With Friends Like These…

OK, so this is definitely not meant to be a “Oh. My. God. Look at my friends. They’re so kewl. And so. Am I.” I’ve just been realizing lately that I’m finally reaching that point in my life when all the rad people I’ve held near and dear throughout my life are doing amazing things.

Take for instance one tiny individual named Carrie. She talked about following her dream of being a fashion designer for years and then just up and did it about a year ago. Now she occasionally sends me “glowy” emails that make me grin from ear to ear. She recently designed dresses for a fashion show that was a part of a 1930’s themed auto show in San Francisco.

Yeow!  (As she might say after a 20 oz pint of the Big Dad at our spot on Divis.)  Progressive Regressions!  What?!

Then there’s Carrie’s best friend Sarah, who recently had this piece on NPR.  Oh, and Carrie’s husband?  My bud Ryan?  He’s a chef at Chez Panisse.  So maybe this is less about me and my friends and more about how rad Carrie is?  I’m pretty OK with that.

Actually, on the self-aggrandizement tip, I have a few notes.  An interview my friend Jamie Watson did with me back when my magazine launched (www.driftsurfing.com) just got published in a pretty cool, progressive online design magazine called Refueled.  You have to click to page 79, which is another reason why I’m stoked on Drift’s publishing platform as opposed to these PDF-type readers.

I was also honored to be interviewed by esteemed Japanese surf journalist Takashi Tomita and his wife Junko recently.  They are putting together a piece for Blue Magazine on my friend Ty Williams and surfing here in Maine, and Ty was kind enough to turn them on to the exploits of Peter, Katrine, Jenny and myself under the umbrella of the Pine Haven Collective.  It was pretty crazy to be on that side of the focus, but Takashi and Junko are warm, amazing people and spending the day with them was a pleasure.  Who knows if we will actually be featured in the magazine, but it was fun regardless and I feel like I have a lot to learn from these folks.

Finally, Ryan Tatar may have accomplished the impossible: he got a good photo of me.  I am one goofy Irish bastard–all paste, freckle and gangle–but dude managed to snap off what seems to be a pretty cool shot.  I look like I’m ripping a butt, however, that’s not the case (it’s just my car key, which I was about to stash in my suit).  It was taken before one of the best sessions of my life, too, where Cyrus Sutton and I shared a perfect left point with like four other people for four hours one fine morning (you can read more about that here).  Ryan’s been shaking up the Shakas and Singlefins empire, he’s got everything up on tumblr now including a new photo blog.  Check ‘em!

Who knows when I’ll be able to post stuff again, but I’m starting an editor’s blog on Drift, so check that out if you get a chance.  My aim is to keep the WW&W going, things are just nuts right now.  Keep it real and try not to buy to much worthless crap this holiday season.