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Hector Menendez
Originally from Oviedo, midway along the north coast of Spain, Hector’s now been living in Fuerteventura for ten years. Currently he’s studying biology in La Laguna, Tenerife (although admits he’s ‘taking it easy’ this year) where island life suits him fine. ‘Life’s great in Fuerteventura and there’s not much to complain about in Tenerife either, the people are cool in both places.’ His first taste of surfing came at Doniños in Galicia aged 6 on a windsurf board.
Arabia Felix and the Isle of Bliss
Socotra, (from the Sanskrit dvipa sukhadhara – island of bliss) is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Somalia, some 350km’s south of the Arabian Peninsula. Its relatively unknown coastal waters are known to be home to over eighty species of sharks including 15m Great Whites, as well as, when the SW monsoon blows a myriad of uncharted, ridable waves.
Exiled in Paradise: Alain Riou Interview
Twenty-three years old, pro surfer. Lives alongside the lagoon in Tahiti, on his doorstep are some of the best and most beautiful line-ups on the planet. Twice European Pro Junior Champion, winner of the Teahupoo WCT trials at 21, invited on Young Guns 2 with Slater, Reynolds, Craike, Flores et al, Alain Riou’s biog reads a bit like every young surfer’s fantasy. Born and raised in the French colonies of Reunion and then Tahiti by a family originally from Brittany, Alain now plies the smooth trade he learned on perfect tropical reefs at the temperate beachbreaks of the WQS, where, after a difficult 2006 he’s now looking to step up. And while maybe not exactly make-or-break time, in terms of making the jump into the Dream Tour big leagues to join Quik stable mate Jeremy Flores, there’s no time like the present.
Sipping Jetstreams
If you love travelling and enjoying the magic of surf tripping, you’ll love this high quality, high budget movie that really captures the essence of it all. Destinations include Japan, Bali, Barbados, Hong Kong, Italy, Egypt, Morocco. An allstar cast of surfers like Kelly, Shane, Yadin, Dan Malloy, Tim Curren, Ozzie, Irons Bros, Alex Gray, Kalani, Losness and more.
Gone Feral from the Weather Kitchen
Dustin Humphrey had no idea. Eleventh-hour enlistment by the brothers Turner amid one of Humphrey’s sporadic SoCal visits led the Bali-based photographer to the Los Angeles International Airport, himself weighted with an unusual amount of heavy clothing, booked to fly in an unusual direction. Fresh on the recovery heels of a staph infection inside his brain, surfer/filmmaker Timmy Turner, perhaps best-known for his rough-hewn forays in hot Indonesian jungle, found equally fresh allure in the green-wooded shores of the Pacific Northwest. Last September, Turner unveiled his new slant: to bust feral and go film once again, exchanging reef cuts and malaria for grizzly bears and hypothermia. Earlier, Timmy’s doctors had ominously warned him that, should Turner return to the tropics any time soon, staph would relapse.
Bring the Drama
Not the most wave-blessed Hawaiian contest season in memory, yet lack of swell doesn’t necessarily equate to lack of incident along the Seven Mile Miracle. Some of Europe’s finest recount this season’s high jinks.
Marc Lacomare’s Mixtape
Marc picks his top tunes for a pre-surf amp up and post-surf chill out...
The Bigger Picture
This time last year I’d never been to Hawaii and was kind of proud of it. I mean, why would an average punter like myself want to? Crowds, hype, gnarly locals, a zillion frothing pros, photogs, TV crews, helicopters, jetskis, not to mention of course life-threatening surf conditions. I figured I’d chosen wisely to have done numerous trips to Indo, the Philippines, Oz, New Zealand, Africa, Central America and so on. I’d been around for a little while; I knew the score. Maximize your wave count and quality for money spent. Get the most out from what you can. For these very reasons the North Shore sat pretty low down my list of places to surf.
Gony Zubizarreta
Gony chats about Vigo, VQS, vans and the best thing about standing around in a park drinking from plastic cups for hours...
Eurojem: Mundaka
Stunning scenery, authentic basque culture and screaming sand-bottomed barrels at Europe’s best lefthander.
Jeremy’s Spoken
A word in your ear with 2007 WCT Rookie sensation Jeremy Flores
Flow
How a man called Al Merrick has deeply influenced history of modern surfing through shaping and a father-toson relationship with the very best surfers in the world. A journey through the life of surfing super heroes’ most influential mentor.
HOW TO: Get a Rounded Off Fin Screw Out
While modern surfing technology strives to constantly improve itself, there are occasions when one of surfing’s convenience innovations go awry, and a rounded off fin screw is one such occasion. Anyone who’s ever done this will recognize the heart-sinking agony when the fin key turns freely, ineffectively in a hole worn by time, tide and whatever else. Add to this the time pressure of needing to make a flight, a tide or wind window, an ill-timed misadventure with that little piece of metal can seriously fuck up your day.
Mario Azurza
"Mario's got a really smooth style," reckons friend, team-mate and fellow Zarautz homeboy Aritz Aranburu, speaking in the office of the town's surfclub. "He’s really good at reading the wave, good positioning, and with how skinny he is, he surfs like Rob Machado." (Mario laughs).
Let’s Talk About Jetskis
The jetski or PWC (personal water craft) has brought about some major changes in surfing in recent years from wave size ridden, photographic angle and rescue capabilities. But if one of surfing’s fundamental pleasures is being immersed in nature, isn’t that kinda hard with the roar of an engine and the nostril-stinging aroma of gasoline?