Pulse Skimboarding - Summer 2014

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SUMMER 2014 PUBLICATION

BALBOA PARTY WAVE PHOTO: REED MORALES

2 SUMMER 2014

WELCOME

WELCOME TO PULSE. We put a lot of hard work into the first issue, but we were still blown away when we saw your responses, shares, and comments. Thanks a ton for supporting our project. This mag would not exist if it weren’t for the skimboarding world embracing us from the first minute we went live.

We think this issue lives up to the hype of the first, but that’s for you to decide. We have some jaw dropping interviews, and some fun ones. Some of your favorite pros went overseas for skim trips, and we tagged along. We also have an incredible photo section that alone is worth a couple hours of your attention. It’s another thick issue, hopefully enough to hold you over for 3 more months.

So go grab a soda, kick up your feet, and start flipping through this thing.

-DAVID AND JACKIE

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06 EDITOR’S NOTE 34 COVERED: SHOREBREAK Tony Liuzzi, a documentary film makhas set out to create the most 12 SPOKEN: TONY BIANCHI er, comprehensive skimboarding documentary to date.

16 NOTEWORTHY 44 GROM CORNER: THE RODGERS BROTHERS 22 PROPIONATED Two brothers living in the skimboarding mecca tell how they’ve made such a big impression so early.

26 UST UPDATE

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CONTENTS

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58 LEADING LADY: KEAIO 98 INDONESIA Current UST Women’s champion The surfing wonderland was visited talks about the islands, competitions, and her recent DVD release.

by a few of skimboarding’s top pros last month. Here’s what they found.

goes to three different countries.

from around the world.

74 INTERNATIONAL LOCAL 112 EXPOSURE Skimboarding’s most stoked pro Over 50 of the greatest skim shots 86 INTERVIEW: LEANDRO AZEVEDO

Ubatuba’s own on how Sununga has shaped his skills to compete with the best.

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220 #SKIMPULSIVE ou tagged your pics, we chose one.

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Our favorite’s a goody. Check it.

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EDITOR’S NOTE I’m laid up for a while with multiple fractures on three different metatarsals in my foot. This all happened in Laguna. I was signed up to compete at the Vic, so I showed up a day early on Friday to readjust to the power and shape of Aliso. That morning when I showed up at the beach, the tide was too high. The waves were troughy, and there was a stinging wind blowing from the south. All around, the conditions were pretty bad.

“CONTEMPLATING WHETHER I’LL EVER SKIM HEAVY SHOREBREAK WITH THE CONFIDENCE I HAD FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THAT INJURY” I knew Saturday’s conditions would be nearly identical, so I decided to just tough it out and get comfortable for the contest. An hour into the session, I found myself standing in knee-deep water as a head-high set wave rolled in. I don’t live in Laguna; I visit maybe three times a year. So I took a long pause to soak in the moment. I watched as that wave slowly, very slowly, peeled off toward where

I was standing. I gazed at the partly cloudy skies and the contrasting cliffs backdropping against the curling A frame. It was one of those moments where the wind stops howling, and the wave rolls in slow motion. Then I tried to dive under.

When I dove under the wave. I felt the undertow pick me up immediately. I was going over the falls. I picked up my knees as it tossed me onto the sand. I landed feet first with the toes on my left foot clenched and curled under. Those toes bent down and popped as the weight of my body compressed into my lisfranc joint.

The doctor told me earlier today that it will “never feel quite the same.” And here I am, contemplating whether I’ll ever skim heavy shorebreak with the confidence I had five minutes before that injury. I could finish this column with a long conclusion telling you to be careful when you skim. But I won’t. Until you feel your foot throb while a doctor utters words like “never,” you’ll probably ignore the distant jabber from some guy behind a virtual page. I learned a big lesson that day. I’ll respect spots like Aliso a bit more, especially when they’re heaving six-foot walls of water at me.

-DAVID HAEFELE

6 SUMMER 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE

LONG WAY UP PHOTO: JACKIE GOLLBACH

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THE TEAM

THE TEAM The team at Pulse consists of enthusiastic skimboarders who are passionate about showcasing the sport in the best possible light. With the mission to feature articles worth reading and images worth viewing, the team has created this publication as a way to interconnect the skim community through beautiful words, images, and design.

DAVID HAEFELE /EDITOR

David is an Orange County native currently living in Santa Cruz. He finished 28th on the UST in 2013. His background in writing and experience in photography and marketing shape how Pulse is portrayed both in the pages and throughout other online channels.

JACKIE GOLLBACH /CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Jackie has a long list of first-place contest finishes and a 5th place finish at the 2014 Vic Championship. Her graphic-design style is lively and clever but also professional and sleek, a style that complements ocean photography and creatively accents skimboarding media.

DEREK MAKEKAU /ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Derek founded and ran ForeverSkim the Magazine for nearly a decade. He now runs 20/30north Studios, and he’s helping with various major and minor decisions over at Pulse.

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CONTRIBUTORS

CONTRIBUTORS This publication would not be possible without photographers and contributors. Their dedication in covering an often overlooked sport is nothing short of awesome. Be sure to click on the linked buttons throughout the issue for direct access to their feeds. Give your favorites a follow or a like: they deserve it.

LUCAS GOMES DAVE SCOTT TONY BIANCHI THAIS RACY TAYLOR OSBORN TYLER BROOKS ANDRE MAGARAO JERRY RODGERS MARCO ARROYO MATT O’BRIEN HARLEY NELSON FABIANA BADIE REED MORALES SKIM CHICKS

CORINNE CONKLIN BRENDAN MCGEOWN KEVIN NEWCOMER OLIVER HARRAULT TONY LIUZZI CARLOS SALAS DWIGHT MUDRY GEL CLEMMER SUSAN GUCWA-BUCASAS ELEAZAR RODRIGUEZ TJ PROHAMMER WILLIAM BREZE JOE BAILEY JOSE CORPUS

COVER SHOT

BLAIR CONKLIN, INDONESIA

LES MORALES MATI GARCES RAMON GARCIA BLAIR CONKLIN THIAGO MEIRELLES MICHAEL KILCULLEN BEN HINTZ JOHNNY ATOE ROBERT CURTIS JESSE BEER ADRIÀ MARTÍNEZ ANDREW GENOVESE CHRIS WILLIAMS MICAH BUSH

“Blair and Dave were scheduled to leave the day prior to this session, but decided to hang around in Bali for two extra days. I positioned myself with the sun on my back, skimmers front and center, and steep cliffs of Bingin Beach in the distance which provided an impressive backdrop for a cover worthy shot as Blair laid into a frontside turn on a feathering off-shore wave.”

- THAIS RACY

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SPOKEN: TONY BIANCHI The Backside Wrap to Close Out Barrel (BSWTCOB) – The Arrival or Dismissal of Our Sport I’ve been in love with skimboarding for 13 years now. I love it as if it’s my wife. I love it so much that I can’t go a day without talking about it, doing it, sharing it, getting mad about it, creating artwork of it…

Basically, it means the world to me, but there is one huge problem she and I have had over the years: The Backside Wrap to Close Out Barrel (BSWTCOB).

I am not saying I hate BSWTCOB or that it should be left out in the rain, but take into consideration please that this one particular move is the holy grail of our sport, and maybe it shouldn’t be, for the sake of our sport. Before I go on, here are four examples.

EXAMPLE 1: EVERY CONTEST IN SKIMBOARDING HISTORY. Almost all contest highlights lean towards BSWTCOB. Don’t believe me? Go watch on YouTube and make a mark on a paper for BSWTCOB vs. everything else. “Don’t worry, I’ll wait.”

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EXAMPLE 2: CABO 2014, TULE. At the 2014 Cabo Clasico, Tule attempted a frontside turn to a radical off the lip to dry sand 360 air and failed. To anyone who knows how dangerous of a maneuver this was in comparison to most BSWTCOB seen all day long, I salute the.

Our sport rarely sees things like this in competition. These types of maneuvers are unnecessary because you can score a ten for a much simpler maneuver such as a BSWTCOB.

