With this shelter-in-place mandate looming over my head like a sticky storm cloud, I find myself watching far more than doing. There is a seemingly endless supply of surf content scattered across the internet and this world-wide lull is bringing them to the surface of my feed like boils after a big set. Organizations like Stab, Inherent Bummer, Surfline, Surfer Magazine, and the Surfers Journal have not missed a beat when it comes to highlighting edits and, alongside the deeply ingrained Instagram culture, surfers have used the extra land-locked moments to spit content from their online platforms.
In this time of couch-ridden fantasy, dopamine normally drawn from the natural world must be first filtered through a computer screen. Us surf fanatics must live vicariously through the professionals, who seemingly haven’t missed a beat when it comes to wave riding. Each surfer brings a tweaked component to the surfing world and the diversity in style, persona, homebreak, and attitude produce multiple streams of inspiration. I think that’s something we need in times like this. Inspiration. Excitement for the future. That “once I get out of this apartment, I’m going to do this!” feeling.
In this post, I’m going to list three surfers that have grabbed, and continue to hold, my attention throughout this quarantine process. They inspire and excite me for the time when I can finally leave this goddamn house.
Cyrus Sutton
I remember when I first virtually stumbled upon Cyrus Sutton and Korduroy TV. It was my junior year of high school, the week before finals, and I was studying by myself in the computer lab behind the library (what a nerd). Deep in the rabbit hole of Youtube procrastination, a recommended video of a recommended video of a recommended video recommended I watch “Flip Flop Peddlin‘” a DIY tutorial on how to change your bike pedals into slippers. This was exactly the kind of creative content that my college acceptance centric mind so desperately craved.
Korduroy TV was a whole new rabbit hole that I have yet to escape. Founded by Cyrus and run by a team of like-minded creators, Korduroy TV is the hub of sustainable, DIY, creative surf culture. It gives off Patagonia energy but as if it were produced from the back of a van (which much of it is). It’s raw, funny and low-budget. It’s also earnest, insightful, and honestly really beautiful.
For a few years, Korduroy TV faded from the internet as Cyrus took on other larger (much more profitable) film jobs including Island Earth. I’ve since followed him on instagram, watching him move from LA to a Sprinter Van, to a large home in the Washington mountains, while. continuing to surf and create the entire time. Korduroy TV has been revamped in the midst of quarantine and it feels it feels like it has never left. Just this morning I watched a video on how to add a single-fin to your Beater Board.
Cyrus takes the freedom of surfing and extends it far past the shoreline. He shows us that we have the chance to shape the universe that we live in. We can live responsibly, sustainably, healthily, respectfully. He inspires us to look at the world the same way we look at waves– not as a contest with “three turns to the beach”– but as an opportunity to create something new.
Ainara Aymat
Ainara is a goofyfooter from Basque Country who knows a thing or two about fucking waves up. Her most recent edit, SAMBAL SAMBAL, with Lisa Curren, is a four-minute preview into the mind of a grunge punk ripper let loose in the Mentawai Islands. Ainara is ruthless, reckless, and mean on her surfboard while the black-and-white hard cuts are unapologetically jarring.
The first time I watched this clip, about a year ago, I remember being a little taken back by it. It made me uneasy. It gave off an aura of discomfort. It clashed, in almost complete opposition to the pleasant stereotype of women surfers. In no way am I saying that women are supposed to be elegant on a surfboard– that beauty must surpass power and aggression when it comes to riding a wave– because this is truly not the case. Caroline Marks, air-dropping into the barrel at Teahupo’o, can only be described as pure intensity. No one who has ever been in the water with Carissa can deny her violence when it comes to smacking the lip. Did y’all watch the women at Peahi?
Yet, this running assumption of women on the water continues to trickle through the surf community. Ainara takes this dainty idea, chews on it, and spits it out onto the sidewalk. Her frontside speed carves at Macaronis are filthy. Her backside snaps are devastating. She embodies power and refuses to apologize for it. Ainara is one of my favorite surfers to watch and gets me more fired up to get in the water than anybody.
Nora Vasconcellos
Before I even get started, I should stop, for a second, because I’m sure that some of you did a double-take here. Nora Vasconcellos? You mean the skateboarder? Isn’t this a ~~ surf blog~~ ? Yes, the skateboarder. But definitely not just the skateboarder. And yes, it is a surf blog. Give me a second.
I’ve been a long time fan of Nora. The blur of her light-purple silhouette airing from one bowl to another has become synonymous with high-level skating. She is one of the best skaters in the world and one of the most iconic pros in the game. But her rise to the mainstream, while aided by her extraordinary skill, can also be credited to her diverse interests. Her fashion influence, alongside her artistic prowess, has, in a sense, made her a skate icon.
It’s clear that Nora has a few more tricks up her sleeve, and most recently, it appears that this is surfing. According to the completely factual, data driving platform of Instagram, Nora appears to be spending this quarantine on Mau‘i with her boyfriend and professional surfer Albee Layer (I wrote about a post on him a while back). While their exact doings are vague, it is obvious that she has been surfing… a lot. To put it lightly, she’s ripping.
Since the beginning of time, there has always been a tight connection between the surfing and skating communities. The outcast culture translates easily across the different types of boards. It is no surprise that most surfers skate, and many skaters, especially those close to the ocean, surf. But just because this is fairly common doesn’t mean I can’t get absolutely stoked when I see a pro skater riding a wave. And when it is one of the most well-known skaters of our generation, this feeling is elevated even more.
It’s truly inspiring to see Nora dance between different worlds. Art, Fashion, Skateboarding, Surfing. She does this so effortlessly that it is easy to go unnoticed. A quick scroll through her Instagram will leave you wanting to go do ten things at once. As I drift slowly into my mid-twenties, it’s easy to lock into a self-fulfilling routine. But Nora is a constant reminder that we are the only ones who can define ourselves, and that no person is truly one-dimensional.
It’s obvious that the computer world is no substitute for the natural world, but in these times of isolation, uncertainty, and restlessness, it’s important to continue to find things that inspire us. Cyrus, Ainara, and Nora get me fired up.
BAMBOOBLISTER 
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