Dylan Graves new part "Explosion Salad" is nearly perfect
The other day I had an inspired conversation with Tanner Gudauskas. Tanner, like myself, is an enthusiasm man. We’re both a bit nostalgic, but always leaning toward hope for the future. The work he and his brothers do for future generations of surfers is inspiring. Through “Stoke-o-Rama,” Positive Vibe Warriors, grom contests, surfboard drives, various community programs, art projects and their incredible surfing, the brothers Gudauskas are a steaming pot of hot coffee for the people.
But back to our phone conversation. We spoke about how when video parts come out now — no matter how good they may be — they’re difficult to discern the good ones from the waterfall of edits and clips and worthless viral sensations. I decided the missing element was the lack of other parts sandwiching them in, like they are in a full-length videos. Right now, we get a part, but we don’t get any texture or any context to go with it.
We all gain context and enthusiasm by making comparisons when we see surf parts next to each other — and that really fuels this whole damn industry if you want to take it that far. It allows you the ability to make a choice between brands, between styles, between approaches and logos because that creates friction instead of the oily sameness we have blitzing through our uninspired commodified feeds. I recently couldn’t name a single regional team rider for a well-known surf brand because I just have no way of knowing where to find them and when I do I have no idea how they relate to the rest of the world, so it starts to beg the question: What is the point of them being on the team? This industry needs some fucking texture, and I think full-length surf vids provide that. It teaches us how to make choices.
A classic example of how texture is created would be when, say, a guy like Benji Weatherly helped a guy like Kelly Slater (and vice-versa) in the Taylor Steele vids. Benji made Kelly look fun, and Kelly elevated Benji’s surfing. Both benefit and their parts in the same video allowed viewers to make comparisons, find the unique things about the personalities, styles, music and surfing that make it fun to watch different people surf. Think about how Cory Lopez and Chris Ward amplified the shit out of each other in the …Lost vids. How Dane and Jordy added layers to Coleborn and Dion’s game in Modern Collective. And how Noa and Creed juxtaposed Dillon Perillo and Craig Anderson’s styles perfectly in Cluster. And how seeing them all in one video added that context. Added those unique layers you might have missed in a one-man part released into the wild Internet.
The death of the full-length surf vid is a debate I will take on another day (and one I will work to fix) but I wanted to highlight the fact that Dylan Graves’ part is perfect. I love it. I’m so stoked for him, it’s got surprises around every corner, unique waves and his surfing looks as good as it ever has. He’s showing creativity, it’s funny, it’s punk, it makes you wanna go surf, buy his new Octopus grip, and crank the volume way up, etc. Check check check!
But I am left wanting to see it followed by a part of Colin Moran. Maybe a Chippa Wilson banger to end. A sneaky Nate Tyler appearance, Dane cameo, and a Noa part. And I’d love to see some unknown youth in there. Some fresh faces. I want to see it premiered in person too. Under a hail of shouts and screams and hoots and I wanna bump into skaters and musicians and girls and boys and groms and all leave debating with our friends about what parts were the best. I will leave it at that for today because I can’t say enough good things about Dylan’s part. Let’s all make sure it doesn’t get lost in the waterfall of parts, because this one deserves some acclaim. It is everything a surf part should be and the variety in there is undeniable and fresh.
OK, I only gave myself the length of time for the new and undeniably good King Krule album to write this and it is over now. Go watch Dylan and buy his grip.—Travis Ferré
