travel peppered with

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snowboarding, surfing and beard-growth) all the more appealing.

Whilst I don’t think the Jackson brothers can claim ownership of the travel-van idea (Mike Basich has been on solitary Alaskan pow-missions in his wagon for years, and living in West Wales I spend a lot of my time in the summer trapped behind massive white Winnebagos winding through narrow country roads as their septuagenarian drivers argue over who has the right to the last Werther’s original), the Jackson Brothers endorsement of the snowboarding hobo lifestyle probably marked the start of the “acceleration of the adoption curve”, as someone who isn’t a millennial might say.

Since then, in no small part thanks to Eddie Wall’s entertaining TWSnow live feeds which frequently crawl around the inside of snowboarders’ campervans – uncovering hidden truths about their lovemaking,

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personal hygiene and defecation habits – I have seen all manner of envy-inducing rigs that made me wish that back in 1996, when I lived in the back of a Vauxhall Astra van for several months in a car park in Hossegor (surfing, eating banana and Nutella pancakes, and downing shots under duress from swarthy Aussies) I’d had a better grasp of engineering and carpentry – and thus could have created a vehicular space where I could have done all the sleeping, wanking, lovemaking and pooing I wanted, without any need to ever leave the van.

Spending all your money to create a sick passion wagon, rather than paying rent for a year, seems like a no brainer. As does having the freedom to travel to any resort where the snow is good. As does just living free from all the encumbrances of modern life – so I fully expect that we will see an ever increasing rise in the snowboarding hobo lifestyle. This feels like a well thought-out “fuck you” to the man, whoever he is, and should be celebrated.

Some friends of mine are even hobo-ing with young kids for a year, which is super gnarly (try making love to your wife/husband/partner/pet dog whilst your kids are 3 feet away and asleep, and see how you get on with your technique) and they’re not even Millennials.

All of this has got me fantasising about joining the hobo movement – and thinking, what would be the ultimate set up?

Let’s assume for budgetary purposes that we have to start with a Ford Transit Van. Here’s my dream van:

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Sensible Stuff

Solar Panels (detachable in case it snows / so you can optimise their aspect to capture maximum rays) Critical for being off-grid, and charging your ipad, ipod, iphone, macbook, Bluetooth speakers, wireless headphones, boot dryer, electric toothbrush and nasal hair trimmer.

Sick Paint Job Matte black or camo preferably. Or perhaps a Jamie Lynn custom job with a cat with boobs draped over a guitar by a mountain – for looking cool, obviously.

Shower Unit You don’t want to stink up the place, other than with your stinky tindy and tailfish grabs.

Bog (composting not chemical) Uncontrolled poo in a confined space is bad, as is crapping in subzero temperatures next to a tree, as are chemicals. Keep it natural and feed the planet with your poo, without getting frostbite on your ass, or attacked by a bear whilst you are reading an old edition of Whitelines and curling out a fat one.

Foldaway Bed You need sleep or eventually you will start hallucinating and die; more importantly you need somewhere to dream about new snowboard tricks. P.S. If it’s rockin’, don’t come knockin’…

Less Sensible (but still fundamental)

Snowboard Tuning Workshop You want your board to be as slippy as possible at all times, and you might get lucky by offering someone a hot wax.

Bar Every van needs a bar. Somewhere to sit with your buddies and share a sunny beer at the end of the day. Somewhere to keep alcohol that can sterilise seeping bed sores or infection from bed bugs.

Somewhere to numb the pain of a boardslide to scorpion in front of your mates.

Parkour Training Mattresses and Foamy Crash Pad Things This can double as your sofa, and with a small adjustment will also allow you to practice your double backflips and teddy bear rolls, helping you improve your physical literacy and spatial awareness for those slappy mute grabs off green jumps.

Detachable Rails Rig up the van with a roof rack which doubles as a flat-down-flat rail. These can be embedded into the snow, or set up in the car park for an impromptu proto-Scott Stevens skate session.

Hermetically-Sealed Storage Chamber (for snowboard boots and socks) Even with a boot dryer rigged up to the solar panel doing its work every day, eventually your footwear is going to pong. As such, having an airtight, medically approved and biologically neutral environment in which your boots can be placed is critical.

