Yo Venice got the update on the Surfer Found Dead At Topanga story from last December.

According to the autopsy report by the Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner , while the cause of death was drowning, a cardiac event precipitated the pulmonary edema. Specifically, Damon Michael Geller had three major arteries of his heart that were blocked, 50, 75 and 80 percent respectively Surfer Damon Michael Geller

Yo Venice got the update on the Surfer Found Dead At Topanga story from last December.

According to the autopsy report by the Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner , while the cause of death was drowning, a cardiac event precipitated the pulmonary edema. Specifically, Damon Michael Geller had three major arteries of his heart that were blocked, 50, 75 and 80 percent respectively.

You can read the full story here: Death of Local Surfer Wake-Up Call - Yo Venice

Rhonda Harper of Black Girls Surf lied. The NBC camera crew lied. Sea Maven Mag lied. The Inertia did a piss poor story on it, using the lies told to them by NBC's Jeff Mercado. Every site that followed just reposted those stories. Absolutely no site or news agency got any info from anyone who was there. Everything posted came from the vicious Rhonda Harper and her crew. Now the following is compiled from interviews and casual chit-chat with people that were present at the Venice Pier when this incident occurred. We talked to surfers that were in the water, people that were on the pier, and to Wagner Lima himself. DISCLAIMER: Shacked Mag is not defending the actions of any of the parties enveloped in this incident, or in the incidents that resulted from it. We do feel that the public needs to know the truth of the entire story, from before the leash pull to all the drama that happened following it, and that will continue to happen due to Black Girls Surf's Rhonda Harper's constant use of her false version of what happened to get money to fund her fake surf coaching business.

Rhonda Harper of Black Girls Surf lied. The NBC camera crew lied. Sea Maven Mag lied. The Inertia did a piss poor story on it, using the lies told to them by NBC's Jeff Mercado. Every site that followed just reposted those stories. Absolutely no site or news agency got any info from anyone who was there. Everything posted came from the vicious Rhonda Harper and her crew (in PART 2 and 3, evidence will be revealed why Harper is not a person to trust, and what her true agenda is: $$$$).

Now the following is compiled from interviews and casual chit-chat with people that were present at the Venice Pier when this incident occurred. We talked to surfers that were in the water, people that were on the pier, and to Wagner Lima himself.

How is a little site like Shacked able to get info that sites like The Inertia or LA Times were unable to? Because they don't know this spot or the people like we do. And they were just too eager to jump on this race-baiting bandwagon, they don't care about actually reporting the truth, they just want the clicks.

So grab a big ol' bucket of popcorn, because this whole fake racism drama is kind of long, and this is just the first part of all this ridiculous drama.

PART 1: The Leash Pull

Here is the entire true story about what happened that day:

Rhonda Harper, the self-proclaimed surf coach and founder of Black Girls Surf, shows up at the Venice Pier with Khadjou Sambe. Khadjou is a mediocre surfer from Senegal, one of the only female surfers from that country, therefor by default she can try out for the Olympics (even though her surfing has been describe as average at best). So Rhonda brought her to California to "train" her for the Olympics (we talk about that laughable "training" in one of the next parts). The reason we are to believe for them coming to the pier is that they are shooting a news piece on Khadjou's Olympic dreams, even though Harper makes many comments stating it is a Black Girls Surf shoot (as she is just using Khadjou to get donations for her "coaching" company).

Danielle Lyons, a surfer from San Diego, was asked by Rhonda to come up to Venice and be a part of this shoot with NBC.

Once at the Venice Pier, Khadjou and Danielle go out to surf, not Rhonda though, because Rhonda doesn't surf. Yup, that's right, a surf coach that can't surf. According to some of her ex-friends, they all say "Rhonda can't surf for shit", and that's putting it nicely. More on that in one of the next parts of this ridiculous drama.

Now Rhonda has stated that this was a "closed set", meaning only her surfers are supposed to be surfing. Yet, neither her nor anyone from NBC have any permits for this shoot. She still goes around telling others they can't surf right now. One parent said her son was told he can't surf because they are filming for the Olympics.

A few surfers in the water, as well as some people watching on the pier have all said that the two girls with the film crew were snaking a lot of the other surfers.

