Crowd, good energy, big waves… The Nazaré Challenge is back to Nazaré! I’m super stoked to have shared this day with Pedro Scooby. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to have my back this day. What a performance!!
You have all seen the footage of the Nazare Challenge, what you probably haven’t seen is the day after, perfect 20ft conditions ideal to paddle. – Nic Von Rupp
These clips were supposed to be in Mason Ho’s Snapt4 section but didn’t make it at the last minute. I know, WTF, witness the sickness, Mason on full send, click play for yay.
December is the kickoff season for Lakey Peak, after several small, windy and rainy days in November, we got a full week of clean, off-cross off, light wind with a 15-16 second period west-south west swell and to top of the conditions, the neat tide made it possible to surf through all day long – all tides!
Vans is proud to announce the opening of Ghana’s first skatepark on December 15th, supporting The Surf Ghana Collective and the important work they’re doing for the local West African communities.
Photos:Heidi Fachtan
The Freedom Skatepark, located at East Legon, was brought to life in the span of 30 days thanks to the hands-on team of Wonders Around the World, with funding from Vans and support from the teams at Off-White, Daily Paper, SAF Ghana (STL-Amandi Foundation) and Ghanaian spatial design studio, Limbo Accra and Space Accra.
Vans and The Freedom Skatepark initiative intends to organize various art and sporting events, including workshops, mentoring programs, art exhibitions and other skate competitions for the African continent. Further plans include the development of a Wi-Fi Cafe and a skate shop, which is expected to be in full operation by the first quarter of 2022. The mission here is to create and sustain a sports infrastructure by involving the youth at every stage to provide job opportunities in various sectors such as sports and tourism for them to excel.
Freedom Skatepark is a beautiful park, spanning 500 m2 in the heart of Accra, located at Shiashie in the East Legon vicinity. The design of Freedom Skatepark, spearheaded by the incredible team at Wonders Around the World, is a truly unique space including the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol “Fawohodie”, which represents independence, freedom and emancipation. This skatepark intends to soon become a home for the youth to truly and freely express themselves.
Vans is working with The Surf Ghana Collective to ensure skateboarding and surfing are as accessible as possible for the local community. The first phase of the partnership kicks off with the build of The Freedom Skatepark and the next phase will be via the development of a surf community hub.
Future goals for the brand include support for the surf community in Busua with a similar program. This kicked off in 2021 for Vans Checkerboard Day in partnership with JUJU Surf Club and with co-founder and Vans team rider Mikey February, who provided surf lessons and inspiration to the local community. Vans continues to support youth culture by enabling creative self-expression through action sports and is helping lay the foundations for future generations in Africa.
To find out more information about Freedom Skatepark, please visit freedomskatepark.org.
Every surfer has a home break that has shaped their surfing. For Jordy Smith, without Durban, he wouldn’t be the progressive surfer he is today. It is no doubt that Durban’s punchy beach breaks and rip bowls are responsible for the versatile and high-performance surfing Jordy has done throughout his surfing career. Not to mention, when Durban turns on and the sandbars make up the freight train running right-hand barrels, you know Jordy will be out there hunting down the wave of the day.
Unfortunately for Jordy, (what he thought was) the wave of the day ended up costing him a serious knee injury which would later force him to pull out from the Olympics and the 2021 World Title Race. Stay tuned for Episode 5 to follow along through Jordy’s recovery. ‘Silver Linings’ is a series starring Jordy Smith. The episodic journey covers the incredible highs and devastating lows Jordy experienced in his life over the past 18 months. From entering fatherhood to scoring the best waves he’s seen at home, to facing a near career-ending injury forcing him to pull out of the Olympics, this series documents the rollercoaster ride Jordy has been on and the ‘Silver Linings’ that he encounters within his journey.
The North Cornish town of Bude is a hot bed of talented surfers (check out our Bude feature in the latest issue, 210). One of those is Barnaby Cox, he’s come a long way since his first surf aged seven at Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall.
Filmed and edited by Adam Norris of Offshores Photo.
