UNLOCKED: Chippa Wilson Stars In ‘Zipper’ — A Surf Film By Stab & Monster

“Words are never ‘only words’” philosopher Slavoj Žižek once said. “They matter because they define the contours of what we can do.” 

The title Zipper was first proposed by one of our video editors, Will Stiles — a man who doesn’t speak often, but when he does, you listen. Will thought the whole team knew why he picked it — we didn’t. Eventually he told us. “It’s about stitching different styles and personalities together in a surf world that is often clique-ish and compartmentalized.” 

From there, director Blake Michel and producer Garrett James spent months weaving together plane flights, corralling surfers, and sculpting the finished product you see above.

The one constant in this film is Christopher ‘Chippa’ Wilson — consider him the “slider” in this zipper analogy — who helps connect the rest of the cast, including Filipe Toledo, Bobby Martinez, Eithan Osborne, Taro Watanabe, Dion Agius and Harry Bryant (aka the “elements”).

The word Zipper is also an onomatopoetic — named for the high-pitched sound the slider makes when it binds all the elements together. 

Likewise, we did our best in this film to let sounds (and imagery) represent ideas. Most of the music in this 44-minute piece you’ve likely never heard before. Some songs were scored for Zipper, like the piano ballad in the L.A. section by Alberto Bof, masterful composer and friend of Stab.

This film is a departure from our usual act of surf storytelling through tension-driven, idea-focused narratives. It is about high-performance surfing in far-flung places. It is about art and music and people. It is fueled by Monster. 

We hope you enjoy (responsibly).