Vote for Rasta!

Our good friend Mick Waters has done a collaboration with Dave Rastovich for a short they entered to the new Taylor Steele Innersection video. It is up now. If you are a fan of Dave's or Mick go to the site and vote for them. I love the short becuase it is the only one that I saw that has bodysurfing and classic fluid soul surfing. A huge and needed contrast to all the airs. 

Watch it, enjoy and if you dig it vote for them!

http://innersection.tv/video/394

Johnny Abegg Going Left! by Mick Waters

Two of my favorite Aussie surfers/filmmakers did a little co-lab vimeo clip. Not only are these guys super talented but are some of the nicest human beings I have had the pleasure of knowing. Johnny is so fluid and soulful and Mick paints with moving images. Great combo. Enjoy.

Ruby Starr Gets Stoked

Ruby Starr gets stoked from Little House Productions on Vimeo.

There is no better feeling as a surf stoked parent then to see your child in the water, catching waves and having fun. There is no better feeling then knowing you are giving to your child the same skills and stoked that has fueled your life. 

The star off this home movie is Assuie filmmaker Mick Waters' daughter Ruby Starr Waters. Mick is a friend of ours and I know how pumped he is to have his daughter in the water with him and catching waves. Ruby is the oldest of 3 and I must say she is having an amazing life so far. Not only is she a sprouting surf grom but she has already been featured in her dad's latest film Little Black Wheels, which if you saw you couldn't help but fall in love with her. Congrats to you Ruby on starting your life as a water girl!!!  And Mick, I know you have a perma-grin on your face my friend, well done.

Good moments come in the form of emails from friends

I just posted this shot and back ground story of Rasta up on the Enjoy Blog and had to take a moment here to verbalize how cool this is. As a guy who grew up with surf posters on my wall and lived his life as a consumer of surf products it has been a surreal and wonderful shift to be on the other side of the counter. When one is a creator and makes things they come from a place of putting ones' self out into the world. For good or for bad we take a piece of ourselves and put them into our work for others to see, judge and hopefully enjoy. When I received this shot from Mick Waters I was so stoked because it was a moment in time when I saw something that I had co-created with Kipp in the world and in the hands of an individual who I admire. To see the joy in his face as he looked at  the work we did makes me very happy and excited to do more. Thank you Mick for sending this. It made Kipp's and my day.

Little Black Wheels Has Arrived!!!!

One of the nicest guys I know, Mick Waters, just got his new film Little Black Wheels released via The Surf Network. Mick is an amazing filmmaker and is the ultimate independent. Mick shoots, edits and funds every project himself. He is one of the guys that keeps me stoked and inspired.

Today is a big day because after 8 months from his home town release in Au he now is released worldwide via download. To an independent filmmaker this is what pays his bills and keeps him going until the next film.

To support the roots of surf filmmaking please share the word that it is out. You can download it or watch it live from www.thesurfnetwork.com for $14.99.

See the review we did a while back here. This film is amazing.

Mick Waters

Here's a shot of our good friend and Aussie filmmaker Mick Waters having some fun on the other end of the lens. Enjoy.

Grain Short by Mick Waters

Mick  is a good friend of ours and one talented filmmaker. Here's a short he did for Grain of Johnny Abegg, Nick Chalmers, and Matt Cook of a couple of Grain Waka Fish boards that got shipped to Australia.  Enjoy.

What I'm Watching - Little Black Wheels - Review

I've been taking my time with Little Black Wheels. I think that is what makes surf films so special. It isn't like the latest NetFlix movie you consumed in two hours and spit out never to watch again.  In an age of consumable media, the GOOD surf film is a rare exception to the rule. Instead of watching them once and moving on with your life, you take them in like a fine wine, sipping on them and savoring every flavor and feeling you get from it.

The good surf film is and always has been the way we get to re-experience as surfers what we do, how we look at the world and how we feel about what we are choosing to do with our lives. It's a way to reflect on the beauty and the stoke of what makes us get up in the morning.

Little Black Wheels to me is one of those surf films that is special. It gets better and better with time. It is one of those films that makes you feel great about choosing to spend your life in and around the water. It makes you connect with the special souls that bare themselves in the film and makes you get lost for a few moments of your day to feel completely stoked, inspired and ready to go find a right hander to do some turns on. 

The down and dirty of the film is that it is shot with style and a pure artistic eye. The surfing is great. Tons of soul and lots of barrels. Mick is like a painter with his images. Showing the value of detail in the world and the beauty of perspective. He combines it all with his knack to letting his cast tell their stores, surf their hearts out  and bare their souls for us to be inspired by what  they do is this world. 

