You have to see this...

Our friend Eli Mirandon got the cover of Slide Magazine. I snagged these shots from his blog. 

Below is what he wrote.

"trunking it in dec in san diego on an solid agave board with a torrey pines wood stringer i built (the same as the trees up on the cliff behind me)"

Just think about that... mid 50 degree water, trunking it, no leash on a solid day at blacks, on a board built by himself on sustainable local materials. Top it off got the cover of Slide and some amazing shots. Eli, my hats off to you my friend, you're amazing.

Committed to the impossible

Apparently the results of this drop made everyone cring. I have to hand it to Eli though, he obviously knows he is in a really bad spot and is still committed with style. I give him serious points for stepping up and going for it.

Photo David Gray

Same wave two perspectives of Eli Mirandon

Photo Chad Butler

Photo David Gray

Eli Mirandon

Oh my. Now that is a cut back.

Photos by David Gray

Eli Mirandon

Manny Caro, Eli Mirandon and David Gray on Drift

 Leucadia shaper Manny Caro of Mandala has a great little interview on Diftsurfing.com. Check it out. I also was stoked to see that one of David Gray's shots of Eli Mirandon was used as well in the interview. Way to go guys!

Eli Mirandon

The other day when David and I were shooting, we met up with with Eli Mirandon .

Now I had met Eli before but I've never seen him surf in person. I had never seen him in his element. That day I got a lot of respect for the guy. David and I had watched all day as double to triple overhead sets came in with no one on them. All I thought all day was you couldn't pay me to paddle out.

Then comes Eli. He looks at it, suits up, paddles out and catches the most insane offshore, double overhead barrel. It was amazing to watch.

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 Photos by David Gray and Ed Lewis

Sacred Craft Day One

The guys I went to see, Grain crew Mike, Brad and Allen, were there to answer questions and share the stoke of wood board building. Here's a shot of forever stoked Kevin, a two time kit builder from LA with a third in his sights.

The booth was busy all day as people came in to see first hand what these boards are all about.  I have to admit I was a booth rat. They couldn't get ride of me as I kept asking questions and looking over their boards.

This is the board that I think is going to be amazing. It's copy of a 60's relic that somehow made it to their shop. It's called the Leaf. It's 4.6 and guys have been surfing these things. They hinted that I might get to demo one! Erik, you down to try her out?

Man of the weekend, Dick Brewer, was on hand to judge the shape off and take part in the festivities. I got a chance to say a few words to him and he was a really cool humble guy.

Dennis Murphy was up first in the shape off. He did really good. It was so much fun to watch.

Brewer came in and complemented Dennis on his shape. Dennis was blown away to meet him. He said later "That was soo cool. As a kid everyone wanted to be Dick Brewer. "

Erik was there to represent Sticky Bumps. He has a cool wax art project at the booth for kids.

Moonlight and Surfy Surfy were there. Good news for us Leucadians. We will soon have a new place to hang out. The old Longboard Grotto space will be the new site of the Surfy Surfy board shop!

Surf Heritage museum was there was some amazing boards.

Lots of great craftsmanship. This was a cool hand burned sign.

Lot's and lots of Brewer boards, old and new.

The old ads were posted up and were really cool. My favorite was John Peck.

Karl Eckstrom was there with his amazing asymmetrical boards.  I really wanted to ride this fish.

Eli Marandon was on hand to show off his work. He is one of David's favorite guys to shoot at Blacks. He is a well rounded guy, with skills in the shaping bay and in the water.

Eli has a new set of fins out based on his unique tall twin fins. These are shorter and wider with the same hatchet style template. I am hoping to demo a pair. They look like they will work good.

Murphy Brewer shaped and ready for judging.

This is what I like to see. I love how it looks like a guy in the '50s bought it for a $100 and was his daily ride to the beach. 

MR was there. What can I say. I grew up with him as a hero.

Back today.  Hope to see you there.

Eli on VIMBY

VIMBY - Eli Mirandon

Here is great little video on Eli that Chris Miller turned me on to. A lot of great surfing. All fish which is of course my favorite. I really appreciate how he is pushing things and builds/rides his own boards. Not only that but he is going way outside the box and isn't afraid to try anything new. Keep it up Eli!  Enjoy.