Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2016 i Tracks

PAY TO PLAY. It’s been about a month now and I’m only just recovering from the run of Swell that Cyclone Winston blessed us with on the north coast of NSW. I just wanted to remind all of my fellow surfers who enjoyed the waves to spare a thought for all of those who died in Fiji from the very thing that created the waves. I think everyone should impose a minimum $50 donation on themselves for every tube they were lucky enough to ride. Sounds fair to me. Or perhaps the WSL should throw some coin (assuming they have any) Fiji’s way, after all they do host one of the year’s most entertaining events on their turf. Food for thought anyway. Alicia WILKO YOU BEAST. How good is it…

HISTORY Rip Curl "Leaders in Wetsuit Technology" was founded on wetsuits as the company’s core product offering back in 1969. And while the empire has grown globally, the company’s roots and main HQ are still in Torquay where it all began. Today the Curl’s stellar history in surf rubber continues to evolve. Cam Lamperd is the Australian/NZ Product Manager and during his ten-year tenure he’s spent plenty of icy mornings pulling Rip Curl rubber over his body and paddling out at local breaks like Winki as just one key player in the continual R&D process. These days there are two big factory-warehouses right there in Torquay dedicated solely to the evolution and manufacture of wetsuits. As Cam points out, the ‘Curl is the only surf company that has this type…

HISTORY Quiksilver’s mountain and wave logo is perhaps one of the most widely recognised sports brands ever. Thanks largely to the efforts of the man, Kelly Slater, and a two-decade long relationship built on excellence. It wasn’t just about Slater of course; jammed alongside Quiksilver’s surfing locker room were dozens of others. The current crop includes shredders like Matt Banting, Mikey Wright, Jeremy Flores, Connor O’Leary and Leonardo Fioravanti. Not surprisingly, with a wetsuit history dating back to the late 80s, we’ve been treated to a bunch of Quiksilver rubber-related firsts … the Cypher vest made available in the mid 00’s - the first publicly available battery-powered heat vest; there was Kelly’s unforgettable performances in the Xplosive, the distinctive white wetsuit with those anatomically placed panels and black bands that…

HISTORY You might recognise the name, "Peak" started in the 80s in Newport Beach, Sydney, not far from the famous surf spot and was snapped up not long after by business savvy duo Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick and brought in-house with rubber giant Rip Curl. Peak wetsuits benefit from the market-leading designs, materials, resources and construction born from the Curl juggernaut, but are a simmered down, consumer friendly price-point alternative. "We produce good, solid, value-for-money wetsuits for core surfers," explains Peak’s Adam Brissenden. "We keep logo packages and colour ways clean and simple. With the exception of Josh Kerr, we sponsor just a few core guys and we make epic suits to surf in, without the $500-$600 plus price tag." Winter 2017 suits are already being refined and they’re…

HISTORY Wetsuits for the people! That’s the message and motive behind the work of a passionate group of people based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, which pre-Superbank era was home to the best surfers in the world. Adrenalin wetsuits were born out of the economic crisis some 25 years ago when unemployment was at, eek! 11% and higher. The team, lead by CEO John Axford, was and still is dedicated to quality and providing rubber that allows the equally passionate weekend warrior to stay in the water year-round. Back then, Adrenalin also produced the first all-flatlock wetsuits in the world – true! And John says they’re still hell-bent on innovating and giving surfers high-grade performance neoprene without the big price tag. "We’re passionate and maybe a little crazy, but…

Tell us a bit about your yourself? I grew up in the burbs near Cronulla. I have always loved doodling from when I was a little kid, I used to draw lots of muscle man and Bart Simpson characters. If I have a pen in my hand I can't help but doodle something out. When I finished high school I decided to study finance because I didn't think being an artist was a viable career choice (boy was I wrong). I then got stuck working in a finance job for the next ten years and wondering what the heck I was doing with my life. Tell us about the transition from the corporate world to being a full-time artist. Leaving my job wasn't so much a leap as much as…

I'm not going to back down from anyone,” exclaims tour rookie Davey Cathels with cast iron confidence as he sits on a sixth floor balcony overlooking a sparkling Coolangatta lineup. Davey goes on to explain how he learnt the hard way that you need a certain ruthlessness to survive on the WCT. “I remember the first time I ever did a CT I was riding for Rip Curl and had a wildcard – I was against Kelly. It’s still one of the biggest regrets of my career. I got a seven straight away and I didn’t go and sit on him – this is before they had priority in three man heats – I figured there would be another set. Then Kelly got a bomb at the end, got a…