Les Pieces de Resistance

Mobile Disco Needs no explanation, other than to say it could be a source of income (e.g. providing a mini Snowbombing festival in a car park) as well as a source of personal entertainment. You could also use this to drown out the soundtrack and waffle whilst watching "The Fourth Phase".

Roof-Based Vegetable Patch and Chicken Coop Eat your greens and eggs for next to nothing. Avoid scurvy. Avoid clogging up your small intestine with excessive baguette consumption.

Lasers Always good to have lasers on stuff. No real purpose.

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JED AND A NEW GENERATION OF RIDERS ARE TURNING SNOWBOARDING CONVENTION ON ITS HEAD – AND 21-YEAR-OLD JED ANDERSON IS LEADING THE CHARGE. DOES THIS MUCHHYPED CANADIAN REALLY REPRESENT THE FUTURE?

STORY // ANDREW DUTHIE IMAGES // ANDY WRIGHT

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ver the years, professional snowboarding has seen its fair share of unusual careers. One minute someone’s clutching an oversized cheque at a world-class pipe event, the next they’ve turned on a ten-pence piece and disappeared into the wilderness. Even today, as the money increases and contracts become more binding, it’s just as likely to happen. Nowadays a rider can train, get sponsored, reach their peak and burn out even before sniffing puberty.

Take Canada’s Jed Anderson who, at the tender age of 15, had already gone from podiumtopper to disillusioned dropout. He didn’t go far, though, and now he’s back – in a big way. This time around he’s being touted as urban snowboarding’s new Messiah, with a style that’s seemingly the most divisive issue since Dylan went electric. Love him or hate him, you’d be hard-pressed to name a more interesting rider around today.

As a child snowboard prodigy in his native Canada, Jed was sponsored before he’d even hit double figures. Years on the competition circuit followed, and before long he’d enjoyed a career more substantial than those of riders twice his age. ‘Enjoyed’ maybe isn’t the right word, however, as the scene soon took its toll: “Basically I got over that whole side of it, and went back to just snowboarding with my friends.” Walking away from big deals with the likes of Forum might have been difficult, but what good is all the free swag in the world if it’s no fun using it? Luckily for Jed, the industry was changing too, and online video parts gave those like him another chance to have a crack at the pro game. Soon his homemade edits were getting noticed online, and the sponsors came knocking once again. This time, it would be on his terms. “Now it’s kind of come full circle”, he explains. “I’m back into it, riding professionally, but I’m a lot happier this time around. The people I work with, and all the shit that I’m doing now is a lot more enjoyable, so I’m happy it worked out the way that it did.” Not bad, considering he’d made no conscious effort to woo potential

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backers. “When I stopped competing I just filmed with my friends. I filmed parts and people saw them, and suddenly I was sponsored again. I didn’t really care about being sponsored or getting free stuff, it just happened naturally.”

Jed admits that he “couldn’t be happier” with how his second stab at pro snowboarding has panned out. He’s certainly been holding up his end of the deal, logging quality parts in Transworld’s Get Real and Videograss’ Shoot The Moon, among others. Then there’s his recent edit, In Full. By now you’ve probably seen it, or at least heard the fuss.

No team – just one rider and three minutes of video plus credits.

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ed doesn’t really pay too much attention to his reception online; however, if he were to look at the comments on his YouTube videos, for example, he’d see that alongside every “oh dude he has so much style and its good style i love jed” there’s a “stance is gross.” In the modern age of identikit park robots and internet trolls, any rider with a ‘Marmite’ style will take flak at some point, and Jed is no exception. The question is: does he care? In truth he’s more bewildered than anything, and genuinely doesn’t see what the big deal is. “I don’t even have a set stance or anything”, he says. “I just put it on however it feels comfortable. It’s funny, I don’t know if it’s just the way my body is, but my stance isn’t really that narrow. I just go with what feels natural. I don’t know, your feet are closer when you’re skateboarding, and I do that so much.” In fairness, his stance is comparable to those that were commonplace before the ‘90s ‘gangsta’ movement, and sticks out mainly because so many pros – especially high profile all-rounders like Torstein Horgmo and the Helgasons – still opt for wide-and-baggy. Each to their own, says Jed. “For some people wide stance is comfortable for them, I can see how it would make more sense for jumping. But me, I can’t even, like, turn when it’s like that! Whatever your preference is, you know?”

