‘Cynevin’ means to demonstrate an intimate relationship with the place of your birth, the environment in which you are naturally acclimatised.

And it’s a fitting title for a new short film by Seth Hughes about Cornishman Mike Lay.

To hang out with Mike in West Penwith is indeed to witness a man entirely at ease in his natural habitat. He seems to know every kink of the coastline intimately and every curve of every wave concealed within them. Every person he passes and every transient mound of submerged sand. 

While many people choose to escape the place they grew up as soon as they can, Mike’s opted to stay and make his life among the same narrow lanes and patchwork fields he’s always roamed. And while he travels widely, he always comes back. 

In this new short we find him surfing exclusively around his native coastline, with each section featuring a different craft; a log for long clean days, a twin pin to thread playful tubes and an 11-foot wooden glider to go forever on knee-high bumps. 

The whole thing is masterfully shot and cut by Seth Hughes, and well worth 20 minutes of your attention…