surfing

SURFING NORWAY

BRACING BREAKS IN THE NORTH – TRAVEL FEATURE – DEMI TAYLOR

BRACING BREAKS IN THE NORTH

> SURFING NORWAY <

The white noise intensified into a roar as a thousand black boulders were marshalled in and out of formation by the sea, each movement serving to sculpt the rocks into ever-more precise globes.

THE IDEA

To explore the previously unheralded surf potential of the Stavanger region of Norway for a main travel feature.

THE RESULT

Written by Demi Taylor the surfing Norway article featured in The Independent accompanied by photography by herself and Chris Nelson.

THE APPROACH

Demi was commissioned by the Independent newspaper to write a main travel feature about a surf destination that was off the beaten track. Supported by the Norwegian Tourist Board, Demi travelled to Stavanger to explore the region. Timing her visit to coincide with one of best swells to hit the region in decades, Demi’s reputation as a surf writer meant she was taken to some of the region’s closely guarded surf spots and given unrivalled access to the community. The resulting feature exploring the potential of Surfing Norway weaves together interviews, anecdotes and first hand travel insights.

Bracing Breaks in the North. Demi Taylor catches some extremely cool waves Surfing in Norway

For more than an hour, six of us traded waves. The party included Norway’s first surfer, Roar Berge, who spent the 1980’s pioneering these shores. ‘Well, that was a religious experience,’ he exclaimed as he walked back to the car park, grinning ear-to-ear. His face said it all, while his background put it into context; this really was a special day.

bracing breaks
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COLD WATER SOULS

COLD WATER SOULS – BOOK – CHIS NELSON

COLD WATER SOULS

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Superb – a testament to the spirit of the surfers who are out there year after year, building the world’s frigid beauty into the stuff that fires the soul.
The Surfer’s Journal

Cold Water Souls: In Search of Surfing's Cold Water Pioneers written by Chris Nelson exploring Nova Scotia, Hokkaido, Scotland, Alaska, Iceland and beyond. — Image: Tim Nunn

THE IDEA

Chris Nelson conceived the idea to write a book unearthing the tales of cold water surfing’s pioneers.

THE RESULT

Cold Water Souls: In Search of Surfing’s Cold Water Pioneers written by Chris Nelson – a ground breaking 280pg full colour, critically acclaimed non-fiction book. Published by Footprint Handbooks.

The book explores the frigid line ups of Nova Scotia, Hokkaido, Scotland, Alaska, Iceland and beyond, bringing to life the tales of the surfers that call these places ‘home’.

Picture edited by Demi Taylor featuring images from the cream of international surf photographers.

Critically acclaimed, 280 pg full colour book

THE APPROACH

Chris Nelson grew up surfing the frigid reefs of England’s northeast coast, where winter water temperatures regularly dip below 5 degrees.

Cold Water Souls is a book of our times. It is an anthropological study of the world’s most inhospitable line ups – North East England, Scotland, Nova Scotia, Vancouver Island, USA, Alaska, Hokkaido, Iceland and beyond – and the surfers that call these waves ‘home’.

Chris’s international reputation as a respected surf and travel writer allowed access to communities whose stories had been previously untold. He travelled to inhospitable shores glazed in ice and beaches hidden beneath snowdrifts. He broke bread with biker gangs in Japan and talked story with nuclear engineers in Scotland, unearthing tales of communities across the globe whose surf culture runs counter to popular wisdom. Blending travel tales, history, and cultural references with never before heard tales of cold water surfing’s pioneers and photography from the world’s leading lensmen, Cold Water Souls is a critically acclaimed story of surfing’s final frontiers as told through its waveriding community.

A rich and beautiful book… Good reading and good looking – definitely one for the collection
The Surfer’s Path

Cold Water Souls in Search of Surfing's Cold Water Pioneers written by Chris Nelson Japanese surfer Taro Tamai image Richie Hopson — Image: Richie Hopson

THE REVIEWS – COLD WATER SOULS

“I’ve been captivated by (Chris Nelson’s) untold stories of weathered pioneers. A unique mix of historical and contemporary non-fiction, I recommend this book to anybody looking for peelers on roads less travelled” Cyrus Sutton, Korduroy TV

“The best surfing book to ever come out of the UK, it easily stands shoulder to shoulder with the best pieces of surfing literature on a global level.” Wavelength

“If you want to be regaled with inspirational tales of those on the vanguard of surfing’s latest evolution, start reading.” SBC SURF Pick of the Literature

“A genuine masterpiece of surf publishing that will whet your appetite for something different.” Drift

”Nelson has produced a beautiful read…grab a copy of Cold Water Souls. This book is too plain cool.” ESM

“Chris Nelson’s excellent book Cold Water Souls, (is) an exploration of the way the sport of surfing has spread from its warm-water genesis points to more frigid corners of the world.” The Scotsman

“A book of frozen treasures… championing the maverick spirits and unexpected beauty of these harsh environments.” Cooler Magazine

COLD WATER SOULS
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JACK O’NEILL

JACK O’NEILL – DOCUMENTARY – FILM

Kudos to O’Neill for this brilliant masterpiece!
Beachgrit

THE IDEA

Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor were commissioned to write a film and tribute to the life of icon, entrepreneur, surfer, trailblazer Jack O’Neill.

Directed by: Peter Hamblin

Produced by: Hamblin Imagery

Commissioned by: O’Neill

THE RESULT

‘I Knew Jack O’Neill’ was premiered during the memorial paddle out in Santa Cruz and a number of events across the globe.

The film was also showcased world-wide via surf and adventure media including: Surfer Magazine, Outside Magazine, Stab, Tracks, Carve, What Youth, Grind TV, Men’s Journal, Beach Grit, Surf Girl as well as a number of film festivals.

THE APPROACH

Jack O’Neill – trail blazer, inventor of the wetsuit, is a cultural figure who manages to transcend boundaries, beyond the notion of brand to the heady realm of surfing pioneer. When Jack O’Neill passed away aged 94, surfing lost one of its most iconic figures.

We had one week to produce a script that honoured a man who was both a surfing icon to the world and a friend and father to those who knew him best. In telling the story of Jack O’Neill, we knew it was important to share both the big steps and innovations as well as those more intimate moments of his life. We went deep into the brand and talked story with some of those who knew Jack well in order to write an emotive piece that captured Jack’s spirit, ethos, and philosophy, sharing not only leaps of innovation and imagination, but those elements of his life that helped shape the man.

We created a script and guided the voice-over artist on tone, pace and pauses ensuring the film carried the right energy, reverence and momentum.

I Knew Jack O'Neill tribute film written by Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor

WATCH
I KNEW JACK O’NEILL

I knew a man that changed the world. Well, the world that I know…That world? It’s that plane that we as surfers occupy; that line between sea and sky. And we’re held there by these invisible forces, fluid mechanics, surface tension, and that need for just one more… It’s in those wild margins, between high and low – that we exist.