The ‘Snapt5’ Trailer Has Dropped, As Will Your Jaw

Tucked away at the tail-end of Doped Youth — the greatest surf film ever inscribed onto a digital versatile disc — was something else.

A trailer for Snapt2.

Scored to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck, that trailer alone was a jolt — a ritual amp-up wedged perfectly between getting that phone call (“pick you up in 5”) and walking out the door with nothing but board, wetsuit, and damp towel underarm. Ah, the nostalgia of youth.

The edit was raw and unpolished. Lo-fi before lo-fi got taken over, creative-directed, and monetized. It felt like something you and your friends might have put together on your dad’s camcorder after a week of bad decisions in Hossegor. Only it wasn’t. It was Logan “Chucky” Dulien — an unlikely needle-mover — with a roll-call of the best surfers on the planet, at the best waves that luck and generous sponsorships could buy.

At the time, Andy Irons was the reigning world champion and already on his way to win his second title. Snapt2 was where the series found its teeth.

Now over 20 years later, Dulien has released the trailer for Snapt5 — the film that will conclude the storied franchise. Dressed up in a track by Peaches, the high-energy, eye-widening trailer seems to nod at those minutes tucked away behind Doped Youth, which registered the best surfing being done on the planet in the early naughts.

The surfing in Snapt5‘s trailer carries that tradition into modern times. Dulien has been insistent — and diligent — about keeping clips from the highest-profile surfers of this day and age behind the curtain until the film officially premieres on August 2nd at Sealegs in Huntington Beach, during the US Open of Surfing (tickets here!).

And with less than two weeks to go, Chucky is still fiddling with the final edit. Clips are landing on his hard drive hours after being shot — last-minute additions dropped in from different time zones — while he fine-tunes transitions, tweaks sections, and sets up a global premiere schedule.

“I’m trying to integrate some behind-the-scenes action into the movie,” he says. “It’s section-based, and those work as segues,” he adds, referring to candid content shot mostly on iPhones.

Dulien has already decided who gets the coveted and prestigious final section. “There are several parts that could fit, but the guy who gets it has the most complete section in my eyes — tubes, turns and airs. Plus a worthy ender song,” he says, expecting limited animosity from the surfers who might’ve hoped to snag the marquee section but don’t. “I think everyone in the film will be stoked for whoever gets it.”

The final installment of Snapt is also the longest in the series, running for 1 hour 15 minutes and made up of 19 sections. “This thing feels different from all the others before it — much bigger,” he says. “There’s no storyline, no plot. And what’s the last surf movie you’ve seen that lasted longer than an hour?” He tries to answer his own question: “I don’t think a movie of this length has come out since the …Lost movies.”

It’s also taken the longest to make. Now three years in the works, Dulien talks about the changing landscape of surf filmmaking. “It’s harder to make one now. You used to just follow the guys doing the tour,” he says. “Now they’re more scattered — filming for their YouTubes, side projects, and other edits.” He mentions financial restrictions and the added stress of getting exclusive clips that don’t leak online before release. “Content is king nowadays. Everybody wants it. And scoring A-grade clips doesn’t come cheap or easy.”

Most of the money Logan has pulled into Snapt through sponsorships has gone straight back to the surfers and filmers out there chasing digital gold. “I’m not doing this for the money — you know as well as anyone that there is no money in surf films nowadays [laughs]. With each Snapt movie, I feel like expectations grow, and I think that’s why I kept spending more time and money on it — to make a movie that hopefully can better the last one.”

We brought up the likelihood of having another world champion star in the project. “I think Yago is going to be fucking hard to beat in Fiji no matter the conditions,” Dulien says, with a mix of excitement and anticipation. “He would be the first world champ we’ve had in a Snapt movie since Andy!”

And what better way to end a cycle that is now an indelible part of surfing’s history?

The big reveal day is near. While online tickets are almost sold out, analog paper-printed tickets are still available from The Frog House (Newport Beach), Bear Flag Fish Co. (Huntington Beach), ‘Ai Pono (Orange County), and various Banzai Bowls locations.

Get em before they’re gone.

Full Snapt5 cast:

Mason Ho
Harry Bryant
Noa Deane
Jack Robinson
Yago Dora
Clay Marzo
Taro Watanabe
Parker Coffin
Ian Crane
Benji Brand
Mateus Herdy
Mikala Jones
Lei Slawson
Victor Bernardo
Bronson Meydi
Jackson Dorian
Dane Henry
Conner Coffin
Asher Pacey
Tosh Tudor
+28 groms and more!

Additional Premieres

Aug 8: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica at House of Somos
Aug 9: Bali, Indonesia at White Monkey / Thruster Club
More to come…