ADVERTISEMENT

The Era Of Air Nouveau – Blog + Videos

If everything from architecture to furniture making can be Art Nouveau – then busting aerials and shooting can too.
If everything from architecture to furniture making can be Art Nouveau – then busting aerials and shooting can too.

Aerial surfing began in the 1980s (though some argue earlier) as a reaction to the 1970s disco moves, and survived – no flourished – despite so called purists like 1977 world champion Shaun Thomson’s protests. “I think aerials are the biggest hoax ever perpetuated on modern surfing. They’re just trying for aerials on every wave, and they don’t realize that 99.9 percent of the photos they see in the magazines are flying kick-outs.”

Now to be fair to Shaun, I’m positive the power airs of guys like Martin Potter, Matt Archbold and Dane Reynolds have (over time) twisted the South African legends arm to the positive.

It’s even harder not to appreciate the modern aerial specialists – especially today. Creative heads like Kai Neville and Taylor Steele and their surf-film out put can’t be ignored. Even by those with heads firmly in the sand. Sure Kai’s Modern Collective movie was an over publicized, commercially hyped monster, but the vision was anything but pedestrian. Smokey intros and arty cut a ways dazzled the eyes while mind-blowing airs filled the screens.

I even liked the session based editing that allowed us to witness airs gone wrong (a no no for a long time and probably not Shaun’s cup of tea).

But I did not wee myself with delight. These two new clips from Kai however won me over hook line rod and wheel. Described as Landscape Altered (a four-part web series) Kai dragged Mitch Coleborn, Clay Marzo, Jay Davies, Josh Kerr and Chippa Wilson on a (dodgy looking) boat trip through Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands on a mission to film the winning wave of the 2010 Kustom Air Strike. The online shootout has started (kustomairstrike.com) and runs until end of August 2010. But big money (50K US) isn’t the only carrot for these boys – feeding of each other’s surfing seems to work just as well.

And knowing someone like Kai is there to document it, and then present it to the surfing populous is enough for any well respecting show off to go big… It is Air Nouveau after all.

Landscape Altered – Episode 1 from Kustom Airstrike on Vimeo.

Landscape Altered – Episode 2 from Kustom Airstrike on Vimeo.

Note: What camera did Kai use? “…shot on a Sony EX1 with a few 7D lifestyle cutaways.”

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SUBSCRIBE TO TRACKS
A bi-monthly eclectic tome of tangible surfing goodness that celebrates all things surfing, delivered to your door!
SUBSCRIBE NOW
HAPPENINGS
Your portal to cultural events happening in and around the surfing sphere.
Find Events
SUBSCRIBE TO TRACKS
A bi-monthly eclectic tome of tangible surfing goodness that celebrates all things surfing, delivered to your door!
SUBSCRIBE NOW
HAPPENINGS
Your portal to cultural events happening in and around the surfing sphere.
Find Events

LATEST

Ellie Harrison's dream CT debut just got a whole lot more dreamy.

Pairing Italy's famous delicacies with a healthy dose of barrels.

The formation of Goons of Doom, why you should get pissed at their gigs and what a band with Occy, Steph Gilmore, Yago Dora and Jacko Baker would sound like.

ADVERTISEMENT

PREMIUM FEATURES

Bestowing the highest praise upon a surfer.

An edited extract from ‘The Immortals of Australian Surfing’ by Phil Jarratt.

How a land-locked mainlander chased ocean dreams to the North Shore lineups and beyond.

TRACKS PREMIUM

Get full access to every feature from our print issues, read classic Tracks issues from the 70s, 80s and 90’s, watch all of our classic films & more …

TRACKS PREMIUM

Get full access to every feature from our print issues, read classic Tracks issues from the 70s, 80s and 90’s, watch all of our classic films & more …

CLASSIC ISSUES

A threat to Angourie, the death of vibes, and a tongue in cheek guide on how to become a surf star.

PREMIUM FILM

YEAR: 2008
STARRING: JOEL PARKINSON, MICK FANNING AND DEAN MORRISON

This is the last time the original cooly kids were captured together and features some of their best surfing.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

PRINT STORE

Unmistakable and iconic, the Tracks covers from the 70s & 80s are now ready for your walls.

Tracks
Kandui Resort Interstitial