“...YOU CAN SCORE A TEN FOR A MUCH SIMPLER MANEUVER... ” EXAMPLE 3: DAVID HAEFELE, THE 2013 SANTA CRUZ SKIMBLAST. During the 2013 Santa Cruz SkimBlast, David Haefele received a 10 for a BSWTCOB. The actual clip of it is in the opening of the UST 2013 Santa Cruz edit. I believe it received a 10 due to conditions at that moment, and partially some localism, but that’s my opinion. However, if you watch the video, there are many other waves that I know are much more difficult to accomplish, none of which received a 10.

SPOKEN

ANOTHER BWTCOB PHOTO: THAIS RACY

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AND ANOTHER PHOTO: HARLEY NELSON

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SPOKEN EXAMPLE 4: THE VIC, THE PIPELINE MASTERS FOR SKIMBOARDING. No other contest holds such a high standard for this maneuver. I’ve personally seen it plenty of times on score sheets myself how biased this is. Ask around how many people get “shafted.” I know I will take a lot of crap for this one, but it’s not really a secret. Note: I am only speculating on BSWTCOB, nothing else.

Our sport has set a standard for what’s legitimate and what is not, but I dare to ask why is completion of wave or technical maneuver not granted more rewards in comparison to BSWTCOB?

out. If we want our sport to move forward we can’t look at every peak and envision the wrap, we need to pursue several options, maybe take a wider line and scoop under the lip, backdoor liner? Perhaps it all begins with looking at waves further out on the horizon… Get at it.”

I am not saying get rid of BSWTCOB , I am saying maybe BSWTCOB should not be the standard in which our sport is seen. To people who know nothing about our sport, I personally believe it takes away from so many more difficult maneuvers that should be showcased more often.

We are skateboarders of the ocean,

“...LOOKING LIKE WE JUST ARE DAREDEVILS SMASHING OURSELVES INTO TREACHEROUS RIPTIDE SHOREBREAK. ” My good friend Brett Mahon summed it up like this: “My major concern with the Backside Wrap to Closeout Barrel is not that it’s common within our community, but that it has fully enveloped many young riders’ minds. It is limiting the way we see the waves forming, and far too many of our runs lead to wraps, day in, day

so therefore we should be attempting technical tricks more often than looking like we just are daredevils smashing ourselves into treacherous riptide shorebreak. I know somebody has to agree somewhat here.

I think its time for a change. Do you?

-TONY BIANCHI, AKA TOEKNEE WWW.TOEKNEEABC123.COM

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NOTE WORTHY RDING

BOA R SKIM

MAJO

SES

ELEA R D V D

PROJECT HAWAII:MY MOVIE/KEIAO LLC

Filmed on and off over a four-year timeline, Project Hawaii captures the aloha and tropical feelings of the islands. The waves are heavy, and every rider’s part is solid. The featured riders are Chris Alreck, Keiao Bucasas, Ace Conlon, Clark Camp, Alejandro Lopez, and David Sterman. It’s extremely polished and clean. From the time-lapse videography to the lighting and video editing, Keiao and the filmers payed attention to all the details. The video grows more fast paced as each part progresses, concluding with a stellar showing by David Sterman that will have you booking your flight to Hawaii before the credits roll.

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NOTEWORTHY DRAGON’S BREATH/10TH ST. BROS

Bill Bryan embarked on a many-month-long journey to mainland Mexico this year, and he documented his travels and more in this nearly hourlong film. At one of his destinations, Bill linked up with Jamie O’Brien and Brad Domke for jetski-assisted heaving barrels, on both surfboards and skims. Also featured in the film is George Bryan who really holds it down at Wedge. Watch out for the aerial shots filmed with the quadcopter. With a good amount of GoPro footage and POV shots, the atmosphere often seems raw, very much returning to a more classic feeling reminiscent of early 10th St. Bros movies.

MOV 3/THIS IS MOV

Even with a rather simplistic editing style, Adam Hayward adds a ton of context and feeling into his videos by simply ordering and pacing his clips.

MOV3 definitely lives up to this style. The film features a creative and mind boggling part from Brad Domke, plenty of standard Laguna pros in classic SouLag conditions, and trips to the foreign lands of Brazil and Mexico. The time lapse videography and creative angles make some sections feel a bit psychedelic at times. There is a strong emphasis on sider footage throughout the film, and this becomes especially apparent toward the end of the movie when Wedge takes center stage.

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NOTE WORTHY EOS D I V G ARDIN THS. O B M I ST SK HREE MON E B E H FT ST T O A P S K E C H T PI STAFF WEB FROM E ON TH

CABO CLASICO UST 2014/TRAVIS WILLIAMS

The days surrounding the Cabo Clasico were greeted with unbelievable waves, and the pros who flew in flew from all parts of the world scored. Travis really captured the dreamy feeling of Cabo in this edit.

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NOTEWORTHY VICTORIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP/TONY BIANCHI

The intensity surrounding this year’s Vic Championships was eclipsed with a man on man heat with the top two on tour. In the official UST edit, Tony showed the creativity pros need to battle it out in troughy conditions.

BRAD DOMKE BREAKS WORLD RECORD/DYLAN PALMER

Last month, the entire skimboarding world took a collective gasp as a picture of this wave spread across social media. The clip is even more jaw dropping. Dylan nailed the shot, and it’s gone viral, to say the least.

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SUNUNGA THE B-SIDE/ECOEXTREME MEDIA

Going to Brazil for the Sununga contest is largely a dream for most of us. The team at EcoXtreme put together this very polished and extremely well-done documentary-style video that tells all about it.

LUCAS GOMES IN CALIFORNIA/SKYLAR WILSON

Lucas Gomes is all smiles, all the time, and on his trip to California those smiles were well deserved. Skylar showed some style and grace in this edit of the traveling Brazilian.

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NOTEWORTHY

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PROPINI PHYSICAL TRAINING? MORGAN JUST

“I don’t think enough pros do it, including myself. I think it would help all the pros if we would do yoga regularly and work out specific muscles for skimming. It would be pretty interesting to see. As for myself, I just do yoga, kinda sporadically. I do HitPlayYoga, and I just naturally eat healthy just because I like to feel good and take care of my body.”

Photo: Taylor Osborn

22 SUMMER 2014

PROPINIONATED

ONATED BRANDON SEARS

“I used to train a lot when I was younger and competing a lot. I think probably one of the most important things to be is flexible, just because you’re getting kind of crushed on the shore.

I tried to do a lot of yoga, and I actually did P90X for a while. That was like an everyday thing with cardio, yoga, and a little bit of karate stuff.”

Photo: Taylor Osborn

JOHNNY SALTA

“I definitely think any physical training besides skimboarding is super important. I’ve had a lot of dumb stupid injuries because of not training. I notice it makes a big difference to help catch up to those guys that are at the top.

The stronger you are the better you do.”

Photo: Tyler Brooks

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UST UPDATE

UST UPDATE After the first three events, it looked like Austin Keen had all but clinched his second title. Austin had a 500 point lead, two first place finishes, and all the momentum he could hope for. Then Sam Stinnett won two events in a row. Now, Austin and Sam are neck and neck with fewer than 100 points separating the first two professionals. Blair Conklin is a thousand points shy of the top spot as he sits in third, certainly not out of contention for the title. Teddy Vlasis has snuck into fourth despite a no-show at Sununga. He’s certianly one to watch out for, especially once the lowest two placings drop off the points standings. Perry Pruitt sits solidly in 5th after a 2nd place finish in the Outer Banks. And Morgan Just rounds out the top six having solid placings in all five events so far.

