Thomas Campbell’s new surf film, The Present, made a stop at the Montalban Theatre in Los Angeles. Before the show The Matttson 2 and Ray Barbee rocked the house. Then Thomas Campbell, Rob Machado, Dan Malloy and John Wegener went on stage handing out prizes which included an Alaia surfboard. The theatre was packed and the film was super sick.
One of our favorite artists/filmakers Thomas Campbell has finished up his latest film The Present. This new surf film was shot on location in West Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, California, Sumatra and Java. Visit his site for all tour dates and for a little preview of the film click here.
For all you surfers out there in Southern California that want to know what the waves are doing, head over to Southern California Surf Forecast and find out. Good friend of ours Adam Wright from Huntington Beach has been plugging away on his site with daily forecasts.
Just as I thought Stand Up Paddle Boarding was the hottest new craze, and prior to that fishes and quads, I believe another has surfaced – the Alaia surfboard by Tom Wegener. Based off of the ancient Hawaiian surfboards more than 1,000 years ago, the Alaia is a finless piece of wood that is sealed with oil. What makes these boards work is the hard edge of the rail that acts as a fin and the gentle curves on the bottom hold the board into the face of the wave. Unbelievable speed is created by flexing the board to fit into the wave. Tom states in a recent Surfline article, “There are lots of combinations of Alaia designs that haven’t been put together yet that are extremely promising in terms of design innovation”.
With test pilots like Rob Machado, Dan Malloy, Dave Rastovich and Tom Carroll, these surfboards are being taken to the next level in surfing which can bee seen in Thomas Campbell’s upcoming new movie, The Present. Rumor also has it that Tom Curren is ripping on his as well.
Just as my new issue of Surfing Magazine arrived in the mailbox, local HB shredda Sterling Foxcroft popped over with Matt “Drifty” Williams from Tom Wegener Surfboards in Australia. Matt is Tom’s apprentice and helps craft these Alaia surfboards. It was great to hang with him a bit and hopefully we will see him again soon.
The Mini Tuna Alaia Surfboard
Sterling Foxcroft cruised by again to show off his latest shred stick, the Mini Tuna Alaia. This hollow, finless, 7′5″ Alaia shaped by Jon Wegener out of Redondo Beach, California has a plug near the nose to let out any water that may get in. When asked how the board rides, Sterling replied, “So sick.”