I’m going to buy this :
Taking matters into their own hands,
the Car Danchi family customizes their cars, their rides, and
their lifestyle and they do it with a camera in hand!
This just made my morning
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Monthly Archives: July 2012
UNLEASHED WAKE MAGAZINE
Raynald Tanny is the Godfather of the French wake scene.
Along with his friend Philip Sirech, they converted what was considered by many Gallic sportsmen as an adolescent hobby, into a respectable sport at an epoch when the nostalgia of a certain ‘Petit Prince‘ Patrice Martin, the World Champion water-skier, was still immanent.
Through their continuous determination and despite many initial financial difficulties, the fruit of this collaboration, Unleashed Magazine has become one of the most widely read and respected wakeboard magazines in Europe.
Between sexy photo shoots and trying organizing events that don’t end in police intervention, I caught up with the man himself to discuss the get the low-down on the magazine, now published for free online.
When did Unleashed Magazine start and more importantly, why didn’t you invest your time in a sport with money, like waterskiing, or barefoot?
It all started in 2003 during a trip to Australia with the French Wakeboard Team. I didn’t know much about the sport, I was there to take photos during the contests. The idea came to me in the back of a camping car, after a drinking session. I was already working for some skate magazines and I thought the idea of launching a wakeboard magazine could be interesting, especially as there were few, if any of the sort in Europe. I spoke to my current business partner, Phil Sirech and we went for it, without much reflection! And why didn’t I choose to do a waterski or barefoot mag? Because… I suppose that these sports don’t do anything for me.
How have you seen the French wake scene change since Unleashed’s humble beginnings?
The French scene has taken a long time to shed itself of the ‘guru’s’ who’ve wanted to control everything, without sharing anything, as other people in the industry had done.
These days, a few riders have singlehandedly succeeded, like Léo Labadens or Antoine Allaux.
It’s good to see them hold down a real international career and I’m really happy for them. The level of French riding is nothing to be embarrassed about on the international scene. Our wake parks are developing incredibly and the level of riding on each spot is improving profusely.
As a photographer, what was your most memorable shoot?
A series of lifestyle shots I took in the Philippines. Magic. The people are extraordinary and the landscape is breathtaking.
Could wakeskating overtake wakeboarding?
No, I don’t think so. Wakeboarding will always be up top. But one thing is sure, that wakeskating continues to evolve and is fast becoming crazy.
What does a European rider have to do to make it big in the USA, other than sleep with a reality TV star?
They have to stop thinking that everything is owed to them. They’ve got the means of making it, but high level sport is a business and they have to understand that.
At the same time, action sports brands in France need to stop thinking that extreme sports stop at surfing, skating and snowboarding. It’s a real shame and a big restriction for our sport and our riders.
Finally, are you Phillip Sirech’s secret son?
Sorry Hayley, but the gossip’s all wrong. Matt Pokora is his son!
ROXY PRO
Watching a surf competition from the terrace of the Casino in Biarritz is the equivalent watching Roland Garros from a private box, with the beach a only stones throw away. The difference in clientele however, couldn’t be more dissimilar, the likelihood of crossing a Z-list reality TV star, or a member of the Parisian Ray-Ban crowd are extremely remote.
GO Stephanie!
No, this is surfing. The celebrities are replaced by riders and the Ray-Ban crowd work for action sports brands and wear Oakley’s. Frogskins to be precise.
The metamorphosis women’s surfing has undergone recently, isn’t just limited to the water. Competitions attract big crowds. Tom-boy surfers have been transformed into sun-kissed pin-ups, who talk about ‘Opening Ceremony‘ and their ‘sick airs’ in the same breath.
The male spectators have a permanent semi hard-on and don’t know where to look or hide the protruding evidence. On their left Stephanie Gilmore is going super fucking vertical, or right, where Laura Enever is floating past, in a long black skirt, adorned with crucifixes and other appendages, that wouldn’t look out of place on a ‘street style’ blog, with her board in her hand?
Laura Enever et mon doigt - c'est fait exprès y'all
Or straight on, where the longboarders loquaciously lounge around with their beers, with a cheeky attire that could have been on the mood board of the stylists from the 1970′s TV adaption of Huckleberry Finn, playing their Yukelalés whilst the gorgeous Capitaine of the crew, Kassia Meador fiddles with a Hasselbach.
In an attempt to justify my presence, I take to trying to ‘capture’ the mood of these backstage festivities. Which is just proof, I’m not a good photographer.
Original
Laura went right !
photo fail
Stalking the champion
Merci
Candide and Jeremy checking out the babes
New Faces
10 reasons why BANTAM skates are for hipsters
Back in 1997, the standard garb for any Lagwagon /NOFX / Pennywise loving punk rocker consisted of a pair of extra baggy Carhartts, a grey DC hoodie, a pair of Etnies and a skateboard, which was all attainable for a fair price down the local skate shop. Legitimate were those who’d hum along to Kill all the White Men whilst relentlessly trying to pop shove-its up a curb.
