[This is an introduction to Wavelength Volume 256, landing in shops on the 20th June. Subscribe now to save 20% off the cover price.]
Welcome to the character issue; a deep dive into the distinctive qualities of people and place that meld to create this thing we call surf culture.
Over the next 140 pages, we’ll explore the forces that shape our identities and drive our trajectories through life. From collective histories to hedonistic whims. The geography of the coastlines we surf and the impact of the strange characters we encounter along the way.
We’ll look at processes both gradual and catalytic; cliff faces sculpted by decades of wave action and those suddenly smashed to pieces by a giant storm surge. We’ll tell of eccentric individuals and tight-knit communities and underline our tales with imagery that conveys depth of character in a way words never could.
Close to home, we’ll explore how a group of Mancunian factory workers inadvertently shaped the British surfing experience, take a look back at the night this magazine was born and introduce an enigmatic British surf filmmaker with an incredible life story. We’ll hear from a pair of female chargers, hailing from distant corners of the British Isles, before heading further afield for an examination of the checkered history of those who choose to glide on their bellies.
We’ll recount two tales of remarkable resilience, featuring tour surfer Ryan Callinan and an American author captured by pirates and celebrate on-wave idiosyncrasies through the lenses of Morgan Maassen and Tom Hawkins.
We’ll take a trip to a rugged Atlantic isle to explore how geology and human interference have shaped the character of the hardened surfers who live there, before rounding things out with a refreshing take on surf travel with two of Europe’s best-loved trailblazers.
Although subjects were selected for their proximity to the art of riding waves, once the layers are peeled back, we hope you’ll agree there’s so much more to see.
– LG
[Subscribe now and get your copy before it hits the shelves.]
