“Brazilians Don’t Mess Around On Jet Skis Or Dance Floors”

365 days in surf media. A memory from Ramble On popped up to remind me that I’ve been in the game for a year now. I sipped gin for the first 10-hour flight to Rio De Janeiro to celebrate.  

The plane landed where a teeming jungle split into a dense, lush, suburban landscape. To the left, a green rock marked the infamous Macumba beach, where we would spend the next few days documenting the Vans Duct Tape Invitational and the accompanying Festival. 

When the doors of our media bus opened, five female surf content creators greeted me. I was shocked — I inquired to Justin Villano (Marketing Director At Vans) about what strange new world of female surf journalists I had stumbled upon. Favelas tainted the skyline while I drifted conversation with talents like Molly Lockwood of Sea Maven, Brie Brielakin of Emocean, and Beth O’Rourke of Withitgirls. 

This wide array of lens crafters was just one of the ways the Duct Tape Invitational highlighted the bests of surf culture. Even with $48,000 up for grabs, the competitors focused on wave sharing, brews, salsa, and tasting every part of Brazil. The land of primary colors illuminated the loggers’ vibrant personalities and toe taps. 

With the dangers of groupthink amuck, we let the competitors write the narrative. We wrote skeletons —based on surfing, shaping, and Brazil’s culture — the surfers spelled out the rest.

Thank you to all our participating Mad Loggers (in above order): Steven Sawyer, Jules Lepecheux, Kelis Kaleopa’a, Kevin Skvarna, Justin Quintal, Tom Morat, Mikey February, Alex Knost, Caio Texeira, Karina Rozunko, Mahina Akaka and all the other personalities of Vans Duct Tape Invitational and Festival that made Brazil so colorful.