Watch: Rip Curl Mobilises Its Teenage Army In ‘Dunno’

You’ve gotta wonder how it feels.

To experience the full arc of a generational talent. Get discovered, get good, get crowned, sit pretty in the sun for a few years, only to be slowly gnawed at by the ones who used to idolise you.

Studied your moves, swiped them, then added a little kink and claimed them as their own. Charming little thieves, eh?

Hard to hold a grudge, though. You did the same thing to your predecessors. It’s the ouroboros of skill, eternally biting its own tail.

Where does it stop? Does it stop? Is there an upper limit to human capability, or just an endless stack of bodies climbing over one another? And what’s it like up there, top shelf, back now creaking in ways no amount of yoga, breath work, or cold plunges can fix, watching a pack of hungry little bastards scramble up at you?

Not questions I can answer. Never risen far enough to fall, never burdened by brilliance. But after watching Rip Curl’s new grom movie, it’s clear those holding the throne will have to face the music eventually, as the calendar pages fall away. 

“The highlight for me in making the film was the mix of girls and guys,” says Vaghaun Blakey, the man behind the project. “We weren’t even consciously thinking about it at first, but when we watched it back, we went, ‘Hang on, is this the first full-on action movie where girls and guys run side by side the whole way through? Not a ‘here’s the girls’ segment, but just all of them, mixed in, equal footing?”

Vaughan reckons it’s proof of the new generation of girls storming the ranks, and he must be right. I was locked in for the full half-hour, with no recollection of the film ever dipping in energy. If you’re left emotionally battered after watching, the soundtrack probably shares some of the blame.

“Where I could, I got bands full of 20-year-olds, just to match the energy of the kids,” said Vaughan. 

There’s one song in particular that leaves you itching to punch a hole in your office window. A cathartic scream about vapes, or more precisely, juice sticks.

“We had to edit the fuck out of that one. Replace the swearing with a dog barking. It’s such a brutal song. Good thing we did, too — the first premiere was in front of a crowd of 8-12 year olds in a surf shop at Sandbar, and all the parents were there. I was just going, thank god we edited this song.” 

Parents in the crowd, parents behind the lens: Vaughan credits surf mums and dads with providing an estimated 90% of the footage.

Dunno is a 30-minute surf movie, filmed by well-meaning parent-documentarians and soundtracked by teenagers. Still, a strange name for a surf film, no?

“If you ask a teenager anything, that’s what they say. Dunno. They have no fucken idea.”

Do yourself a favour. Settle in, raise your juice stick to your lips, and hit play. Or, if you prefer the book, click here for the online zine.