"I'm surprised that #######(name withheld) didn't do something, because he got snaked a few times", one of the surfers that was in the water said.

Everyone we talked to that was there that day pretty much said the same thing, that Rhonda and her crew came and tried to take over the spot. "She does that shit all the time", stated one person that knows Rhonda from previous encounters. It seems Rhonda is infamous for barging into spots with her crew and trying localize the spot, there are comments on different surf forums dating back prior to this incident that say the same about her.

So it's not the scenario that the feminist blog Sea Maven lied about it being. It's not the scenario that all other websites stated it was. It is not the scenario Rhonda Harper tells all the news sites it was.

Eventually Wagner Lima shows up, and as most surfers usually do, he goes onto the pier to check the waves. Upon seeing the camera crew, he asks what are they filming. He is told that they were filming a "professional Olympic surfer". Wagner fancies himself a competitive surfer, so he checks out the surfing of this so-called "professional Olympic surfer". After witnessing some poor surfing on some weak waves by the "professional Olympic surfer" he tells the camera crew "That's professional Olympic surfers? They know nothing about surfing, they're a joke." Wagner throws up the peace sign and says, "Later" and he walks back to his vehicle.

Now this is where NBC's Jeff Mercado starts lying about everything. Yes, that is correct, NBC's producer/cameraman is flat out lying about what went down. One of the lies Jeff has been quoted saying is that Wagner threw up V for Venice (gang sign) then went to maliciously attack the girls. Jeff Mercado doesn't know one thing about surfing, that's for sure, but not knowing what the peace sign is? And this is NBC's news producer. He also claims Wagner had malicious intent to go harm the girls.

That is one of the many lies Rhonda keeps using to promote her agenda, as seen in this comment of hers:
That comment of Rhonda's was one reply to someone on Instagram just questioning the fact that the leash pull was probably not racially motivated. You can see right there the type of individual Rhonda really is (and there's a lot more screencaps of her bully and belittling people to come, as well as a bunch of her hateful and racist posts about white people, men, and the surf industry, in general).

Wagner was clueless about Rhonda and the NBC crew trying to insinuate he threw up a gang sign. When asked about it, Wagner was surprised. We asked him did he throw up his usual shaka or a V for Venice sign to the cameraman, he replied, "I did peace. I would never do Venice, that's ridiculous...they're lying, bro."

Back at his vehicle, Wagner suits up and heads out to surf. He says he got "snaked a few times, but whateva." Wagner is in the same area as Khadjou and Danielle because that's were the waves are. Not because he is targeting the girls, like Rhonda and NBC's Jeff Mercado claim, but then again, neither of those two know anything about surfing, so maybe we can give them the benefit of their ignorance. Hell, Rhonda said in one of her most recent interviews that the best wave in Southern California is Huntington Beach Pier.

It could be that Wagner wanted to show off to this Olympic camera crew or that he wants to show them that he can surf better than this "professional Olympic surfer", so is that why he was near them? We asked him what's up with that, he said, "That's where the waves were. I don't care about the filming. A lot of photographers always filming here, I just ask any of them if I want video, I don't need to show off to them (the NBC crew)."

So they're all surfing the same area. Now on this one mushy 1-2ft wave, he and Danielle want it, she gets it, Wagner still wants it. He lets Danielle go by and he then goes for it, but he is too close and his board goes through her long leash. He gets up seeing that the leash wrapped on his board, so he grabs it and starts pulling it. Danielle turns back to see what's going on, Wagner gives the leash more of a tug while looking the other way, he lets go and they both fall of their boards.

This did not happen dangerously close to the pier, as Rhonda is claiming. You can clearly see from the photos it was not near the pier at all. Where the sun is on December mornings, there would be the pier's shadow covering them and the photos would be looking more downward at them if this was even near being close to the pier.

"She goes around me, so I want to go that way, but her leash was around my board", Wagner said. It's as simple as that. Wagner further explains, " I know you going right. And I'm behind you, I'm gonna go right too...Because there is only one road in a wave. She did like this: went around me and in front of my board, you know. And that's when the leash got caught in my nose in like..then I was like oh fugghhh... uuummm... tried to move the leash, it didn't move, we fell."