THE VICTORIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO: LES MORALES | LAGUNA, CA

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#1

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

AUSTIN KEEN

4371 POINTS

28 SUMMER 2014

#2

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

SAM STINNETT 4283 POINTS

#3

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

BLAIR CONKLIN 3334 POINTS

UST UPDATE

FOR CURRENT UST STANDINGS, TOUR INFO, AND CONTEST RESULTS VISIT UNITEDSKIMTOUR.ORG

#4

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

TEDDY VLASIS

2603 POINTS

#5

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

PERRY PRUITT

2386 POINTS

#6

PHOTO:TYLER BROOKS

MORGAN JUST 2287 POINTS

PRO MEN PULSE SKIMBOARDING 29

#1

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

CASEY KIERNAN 1000 POINTS

30 SUMMER 2014

#2

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

TIA D’AMBROSIO 900 POINTS

#3

PHOTO:SKIM CHICKS

ERIN CARPENTER 810 POINTS

UST UPDATE

FOR CURRENT UST STANDINGS, TOUR INFO, AND CONTEST RESULTS VISIT UNITEDSKIMTOUR.ORG

#4

PHOTO:SKIM CHICKS

KEIAO BUCASAS 729 POINTS

#5

PHOTO:TAYLOR OSBORN

JACKIE GOLLBACH 656 POINTS

#6

PHOTO:SKIM CHICKS

SKYLAR WILSON 590 POINTS

PRO WOMEN PULSE SKIMBOARDING 31

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COVERED

COVERED:SHOREBREAK THE DOCUMENTARY Mr. Anthony Liuzzi and his crew have set out to create a documentary-style skimboarding film on par with Riding Giants and Dogtown & Z-Boys. The aim is to introduce skimboarding to the world. With hopes of a nation-wide release and even inclusion at some major film festivals, the reach is set to be expansive, and the message seems to be very much on point.

FILMING AT THE VIC PHOTO: FABIANA BADIE

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DAVID STERMAN, SOLMAR SIDER PHOTO: TONY LIUZZI | CABO, MEXICO

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COVERED

COVERED:SHOREBREAK THE DOCUMENTARY Words by David Haefele Passionate. It’s not easy to bundle up Anthony Liuzzi into one word, but that’s the best we could do. Tony has become a part of the skimboarding community in the past couple months as he set out to capture and showcase the entirety of our beach pastime in his film, simply titled Shorebreak. It’s not your “typical jam film” as he told us. It’s going to be a full-blown hour-and-half to twohour documentary.

Having produced documentaries for the National Park Service and earned an interdisciplinary degree in English, Communications, and Human Cultures, Tony has a lot of experience. When Tony started filming for Shorebreak, one of the first things he did was interview the owner of Victoria Skimboards, Tex Haines. “We talked for over an hour. Honestly, it could have just been a movie about Tex [Laughs].” Also interviewed are Exile Skimboards owner Aaron Peluso and Grape Skimboards owner Paul Wade, along with pros like Paulo Prietto, Brad Domke, Jason Wilson, and the Bryan brothers.

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The interviews are aimed to unveil the story of skimboarding while showing the true emotions behind our sport’s greatest athletes and key contributors. “A lot of times people think they’re gonna get this real formal microphone-in-your-face type interview with me, and I don’t do that.” With such a raw approach in his interviews, Tony even mentioned that people have cried in the interview chair, but he wouldn’t say who.

However, he did mention that we would “know their names.”

Perhaps one of the more refreshing aspects of Shorebreak is that Tony and his crew have been able to see the tight-knit community of skimboarding from the inside, but with an outsider’s perspective. “It’s interesting to see a family environment in a solo sport...At the end of the day if there was someone who tried to draw a line in the sand, skimmers would be on one side, and that person would be on the other.”

PADDY MACK, HIGH AND TIGHT PHOTO: TONY LIUZZI | CABO, MEXICO

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COVERED

TONY AND SKIM LEGENDS

Tony and his crew have had a lot of help from key players because he’s networked and become friends with those who have shaped our sport.

As a long-time friend of the Stinnett’s, Tony heard from Scott Stinnett that he had to talk with Bill Bryan. When Tony initially approached Bill about the film, Bill welcomed him and was totally down. “I went to him and I said, ‘Hey I know you can do this yourself, but I’d really like to just try.’ And he was like ‘Yeah, no worries.’” As a result of the hospitality, the two crews have worked to incorporate clips from the years of skimboarding footage that the 10th St Bros have collected over the past couple decades.

“IT’S INTERESTING TO SEE A FAMILY ENVIRONMENT IN A SOLO SPORT... ” Along with interviews and historical footage, the Shorebreak crew has traveled across many continents, countries, towns, and beaches to collect clips from the 2014 United Skim Tour and from any other skimboarding event or gathering they have stumbled across. “Basically we’re trying not only to cover the Laguna scene, but also the East Coast scene, and the Bay Area scene, and the Mexican scene, and the South American scene, and all

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ALEX, TONY, AND KYLE, ON IT PHOTO: FABIANA BADIE | LAGUNA, CA

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COVERED of the above. My goal was not to leave anybody out.”

“...IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO MAKE A DOCUMENTARY. ” Tony is quick to point out that he has had tremendous help in creating his film. His audio expert, Alex Germano, and filmer, Kyle Creager, have accompanied him across many of his travels. “I’ve been incorporating myself with other skim filmers like Scott Stinnett and Bill Bryan and George Bryan and Matt Adams, Jackson Tenney, Adam Hayward, and Tony Bianchi. Documentaries are not made by one person. It’s like the famous quote, ‘It takes a village to raise a small child.’ I believe it takes a village to make a documentary.”

The film is set to have a 2015 release and is rumored to have invitations to major film festivals. To give the film a mass appeal, Tony is adamant about translating the film into 9 different languages. He wants the world to see the sport of skimboarding, and international potential is essential in his eyes. We couldn’t be more excited to see the finished result. Follow Tony Liuzzi on Instagram to see the trailer: www.instagram.com/tvliuzzi. Dropping very soon.

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GROM CORNER: RODGERS BROTHERS The next Bill... The next Paulo... The next Sam... The next Blair...

Laguna is a hotbed of skim potential. Each generation in Laguna always seems to produce that one unbelievable grom who might just become the next big thing. This time it’s two, a pair of brothers who have lived in the picturesque beach town for the past 3 years.

Nolan and Hayden Rodgers started skimboarding just after their family relocated to the area, and their natural talent has only just begun to blossom. Seemingly naive of how difficult the sport may feel to others, the brothers have picked it up fast. Really fast. We managed to get them to sit down last month in between skim sessions and brotherly fights to answer some questions about their short but powerful start in the skimboarding world.

BROTHERLY LOVE PHOTO: DAVID HAEFELE

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GROM CORNER

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REWORKING THEIR PERSPECTIVES PHOTO: MATT O’BRIEN | LAGUNA, CA

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GROM CORNER

GROM CORNER: RODGERS BROTHERS Interview by David Haefele NAME: NOLAN RODGERS LOCATION: LAGUNA BEACH, CA AGE: 12 YEARS SKIMMING: 3 NAME: HAYDEN RODGERS LOCATION: LAGUNA BEACH, CA AGE: 8 YEARS SKIMMING: 3

HAYDEN, WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT NOLAN? H: We both like the same things.

NOLAN, WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT HAYDEN? N: Whatever my friends want to do, he just deals with it and comes along. If we’re doing something that he doesn’t want to do or it’s hard for him or too scary, he just kinda does it. [Laughs]

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“WE ONLY FIGHT WHEN WE’RE BORED.” DO YOU GUYS GET ALONG AT HOME ?

H: We fight a lot.

N: Whenever we’re doing a sport, we usually don’t fight. We only fight when we’re bored.

HAVE YOU GUYS EVER HAD TO COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER? N: In Santa Cruz.

H: Yeah, Santa Cruz.

N: And at West St. one time.

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DO YOU GUYS LIKE COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER? N: I just don’t want to let him beat me. [Laughs] Like whenever I’m in a heat with him, I just focus in on not letting him beat me.

IN SANTA CRUZ LAST YEAR, THE CONTEST ORGANIZERS BROKE UP THE AMATUER DIVISIONS BY ABILITY INSTEAD OF AGE. HOW OLD WERE THE PEOPLE YOU COMPETED AGAINST? N: The final I was in had a few people who were probably 20 years old. I got 2nd.

