Watch Nate Tyler in "Hairwhip"
“You don’t really think surfing is a sport, do you? It’s not. It’s badminton, man, it’s checkers. It’s getting a suntan.” —Jack, hockey jock, from Airborne.
Nate Tyler’s new Octopus part “Hairwhip” came out last week, but I needed a few days to let it marinate. I needed to let it sink in a bit before I commented. Before I could apply the proper context, to realize it’s significance in today’s strange surf landscape. Of course this video is fucking sick. Of course. It’s Nate. It’s Octo. That part is easy.
It was the moment I saw the extended clip of Mitchel Goosen and his splendid presentation on “stylin’” to a classroom full of hockey jocks in Cincinnati, Ohio — which was taken from the 1993 surf/rollerblade flick Airborne — that I knew Nate and the Octo boys had nailed it once again and they had simultaneously reminded me of the brilliance that is Wooten’s philosophy and how ridiculous it is to think of surfing as a “sport” — let alone an olympic sport.
Nate Tyler himself is a fascinating case: Central Californian home-base with shades of So-Cal and Nor-Cal baked into his surf style and demeanor. He is full-blooded Californian by birth. He lives where southern, northern, eastern and western California all meet, and his surfing is objectively the sickest. It’s not even a debate. Anyone who says they aren’t a fan of Nate Tyler’s flowing carves and slick forehand punts is instantly a kook. Nate represents what I think a lot of us aspire to be: One-part totally comfortable skating over a post-surf 12 pack of Coors on Friday afternoon to hang; one-part full-wettie with a hood Nor-Cal authentic, cold-water bred salt lord with a pickup truck and a big ol’ dog. Nate is both of these and so much more and this vid is just a little reminder of that.
I think the Joe G influenced and educated Matt Payne — the slick video editor behind “Hairwhip” — could not have nailed it any harder. While the jocks of surfing run each other over doing figure-8’s at Lowers with hopes of an Olympic medal, Nate Tyler is setting a vibe, punting on California wedges, hair-whipping to Anthrax and perfectly illustrating Mitchel Wooten’s ode to stoke and style. And it’s all we need.
I wanted to wait a few days before posting about this to make sure this vid made the rounds, and then I could chime in and make sure you re-watched, re-enjoyed and re-membered how fucking sick Nate Tyler is and what a philosophical genius Mitchel Goosen is. Go buy Nate’s new new Octopus grip — and please remember I did not get paid to say that, I just truly believe it’s the best there is right now. In the words of Mitchel, “It’s a consciousness raiser.” —Travis Ferré