Here's an image that was posted in the comments section of Surfer.com's story on this, you can see here that they show the leash is definitely wrapped around Wagner's board:

Wagner did not go out there to harass the girls as Rhonda is stating to all the news sites. It's not about race, it's not about localism. Ironically , it was Rhonda that was trying to localize this spot as her own, as she is infamous already for trying it at other spots in California. Same can be said about this race thing as well. It's actually the other way around.

Wagner is known in the area, and some like him, some don't, some just don't care about him, but the one thing they will all say about him is that he is not racist. So the claims by Black Girls Surf, NBC, and that feminist blog Sea Maven about this being a hate crime is false. They are just race baiting, because Rhonda knows she can get more publicity from it to solicit donations to her fake surf coaching company.

After they fall, Wagner told us, "bro, I tried to tell her sorry right there, she yelled at me, and then some lady on the pier starts going crazy yelling a bunch of things." And that would be Rhonda.

Eventually Wagner leaves the water, he had a friend he was meeting and some errands to do nearby. He also gets a smoothie. As he is walking back to the pier parking lot, he sees Danielle and Rhonda at a vehicle. Wagner tells us, "I saw her, I go to tell her, you know, I'm sorry. Bro, they're both cursing at me telling me stuff." And the Rinse Kit? "She sprayed me all with water. Soaking wet, bro. Sprayed my face, my shirt, pants."

But in reality, looks like Rhonda wasn't mad at all. She was f@#King happy as Sh!t! Why? Because it appears she finally got what she has always wanted, a white guy to make an example of, a white guy she could finally take all her anger out on, and it'll be pretty damn good way to get more donations for her company. She couldn't wait to start posting on her Facebook.



But Wagner isn't white, he's Brazilian. He speaks with a strong Portuguese accent too. But Rhonda don't care, he's light skinned enough to be the white guy she needs.

She changes her tone just a bit and goes for the sympathy angle in her next Facebook post on it:



Now this is where it all goes crazy.

Rhonda returns to the Venice Pier the next day to hunt down Wagner.

"I'm going to ruin you!" she yells to Wagner.

She then starts her online vendetta to destroy Wagner... and to use this incident to raise money for her company:

Those screencaps above are just a snippet of what is to come next. Rhonda just goes full throttle on her vendetta. Hell, even Danielle who is the victim in this eventually this ends her friendship with Rhonda due to Rhonda's desire to try to profit off of this. The good thing is that Rhonda is not smart enough to keep all her lies in order and ends up contradicting herself, plus she gets some important facts incorrect, and she let's her anger expose her true nature quite often.

To Be Continued...like in 2 days.

We never wanted to run stories like this, but we now feel we have to.

Since non-surfing surf coach Rhonda Harper wants to continue milking this made up hate crime to fund her very questionable Black Girls Surf and Inkwell Clothing companies and her many GoFundME accounts, we decided to not stay silent any longer. Rhonda keeps doing interviews, is constantly in contact with news sites and just keeps lying about what happened (in one of the more recent ones, she is now saying the board was grabbed from under the surfer's feet). Always promoting it as a hate crime, which it was not. All the news sites love her story, because it's a good race-baiting headline for them. It's got to stop.

She is not even the victim in this, she is just exploiting the situation for herself and because of her hatred of white people and the surf industry. Unfortunately since she is playing the race card, we will have to address that.

This is such a huge ridiculous dramafest that we have to break it into several parts. The first five parts will be:

Part 1: The Leash Pull
We talked to surfers that were in the water, people that were on the pier, and to Wagner Lima himself about what happened. And did some digging up of info. We are the only site that actually did that. The NBC cameraman lied and Harper is not telling the exactly what happened.

Part 2: The Real Rhonda Harper
Rhonda starts her online harassment and doxing of Wagner Lima. She finally has a white man she can make an example of, even if he isn't white, but he's good enough to use to promote her agenda. Her Facebook page is filled with her making hateful comments.

Part 3: The Fake SeaMaven Story
The complete BS story that this feminist blogger wrote using race that triggered all the backlash and harassment everyone was receiving.

Part 4: The Harassment and Backlash

Part 5: Rhonda Can't Surf
A surf coach that can't surf? Yeah really. People that have tried surfing with her told us how awful she is....at surfing.

Everyday or so we will post a Part of this ridiculous story.

