Some more surfing

I was lucky to gain press access to Taylor Steele's newest surf flick, Castles in the Sky. Not a bad movie. Heavy on the scenery, lighter on the hardcore surfing. The older I get, the more ok I am with that aspect of Steele's movies. A sense of place becomes as fascinating and satisfying as the waves that arrive there. And Castles certainly visits some very cool destinations--reminders of how exhilarating and splendid this planet often is.

Here is the link to my written interview with Steele for Eastern Surf Mag. Above the text, is a brief video from the event, held at the Tribeca Cinemas in lower Manhattan (sight of the film festival of the same name established by Robert De Niro and others). The mash-up tells the story of the night. Starting with the sunshine of the late afternoon, the set-ip of the event, the goings-on and all the night's characters. In the middle, you'll see a snippet of an additional interview w/ Taylor Steele and his film crew, Todd Heater from California and Alejandro Berger from Peru. (Heater and Berger began working with Steele on Sipping Jetstreams, to which Castles is a follow-up.) Again, I am the one interviewing these three, each of whom was incredibly pleasant and receptive.

This wasn't in the original plan, see. I'd emailed Steele's 'people' a list of questions that he promptly responded to. Only after a quick email exchange with one of the NY Surf Film Festival's founders, Tyler Bruer, did I arrange to actually sit down with Steele. Luckily, I had enough time for more research to put together another eight to ten fresh questions to get the conversation going. The video, also available (sans text) over at ESPN Surfing, was produced by Christian and Spencer Driggs of Driggs Bros. Productions. I interviewed these guys last year for a story, and by coincidence we met at 2009's NYSFF. This was our first project together--also a minor coincidence thanks to Nick as ESM. Good work, better people, all around.

The evening was fun, capped by a conversation with Dan Malloy. A name that's been on this blog and many others, many times. We have a common bond in that we both receive paychecks from outdoor sports outfitter Patagonia. Except, you know, Malloy gets to design boards and test wetsuits and I sell raincoats to the occasional Upper West Side rube. But Malloy was a solid chap, courteous and friendly. Confirming previous suspicions of one's quality character is always gratifying.

(Note: The Quicktime video is failing to upload. Unsure if it's a flaw with the file or because Blogger sucks ass.)