GROM CORNER

YOU GUYS ARE BOTH SPONSORED. HOW DID THAT ALL HAPPEN? HOW DID YOU GUYS FIRST GET YOUR SPONSORS? N: We started skimming, and then Victoria sponsored us for a year.

And then when the contract was about to be over, Exile wanted to sponsor us, and we made the choice to go with them.

WHAT ORIGINALLY GOT YOU INTO BOARD SPORTS AND WHAT OTHER SPORTS DO YOU DO? N: My dad always surfed and snowboarded. So he got us into snowboarding. Then we just started snowboarding and skating. Then when we moved down here, my dad started surfing again, and we started skimboarding.

WAS IT A SURPRISE WHEN VICTORIA ORIGINALLY SPONSORED YOU GUYS? N: I didn’t know you could be sponsored for skimming when they approached us.

“I JUST FOCUS IN ON NOT LETTING HIM BEAT ME. ” PULSE SKIMBOARDING 49

HAYDEN MAKING WAVES PHOTO: MATT O’BRIEN | WEST ST.

360 SHOVE-IT PHOTO: DEBI PAROLA

SIDER CONNECTIONS AT WEST

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GROM CORNER WHERE DID YOU GUYS LIVE BEFORE YOU MOVED HERE [TO LAGUNA]?

N: In San Francisco. Well, in Marin. It’s across the Golden Gate Bridge.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECTS IN SCHOOL? N: Science and math.

H: Science and reading.

DO YOU GUYS EVER DO ANY COOL SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS AT SCHOOL? N: Well, I have a crazy science teacher at school. We do some experiments but not that many.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DISSECT A FROG? N: I had to dissect a pig. It was like a pig eye. I didn’t really like it. It was kinda weird.

PHOTO: CHRIS WILLIAMS

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE PIG’S EYE? N: Nothing really… [Laughs] DO YOU GUYS SKATEBOARD AT ALL? N: Yeah, we have a halfpipe in our backyard.

DO YOU FEEL THAT IT’S HELPED WITH YOUR SKIMBOARDING? N: Yeah, it helps with airs a lot.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO SKIMBOARD? H: West St. N: Yeah, West.

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WHAT’S SO COOL ABOUT WEST? N: The cove isn’t that wide, so a lot of people don’t go there because they don’t want to hit the rocks on the other side. When it’s really good it just wedges up perfectly. It gets really fun.

WHAT ABOUT YOU HAYDEN? WHY DO YOU LIKE WEST? H: Cuz it has siders, and I like siders.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO MAKE A CONNECTION AND ACTUALLY RIDE THE SIDER? N: Probably like a month of working with Morgan.

THAT’S PRETTY QUICK. DID YOU THINK IT WOULD TAKE THAT LONG? N: It looked really easy because everyone else was doing it.

HAYDEN, HAVE YOU GOTTEN A SIDER CONNECTION AT WEST? H: I’ve gotten like two.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRICK TO DO ON A SKIMBOARD? H: Wrap barrels. It’s cool being in the barrel.

N: When you’re on a sider and you connect and get barrelled.

WELL OVERHEAD FOR HAYDEN PHOTO: MATT O’BRIEN | WEST ST.

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GROM CORNER

NOLAN FLYS OVER SAM HAVE YOU GUYS EVER BEEN DOWN TO THE WEDGE? N: Yeah, I rode it for the first time about a year ago. It was only like 2-3 feet when I was there, so it wasn’t that scary. It just has a lot more power than the siders in Laguna.

WHO DO YOU WATCH DOWN THERE WHEN IT’S BIG? N: Morgan Just and George Bryan. And Paulo, but he’s only there when it’s the biggest swell of the year.

ARE THERE ANY SKIMBOARDERS IN PARTICULAR WHO YOU LOOK UP TO OR WHO HAVE REALLY HELPED YOU PROGRESS?

N: Paulo [Prietto] and Morgan Just.

They’ve both helped us a lot.

H: And Matthieu [Thibaud].

“WHEN HAYDEN AND I ARE BOTH ON A SIDER, WE BOTH TRY TO PUSH EACH OTHER OFF. ” WHAT KIND OF TRICKS DID THEY TEACH YOU? N: They kind of taught us some tricks that we needed to learn for now.

Like three-shuvs and stuff. They also taught me how to ride a sider.

H: They taught me not to put my front foot on first.

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ROOF DRAG AHEAD

54 SUMMER 2014

GROM CORNER DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY EMBARRASSING MOMENTS SKIMBOARDING? H: When you’re dropping your board on the sand and it’s too dry, and you just faceplant.

N: This happens now sometimes when Hayden and I are both on a sider, we both try to push each other off. Or when he rides my board and I try to ride his, he floats all the way out.

YOU GUYS HAVE BOTH DONE PRETTY WELL COMPETING. WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY? N: Get the best wave.

H: Get like 2 okay waves, and then wait to get better waves.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE NEXT YEAR? N: I want to try and win all the contests this year. Last year I got second at Oktoberfest, but this year I want to win.

H: I want to connect on more siders.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS ON GOING PRO IN THE NEAR FUTURE? N: I dunno, maybe? Maybe in a few years.

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WHAT ARE YOUR SPONSORS? N: For skimming, we’re sponsored by Exile and Let’s Party.

H: And for surfing Let’s Party, Laguna Surf & Sport, DVS, and Vissla IS THERE ANYONE YOU WANT TO THANK OR MENTION? N: My mom and dad take me everywhere. That’s how we get to the beach, that’s how we get good at things, because they take us.

WE’RE EXCITED TO SEE YOU GUYS COMPETE THIS YEAR, AND WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE SOME SIDER FOOTAGE.

HAYDEN LOOKING FORWARD PHOTO: MATT O’BRIEN | WEST ST.

56 SUMMER 2014

GROM CORNER

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58 SUMMER 2014

LEADING LADY

LEADING LADY: ANN KEAIO BUCASAS A few years back, a video popped up online of a Hawaiian female who was wrapping head high waves and pulling into legit shorebreak barrels. This was Keiao Bucasas. Since that short video release, Keaio has broken into the skimboarding world with plenty of promise as she quickly became the girl to watch out for at the contests. Now, years later, she has a World Title and she just released a full-length DVD showcasing Hawaii skimboarding at it’s finest. We recently had a chance to learn how she started skimboarding as well as her current take on female skimboarding.

HAWAIIAN COLORS PHOTO: MICAH BUSH | OAHU, HI

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LEFT-RIGHT RULE PREPARED PHOTO: SUSAN GUCWA-BUCASAS | OAHU, HI

60 SUMMER 2014

LEADING LADY

LEADING LADY: KEAIO BUCASAS Interview by David Haefele

NAME: ANN KEAIO BUCASAS LOCATION: HONOLULU, OAHU, HAWAII AGE: 27

LAST YEAR, YOU WON THE FIRST EVER UNITED SKIM TOUR FOR THE WOMEN’S DIVISION. GOING INTO THAT WHOLE YEAR, WHAT DID YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH AT THOSE THREE EVENTS. Well any competition that I go into, I always want to try to win. It was kind of last minute that they decided we were going to have the UST for women. So once they announced it, it was like “oh okay, that’s cool.” It gives the women more of a reason to show up for the contests. It’s not only just a single contest. Now its a tour where you can add all the points up. It’s exciting just to have all the girls show up to more contests.

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WHEN THE WOMEN’S PRO DIVISION WAS FIRST INTRODUCED AT A FEW CONTESTS, WHAT WERE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS ABOUT IT? NOW THAT THE WOMEN’S UST IS UP AND RUNNING HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE TOUR? I know before the women got their pro division, I was kind of against the whole idea. I didn’t think the women were ready. The participation levels, they were pretty low. I didn’t think in that aspect we were ready to have a pro division. And then once they established it and ran it a couple years, it was kind of cool. Now we’re able to skim at better times and skim better heats. We have a say at when we get to go, at least for some of the contests. And then when they announced they were going to have a women’s division in the UST, that was even more exciting.