In 2000 Joe Ryan rode a fish for the first time. “The first wave I caught I raced down the line and I had so much speed I didn’t know what to do with it,” Ryan tells Tracks. “I was like, what is this? Where does it come from? Why doesn’t everybody know about it?” It was that wave that sparked his recently released documentary, called Fish. Ryan would spend roughly four years financing, writing, filming, animating, editing and narrating the film himself to answer those questions. In that time he traced the history and influence of the fish design, from its creation by Steve Lis in the San Diego Cliffs area in 1967, all the way through to today. By following the design, and the lives of its creators,…

HISTORY Being one of the world’s largest and longest running surf companies, Billabong needs little introduction. The main man behind the wetsuits, Scott Boot, is a little more undercover. Scott’s been in the rubber game 26 years; he knows his stuff. Billabong’s current range can be split into three tiers – entry-level suits, mid range and high-end. Depending on your needs and affordability, Billabong know they have you covered in every instance. "Performance is always at the forefront of our design philosophy," says Scott. "Everyone is dabbling in environmentally friendly stuff but until those technologies are equal to or greater than the performance that we currently get, we’re holding back on utilising that technology. We have materials sourced from all over the world that have different properties. Some are ‘green’,…

HISTORY There’s hardly a more glowing endorsement than being able to say the American Department of Defense chooses your wetsuits for its special ops forces. That is the case for Xcel. The Hawaiian based brand has been working with the Navy Seals in exclusive partnership for many years since being originally founded in 1982 by Hawaiian surfer Ed D’Ascoli. It may come as no surprise that some of Xcel’s more notable features hinge upon military style stuff like infrared technology. Their TDC Thermo Dry Celliant lining is a smart fibre which converts your body heat into infrared energy and "fires it back into your body and improves blood flow, it keeps you warmer for longer," explains Australian-based Xcel spokesman Chris James. Perfect if you’re 30 metres deep welding a hole…

HISTORY O&E, one of Australia’s most trusted and recognised accessories companies, have been manufacturing wetsuits for years now. But being a modest, time-rich, wave rich bunch situated on the southern NSW Coast, they’ve not needed to rush into the market. In fact, 2016 is the first time head honcho, Brian Creegan, has submitted a wetsuit for review. The Double Black speaks volumes for O&E’s way of doing things. Low key, understated yet technically reliable. "It’s a really well priced suit, with mid-range performance features and we’ve had great feedback," explains Brian. "We’ve always been a technical-based company and we’ve always been into wetsuits but we wanted to be a 100% confident in the product first. We knew we had to come out with something great to get the retailers and…

Coastlines don’t get much more isolated or breathtaking than on Iceland. Adrift between Northern Europe and Greenland this stunningly beautiful Nordic isle is brimful of natural wonders, adventure opportunities and some surprisingly good surf. The diverse landscape features giant snow-capped mountains, velvet wilderness, dramatic glacier fields and a jaunty number of active volcanoes which steam up thermal lagoons, lakes and pools for alfresco hot-tubbing. You can snowboard down a volcano, dive beneath glaciers, hike inside Europe’s biggest national park, gasp at the Northern Lights and shred long wrapping point breaks with no one out. Maroubra surfer Blake Thornton made the most of the endless sunlight when he toured Iceland in a campervan last summer (our winter) with a bunch of mates whose pastimes include snowboarding, sky-diving, and base-jumping. The boys…

It’s an often-overlooked fact of Australian surf industry history that the creator of the Rip Curl wetsuit was none other than Quiksilver founder Alan Green, thus beginning a decade or so of business cosiness between the two emerging brands that at times got dangerously close to collusion. The prototype Quiksilver boardies were designed in a corner of Rip Curl’s Boston Road bakery in the summer of 1969-70, even as the next-season wetties were being skilfully cut by John “Sparra” Pyburne just a few trestle tables away. That two of the until recently Big Three were born more or less twins in Torquay is interesting enough, but the paths the two brands took as they diverged and grew is fascinating stuff. But since this is the wetsuit issue, let’s just focus…