However, those who’d be caught huddled up in the aforementioned attire, smoking a roll up around the back of the Peel / West-end Centre with a perfectly new skateboard, that had effectively never had and never would be ridden came the penned word ‘walk-board’ which basically meant it would never actually serve as more than just an accessory.
I thought I’d heard the last of this derogative phrase at the end of the 90′s, however just recently, thanks to a launch of an ‘old-school’ plastic board, I’m all of a sudden reminded of this ludicrous terminology, although no-longer applicable to 14 year old FAT Wreck- Chord fans, but 20- something working Parisians.
This is all down to the production of a company saving toy, the Globe BANTAM. The brightly colored mini plastic cruisers that has become a regular feature in the hippest of hipster Tumblers.
Here are 10 more reasons hipsters LOVE the BANTAM (and why you shouldn’t buy one) :
1. Because it has no grip, so when they carry it, their Lacoste poloshirts’ don’t bobble at the hip.
2. Their plastic surfaces are easier to clean, so they can wet-wipe all those nasty germs off after an Instagram session alongside the Canal St Martin
3. The multiple colour boards give more of a colour range to work with and to match their brand new limited edition Kenzo Vans with.
4. Because it’s plastic, there are no tale-tale wear and tear signs, so no one can say you haven’t ACTUALLY ridden it.
5. Because the advert was on FUBIZ.
6. Because in the aforementioned advert, there are also some bowl riders who look totally rad, skating the guys in Lords Of Dogtown, which is totally vintage and totally now.
7. It equally features hot american babes chilling around a pool in thongs drooling over the skaters, and you want to create the same effect when you cruise along the Grand Plage in Biarritz on your holidays
8. Because when you go on holiday to the Biarritz, you look a bit more credible if you rock up to your beginners surf lesson with a skate.
9. Because it’s always cooler to say ‘I skate’ to your surf instructor, as a way of convincing him you’re ‘extreme’ and you know what foot forward you are.
10. Because they’re ONLY 99 euros (a LOT cheaper than a fixed-gear).
And a bonus reason:
# Because girls come up and speak to you in English, because they OBVIOUSLY think you’re an Australian surfer. Therefore cool.
Some classics :
International Surf Film Festival
Last year, I spend 6 weeks in Anglet, covering the events in and around the Nike Round House. This year I’ve returned to participate as a member of the jury for the International Surf Film Festival.
The jury was equally diverse, from the professional longboarder Margaux Arramon- Tucoo to French actor and skateboard enthusiast, Vincent Desagnat passing by Jimmy Ganzer, the founder of the Californian brand Jimmy’Z.
Over the course of 4 days, we watched and then discussed an assortment of 20 films, short and long from countries such as Hungary, Brazil the UK inside the festival building, then every evening, an outside projection would take place, under the stars.
The films that made the biggest impression on the jury were, Come Hell or High Water a film on body surfing and Grouchos Del Mar filmed and produced by 2 brothers embarking on a road trip of South America which collectively scooped the prize for the best film, best surfer and best cinematography.
SAUSAGE LIMOUSINE
Waking up at 5am to get a train to Belgium after a big night out would normally transform me into Linda Blair from the Exorcist. But the prospect of spending a day in a Citroen 2CV ‘limousine’ eating sausages as part of the Tour de France was enough motivation to get my legs running to the station, to make it in time for my train to Liège.
I was invited to participate in the ‘caravane’ which is the precession of floats that precede the competing cyclists, by Cochonou, the sausage synonymous with the French ‘apéritif’.
The brand had customized a 2CV with it’s red and white Vichy check print, inside and out and handed out mini packs of it’s bitesized ‘Croc Sec’ and it’s famous bob-hat to the awaiting Belgium villagers.
We were in the back of the convertible limo for the duration of the trip, which for us meant taking a day long ‘apéro’ of sausage, cheese and wine, which was a bit hard core, considering my nocturnal events prior to the Tour stop.
Check out the BEST OF Fat, with some 'Tour de France' action
All in the spirit and tradition of the event, in exchange for the sausages some of the locals handed us trays of beers!
8 hours, 15 packets of mini sausages, and several kilometers later, we arrived at the finish line, just in time to get back on the train to Paris.
My Gypsy Birthday
After my 50′s themed party in England, I thought my birthday festivities had come to an end for the year. Until Thursday evening, when J-Bay informed me we had to go film for the show in Paris. The whole week had been spent moving into our new office, so the last minute organisation for the shoot was rushed, Jeremy saying we had to run by the new office quickly to pick up the camera.Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the hanger to pick up the material, only to be greeted with a huge “surprise!”
The hanger had been totally converted with the addition of a caravan decorated in fairy lights, the boot of the FAT mercedes was heaving with beer and rosé and of course, all of my friends from past and present were there. All the ingredients for what was a brilliant night.
Cheers J-Bay and Ben xx