“I KNOW BEFORE THE WOMEN GOT THEIR PRO DIVISION, I WAS KIND OF AGAINST THE WHOLE IDEA. I DIDN’T THINK THE WOMEN WERE READY. ”

62 SUMMER 2014

LEADING LADY HAWAIIAN FRONTSIDE SIDER PHOTOS: JOSE CORPUS | OAHU, HI

HAVE YOU NOTICED THE COMPETITION LEVEL OR THE PARTICIPATION LEVEL RISE SINCE THE WOMEN’S PRO DIVISION WAS ESTABLISHED? I think it has. Ever since I started, we see more girls skimming in general. And then at some contests, like the Vic, we usually get a solid 12 girls at least competing in the pro level. But I’ve noticed more so at Oktoberfest that more girls come out to that one now.

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64 SUMMER 2014

LEADING LADY JUST RECENTLY AT THE VIC, I WATCHED YOU SKIM A COUPLE HEATS. I NOTICED THAT YOU SEEM VERY CALCULATED WITH YOUR WAVE SELECTION. IS THAT PART OF YOUR COMPETITIVE STRATEGY? I wouldn’t say it’s a strategy. It’s more just my skim style. I don’t really tend to run for a lot of waves. Really, I think that’s a horrible competitive style. I like waiting for a nice wave to roll in. If I am competing, hopefully that wave does roll in so I can get some points. [Laughs] AT WHAT AGE DID YOU START SKIMBOARDING? I started when I was 19 years old.

19 SEEMS PRETTY LATE. WHY DID YOU START SKIMBOARDING SO LATE? When I was younger, we would always bodyboard and all that. And then I got involved with a lot of traditional sports.

My main sport was softball. I played it all through highschool and then I played one year in college. After that I was burnt out, and I wanted to have more time to myself.

Then one day I was just on YouTube, and I saw a video. I just thought that I had to try it.

I went out. I bought a board, and here I am.

I KNOW YOU LIVE IN HAWAII, BUT HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED ON THE ISLANDS? My last 3 years in high school I lived in Connecticut. We moved because that’s where my mom is originally from, and she wanted to go back and spend more time with our family. I think it was just bad timing, for the move. I had already started high school.

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I was…I don’t want to say a rebel…I just purposely hated everything because I had to move. I moved back to Hawaii because I missed it and I had to go to college, so I went to school in Hawaii.

I KNOW YOU’RE NOT GOING TO VILIANO THIS YEAR, THE SECOND STOP OF THE WOMEN’S UST. WHY AREN’T YOU GOING TO MAKE IT? I’m not going to make it to Vilano, for several reasons, but the main reason is that I had a vacation week planned, so it’s hard for me to just leave my vacation and go do another contest.

NOT CONNECTICUT

66 SUMMER 2014

LEADING LADY

“I ACTUALLY REALLY DON’T LIKE DOING CONTESTS. I HATE THE PRESSURE. I HATE KIND OF EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO IT... ” YOU SAID “DO ANOTHER CONTEST” WITH SOME HESITATION IN YOUR VOICE. WHAT’S YOUR GENERAL OUTLOOK ON COMPETITION IN GENERAL? I actually really don’t like doing contests. I hate the pressure. I hate kind of everything that goes into it, because everyone is fighting for that number 1 spot. Don’t get me wrong. I am very competitive, and I don’t like to lose, but if I had to choose between “do I want to take a vacation?” or “do I want to go to another contest?” It seems like it’s work.

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HOLDING IT BACKSIDE

68 SUMMER 2014

LEADING LADY LET’S TALK A BIT ABOUT THE DVD YOU JUST PUT OUT: PROJECT HAWAII. TELL ME ABOUT THE PROJECT. Project Hawaii: My Movie, it’s how I see Hawaii.

And I wanted to portray the decent waves that we can get in Hawaii. It took me about 4 years to make. It wasn’t an ongoing thing. It was like “oh if there’s a good swell let’s go and shoot something.” After [Aaron] Fuj put out his movie, that’s what drove me to make my movie. It’s kind of an add-on to what he already made. In it we have riders from all over. We have Chris Alreck from Santa Cruz. We got Ace Conlon. He’s from the island of Hawaii. We have Clark Kemp. He’s from Maui. He’s been skimming for a while now. And then we have Alejandro Lopez. He’s from the Virgin Islands. He had actually been taking yearly trips to Hawaii, for a month at a time. And then David Sterman.

He’s from North Shore of Oahu. He also doesn’t live here anymore. He’s in Laguna right now. And then Myself.

“IN GENERAL, I LOVE THE WHOLE THING. I DON’T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE CAN SEE IT, BUT SOMEHOW THE WHOLE MOVIE BUILDS.” DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PART OF THE MOVE THAT YOU’RE MOST HAPPY WITH? In general, I love the whole thing. I don’t know if anyone else can see it, but somehow the whole movie builds. It starts, and it keeps building up and up and up. That’s what I feel like. I’m not sure if anyone else sees it. It’s hard to choose just one part of it because for me, just finishing that one project is a little baby in itself.

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DEFINITELY NOT CONNECTICUT

70 SUMMER 2014

LEADING LADY IF SOMEBODY WANTED TO GET A COPY OF PROJECT HAWAII, HOW COULD SOMEBODY FIND ONE? They could get into contact with me or David Sterman.

ANY SHOUTOUTS TO YOUR SPONSORS? Definitely want to give a shoutout to my sponsors.

Exile Skimboards, Wolf Wetsuits, and Let’s Party Traction.

CONGRATS ON PUTTING OUT PROJECT HAWAII. IT’S DEFINITELY ONE WORTH PICKING UP.

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72 SUMMER 2014

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74 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL

LUCAS GOMES: THE INTERNATIONAL LOCAL There’s something special about skimming new kinds of waves, getting to know people in the skim community around the world, and going on new adventures. When planning my travels, I always aim for certain spots, certain times of the year, hoping I’ll be able to experience the perfection I’ve seen through pictures and videos.

These past months, I was able to go to some of the world’s most famous skim breaks, and there seemed to be no better timing. I was able to live the life of the locals for weeks, and experience some of the best conditions their beaches have to offer....

ROYAL SIDER PHOTO: CARLOS SALAS | CHILE

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STOP 1 IN CHILE PHOTO: CARLOS SALAS | CHILE

76 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL

LUCAS GOMES: THE INTERNATIONAL LOCAL

The Wedge, Solmar, Lovers, Capducal ...

Do any of these breaks sound familiar to you? Yeah, they sounded like that to me as well. As a skimboarder, It didn’t take too long for me to have dreams. And Cabo San Lucas, California, and Chile have definitely been in my mind for at least five years now.

My long wait was very well rewarded, as I had the best trip ever, over and over again, three times.

“MY LONG WAIT WAS VERY WELL REWARDED...”

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CHILE Viña Del Mar is such a wonderful beach town. It has a bunch of different breaks, from good sized wraps to siders. While I was there, my local friends told me they had never seen the sider in Capducal working for longer than 3-4 days ... It had been working for a week, straight. Skimming it took me back to Hayward’s footage of that spot, that didn’t seem to be as good as I was seeing it. In fact, skimming it for a few weeks, I was lucky enough to see better waves than the ones I saw in any footage from that spot. Danny Diaz taught me how to read forecasts for the waves in Viña, and I learned a lot from him by seeing him skim at Capducal, his homebreak.

EARNING APPLAUSE PHOTO: CARLOS SALAS | CHILE

PHOTO: LUIS URIBE

78 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL

STADIUM VIEWING PHOTO: MATI GARCES | CHILE

“WHENEVER SOMEONE GOT A GOOD WAVE, THE WHOLE BEACH STARTED CLAPPING...”

If you’re at the wrong spot in the sider, you most likely won’t get to the connection. My best memory of the whole trip is when I was at my good friend Carlos Salas’s house, and we decided to go to Capducal just a couple hours before dark. I couldn’t believe how good it was when I looked at the waves while running towards the beach putting on my wetsuit. Whenever someone got a good wave, the whole beach started clapping and it was such an amazing feeling. It was hard to say goodbye to such a rad group of skimmers who always stand together.