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DERSON »Jed is urban snowboarding’s new Messiah, with a style that is the most divisive issue since Dylan went electric «

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While he may have his detractors, you only need to visit your nearest slope to see how much influence Jed’s had on the UK scene. Scores of groms (not to mention a few older riders) have aped his choices of stance and attire. In the domes, where rails rule, he’s a demigod. If it continues, you’ll soon not be able to throw a snowball without hitting a feral fridge-jibbing acolyte of Jed’s. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, he’ll get a pretty big head the next time he rides these shores.

While normally coming across as a man of few words and fewer worries, theconcern with getting sponsored really gets Jed fired up. Any kid with dreams of making it as a pro, being sponsored and winning contests would do well to heed his advice.

Take it from a guy who knows. “You can get carried away with that stuff. I think the best thing to do is just ride for yourself, and progress in a way that you want to progress. Do the things you want to do. If you’re staying true to yourself, it’s pretty easy for that to be recognised.” He issues a warning for kids aggressively seeking sponsors, learning how to shmooze even as they learn their times tables: “A lot of kids are snowboarding for stupid reasons, and not doing it for themselves. They’re not just going out with their friends and doing what makes them feel good, they’re worried about getting some sort of recognition or getting sponsored by someone. It shouldn’t be about that, you know?”

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f you want proof that you can think like this and still get results when you want, just look back to the 2009 Burton Canadian Open. Although only 17 at the time, Jed was decidedly in the ‘second phase’ of his career. He certainly had no intention of returning to the halfpipe and, even if he had wanted to, he’d be up against the likes of Canadian national team riders Justin Lamoureux and Jeff Batchelor. What would make him even think about entering? “My brother wanted me to do it, but I kept saying ‘no, no, no’. I just wanted to just hit some rails. I was so over it, but he kept saying ‘go for it’. Fraternal goading aside, Jed found motivation thanks to some unpleasant observations made at the top of the pipe. He’d never be a part of that scene again but maybe, just this once, he had a good reason to get stuck in; if you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em. “There were so many people there in the contest that I didn’t really like much, I guess”, he remembers. “The whole scene was just kind of crazy, coaches were yelling at their kids…. There was a bunch of things going on that I didn’t really agree with. I thought it would be cool to win it to show them you don’t have to do it that way. So I tried super hard just for that day, and it worked out somehow.” Sure enough, the rail kid with the ‘skinny’ stance had come out on top, besting Olympians both past and future with a clean run that had everything from a cab 900 to a super-smooth frontside 360 crail (find that one online – it’s excellent). Elite training is all well and good, and not every coach channels their inner army drill instructor, but he’d

» A lot of kids are snowboarding for stupid reasons, and dingdoing rnot a o b w o n re s of kids a it for themselves t doing «

» A lot easons, and no es « r selv m e h t r for stupid o it f

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made his point.

Despite how well it went, it was only ever to be a one-off. Even tasting victory at national (and TTR 5-Star) level wasn’t going to lure Jed back towards contests. As he explains, “I don’t have that side of me anymore where I want to compete against other people, and be judged by someone else.” He did step up to the challenge of the X-Games Real Snow video contest this year, but filming for that is “pretty much just doing the same thing I’d be doing anyway, but with the chance to win some money. And he hasn’t completely closed the door on traditional jams. “I’ll probably do some rail contests. Something mellow, but I’m not too into it anymore.”

In many respects, Jed has more in common with your average holiday-maker headed to the Alps than with many of his fellow pros today. We’ll enjoy watching what happens with the rest of his career, knowing that he’s doing his way and having a blast. Meanwhile, if you overhear a kid stressing out at a contest, or see a parent/coach going all Full Metal Jacket on their young charge, make sure they know about Jed. Show them his stuff, tell his story, and make it clear that there’s another way. With any luck they’ll remember that riding is meant to be fun. Maybe the kid will never make it to the Olympics, but it could prevent them from losing the love and packing it in altogether. They might stop trying to ride how people expect them to, and find their own style. Ask Jed if it’s worked out for him, and he’ll give you his honest answer: “Everything’s perfect.”

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DOWN UNDER WORDS // DOM GRANGER IMAGES // MARKUS BERGER

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FREEDIVE BELOW ZERO 98

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rance’s Arthur Guérin-Boëri found his latest challenge and newest world record under 50cm of ice.