The music in the film is down right great. I wish I had a sound track of this film.  I can't stop singing Beau Young's Horse Song. (You have to see it to get it.) Where can I get that CD?!

All and all its a must see. With soul surfing from Johnny Abbeg, Beau Young, Rasta, Kristian Spencer (Beard!), Jimmy McMillan  and a bunch of guys I've never even heard of but made me watch every turn and barrel with an open mouth and sparkle in my eye. It's also narrated in part by Mick's daughter Ruby who steels the show.

You can get it direct from Mick here 

I watched it so much I started taking stills for fun. Here's a few... 

There is always someone new in a film who sneaks up on me, shakes me up and makes me want to know more about them. In this film Kristian Spencer a.k.a. Beard was one of those guys who caught my attention. Beard is a barrel machine and a bad ass in my book. 

Johnny Abbeg and Sea Surfboards where two elements that make this film inspiring to me. Sea Surfboards is a resin tint love'n mans dream and Johnny is flawless in his soul surfing. Two segments that you won't want to miss.

Beau Young is and will always be a huge draw for me in Mick's films. His segment is great and learning about his profession as a children's song writer and singer was cool. The guy is talented for sure. How do I get that horse song?!

Dave Macaulay and his family was inspiring in that the whole lot of them surf. Dave was in the top 3 in the world in 1993 and he still rips. 

Jimmy McMillan was an inspiration. I won't spoil it but it's pretty remarkable he can even do this turn. 

Rasta is always one of my favorites. Seriously, what can you say, the guys just kills it with pure style on anything.

The movie is filled with details and perspectives that make the hard core photographer wish they were there to pull the trigger. It's filled with beauty from start to finish.

Ruby steals the show. 

5 months on the road with your pregnant wife, dog and little girl. Pretty amazing adventure.

Little Black Wheels Has Arrived

I was so stoked to get my copy of Little Black Wheels by Mick Waters in the mail. I have been waiting over a year to see this film. It's his follow up to his classic Believe.

I got mine direct from Mick and he not only signed it but he was so cool as to have Beau Young, Rasta and Johnny Abbeg all sign it as well! So stoked. My copy is 120 out of 1000 limited edition signed sets. You can get one from Mick's site at www.littlehouseproductions.com.au.

I'll spend the next week with it to view it a dozen times or so and write up a review.  Of course I already watched it twice and it is an amazing film. More to come later.

Grain Promo with Johnny Abegg by Mick Waters

I found this video on the Grain site. I love it. Good job Mick!

Little Black Wheels is a Go!

Artwork from 'Little Black Wheels' DVD.

Graphic Design by Neal Puchase Junior, Photos by Waters Clan.

I just heard from Mick that Little Black Wheels is in the can and off for production. The Wheels are rolling.

In May 2007, his family embarked on a Five month Road Trip around Australia with a two year old, a pregnant mother, a dog, a dad and a campervan. Life stripped back to its basics. Eat, surf and sleep. When there are no waves, you relax or explore, spend time with the family or move onto the next location.

No Boat Charters, Internet Swell predictions or expensive budgets where used in the making of this film, just a car, some boards, a plan, some luck and a whole lot of love for filmmaking.

I have to say that Mick is one of those rare guys that can set out on a trip like this and make it work. He is a true independent filmmaker doing everything himself. He's the guy that truly does this because he loves it and with a serious talent for shooting and editing beautiful films to boot.

Congrats Mick I know you have been working hard to finish this project.

Word has it he's planning a US tour so we can see it on the big screen. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

The film  features Dain Thomas, Mick Hughes, Johnny Abegg, Antoine Cardonnet, Rasta, Beau Young, Jimmy McMillan, Ry Craike, Mark Healey, Dave Macaulay and Family, Kristian Spencer and a host of other underground surfers.

Find out the stories of these surfers, their lives, why they travel and surf.

www.littlehouseproductions.com.au

Win a Grain 5'4" Waka Fish for $10

Here is a really cool chance to win the same board we are building but as a 5'4". See bellow for details. It is for a really good cause. Mick Waters, Dave Rastovich and Johnny Abegg got involved as well and they filmed Dave and Johnny riding it and Dave signed the board.

Take a moment to read about why this board is being raffled. (See story here) It is very touching and very amazing how all this came together.