PLEASE NOTE: Danielle is the surfer whose leash was pulled, she never wanted to make a police report or a huge fuss over all this. She actually wants it all to go away, unfortunately Rhonda Harper is the one who wants to keep milking this. They actually had a falling out over it, with Rhonda calling her a coward and such (it will be covered in on of the stories). We ask our readers to not harass any of the parties involved.

The 25th Annual Venice Surf-A-Thon was held on Saturday, December 8, once again taking place at the Venice Pier. The contest is a grassroots local tradition that has evolved from a mentorship gathering for youth beset by gang violence to an inter-generational celebration of community. The contest has been a labor of love for it's founder Ger-I Lewis .
Ger-I founded the Venice Surf-A-Thon in 1993 after returning home from military service. "I wished to do something for the children , young adults and the community in general that is fun and has a positive influence on everyone." says Ger-I. "For sure back in the day the contest was edgy as so was I! Instead of handing out trophies at the beach like most contests, I incorporated the awards party to give everyone a chance to shine. Inviting local talent as well the bikini contest was also a strategy to enhance and create a Venice culture showcase. Well times have changed and folks have mellowed, the bikini contest is no longer a part of the event as many of the original contestants are grandfathers now! The event has a generational community expectation and Surf-A-thon has taken on a family atmosphere. Many world class surfers, celebrities, have supported and donated to The Venice Surf-A-Thon including Mimi Miyagi,Peter Destafino, Perry Ferral, C.R. Stecyk , Danny Trejo, Robert Trujillo (of Metallica), Noah Budroe, Chris Ward, Tonan, Tina Cheri, DJ Muggs, Kid Frost, and Beowulf. Moreover the contest has provided a an opportunity for surfers to get a start in competition surfing."


Here's the contest recap/resullts from Ger-I:

The contest started off early with Body surfing. First place went Steve Shop, 2nd to Place Mike Wood, and in Third place was Johnny.

Two Groms Mixed Heats followed. The Groms Mixed Heat #1 winners were Logan in First, Kay got Second, and Third went to Parker.




Groms Mixed #2 winners were Dean Pitari in First, Bradley getting Second, and Kay following with Third.


Girls division was next. First Place going to Mimi Sullivan, Second Place went to Oshi Massey, and Third Place was Kay (again).



Longboards winners were Mr Cortez taking First, Tonan Ruiz placing Second, and Third Place going to Billy Bong.







Continue on Page 2

Malibu's Jamie Brisick:

The text message came just before 7 a.m.: “Mandatory evacuation for the entire city of Malibu.” I grabbed my car keys, wallet, phone, laptop, writing stuff, and a change of clothes. It was Friday, November 9th. I was not worried. Malibu gets a fire nearly every year. Never do they creep down the Santa Monica Mountains, leap the Pacific Coast Highway, and take out homes where I live, in Point Dume.

But this one did. And it took out my home with an almost personal vengeance. Watching KTLA news with a friend in his Venice Beach studio the following evening, he pointed at the screen. “That looks like your house.” The camera zoomed in. “That’s definitely your house.” The shot—a firefighter blasting water at my inflamed bedroom—would play on repeat throughout the weekend. I became a kind of poster child for the Woolsey Fire.

The next few days threw into sharp relief my conflicted relationship with Malibu life. Many of my fellow-evacuees landed comfortably in Venice and Santa Monica. I received invitations to festive dinners and brunches at upscale eateries. Designer fashion labels offered free clothes to folks who’d lost their homes. A two-hundred-and-fifty-dollar gift certificate for luxury bedding showed up in my in-box. Compared to the extreme loss of life in the Camp Fire, it felt way too easy. Even in evacuation mode, we kept up our tenor of self-congratulation.

Meanwhile, I could not get back into Malibu. Roads were closed on the north, south, and valley sides. The “stayers,” several of them surfer friends of mine, posted on social media about “never feeling a stronger sense of purpose” and “being honored to serve their community.” The Point Dume Bomberos, a vigilante group that formed in the fire, were saving houses. Supplies were coming in by boat; surfers were paddling them to shore on longboards. Malibu moms were cooking up hot meals in jury-rigged kitchens. I was hit with a sense of fomo/shame. I’d got out of the fire, and now all I wanted was to get back into the fire.