FROM THE VAULT - THE MARIONETTE The late great Richard "Beetle" Bailey stars as the surf industry marionette. Photo: Simons FOLLOW. @take3forthesea LISTEN - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD The Australian lords of lo-fi, driving psych-rock will leave your head popping 'till eternity. Mixed with a Monty python-esque visual smorgasbord, their new song Gamma Knife and its epic accompanying film clip will bury itself in your mind and not leave. Other notable bangers include Cellophane and Hot Wax. BEHIND PAGE ONE - BEN BUGDEN. There was so much water moving out there. When I got to what is normally a mellow keyhole for this wave I saw six-foot waves unloading on dry rock. With my tail between my legs, I decided to jump out on the other side of…

INTRO After days spent winding up in the Pacific like some kind of macabre spinning top, Tropical Cyclone Winston reached Category 5 intensity on the 19th of February before performing a fateful U-turn and setting its sights on the island nation of Fiji. First to be hit was Vanua Balavu in the Lau group where wind gusts of 306 km/h were recorded, the main island of Viti Levu shortly after. The damage was severe, and tragically 44 people would lose their lives. Nearly 55,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and approximately 40 percent of Fiji's population are thought to have been impacted by the storm. Some 4500km away, surfers on the east coast of Australia would receive a perverse gift from the storm that took so much from the beautiful…

It won’t be long now until the frigid fingers of Lady Winter have us firmly by the balls. Of course winter means waves, but it also means toe-numbingly cold water and ice-cream headache duck dives. A good wetsuit is an absolute necessity to make the most of this bountiful surfing season. Flexibility, water leakage and rash producing seams can make or break a winter campaign. That’s why we recently banished three surfers to the icy coastline of the Great Ocean Road where they put 10 of the best wetsuit offerings of 2016 through their paces before delivering their verdicts. They’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to. Peruse at your leisure and be informed dear reader.…

HISTORY O’Neill’s place in surf wetsuits is legendary. The company founder, Jack O'Neill, invented the things way back in 1952! In the subsequent decades, other industry firsts have followed - the first surf shop, the first short-John cut, the first legrope, the first rashguard tops … impressive stuff. These days it ain’t no surprise that O’Neill’s global reputation for quality and innovation is anchored to their wetsuit legacy. Jack's initial vision of producing functional and innovative board riding products continues to lie at the core of everything the company does. O’Neill’s current 'Unreasonable' campaign is all about having unreasonable expectations and exceeding them. The Psychofreak Fuze 3/2mm is one tactile product spawned from that vision. Says O’Neill Australia’s marketing guy Tom Milledge, "The sense of adventure drives a lot of…

HISTORY Patagonia has a pretty unique heritage. Many know founder Yvon Chouinard as a mountain climber who likes to surf. But, as wetsuit guy John Hubbard, informs us, it's the other way around! "That’s why Patagonia is situated by the beach!" A big focus for Patagonia is switching the entire wetsuit line to Yulex natural rubber; made up of 85% natural and 15% synthetic rubber; making them the world’s first neoprene-free suits. CO2 emissions are also reduced by up to 80%. Additionally, the Yulex is sourced from farms certified by Rainforest Alliance. This ensures there’s been no clear cutting of forest, harmful chemicals used or natural habitats destroyed. Exemplary stuff. Aside from that, everything else is new too … new internal and external recycled linings, an inverted micro-grid thermal lining…

HISTORY When you think of Adelio you could draw comparisons to Triple J’s beloved Unearthed. Like the hard-born rockers of the land who face adversity to cement their place among the established greats, Adelio’s Brett, Chris, Dan and Cameron operate as a kind of four-man brand, sticking it out and doing double-time to wrest their place in the hard-fought, highly contested wetsuit market. They’ve been doing it for five years now and still well and truly have their heads above water. Brett’s a builder by trade, Chris is a fridge mechanic, Dan’s a graphic designer and Cameron holds the fort at their Central Coast HQ, running the shop and taking care of everything graphic-based. "We’re into minimising and reducing the noise around all the marketing and technical crap to do…

Sugarloaf Rock in South Africa's Transkei should be a great left-hand point break. The rock sticks straight out to sea and the water to the left is deep. Alas, there are no waves, but as it turns out it's a good spot to get personal with a Great White Shark. I am a shark attack survivor. While snorkelling Sugarloaf, I invited the attention of a four metre, 500kg specimen. There I was, minding my own business when I turned around and saw this huge animal, jagged teeth on pink gums, dragging me through the water by my foot. Seventy percent of shark attack victims are bitten once and released, but not me. The shark chewed on my leg for a bit and then came back for more, three times to…