The guys at Grain, Mick, Dave, Johnny, even myself have put some serious energy into this project. The crew at Corduroy Surf Boutique is holding the event on Nov 11 and there is a huge list of folks that all have been instrumental in putting this on.

A fundraising partnership has formed between Grain Surfboards, Corduroy Boutique & Gallery, Stoked Mentoring and the family of  Jordan Kelly to raise funds benefitting at-risk youth.  On the other side of the planet, surfers Dave Rastovich and Johnny Abegg teamed up in Australia with filmmaker Mick Waters to lend their support to the effort.

Most recently, Grain Surfboards donated a 5’4” Lis-style wood fish made from cedar and burled walnut to be raffled for the Jordan Kelly Surf School Fund at Stoked. Rasta and Abegg surfed the board “down under” where they were filmed by Waters for the upcoming film “Little Black Wheels” to be released this winter.  The board is personally signed by Rasta himself.

The surfboard, valued at $2,000, will be awarded during a come-one, come-all event to be held at Corduroy Surf Boutique in Portland, Maine on November 11.  Raffle tickets are $10 at www.grainsurfboards.com/raffle  .   (Winner is responsible for shipping the board, but we'll pack it!)

Shortly after his 21st birthday last year, Jordan Kelly died in a car accident on Thanksgiving night after a day of surfing, family and friends. He had a love of skating, surfing and woodworking and was drawn to the rootsy, DIY ethos of the wood surfboard builders at Grain Surfboards. Stoked Mentoring is a non profit action sports organization for at-risk youth with the mission of developing successful teens with opportunity, knowledge, experience, and determination through the use of action sports, mentoring and coaching. In Jordan’s memory, Grain, Jordan’s family and Stoked are planning surfboard-building classes for kids served by Stoked Mentoring. Special thanks to Corduroy Boutique & Gallery who, as a “combined lifestyle boutique and social scene”, tied everyone together and made it possible to establish the fund.



Linkage
Tix: www.grainsurfboards.com
Drawing info: www.surfskateartlove.blogspot.com
Jordan Kelly pages:
www.facebook.com
 www.grainsurfboards.com/board-stories/jordan-kelly-1987-2008
 www.grainsurfboards.com/board-stories/jordan-kellys-widening-circle
Partners:
www.grainsurfboards.com
 http://www.stoked.org
www.CorduroyBoutique.com 

Welcome to the World Sunny Waters

Our friend Mick Waters emailed us last week to let us know that his wife Sue gave birth to their son Sunny two weeks early, after only 20 minutes of labor and in their BATHTUB at 4:28 am. The birth was a surprise and completely unassisted. Mick, Sue and Sunny shared their moment while his two young daughters listen from the bedroom. As a dad I am so happy for Mick that he has his son. As a dad who had a whole hospital behind him when his daughter was born, I am blown away at what the two of them went through in that bathroom.

As Mick put it "I don't know if it is  something I would particularly want to do again. Like swimming with Great Whites. You survive, but if you had to do it again by choice, most probably not. It is amazing though what we can do us humans if needed."

As for Sue, she is a champ. Amazing woman she is. Congratulations the five of you. You guys are amazing and lucky to have each other.

Mick Pig Dog Waters

Here's a nice little shot of our pen pal Mick taking a nice line backside somewhere in Oz. Enjoy.

Rasta Stills

My  friend Mick has been at it again shooting for his new film Little Black Wheels.  He knows I have been jonesing to see it so he sent me some recent stills from the Rasta section. Oh my, I thought  this would hold me over but I want to see the video even more now. Enjoy.

Mick Pulling In

You gotta love email. One minute you're bored and the next you get photos from across the globe of your buddy getting tubed. This is one of those emails that comes out of the blue and gets you stoked in the middle of the night, making you lay awake mind surfing until the wee hours of the morning. The lucky guy in this shot is Australian filmmaker Mick Waters. I have no idea where it's of but it looks like wherever it is, it's good and uncrowded.  Enjoy.

Share Day - Video Stills By Mick Waters

Any of you who have kids in preschool know about share day.  That wondrous day where your child gets to bring something they love to school to show their friends. It is a great day. The kids love it and it teaches them to show others what it is they do or hold dear to their hearts.

Today was share day here at the project.  I got an email this morning from Mick over at Little House of a bunch of stills he made from the footage he has been gathering for his new film. Apparently the surf has been really good lately in AU and Mick has been taking advantage of it. It's probably not hard but see if you can guess who these shots are of. Enjoy.