It’s difficult to use words to reflect my time in Vietnam, because Vietnam is not words. It’s a colour, a smell, a taste, a warmth. It is it’s own energy entirely. The best i can do to paint a picture of my experiences is through these images. Thought provoking in every way, Vietnam is a poem.
- THOMAS GATT
Well that’s a wrap! Our 3 month free online hashtag based beachbreak contest is officially over and the winner’s names are forever engrained in the folklore stories of ages to come. It was an interesting 3 month experiment that showcased some exceptional surfing on some not so exceptional waves. That was kinda the point to even out the playing field and let the surfing do the talking or in this case the boogie. Early mainland surf culture was founded upon the sands of shit beachbreak and as keepers of the flame, it’s important we honor this tradition of short break “hotdogging”.
With over 250 entries coming in, many last minute, the judges definitely had their work cut our for them. To ensure the validity of our final outcomes we tapped some of the best loggers in the game to make calls on their own. Judges for this event included Matty Chojnacki, Erin Ashley, Dane Peterson, Hallie Rohr, and Justin Quintal. Hard to dispute this crew of waveriders and their point of view. Surfers were judged on various elements including fluidity, style, wave selection, criticality, and overall boogie.
Big thanks to the judges for their efforts. Also much appreciation to this year’s inner contest sponsors including Cayucos Hot Sauce, the Hotdogger Championships, and Bodega Boarder Crew. This contest is also made possible from the encouragement of Joel Tudor and support of Vans Surf.
A few waves at Malibu...
Surfer: Sean Tully
Video: Andrea Coleman
Music: Mind Your Own Business by Delta 5
From the creators of 1WV1FN, comes another fresh approach to the single fin log-riding contest that continues to widen the playing field and offer up a modest pay day while doing so. A contest with no travel costs, no entry fees, no heats, no false claims, no tri-fins and no limited invites. Open to all men and women riding logs and forwarding the movement in their own way. Here’s the basic idea, best surfed beachbreak wave over a 3 month period wins. Simple as that. Winning male and female surfer each gets $800 usd and an invite into a future Vans Duct Tape Invitational held in beachbreak. The videographer for each winning wave will also receive $200 usd. Numbers taken from top 6 waves in both men/women will determine an overall “coast” winner. Winning coast will retain all bragging rights for one year and we’ll probably so something else cool as well.
EAST COAST TEAM: East Coast US, Africa, Brazil, Europe, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, etc
WEST COAST TEAM: West Coast US, Hawaii, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Bali, etc.
THE CONTEST
- A clip of your best single wave ridden at a beachbreak. Full ride – from takeoff to kickout
- Must be on a single fin log (9ft +) expressing traditional style
- Wave must be ridden within contest period: Aug 1, 2019 and Oct 29, 2019 (honor system)
- Open to anyone – male & female – anywhere in the world
- Must be shot using a video camera – no iPhone, drone or GoPro submissions accepted
- Maximum of 5 wave entries per surfer. (upload/delete as desired)
- Videographer must have the surfer’s consent
- No entry fee required.
HOW TO ENTER
- Post a video on your Instagram (only surfer can submit and they must tag the videographer)
- Must tag @innocnts and #BeachbreakBoogie1
- Clip must be unedited with just the complete wave. (music ok)
- No watermarks, i.e. logos, titles, etc.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Judging by a distinguished panel consisting of Justin Quintal, Matty Chojnacki, Hallie Rhor, Erin Ashley, and special guest judge tba. Judges will consider all waves/waveriders equally based upon the following criteria:
- 25% Length of wave (combination of maneuvers linked together)
- 25% Degree of difficulty and criticality (risk factor)
- 25% Style (Make it look good / Don’t force it)
- 25% Overall radness (Impress us)
WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT
Winner will be announced on Saturday November 14th, 2019 California time at 5pm via innocnts.com
PRIZES
Surfer prize (women/men each): $800 USD and invite to a future Vans Duct Tape Invitational
Videographer prize (women/men each): $200 USD
Upload ALL Submissions by October 31st, 2019
Our man down under Thomas Gatt returned last year from a 6 month travel around the globe. Along the way he trained his eye and camera onto some thoughtful compositions. The culmination resulting a limited zine release “By The Water” with various images from these travels. Came out pretty sick. Gander at more on Thomas’ website here.
Here’s what Thomas had to say:
So for starters I was born in Sydney and have lived here ever since. I left Australia in February of 2018 for Europe to travel alone for 3 months spent between Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Malta and Barcelona. From there I flew over to New York where my brother lives and spent another 3 months there. I completely immersed myself in my surroundings and set out almost every day to shoot as much as I could and experience the diversity of the city I was in. Almost a year later, I put together what I believed to be a selection of images that best represents my visual perception of that particular moment in time.
I find beauty in darkness.
For me each image serves as a memory, as a collection they serve as a reminder of the period in my life when I was 18 on the other side of the world. The Title, By The Water.”
We recently commissioned our friend Nathan McKee to create an original cut & paste piece based off some of surfing’s most important film contributions. This piece was a gift for Joel Tudor as a modest tip of hat for his contributions to surfing (and he put us up at the house a few times). All Nathan’s work is hand cut and pasted using construction paper. The piece measures ? and will be released as a print very soon.
