Thursday, February 23, 2012

Back to Oz

It's that time of year. When surfers from around the globe flock to Australia's east coast in pursuit of points, money, sunshine, and creepy girls with crooked teeth and low self esteem... Australia holds a special place in my heart because it is the one travel destination where I feel comfortable and at home, plus it's pretty much a gauruntee that the waves will be fun.

Somehow the 12 hour flight from LAX to Brisbane seemed like a short 1 hour joyride. I slept like a gay cat the entire flight. Fresh off the plane, I hopped into my rental car, drove straight to Dbah, threw on my fresh trunks, randomly saw Asher Pacey and his steez filmer Nat Lanyon(vimeo.com/natlanyon) and was out surfing wedgy chest high rights off the jetty. Not a bad start to the trip.

Things only got better from there... Woke up the next morning at the legendary abode of Marc Llewellyn and paddled out in the first heat of the Burleigh Breaka Pro. Made the heat. Surfed again in the afternoon. Won and advanced. Met up with Taylor and we were off to surf Dbah again in my rental car. We pulled up and were instantly out there surfing "rippable as it gets" head high wedging rights with minimal crowd. It was as if everything was going too well, and it was. Way too well. We frolicked in the sea like a couple pre-pubescent sea otter for about an hour (well, I was like a pre-pubescent sea otter, Taylor was kinda hungover from the night before, so he was more like an otter who ate too many crabs and got sick, but was trying to hide being sick because its selfish and retarded to eat too many crabs) We frolicked for no longer than an hour. Returned to shore, and BOOM. The car had vanished. FUCK. SHIT. FUCKED. Sorry to all the young readers out there, but I feel as though those are the only appropriate words for that moment.

We freaked out. Wearing nothing but our trunks, carrying our boards, and a 20 minute drive from where we were staying. Okay, stay calm. Call the Police.
Me:"Hey can I borrow your phone to call the police, my car was just stolen."
OldCrustyAussieGuy: "Oy, fuck mate they've taken one off me last year those scumbags, sorry but I don't have the number..."
We walk to a cafe with a Payphone. No money. Ask a passerby to use his cellphone. Begin to explain the situation and dial. He very kindly invites us to his house down the street and helps us to file a police report. Thank god for that kind Aussie man and his super cool fish pond. You have some great Karma coming you're way buddy.

We took the bus home and arrived at dark physically and mentally exhausted. Let's have a little recap of what was stolen.
Me: 1 passport
1 Ipod
1 Surfboard
1 Wallet with 2 credit cards plus $200 cash, some cool clothes Gus gave me, and my expensive Shisheido sunscreen.
Taylor: backpack including all his surf accessories and fins
ID
Credit Card
The keys to his brothers car, No spare
The next week consisted of groveling due to the lack of money. I ate lots of bread and tuna. I was a sad sea otter. Sessions were just not the same.

It came time to head down to Sydney for the Australian Open at Manly beach. Luckily Taylor's brother Jared is the man and let us borrow his car. The night before we left was Marc's(The man responsible for my premium Gold Coast accomodation) birthday. His flat mate Sian(The Rhythm girls designer, check her work here:http://vimeo.com/22878204) threw a rad cowboys and Indians party complete with cute girls and potent punch. It was fun. At one point after several cups of punch, I was talking to this super cute girl and we were really vibing, she seemed nice and happy, until the conversation got a little deeper and she threw a massive curveball. I forget what I said, but I vividly remember these words...
CuteAussieGirl "Um ya, but the problem with me is that I really don't like myself"
Me: "Haha, wait what?"
I actually laughed a little. I thought she was joking. She wasn't and the conversation went quickly downhill. I got out of there! That was the last girl I talked to that night...In the morning we drove the 10 hours to Sydney.

The Australian Open was cool. Like the US Open and with pretty much the same wave quality. I made it to the money round and then had a pretty bad heat, met up with Richie and the boys from Aloha(check they're boards here they work insane:Aloha.com.au) had a few fun surfs, went to the US embassy to get a new passport, and flew home.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Hawaiian Vacation

Featuring Victor Done, Colin Moran, Myself, and Taylor Thorne... Set the camera up in Taylor's yard, filming was done by whoever felt like it, these clips are the result!