On March 11, 2017, freediver Arthur Guérin-Boëri went diving. This time, however, it was completely different to the other thousands of dives he’d already logged during his record-breaking freediving career.

That day, Guérin-Boëri entered the water through a hole in a frozen lake in Finland and set out to break the record for the longest freedive under ice.

The idea came about when he started to feel the need for a new challenge: he’d had enough of the pool and was looking for something new. Even though he already held a couple of CMAS world records for the longest distance swum under apnoea (300m with fins, 200m without), he felt the need to push it just a bit further.

“I wanted to try something with more commitment on the safety side.

I was looking for a new challenge” explains Guérin-Boëri. When he saw the distance records under the ice in the Guinness World Records book, he knew what he was going to do next.

The distance to beat was 150m, so he thought he could easily do it, but he quickly learned that hitting his 175m target wouldn’t be quite so simple.

Freediving under ice is much more difficult than in warmer water. First,

DIVE//stoked magazine

there’s a risk factor: under 50cm of ice, you can’t come up when you want to.

Then there’s the cold water (0ºC), and the effect it has on the body and on what’s called the diving reflex: “The diving reflex is one of the body’s protective mechanisms for apnoea. When we stop breathing under water, the heart slows down and peripheral vaso-constriction occurs: all the blood goes to the vital organs”, explains Arthur, “These protective mechanisms are good, but also inconvenient: with the diving reflex comes the pressing need to breathe. It happens at the same time: the body protects itself, but we need to fight the desire to breathe.”

Under normal apnoea conditions for Guérin-Boëri, the diving reflex comes at around a distance of 75m. However, in cold water he had to start fighting the urge to breathe at around 30-40m.

“It’s good because it protects my body, but hard because I want to breathe. My comfort zone was much shorter.”

The stress also plays its part in the difficulty of such a record: “The stress of having so many people watching, so many people involved, is huge. It’s definitely an added pressure. In terms of relaxation and concentration, it makes everything much more difficult.”

As if that wasn’t enough, the airline lost Arthur’s bag of gear: “I wasn’t able to dive with my own gear, except for

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a wetsuit which I had spare. That was a big extra stress: I wasn’t able to do the tryouts, a mono-fin was shipped in emergency from Russia. It was superstressful. I only knew it was going to be hard. I had the chance to do only one try and I swam 75m. At that moment, I realised how hard it was really going to be.”

How did he calm down before the big dive? “I had to prepare long before diving. First I had to warm up: we had a sauna van, thanks to the Finnish team and their knowledge. Then, I laid down for half an hour before the start beside the start hole, doing some meditation, preparation, apnoea exercises and lots of visualisation. Even if I was going into the unknown, I was trying to visualise.”

That period of time to prepare mentally is crucial for a record like this one – to deal with the stress, but also the fears: “Yes, I was scared. With my lost gear, I first took it a bit like a sign saying ‘Arthur, don’t go dive.’ That’s how I interpreted my lost luggage. But I managed to push through it and forced my destiny. I told myself, never mind, I’ll go anyways, we’ll see. I’ll do my best. I arrived on the lake with stress and apprehension, inquietude of the unknown.

Luckily I was able to focus enough to go, and went into a near hypnosis state.”

And how does it feel to be under the ice? “It’s a very strange space. But the water is 0ºC under 50cm of ice. When

you’re underwater you feel… good.

It’s weird, you’re not claustrophobic at all, it’s more like being in a cocoon. It’s very beautiful so we feel good under there. But when we’re under there, we still realise that it’s a place when human beings have absolutely nothing to do there! We humans are not at our place in zero-degree water, but it’s magnificent” he says.

But a distance record in the pool and under the ice are two completely different worlds. For starters, the logistics are much more complicated. “First, you have to find the right lake. Then we needed a team in Finland to make holes in the ice. They come with a quad to pull off the 200kg blocks of ice.

“Then we needed a safety team of divers, doctors, and doctors for the antidoping control (for an official record); we needed the logistics for Guinness (cameramen, official witnesses, an architect to measure the distance) and to recognise the record for the CMAS (International Confederation of SubAquatic Activities) – we doubled up on ratification. Plus logistics for our film shoot: two underwater cameramen, one on land, one PA in Paris, and another one in Finland…”

It was a massive project that took six months of organisation. It was a lot of stress and lot of work.

