Despite the adversity presented by the world’s media — the doom and gloom served to us daily — there’s a lot to live for.
We’re lucky enough to inhabit subcultures and despite the potential negativity being bandied around the mainstream, we’re a couple of levels deeper. Underground. Camping out in the basement. Focused on our own scene, aware of the wider surroundings but not letting it bring us down. Focusing on making our immediate universe better, and if that filters up into the mainstream, then great. The truth is the underground scenes are alive and well, but we don’t own them; none of us do. We’re all merely caretakers looking after them, adding to their history, enriching them ready to pass on to the next generation.
The stories and images on the pages we somehow managed to print are a testament to that. We found insane waves and even better hospitality in a country, a former war zone where all but essential travel is advised. We drank beers and learnt from a filmmaker that helped shaped a lot of the creativity that comes from this office. We hung with one of the world’s best skaters and learnt what it took them to get there. We spent time at home surfing with some of our favourite surfers, before discovering that their real talent lies on the dance floors of Rome and Amsterdam. We learnt that Women’s skateboarding is in a better place than ever and we are beyond proud to champion that. Aquatically speaking, we’re most inspired by a female longboarder and we’ve broadened our horizons by learning of the DIY scene on some volcanic rocks just off Africa. We’re humbled by the youth of the French Caribbean taking the future of skating on their island into their own hands. It’s a time where we are more connected than ever and it’s great to see that connectivity being used for good. If the following pages can tie these things together in a way that inspires and evokes positive emotions, then that has be a good thing.
It’s not a perfect world, by any means, and there’s a long way to go. But that’s not to say we can’t stop and smell the roses. And such roses they are. It’s a time to appreciate the little things. The early morning spring surfs in France and the late afternoon beers in Valencia. Are we getting older? Are we getting more mature? I hope not. I’m usually approaching writing these introductions a little bit bitter. I’ll be stressed. A little rattled. It’s easy to hate. It’s hard to love. But this time it’s all easy, we’re on deadline (thereabouts). Sailing smoothly. Downwind. Light breeze. Maybe this maturity thing isn’t bad after all. Maybe it’s a passing phase. Maybe youth is a state of mind. Fuck knows.
So what’s next? Well, we don’t know either. We’re about to open a new store with a cafe with our good friends Waxed Coffee. It’s a space for us, but mainly for you. We thought you might like what we have to offer, so we thought we’d partner with our good friends at Vans and throw a little soirée on May the 24th. Have a chinwag, check it out, sink a few beers on us kind of affair. We will even be premiering our two most recent short films starring Elijah Berle in Los Angeles, and Adrien Toyon in the Lebanon… You know the drill. At the time of writing, we are most definitely not ready. So either way it will be entertaining. We hope you can come and visit.
But that doesn’t mean we’ll be resting our on laurels on the domestic front. Far from it. We’ve got ideas. We’ve got flights booked. We’re building our team, expanding, on the hunt for fresh talent. If you think that’s you – let us know. We’re hungry; we want it. What it is, we don’t know yet. But the journey we’re on in getting there is proving to be quite exciting, so we’ll stick with it. Beating down a path through the trees with these cameras and these pens until we get to the other side.