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CABO From the photos and videos I had seen of the shorebreak in Cabo San Lucas, I had an idea of what to expect when it was good.

What I didn’t expect was it to be consistently good during almost all of my 20-day trip! I was able to speak Spanish during my whole stay there, as the Spanish there is easier to understand than the Chilean, and it only took a few days for me to be hanging around with the locals and figuring out how to read the forecast.

“...WATCHING SOME OF THE BEST WRAPS I’VE EVER SEEN GO BY UNRIDDEN...”

SOLMAR SIDER PHOTO: MARCO ARROYO | MEXICO

80 SUMMER 2014

PHOTO: RAMON GARCIA

TRAVEL

Paul Uribe, my mexican brother and the guy I stayed with the whole time, introduced me to Chimi, Bullo, and the other locals, and I had a really good time every single day. Waking up early and walking to the sider at Solmar while watching some of the best wraps I’ve ever seen go by unridden is something I’ll remember for a good time. Whenever the sider at Solmar was working, we all had a blast sharing long rides and heavy barrels right on the sand. The few days it wasn’t working, we would take turns on clean and heavy wraps. The skimmers in Cabo are humble and I felt like family around them.

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CALIFORNIA I stayed in Laguna Beach for most of the time this trip, and was able to really understand what the Soulag skimmers are all about, the vibes and even the history on their background. Consistently skimming around 10th st for the first few days, I slowly taught myself how to read the forecast around Laguna, and it didn’t look very promising the first week. That resulted in a few really fun sessions at The Wedge, even a “solo session”, with just me and my friend David Sterman in the water, as clean four foot sets would come in. We both had fullsuits on and were literally sweating, as we were running back and forth for waves.

GLORY WRAP PHOTO: DWIGHT MUDRY

82 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL

EMPTY WEDGE PHOTOS: GEL CLEMMER | NEWPORT, CA

“..WE BOTH HAD FULLSUITS ON AND WERE LITERALLY SWEATING, AS WE WERE RUNNING BACK AND FORTH FOR WAVES...”

PHOTO: CORINNE CONKLIN

Around the second week, I skimmed a spot I hadn’t skimmed the whole trip, and it was just the right day for it. “This is something you can check out of your checklist,” said Soulag veteran George Bryan. Aliso was on fire, the day after the 4th of July, and there were about 5 skimmers out. Plenty of clean, 5-7ft wraps and barrels to be ridden, in conditions that followed for the next few days.

This, along with the friendship and respect from all of the Soulag and Newport crews, made for a very meaningful trip!

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FEELING WELCOMED PHOTO: HARLEY NELSON | LAGUNA, CA

84 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL Every trip that I go for, I hope to get good waves and not much else. I’m always surprised for being welcomed by the locals in such a warm way, and for being considered one as the days pass by. The friends I’ve made along the way are even more valuable than the waves I got to skim in these spots, and my special thanks go to the locals in Viña, Cabo San Lucas and SoCal. Obrigado - Gracias - Thank you!

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PRO INTERVIEW: LEANDRO AZEVEDO When Sununga first emerged on the radar, there were murmurs of a few talented young brazilians who skimmed on par with some of the top skimboarding pros, but it wasn’t until 2013—when the United Skim Tour held the UST World Cup in Ubatuba—that Renato Lima and Leandro Azevedo proved they could hang with world champs. Earlier this year, Leandro took the World Cup crown in Ubatuba and quickly backed up his performance with a fourth place finish in Cabo a few weeks later. The regular footer grew up in skim paradise, and we wanted to know just how epic it must have been to learn at the dreamiest playground in the world. So we sat him down last month and asked him.

5 MINUTES FROM HOME PHOTO: ANDRE MAGARAO | UBATUBA, BRAZIL

86 SUMMER 2014

INTERVIEW

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CHRIST AIR PHOTO: THIAGO MEIRELLES | UBATUBA, BRAZIL

88 SUMMER 2014

INTERVIEW

PRO INTERVIEW: LEANDRO AZEVEDO Interview and translation

by Lucas Gomes

NAME: LEANDRO AZEVEDO LOCATION: UBATUBA, BRAZIL AGE: 21

“I LIVE FIVE MINUTES WALKING AWAY FROM SUNUNGA!” CONGRATS ON YOUR RECENT WIN AT SUNUNGA AND HIGH FINISH IN CABO. DID YOU HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE GOING INTO THOSE EVENTS? DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD PLACE THAT WELL? I got into the event to go all the way through the final, and along the heats I realized I had a great chance at winning at home. I was in my moment!

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HOW FAR DO YOU LIVE FROM SUNUNGA? I live five minutes walking away from Sununga! [laughs] HOW OFTEN DOES SUNUNGA HAVE SIDERS? WHAT’S THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR FOR SUNUNGA? Sununga is very consistent. I usually say that the only month with no waves is January, but even then there is some swell.

WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED RIDING SUNUNGA, WERE THERE ANY OTHER SKIMBOARDERS YOU LEARNED FROM OR LOOKED UP TO? I started skimboarding when I was 10 years old, some people from Rio de Janeiro got here with some boards, and that’s when we got to know the boards, but before that I already used to practice on round wooden boards. I didn’t have anyone influencing me.

Me and my friends got better by watching videos.

PHOTOS: THIAGO MEIRELLES | UBATUBA, BRAZIL

90 SUMMER 2014

INTERVIEW

“...WITH DECENT WAVES, WE WOULD GET AROUND 8 BARRELS FOR EVERY 10 WAVES! ” AT WHAT POINT DID YOU START MAKING IN-N-OUT BARRELS REGULARLY? When I made the transition to the fiberglass boards was when I had the evolution in the tricks, and one of them was the barrel. In a session with decent waves, we would get around 8 barrels for every 10 waves!

DID YOU WATCH ANY VIDEOS ONLINE WHEN YOU WERE LEARNING HOW TO SKIM? I used to watch a lot of Exile mini-movies, Paulo Prietto, Brandon Sears, etc … Definitely inspired me to skim better!

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AFTER ADJUSTING TO CABO PHOTO: MARCO ARROYO

92 SUMMER 2014

INTERVIEW AT WHAT AGE DID YOU START HAVING ASPIRATIONS TO COMPETE WITH THE BEST IN THE WORLD? I believe that if I had the opportunity, at 15 years old I would have already been competing against them!

WHAT OTHER SPOTS DO YOU LIKE TO SKIM? HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET TO RIDE OUTSIDE OF UBATUBA? In Brazil, I really like Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, and internationally, Cabo San Lucas is wonderful, a really powerful and perfect wave. Every month or two, I travel somewhere, but I’d like to do it more frequently!

WHEN YOU WERE IN CABO, DID YOU ADJUST TO THE BACKSIDE SIDERS EASILY? I didn’t get good rides right away, I needed to adapt to that power that the waves had, cause they just throw you down. I had to skim around 2 sessions to be able to put in the tricks, but it’s a really amazing wave and I hope to come back soon.

HOW DID THE POWER OF THE WAVES IN CABO COMPARE TO BRAZIL? Totally stronger, a really heavy wave!

I SAW THAT YOU MANAGED TO TRAVEL TO ANGOLA. EXPLAIN YOUR TRIP. Angola, easy to talk about this place where people just carry smiles, I went there to get to know the KalembaSkim project and it really is a great social project where they use Skimboarding to keep the children away from the street, from violence and drugs, by using simply this sport. There was a connection between the countries, Brazil, Spain, US … to push them in the sport, and I ended up winning the International Kalemba Skimboard contest.

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WHAT IS THE SKIM COMMUNITY LIKE IN ANGOLA? The Angolan skim community, these days people use fiberglass skimboards, but a few of them still use square shaped wooden boards to do jumps on the waves, although there are some good Angolan athletes these days.

