Surfing is described as an act of riding a wave, regardless if people ride it with or without an actual board. The surface water sport was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture for centuries, it was even observed and described by Mark Twain who visited Hawaii in 1866 and wrote: “In one place we came upon a large company of naked natives, of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing.”
However, the modern-day definition of surfing, usually refers to a surfer riding a wave standing up on a surfboard; either a short- or longboard. With technical evolution and spread of holiday travel, surfing has seen a huge increase in popularity over the decades, culminating with its acceptance as an Olympic sport at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Apart from taking on record-braking, and insane 20-metre-high waves (highest one ridden by Garrett McNamara at Nazaré, Portugal), surfing can be still be seen as definition of pure beauty. Even in the worst conditions, it brings out pure creativity and exploration, and the best in people – as can been seen in the new, stylish commercial promoting newest model by McTavish Surfboards – the Dirt Nap. The first part of total six ads will make you feel exactly like, when a surfer gets wiped out by a large wave – breathless.
The traditional longboard game presented in the 90-second, rainy video radiates aesthetics and style, while being subtle. The ad stars surf maiden Josie Prendergast who originates from Philippines and now also lives in home of McTavish Surfboards, Byron Bay. She presents her own version of fine surfing and is seen in some smooth, rainy knee-high unification with a board of a high calibre that deserves Josie’s amazing athleticism and stylish cinematography courtesy of award-winning filmmaker Stefan José.
Stefan José is a Byron-Bay-based Director of Photography and visual storyteller who aims to captivate audiences with a powerful combination refined atmosphere and engaging motion imagery — for the surf, action sport, travel, lifestyle, fashion, and music industries. He also wrote the eerie, and atmospheric text for the commercial himself.
It’s not just the commercial that brings out the best of the genre, the design of the surf by one of the legends shows a beautiful product with plenty of charisma to give not only to surfers, but sleek design-lovers. McTavish Surfboards is a high-quality surfboard manufacturer founded by Bob McTavish in 1962, and the company’s founder is not only a surfer himself, but a successful surfboard designer, inventor of the vee-bottom surfboard, and a key figure in the 1967-launched short-board revolution.
Even the boards description sounds like a fairy-tale dealing with one’s virtuosity, both in production and among the waves: “Its narrow waist brings trim speed, its soft rails bring a seamless transition through turns, and its defined nose concave generates lift when you need it most.” This is certainly the case with the Dirt Nap – designed by Ben McTavish it is best suited to intermediate/advanced surfers who prefer “all-round rideability over specifics such as outright nose-riding.” The board sports a sleek outline, triple gang 1/8” cedar stringers, wide laps and 3 special colour pigments.
If you don’t understand the specifics, which are definitely impressive for a longboard, don’t despair, just pay attention to each small detail – how they come together, design becoming a ‘sum of all parts’ – creating a high-calibre surfboard, both beautiful and functional. And the simplicity that forms this model is reflected in the fact that there are only 3 available sizes and 3 available colours.
The company’s founder Bob McTavish says: “We’re super flexible about design, which means we can adapt to changes in the surfboard landscape from five feet to 15 feet. […] Change keeps things positive and interesting, so we are always open to new ideas. We intend to let our passion and love for riding waves and building boards keep us here for decades to come.”
So, if the company keeps producing such stunning boards, and keeps promoting them in such a breath-taking fashion – we are in for a treat (precisely for another 5 of these). Nevermind, it’s windy, soaked and dangerous.