Mikey Feb and Dyl Graves’ Pilgrimage to the OG Malaysian Wave Pool

Oh to work for a brand with blimp-sized budgets.

Whilst on the editorial side of the desk we’re left shaking the petty cash drawer every time imagery needs to be captured, the big boys (and gals, obviously) are free to pluck ideas out of the air and off they go.

Like the Sunway Lagoon in Malaysia: the original, if a little soft, wavepool, where we once used water horses to fling Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow and (mass ‘Core ’01 respect) Trent “Knackers” Munro at crumbly lips way back when advertisers were still interested in buying print ads.

It’s not exactly walking over the dunes to Bruce’s Beauties, but it has it’s own, novel, charm.

It’s no secret that we’re rather fond of the surf arm of the Vans megalodon. Partly because they employ the most amusing team riders in surf, partly because they fund haphazard ventures like this, and last but no means most insignificant because, well, the shoes. Both for surfing and otherwise. The reason the darling coupling Mikey Feb and Dyl Graves ventured to Malaysia (where we assume apart from tickling burgers at the lagoon the majority of time was spent slurping laksa, chewing on rendang and generally lapping up what’s truly one of the world’s great cuisines) was to hop around and showcase Vans’ handsome new UltraRange EXO daps.

Ever gone bareback on the escalators? Eeek!

Vans Surf designs shoes with a purpose. The latest from the ever-growing UltraRange is a travel shoe, which makes sense given our inherent love of the road. Travelling with multiple pairs of shoes is bulky and impractical. For the last year and a half I’ve been living out of suitcase, the majority of which has been taken up by a pair of pale grey suede sneakers, a pair of Gucci horsebit loafers, and a pair of Vans slides. Which is a ridiculous(…ly stylish) way to cover all the bases. Lace up a pair of Ultras before you get to the airport and the only time you’ll have to take them off is when you’re in the drink. 

The Ultra EXO is crammed full of all of the tech you’d expect from the modern incarnation of Vans: heel lock for support, reverse waffle soles so’s you don’t fall over, the unparalleled comfort of the appropriately named Ultracush, and the colours vary too. We wouldn’t necessarily have sent the claw to clutch the green sulfur variety as a first choice, but how damned good they look as a splash of colour to Mikey Feb’s drab outfit above has us reconsidering our choice in shoe hue. 

Ah travel – massage for the soul.

Grab yourself something comfy and practical for your next jaunt here.