Are We Entering the Golden Age of Surf Skits?

The above Chanel Ad starring Danny Fuller — directed by Oscar-winner Katheryn Bigelow with the assistance of 150 staff — cost “a lot more than 40k” just for Danny’s talent, meaning it must’ve cost at least half a mill all up (being stupidly conservative), and I reckon I know 20 surf filmers under the age of 30 who would’ve done equally good a job, likely on their own, but definitely with a couple of mates, for $3000. 

Sure it’s a massive corporate client and “worth” is abstract, but the point is that surfing is filled with super talented kids who, as cinema-quality equipment gets cheaper and cheaper, are able to achieve striking results with minimal resources.

One of which lit up the Stab Slack channel a couple weeks ago, when Stab founder Sam Macintosh sent around a newish McTavish short with the accompanying royal seal of approval: “I do love the simplicity of this clip.”

“That clip was actually all shot in the span of maybe three hours,” long time McTavish jack of all marketing trades (particularly film ’n stills) Hunter Thomson (seriously) tells me.

“We set out to capture a whole bunch of different environments and different weather conditions, that was the brief: ‘Capture someone going for a surf in different environments with different conditions,’” Hunter says, miming reading a brief, before adding that, like Sam Mac: “We were really stoked on was how effective it was for such a simple piece.”

The video is remarkable in how it makes you feel. It’s one back-of-the-van angle, there’s not a single wave ridden or another surfer in frame, the waves that are featured look, well, dogshit — and yet I can’t remember seeing anything produced by a brand that makes me want to buy my van back and go surfing more. It captures the solitary melancholy of endlessly pursuing this strange lifestyle, yet somehow remains hopeful with small honks of community along the way. 

“We try and champion everyday surfing, and getting out there even when the conditions are not perfect,” Hunter explains. “Every surfer can relate to rocking up at the car park, and it’s a little bit blown out, overcast, cold/wet, but it’s the window you’ve got. So you make the most of it.”

It would be easy for the layman with no film/marketing experience to think this is a piece of piss that they could knock up themselves on their iPhone, but it’s masterful storytelling. We’ve become so used, in the digital age, to zoning out to anything that’s not the biggest Kirra pit or Italo doing something technically ludicrous, that it’s hard to celebrate the everyman surfer by showing footage of them surfing (zzz). This McTavish offering, however, hits all the feels without anyone getting wet. And makes the clothes look authentically wearable to boot, which, after all is said and done, is the aim of the game. 

Thespian surf shorts are nothing new, but most fall well wide of the mark. Mainly due to the fact that exceptional surf talent typically spent their formative years in the drink rather than on the stage (hard to pull off a believable MacBeth — “out damn spot” — with a blonde bob and painted on wetsuit tan) however, McTavish’s recent masterpiece isn’t the only effective piece of surf film fiction of recent years. 

Shaun Manners’ Epokhe Jamiroquai mash up (above) was the first example that came to mind, and Chun’s certainly one of the few surfers with that ineffable star quality that suggests he probably would’ve been good at whatever he set his curls too.

Furthermore, it’s impossible to look past the Channel Islands team’s introduction of the Dumpster Diver 2. Best Actor award goes to Josiah Amico, with a some notable supporting performances from Britt Merrick and the most creative surfer in history, Dane Reynolds. 

High performance surfing is part of the Stab mantra, but just because it’s cutting edge, doesn’t mean you have to take yourselves too seriously and ignore the romance of the surfing lifestyle — something talented surfing lens people like Hunter Thompson are hyper aware of. 

“At the end of the day, we’re not building Formula One cars,” Hunter says. “If it lands with people and if it connects with people, then that’s sort of a job well done. I mean, that’s very Bob [McT]. He’s just this forever-frothing larrikin that champions everyone to get out there and go surfing and have fun.”

More of this please, surfing industry.