Dylan Graves and producer Dave Malcolm follow on from their award-winning Weird Waves series to present their latest Vans project Breaking Waves.
A new show exploring the stereotypical perceptions that often exist within surf culture, in a bid to learn more about the experience of the LGBTQ+ community in the lineup and understand how all surfers can become better allies.
In this opening episode, Dylan connects with San Francisco-based Queer Surf, an organisation dedicated to creating a safe space for marginalised people to express themselves and be their authentic selves at the beach and in the water.
In much the same way that Grosso’s final Loveletters episode shone a light on the LGBTQ+ community within skateboarding, Breaking Waves is a timely reminder that love conquers all and highlights the role we all play in spreading open mindedness, unity and equality for all.
“The conversations we are having are relatively new conversations for surfing,” Dylan said about launching Breaking Waves. “The only way to grow and learn is to talk about it. We wanted to talk to these groups about how they are feeling and how we can support their messages. They have just as much of a right to be at the beach as anyone else — this sounds so straightforward, and when you hear it out loud, you are just like ‘of course, why wouldn’t they be?’ But we are highlighting that these issues are still a sticking point within surf culture and looking at how we can reshape that.”