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» That was really cold, but so extraordinary. I never lived something like that, it’s fabulous.«

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DIVING WITH GREAT WHITES WORDS // ALISON MANN IMAGES // @JUANSHARKS 102

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cean Ramsey uses social media and underwater pictures to promote shark and marine conservation. A quick internet search for ‘girl dives with sharks’ will throw up the name Ocean Ramsey. This will surely contain videos of her swimming alongside great white sharks, as well as images showing her close interactions with marine life. But there’s more to her than that. A life spent in the ocean has led Ocean to become a professional freediver, scuba instructor, marine biologist and model. She’s also keen to share her passion for shark conservation, and this is where her amazing imagery and internet prowess are put to good use.

As a freediver she achieved 6.5 minutes underwater, and started her own marine research and conservation company. But it was sharks that she felt the greatest passion for and, after she was filmed swimming alongside a great white shark, holding onto its fin, she was thrust into the public view. For her, swimming with a great white was nothing unusual, but for the public it was a pretty extreme feat.

Changing this perception that great white sharks are dangerous is what really drives Ocean. Her non-profit venture Water Inspired uses amazing images to promote conservation In her professional life as a marine biologist she studies shark behaviour, which gives her the opportunity to have such close interactions with the creatures. She explains: “Sharks don’t have many people speaking up for them. I’m lucky to have spent my life studying and interacting with them. Because of my

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Endangered Sharks Approximately 100 shark species has serious problems that threaten their population and survival. Commercial fishing and water pollution are some of their most common risks.

» Changing this perception that great white sharks are dangerous is what really drives Ocean. "Sharks don’t have many people speaking up for them".« specific field of study I am able to look at the body language of sharks, and get that close interaction we need to understand them.”

As well as scientific work, she set up a non-profit called Water Inspired which uses amazing underwater images primarily to promote shark conservation, but also to ensure the public are aware of other marine issues too. Her images stand out, she believes, by showing someone swimming with a creature they may initially think is dangerous, which makes them look twice. Ocean has been diving since she was a child in Hawaii She says herself in the simplest terms: “By swimming with these sharks we are able to show we can co-exist and they are not going to eat you!”

This helps change the negative perceptions people may have, she explains: “One of our primary goals is utilising beautiful imagery to inspire people to take interest and care about the marine environment. I think Juan’s images definitely inspire people to take a second look at marine life through the eyes of someone that has spent their life in the water.” Ocean believes the striking images as well as her passion for marine conservation has sparked the huge social media following.

She adds: “It is my hope and personal observation that the number of people who care about marine conservation is growing. It’s refreshing to see how many people are jumping on board and taking interest and an active role in daily conservation and larger organised projects.”

Shark Hunting Commercial fishers are responsible for killing millions of sharks every year, resulting in a profitable and productive activity. The infamous finning practice which consists in removing only the fins off the sharks while leaving them alive in the ocean is cruel.

Sharks and Global Warming Global warming does not discriminate ecosystems, species, or hierarchies. The change in ocean temperatures is a risk to the survival of many species among them sharks.

Why defend the sharks?

Sharks are an important part of the marine biome as they keep balanced some fish populations and clean the ocean from carcasses of dead animals. Education is the best solution to understand all the points of a situation. The poor perception of sharks is far from the reality since they are indispensable and irreplaceable parts of marine life.

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WORDS // FRÉDÉRIC PELATAN IMAGES // IAN DERRY 106

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reediving has long captured the public imagination and with good reason. There is something uniquely entrancing about the sport of diving to impossible depths on a single breath of air. Descending to the darkness of the ocean floor is not just a physical thing – it has almost a mystical quality. This is especially true for French freediver Guillaume Néry. The video of him freediving into the world’s largest bluewater sinkhole mimicking a BASE jumper has so far garnered over 16 million views.“The most magical moment is when I escape gravity. It is liberation.

It is breaking loose. I fly with my arms open. At those moments I am completely calm. Everything around me becomes one and I become part of that whole,” he says.

Freediving is a natural expression for his childhood ambition – he wanted to go into space. “When I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and was constantly looking up at the sky,” he says.

“One day I saw a documentary about freediving legend Umberto Pelizzari.