SUNUNGA WAS RELATIVELY UNKNOWN UNTIL JUST A FEW YEARS AGO. HOW OFTEN DO OUT-OF-TOWNERS VISIT THE SKIM PARADISE? These days there are constantly “gringos” around here, but years ago it was mainly tourists and locals. Now it’s tourists, us locals and gringos [laughs]…It gets crowded.

94 SUMMER 2014

INTERVIEW

TAKING THE CUP PHOTO: CORRINE CONKLIN | UBATUBA, BRAZIL

IS THERE ANY SORT OF LOCALISM AT SUNUNGA? HOW DO YOU GUYS COPE WITH OUT-OF-TOWN SKIMBOARDERS VISITING? I particularly respect all of the outsiders, tell them which waves to go on, but once you’re a local, you’re going to want to go for the best ones!

EXPLAIN HOW THE TOWN OF UBATUBA REACTS TO THE UST HOLDING AN EVENT AT SUNUNGA. I see it from the outside, but from the little that I see, I feel that it could be more organized, there could be a bigger union between the city and the organizers or even AUSKIM (Association of Skimmers from Ubatuba)…but the city reacts in a positive way!

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SOAKING IT IN PHOTO: CORINNE CONKLIN

96 SUMMER 2014

INTERVIEW DO YOU HAVE ANY ASPIRATIONS TO VISIT THE US FOR SKIM? I was supposed to have gone a long time ago, but for visa reasons I couldn’t get to the US or compete there. But I haven’t given up, I will still compete on the whole UST one day.

“I’LL STILL HAVE MY MOMENT AND I WON’T LET IT SLIP AWAY!” HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT TRYING TO EARN A UST TITLE? That’s something that is always on my mind. I think that if I could go to every stop I would certainly fight for the title. I think of that every single day, but I’ll still have my moment and I won’t let it slip away!

WHO ARE YOUR SPONSORS? Du Preto and Equilibrium LAST WORDS? I hope that skimboarding always grows and that I can grow together with it.

THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW. WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AT ALL EIGHT STOPS ON THE TOUR.

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INDONESIAN DELIGHT AT DREAMLAND Recently Blair Conklin, Emanuel Embaixador, Rodrigo Haberfeld, his mother Thais, and I set off on a surf and skim trip to Indonesia. We knew we would be catching some of the best surf of our lives, but we were very unsure of what kind of skim Indonesia had to offer, especially since the majority of the surf spots are reef breaks. The first part of our trip we visited an island called Sumba. This place was beautiful with the best surf I have ever laid my eyes on. It was definitely just like the magazines...

BLAIR CONKLIN, CLEAN SLOB GRAB PHOTO: THAIS RACY | BALI, INDONESIA

98  SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL

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FIDO SETTING UP

THE SURFING MECCA HAS SKIM PHOTO: THAIS RACY | BALI, INDONESIA GEO EXPLODING IN THE AIR

100 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL

INDONESIAN DELIGHT AT DREAMLAND Words by Dave Scott

“...IT WAS DEFINITELY JUST LIKE THE MAGAZINES. ” There was a really nice beach break at Sumba as well. Unfortunately about two weeks before we arrived, a huge 10 to 15 foot swell washed away most of the sand, exposing a large group of rocks. This made the waves break too far off the beach to reach with a skimboard. During our stay the surf was about 6 to 9 foot and pretty much perfect everyday. So we were not too bummed that there wasn’t any skim. However, we did talk one of the local boathouse guys into towing us into a few fun ones with a jet ski. The conditions were choppy that afternoon but since there were no other surfers in the water we had to go then. It turned out to be a really fun session but difficult.

When we lost our boards they would wash across the reef in the heavy current. So it took a good amount of time to retrieve our boards when we lost them in the surf. Still, it was well worth all of the effort.

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During our stay in Sumba we were able to visit a few villages and meet some locals. Everyone was very friendly and the kids were excited to see us. They loved having their photos taken and seeing themselves on camera after. Even when we were driving around the island the kids were always waving and smiling as we went by. Sumba is what we would call a paradise vacation but for the locals can be very difficult. The island is home to about 700,000 people.

“...THE KIDS WERE ALWAYS WAVING AND SMILING AS WE WENT BY. ”

PHOTO: DAVE SCOTT

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TRAVEL

PHOTO: DAVE SCOTT

PHOTO: THAIS RACY

Malnutrition, malaria, lack of education, and access to clean water are major challenges for the people of Sumba. A group named the Sumba Foundation is doing its best to help the people. They have many ongoing projects to help. Blair reached out to the foundation leaving behind some water purification filters that came from his sponsor Hurley and their Waves For Water program.

They were able to get the filters to the right villages to help them with their shortage of clean water. It was pretty awesome that Blair was able to make an impact there. After about eight days on Sumba we headed to Bali, the island we heard had the most potential to find some skim.

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PHOTO: RODRIGO HABERFELD

104 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL The surfing scene in Bali is popular, so all of the major surf breaks were super crowded.

After seeing this first hand, we were more motivated to pass up on fun surf to search for skim. We were staying in Uluwatu that was close to the famous Dreamland Beach.

This was one of the main spots that was on our radar to have shorebreak at the higher tides. Our first Dreamland experience was one to remember. Once the taxi dropped us off we immediately could see the waves peaking up and breaking right on what looked to be the shore.

“I DON’T THINK THEY HAD SEEN MANY SKIMBOARDS BEFORE, BUT THEY DEFINITELY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE.” The water was neon blue, even though the weather was very overcast. We arrived first thing in the morning, as all of the small vendors and locals were setting up their shops and getting ready for their daily hustle. Just as we came close to the sand we were kind of bombarded by a group of guys who we later found out were the local lifeguards.

They were really excited to see us with our skimboards. I don’t think they had seen many skimboards before, but they definitely knew what they were. They showed us the best place to ride, which happened to be right out front.

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The waves were surprisingly really good. It took a moment to realize how fun it was since the tide was a bit high and the sand looked like it might have been too soft to run on.

Neither of these was true, and the skim was so fun that we spent the last five days of our trip there. We skimmed in the mornings and surfed as the tide went out in the afternoon.

“I AM PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT IN A FEW YEARS ERIK WILL BE RIDING AT A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL. ”

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TRAVEL

ERIC, A FEW DAYS IN PHOTO: THAIS RACY

The Dreamland locals are very friendly and had nothing but good vibes for us. One of the lifeguards, Erik Wynes, was really into skimming on his boogie board. So I gave him one of my extra boards to ride until the end of our trip. By the second day he was ripping. He had a very styled layback FS turn and was doing all kinds of airs and flips with the board. By the last day he was even wrapping waves. After seeing the potential this guy had and opportunities at this super fun beach break we decided we had to leave my board with him. I am pretty confident that in a few years Erik will be riding at a professional level.

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MEGA ENJOYING HIS VACATION PHOTO: THAIS RACY | BALI, INDONESIA

108 SUMMER 2014

TRAVEL From my experiences, Dreamland most closely resembles beaches I have been to in Hawaii. It was really similar to Makena Beach on Maui or even Waimea on Oahu.

Unfortunately, the beach has been built up with large concrete hotels and restaurants, and it has lost most of its beautiful aspects. Usually every day by 11am the beach becomes filled with tourists. Most of them appeared to have never been to a beach before. Crowding the shore, making it nearly impossible to skim. The lifeguards end up having their hands full, especially when the swell is larger and the tide is high. We witnessed several rescues every day. I will have to admit that is was pretty entertaining watching the tourist get washed around and slammed by the shore break. But they were very ignorant to how powerful the ocean really is. If it weren’t for the lifeguards at that beach, many people would get swept out to sea every day.

Indonesia is an amazing place. If you ever make it to Dreamland I am sure you will be blessed with fun waves and good vibes from the locals. We sure did! Thanks to Thais Racy for putting time behind the camera.

She takes amazing photos. Also thanks to my sponsors, Zap Skimboards, Runa Clean Energy, Skim City, RDS, Filibuster Apparel, and EelSnot.

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BLAIR CONKLIN AT DREAMLAND PHOTO: THAIS RACY | BALI, INDONESIA

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EXPOSURE

EXPOSURE We receive hundreds of photo submissions each issue from dozens of photographers and many countries. Here are over 50 of our favorites.