I got in the following day with a makeshift press pass. Driving west past Surfrider Beach, the Pacific Coast Highway eerily quiet, I watched a set of waves peel across First Point, no riders. Malibu is one of the most crowded breaks on earth. The road closure would create empty lineups akin to the pre-“Gidget” days. I reached back and pawed the nose of my five-ten twin fin.

I passed places of great personal significance: the surf spot where I got my first tube, in 1978; the former home of the Malibu Inn, where in my tormented teens I consumed a half decade’s worth of soggy oatmeal and burnt coffee hoping to get closer to a particular waitress; the rocky outcropping where my late wife and I shared one of our last meals together, a picnic of cheese and avocado sandwiches, the shore break slapping and hissing below our feet. I started surfing in the late seventies. Malibu was my playground; it’s as close to my heart as any geographical place I can think of. But to be a surfer is to be a traveller. In my early twenties, I started travelling, and pretty much kept travelling.

The first sightings of the fire were just north of Pepperdine University. The charred hills took on a certain vulnerability, vegetation gone, trees skeletal, bald black curves in the midday sun. Born and raised in L.A., now fifty-two, I have come to understand that it’s essentially a race between the Santa Ana winds and the rain. If the rain comes first, the fire hazard is mitigated. But, if the fires come first, as they had now (and as they did last year, with the Thomas Fire and the ensuing mudslides in Montecito), we’re in big trouble.

Read the entire story on THE NEW YORKER

The last eight days have been truly remarkable and both good and bad. The stories we could tell would fill a library. The short of it is when many people evacuated these guys stayed behind, fought the fires & protected Point Dume Malibu on their own. The media has branded them as "surfers", which is true, however they failed to mention that they are also County Lifeguards, Off-duty FD, Woodsmen, Outdoorsmen, Production Coordinators & Ex-Military. Without all of their expertise in every different facet & their local knowledge of the canyons/streets, they wouldn't have been able to accomplish what they did. These MEN posted up on mountains overnight to spot fires, tactically strike Hot-spots, put out Flare-up's, coordinated boat deliveries and delivered of all the supplies in their trucks to the local elementary school where locals again handled the situation. This amazing Band of Brothers had their metal tested over the last 8 days, barely sleeping, barley eating, putting their bodies in harms way to protect what they love and never once complained. I’ve never been so proud to work with such a rare group of individuals. All I ask is that you post a picture tomorrow morning (Tuesday Morning) and give them a little love. That’s it….


If anyone asks “why the Bomberos?”…It's a nod to the old school Point Dume Bombers (As in to “Bomb" a wave i.e. drop in on a heavy wave). Here is a quote from Lyon Herron, a life long Point Dume Local and amazing surfer. “The bombers were an infamous group of true local Point Dume locals that regulated the point in not always the best way. Our take is to truly give back and teach history to the coming you about their home. Teach them how to earn respect and love one another. The Point Dume Bomberos today are a representation of our home that has given us so much. We stand together to keep our community strong and not let it fall apart."

Go Fund Me Page: Malibu Disaster Prevention & Relief

After the devastating Woolsey Fire, local MalibuVWbus heads back into Malibu:
It took out everything in its path...

Lifeguard Tower.

Leo Carrillo.

Burned VW on the side of PCH with a completely burned background.

That lucky gem in the background was the only thing besides the fence next to it that didn’t burn on this block. It still sustained heavy heat and smoke damage. The windshield melted to the dashboard.... You can also see the outline of the other Porsche in the garage with the garage roof covering it’s burned chassis. As for the Chevy, it didn’t do so well.

Burned house and VW style buggy.

Here is my mom and her house that was demolished by the fire. The cross she is holding was on her wall and survived the fire. This is a miniature version of the cross that Jon Krawczyk made. The big version he made sits across the street from the 911 memorial museum in New York City. Jon and his wife Dee Dee also lost their house which was right next to my moms house.

Eerie Scene.

Bummer. Looks like it was on the top of a lift in the garage and dropped onto another car below it.... There is another one sitting out front that survived. Not sure how bad it is though... The fire was so hot that it melted the windshield to the dashboad. It looks like it’s the only thing on the property that survived besides the fence next to it. We shut off the neighbors water meter that was still on and spraying water everywhere.