That was the first time I was confronted

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with a completely different world.”Soon the Frenchman was practising holding his breath and diving at every opportunity to become one of the best in the world. His particular discipline is ‘Constant Weight’ where divers descend and ascend a line with just a monofin for assistance.Like most freedivers, Néry does not practise the much more dangerous ‘No-Limits’ where freedivers descend on a weighted sled and ascend by pulling a balloon.

But since last November the small freediving community has been in shock following the death of Nicholas Mevoli, the first fatality to occur in a competition. “Our sport is enormously demanding, from a physical point of view,” says Néry “but I don’t feel it’s dangerous because we have to stick to all these safety procedures. Or should I say I never used to feel it was dangerous?

Of course, now I wonder.”But if there’s one thing he fears it’s fear itself. “Once it sets in you lose the cool and serenity you need as you fight for every metre.

That’s the challenge, the art, the fascinating thing.”

DIVE//stoked magazine

» The most magical moment is when I escape gravity. It is liberation. It is breaking loose. I fly with my arms open.

At those moments I am completely calm.

Everything around me becomes one and I become part of that whole.«

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Chasing the Perseid WORDS // SANTIAGO LUNA IMAGES// MARKUS BERGER

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our birdmen chase the Perseid meteor shower across the sky of La Palma in the Canary Islands.

The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower that brought four skydivers and wingsuit fliers to the Spanish island of La Palma: Norwegian Joakim Sommer, Austrians Marco Waltenspiel and Georg Lettner and Spaniard Armando del Rey. Together, these four wingsuit pilots became part of “Lágrimas de San Lorenzo” (Saint Lorenzo’s tears).

The four men wanted with their wingsuits to pay tribute to this spectacular astronomical phenomenon.

The idea was to be a part of the meteor shower under the cleanest Northern Hemisphere sky. La Palma is a key location for astronomical observation.

After the sun went down, the men put on their

LED wingsuits so the divers could become a part of the meteor shower. The four athletes then jumped from a T-21 plane belonging to the Spanish Air Force, from an altitude of 1,800m. From such a great height, they achieved speeds up to 170kph as they simultated the meteors around them. They soared over the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, an observatory with one of the largest telescopes in the world.

During the Perseid meteor shower up to 500 meteors can be seen in an hour. This phenomenon is associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle and this year its intensity has been five times brighter than usual.

We want to acknowledge the big help given by Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Cabildo Insular de La Palma and the Spanish Air Force.

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RED Bul WORDS // MIKE CIANCIULLI IMAGES// BALAZS GARDI & JÖRG MITTER

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THIS WINGSUIT SLALOM RACE IS AS CRAZY AS IT SO

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AZY AS IT SOUNDS. 40 INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES IN A SKY-HIGH SLALOM AT A FOUR-CROSS WINGSUIT RACE IN ARIZONA

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ipping through the air like Superman is nothing new. For years, wingsuit flying has allowed humans to realise the age-old dream of personal flight.

But, pilot skills and wingsuit technology have grown immensely in recent decades, enabling Red Bull Aces to once again crown the world’s best all-around wingsuit pilot.

Since 2014, Red Bull Aces has presented an innovative format that features wingsuit pilots racing head-tohead in four-person elimination heats.

And this November, it’s on again, with a fresh location and a new wild card format that should boost the high-flying action to the next level.

How does it all work? Each heat of four pilots will jump from a civilian version of a Bell “Huey” helicopter at 7,500 feet [2,286m] above ground level.

They’ll race through a twisting course of four gates suspended from other helicopters at descending altitudes between 6,000 and 3,500 feet [1,829m and 1,067m]. The winner is based not

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only on how quickly the finish line is crossed, but also on how many gates are correctly passed through. All the gates are equipped with GPS and the competitors will wear a transmitter to determine whether they pass through each gate properly. Computer systems on the ground receive the information in real time, making the judging immediate and accurate.

“Being the fastest while also making all the gates really tests the skills of the pilots,” says Aikins, whose own aerial skills were tested recently when he successfully landed a skydive from 25,000 feet [7,620m] without a wingsuit or parachute. “Last year, we could see how seriously everyone was taking the competition and their skill sets will only be more elevated this time. It’s going to be intense.” To ensure maximum safety, each athlete will wear two parachutes – a main and a backup reserve.

Every reserve has an automatic opener in case a pilot doesn’t deploy his/her chute at a safe altitude.

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