DAVID STERMAN, GOOD FROM ALL ANGLES PHOTO: MATT O’BRIEN | LAGUNA, CA

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EXPOSURE

BEN KOSCIELNIAK, INVERTED HACK PHOTO: BEN HINTZ | SANTA CRUZ, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 115

JASON WILSON, FRONTSIDE BASH PHOTO: KEVIN NEWCOMER | DEWEY BEACH, DE

116 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 117

118 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

BLAIR CONKLIN, EVENING FAN PHOTO: ANDRE MAGARAO | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 119

ROMAIN FRAIGNEAU, EVERY INCH OF HIS RAIL PHOTO: OLIVER HARRAULT | CAP FERRET, FRANCE

IN THE SPOT AT PRIVATES, WYATT COLEN PHOTO: JESSE BEER

120 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 121

JACKSON TENNEY, BACKSIDE GRAVITY PRANK PHOTO: MARCO ARROYO | CABO, MEXICO

122 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 123

ANDY CHIAVETTA, TORQUED OUT FOREHAND PHOTO: TYLER BROOKS | LAGUNA, CA

124 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 125

GOOFY FOOTERS? ANYONE? PHOTO: HARLEY NELSON | LAGUNA, CA

126 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 127

BRANDON SEARS, NOT JOKING AROUND PHOTO: ANDRE MAGARAO | LAGUNA, CA

128 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 129

MAX SMETTS, VILANO POTENTIAL PHOTO: MICHAEL KILCULLEN | VILANO, FL

130 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 131

132 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PAULO PRIETTO, SURVEYING FROM ABOVE PHOTO: ANDRE MAGARAO | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 133

JACK HOWIE, BACKSIDE SIDER WRAP PHOTO: TYLER BROOKS | LAGUNA, CA

134 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 135

136 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

TIM FULTON, DRIVING BACKSIDE PHOTO: TAYLOR OSBORN | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 137

SOUTH SWELL SKIM JAM 2014 PHOTO: ANDREW GENOVESE | ZAMBALES, PHILIPPINES

138 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 139

140 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

MORGAN JUST, TESTING HIS FLEXIBILITY PHOTO: TAYLOR OSBORN | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 141

142 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

SAM STINNETT, LOOKING SOLID PHOTO: TYLER BROOKS | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 143

144 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

GERARDO VALENCIA, BACKSIDE BLISS PHOTO: ELEAZAR RODRIGUEZ | PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 145

146 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PATRICK MACK, BACKSIDE SHWACK PHOTO: DWIGHT MUDRY | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 147

SAM STINNETT, SHALLOW AND HEAVYPHOTO: TYLER BROOKS | LAGUNA, CA

148 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 149

150 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

MACK MORALES, SETTING UP PHOTO: REED MORALES | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 151

LUCAS FINK, FRONTSIDE GRAB PHOTO: ANDRE MAGARAO | RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

152 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 153

DAVE SCOTT, A FRIENDLY ONE PHOTO: MARCO ARROYO | CABO, MEXICO

154 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 155

BRENT GRECH, FULL FRONTSIDE FAN PHOTO: JESSE BEER | SANTA CRUZ, CA

156 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 157

158 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

TEDDY VLASIS, A-FRAME FLOATER PHOTO: TYLER BROOKS | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 159

160 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

BILLY HOWIE, EYEING THE NEXT SECTION PHOTO: TYLER BROOKS | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 161

162 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

CHRIS BROWN, FLORIDA LOOKING NICE PHOTO: ROBERT CURTIS | VILANO BEACH, FL

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 163

164 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

JOHNNY ATOE, EYES ON THE PRIZE PHOTO: HARLEY NELSON | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 165

166 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

DEREK SHENTON, ON POINT PHOTO: TJ PROHAMMER | DEWEY BEACH, DE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 167

168 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

RICARDO LOPEZ, CLASSIC BACKSIDE TURN PHOTO: ELEAZAR RODRIGUEZ | PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 169

170 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

COBERT WELLS, IN THE SPOT PHOTO: JOHNNY ATOE | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 171

172 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

BRIAN STRAUSS, READY TO UNLOAD PHOTO: WILLIAM BREZE | VILANO, FL

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 173

CLEMENT ELISSALDE, FOAMY RAILGRAB PHOTO: OLIVER HARRAULT | CAP FERRET, FRANCE

174 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 175

PERRY WELLS, CORKED MUTE 360 PHOTO: ANDRE MAGARAO | LAGUNA, CA

176 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 177

ALEX HOOD, TIGHT TUCK PHOTO: WILLIAM BREZE | FORT PIERCE, FL

178 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 179

180 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

AUSTIN KEEN, FRONTSIDE AIR AT DUSK PHOTO: ANDRE MAGARAO | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 181

LLUIS MATEOS, ENJOYING THE COLOR PHOTO: ADRIÀ MARTÍNEZ | CANTABRIA, SPAIN

182 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 183

184 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

KEN SUZIKI, NIGHT TIME RAIL GRAB PHOTO: BRENDAN MCGEOWN | NEWPORT, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 185

186 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

RENATO LIMA, PUMPING OUT TO A SLAB PHOTO: MARCO ARROYO | CABO, MEXICO

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 187

BRAD DOMKE, WINCHING INTO THIS ONE PHOTO: KEVIN NEWCOMER | DEWEY BEACH, DE

188 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 189

MORGAN JUST, SUMMER DRIVE PHOTO: FABIANA BADIE | LAGUNA, CA

190 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 191

JACKSON TENNEY, FRONTSIDE TURN PHOTO: TJ PROHAMMER | DEWEY BEACH, DE

192 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 193

TREVOR STANALAND, DUCKS IN THE BARRELL PHOTO: BRENDAN MCGEOWN | NEWPORT, CA

194 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 195

LAURENT LOZES, RELAXING PHOTO: OLIVER HARRAULT | CAP FERRET, FRANCE

196 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 197

198 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

DAVID STERMAN, EXTRA LARGE WRAP PHOTO: HARLEY NELSON | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 199

200 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

TIM FULTON, EAST COAST AIR DROP PHOTO: KEVIN NEWCOMER | DEWEY BEACH, DE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 201

202 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

MAX BOURNE, OFFSHORE WEDGE PHOTO: BRENDAN MCGEOWN | NEWPORT, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 203

204 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE GEORGE BRYAN, SEVERE WATER DISPLACEMENT PHOTO: MATT O’BRIEN | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 205

BILL BRYAN, SPOTTING HIS FINISH PHOTO: JOE BAILEY | LAGUNA, CA

206 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 207

SCOTT FLORES, LOOKING RIGHT AT HOME PHOTO: MARCO ARROYO | CABO, MEXICO

208 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 209

210 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

GIOVANNI REYES, BACKSIDE AIR UP CLOSE PHOTO: JOE BAILEY | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 211

212 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

BLAIR CONKLIN, IN HIS BACKYARD PHOTO: TYLER BROOKS | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 213

214 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

JESSE SOLOMON, SHALLOW RAIL GRAB PHOTO: MARCO ARROYO | CABO, MEXICO

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 215

216 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

BILL BRYAN, SECRET SPOT PHOTO: DAVID HAEFELE | SANTA CRUZ, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 217

218 SUMMER 2014

EXPOSURE

AUSTIN KEEN, NO BETTER PLACE PHOTO: MATT O’BRIEN | LAGUNA, CA

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 219

#SKIMPULSIVE

You tag your photos on Instagram and we pick our favorite.

Four simple rules. One stoked winner.

• • • •

Tag your pics with @pulseskimboarding and #skimpulsive Amateurs only! (Pros get enough attention) Square photo: 1:1 image ratio No watermarks

220 SUMMER 2014

#SKIMPULSIVE

@DIEGOA33

PULSE SKIMBOARDING 221

FAMILY FUN, BRANDON SEARS PHOTO: TAYLOR OSBORN | LAGUNA, CA

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