If you're on Instagram you can follow @MalibuVWbus to see more of his photos.

California's surfing culture is very rich. Every year the Malibu Surfing Association holds their signature The Classic event at famous Malibu Beach. There you will find some of the best longboarders from California and other states. This footage from Longboardarian is a snapshot of the event. Recorded while Surf Aid had their specialty heat.

On Saturday, September 8th Malibu lit up with a head high south swell at the perfect angle for first point. The level of surfing was off the charts with longboarders perched on the nose and shortboarders throwing buckets of spray. Hoots were even heard from the judges tent as one epic performance after another fired up the beach.
Event Pro Dylan Goodale taking full advantage of an empty Malibu Lineup. (Photo by Grey Lockwood)
In partnership with Malibu Surfing Association (MSA) and the Classic Invitational, 11 teams competed and raised over $74,000 for SurfAid ’s Mother and Child Health Programmes. Foam Ballers Team Captain Zen Gesner and his teammates David Chokachi, Jon Mone, and Tom Triggs earned the prestigious Fundraising Cup after raising an astonishing $20,569 for SurfAid. Funds will help ensure SurfAid partner communities have access to clean water & sanitation, basic healthcare, and improved nutrition. Each of these factors have been proven to reduce maternal and child mortality rates by as much as 70%.
Zen Gesner, captain of the winning Fundraising Cup team, The Foam Ballers, flying down a perfectly groomed Malibu wall. (Photo by Gray Lockwood)
Zen shared this about their win, “An amazing day, shared with a fine group of amazing people, brought together for a true humanitarian effort…it just doesn’t get any better than this!”

It did get better for the Foam Ballers, as they were one of six teams who made it to the finals. Joining them were last year’s SurfAid Cup champs Team Becker, Team MSA, Malaria Sucks, Vote Pierson for City Council, and first-time competitors and the 2018 SurfAid Cup Malibu Surf Champions, The Relik Groms!

Sponsored by Danny Errico and coached by John Welch, the all grom dream team included up and coming longboarders Brooke Carlson, Haley Otto, John Michael Van Hohenstein, and Kevin Skvarna. Joining the Relik Grom team as their pro was Reilly Stone who as an 18-year-old out of Santa Cruz relied on his classic footwork to help lead the team towards an impressive final score of 368.
Kevin Skvarna of team Relik with classic Malibu Style. (Photo by Grey Lockwood)
John emphasized having the kids work together and they adopted an acronym that John learned a long time ago; TEAM - Together Everybody Achieves More. Their goal was to simply have fun and then everything else would fall into place. John was stoked with the teams results, “We were super blessed to have taken first place in light of the amazing teams we surfed with. On behalf of each and every Team Relik Grom member, we would like to congratulate all the teams that competed. You were all amazing!”

SurfAid takes a similar collective approach when working with our communities. Funds raised through the SurfAid Cup directly translate to transformational change in our communities. SurfAid ’s hand up – not a hand out philosophy is built to ensure lasting sustainability and the SurfAid Cup gives surfers a chance to work together to save the lives of mums and babies in places they love to surf.
Kevin Skvarna of team Relik with classic Malibu Style. (Photo by Grey Lockwood)

Check out all the photos:
SurfAid Cup Malibu Photo Gallery

SurfAid Cup Malibu 2018 Team Standings
Champions - Relik Groms
2nd - MSA
3rd - Becker
4th - Malaria Sucks
5th - Vote Pierson for City Council
6th - Foam Ballers
7th - Stay Committed Get Pitted
8th - Indoteak Design
9th - Dr. Dave’s Team
10th - Latigroms
11th - SurfAiders


SurfAid Cup Malibu 2018 Pro Roster:
Tim Curran
Leah Dawson
Dylan Goodale
Kyle Knox
Steven Lippman
Reef McIntosh
Mike McCabe
Johnny Noris
Reilly Stone
Kai Takayama
Joel Tudor
Tyler Warren

Video highlights from the 7th Annual SurfAid Cup Malibu

Beyond The Borders Of Era: Natas Kaupas Designs Handcrafted Surfboards With Shinola



He is known around the world as a legendary skateboarder, but there’s nothing Natas Kaupas loves more than creating, whether it’s for wheels–or waves.

