As a Young media Company involved in the so called ‘dead’ surf industry, October is always a pretty hectic time in the South West of France.
But last October definitely reached peak hecticness; On top of organizing an art show, the release party of one of our biggest projects to date — Remember Eurothrash? — and a European tour of Kai Neville’s “Listen Now, Misty Dawn”, we decided that it wasn’t enough – and invited over Chippa Wilson and Brendon Gibbens to have them drive a Mercedes for a week.
At their arrival, and by some kind of divine intervention, we were graced by a week of sun, a clean short period swell and clement winds. On the first few days of the trip, the word of this barreling sandbank being the best it’s been in years got to our ears and we decided to give it a chance. On arrival at the car park, we quickly understood that we were not the only ones on the scoop. After hearing shouts incoming from the water, witnessing several paddle battle situations followed by a bodyboarder acid dropping from a Stand up paddle into a wave, we quickly understood that the vibe was slightly eggy, and decided to turn around to have a look somewhere else. We drove North, spent an excessive amount of time climbing sand dunes and after a week, “Through the Pines” was born.
Having the boys over for a week validated some rumors. First that Chippa is one of the most consistent surfers on the planet and that Brendon is the most polite individual you’ll ever met. But we also learnt more about them; mainly that Chippa is a maniac about all wheeled things powered by an engine and that Brendon is by far the most creative cook we ever encountered on a surf trip… If you ever get the privilege of having him preparing food for you – ask for his cheesy Brussel sprouts. They’re to die for…
But anyway, we’re not going to spoil it all, as we would rather have you read more about these adventures on the pages of Volume 2 (available via our online store.) Instead we will leave you with “Through the Pines” and a few behind the scenes photos snapped by Guillem Cruells & Yentl Touboul whilst filming.
Words by Yentl T. Photos by Yentl T and Guillem Cruells.