In Santa Monica, surfing has always been just as important as skateboarding. Skating and surfing are a natural way of life, and growing up in this community led Natas to the art he creates today.

“Growing up and using local shapers, you’d get custom boards. You’d always think of the designs, the airbrushes and the colors. That part is pretty natural—deciding how you want your board to look,” he says.

Santa Monica was nurturing in that way, Natas says. He began surfing and skating both at a very young age, and he loved watching the locals, skating pros like Jim Muir or Jay Adams, zoom by.



“It was almost like a bigger brother kind of feeling,” Natas says. “There was some mentoring, especially on the art side. Wes Humpston, one of the original Dogtown artists, would give me pens and little pointers.”

Despite watching the local pros skate around Dogtown, Natas developed as a skateboarder much on his own. He recalls spending time alone, experimenting and woodshedding tricks.

Nowadays, Natas finds inspiration in the community and collaborates with many artists and craftspeople on various projects.

“These sports are very expressive, and a lot of people consider it an artform. There’s a lot of creative people involved in surfing and skateboarding. And you have this perfect canvas,” Natas says. “You have this tradition of silk screening and adding graphics to skateboards and colors on surfboards. I find it inspiring.”

His latest creations, in collaboration with Shinola , are limited-edition surfboards and beach towels. The two share a similar design—two Ws that pay homage to West Washington Boulevard, the previous name of what is now Abbot Kinney Boulevard and the location of the Shinola Venice store. Natas describes the style as a bit looser, drawing inspiration from traditional 1960s boards with a resin tint and acid splashes.



“The thought was to bring a little bit of that without looking overly traditional,” Natas says. “I wanted to push that a little bit.”

Natas likes to draw from the past, often turning to hand lettering and vintage books for inspiration. He sees today’s great skateboarders—or “rippers” as the skateboard community calls them—learning tricks from history.

“I really love watching this current generation of rippers that pick and choose of era. They don’t stick to just one,” Natas says.

Curating this artform—pulling from tradition while simultaneously challenging it—is no easy task. Natas notes that crafting in traditional ways is a slow and difficult process. These surfboards require a lot of engineering, and shapers and glassers have many variables they must take into account. With hydrodynamics, every detail matters, from the contour of the bottom to the shape of the fin. Crafted by hand with a planer and a saw, these boards require the expert eyes and hands of the shaper.

“There’s a lot of craftspeople involved, people you need to trust and communicate with. Up to a fraction of an inch will make a huge difference,” Natas says.



This kind of commitment to quality drives all of his creations, and it is one of the many reasons that drew Natas to collaborate with Shinola .

“I’ve been doing projects with Shinola for a number of years now, and I really get along with the way they operate—the transparency and the honesty,” he says.

For Natas, quality hinges on reliability, especially when you’re skating the streets or surfing the ocean.

“I’m attracted to things that are of quality because of the reliability. When I go surfing or skating, I don’t want to wonder if this thing is going to break in my hands or not perform the way I want it to,” Natas says. “With quality products, you don’t get left high and dry, and you get to enjoy things to the fullest.”

Quality doesn’t come quickly, but it’s always worth the wait. Shaping can take a long time because of the many elements involved in the creation, Natas says, and shapers are notorious for taking longer than they say.

“It’s a running joke in the surf community: ‘Is my board done yet?’” Natas says.

One thing that is never done for Natas is creating. Whether it’s a new project, painting for fun, or making crafts with his toddler, Natas lives for it all. And though this leaves him with little time for waves or wheels, he still tries to sneak in a surf or a skate whenever he can. Because for Natas, life in California—surfing, skating, creating—never gets old. More at Shinola

Big city, bright lights: everybody we know can be found here. Jack Coleman and a full cast of characters descended upon the 'bu for a lengthy board meeting on this most recent south swell. Palms were greased, deals were made, and the majority shareholders were pleased with their return on investment. Enjoy this edit of the multi-shredder conglomerate of Southern California.

Watch an amazing father-daughter bond while Malibu's Frankie Seely and her dad, Mitt talk about surfing, fatherhood and how girls are treated differently out in the water. This short film is by Too Pretty Brand