this is rusty. he is 3 years old and weighs 80 lbs. he is very friendly and i love him so much

Australian pilot Josh Kerr has spent the last few weeks punting around the South African town of Jeffrey's Bay during the waiting period for the Billabong Pro. Josh's main sponsor Rusty sent along a filmer to document his stint in SA, which turned out to be quite a good one at that. Josh made the quarterfinals, smoked Taj Burrow, climbed into the top 10, and nailed some ridiculous airs. Here we have proof, in five convenient chapters:



Josh Kerr in J'bay ep.5 from rustyintl on Vimeo.



Josh Kerr in J'bay ep.4 from rustyintl on Vimeo.



Josh Kerr in J'Bay ep.3 from rustyintl on Vimeo.



Josh Kerr in J'bay ep.2 from rustyintl on Vimeo.



Josh Kerr in J'Bay ep.1 from rustyintl on Vimeo.

With the taste of free beer still smeared on my haggard face, I'm met with the stark reality that last night was the premiere of Josh Kerr's new video Kerrazy Kronicles in Newport Beach, and it was there that i got reasonably intoxicated courtesy of Rusty and Mr. Josh Kerr himself. To borrow some verbage from Kerrzy's native tongue: flick was all time mate! Newport's Lido theatre has been the host to many a surf premiere over the years. The routine has been practiced. Lights flash. Free booze chugged. Groms filling the seats. Industry peeps filling the shadows. Roll it.

As expected, the movie was dripping with the most technical aerial surfing on the planet, and peppered with some of the ballsiest slab charging in some wild and wooly places around the globe. Josh was there to talk about the movie, and party until the wee hours. The party spilled over to the after party at the blue beat, which is right about when my memory stopped recording sight and sound. Good on ya!

check out more info on the film here.

photos:me

Up until quite recently, surf films lacked the production value, professionalism, and all around clout of the films produced in the snow and skate industries. Very few surf films could even be considered in the same league as snow movies such as THATS IT THATS ALL, or skate films like FULLY FLARED.
This is not entirely due to surfers being dumb.
Waves are a fleeting and limited resource, so paying a large scale film crew is very tough when the nature of the ocean is unpredictable. Also, cameras dont like water very much. And because the surf industry is mainly limited to the coastlines, the market isnt big enough for companies to afford blockbuster budgets on their videos. And lets not forget that in any 'bro' industry, being a talented filmaker is not as important as knowing the right person and happening to have a camera handy. The end result is the good but not great surf videos which have filled our daydreams since grommethood.
On to the now. The dark ages are over. Surf films look like films. Cutting edge cameras are being used. Dollies and the whole nine. Talented people are calling the shots. The cream of the film making crop have risen to the top. The music is eclectic. Surf films are now artistic enough to find widespread acclaim beyond surfing. We are finally making art.
(Oh yeah, and lets not forget that the level of surfing taking place in front of the lens these days is absolutely mind-shattering.)
Below are 3 upcoming film releases which really took my pants off...

Globe's New Film. I love the dark abstract direction this trailer takes. Secret Machine was one of the few surf films ever made that I would consider to be a "film". Absolutely amazing. And this looks even better...



Globesurf.tv - Video Test One: 600 FPS from GLOBE on Vimeo.

The sequel to Sipping Jetstreams, which was truly groundbreaking in terms of cinematography, editing, and production value. The brilliant eye of photographer Dustin Humphery teamed up with surf porn kingpin Taylor Steele for a film of epic proportions. After 3 years of filming here is the trailer for the sequel, Castles in the Sky.



CASTLES IN THE SKY from Sipping Jetstreams on Vimeo.

Josh Kerr is one of the most well-rounded and underrated surfers of our time. He was denied an injury wildcard in a year which saw the ASP mutate into a format which rewards surfing like Josh's. Luckily this still means we get to see a years worth of his antics, but now with some amazing camera work and editing to keep us in awe.



Lastly, we have Julian Wilson's new project Scratching the Surface. Red bull knows how make a film (i.e. THATS IT THATS ALL) And Irons bros productions have seemingly stepped up to the challenge of a project of this size.

A few months back, Rusty introduced "The Wired Series", a totally innovative and unique take on fleece hoodies that features HB3 Technology. These hooded fleeces have headphones built into the draw strings and the pocket has a jack installed for a music player. If that isn't blowing your mind, this will: the Wired Series are completely machine washable. No hassle with cords, removing them, detangling them, etc. Impressive, right?

The team over at Rusty kicked off their Listening Tour featuring the Wired Series in April and they will be road tripping around the US through July 30th, demoing the new product and cranking out the tunes.

Additionally, they are doing a collaboration with Green Day with three rock-inspired Wired Series fleeces. These limited edition pieces will be available in July at Pac Sun. On top of that, Rusty is also running a contest for a chance to win a Rusty and Green Day prize pack.

Basically, they are running wild with this thing. The possibilities are endless. With ideas and product such as this in the fashion and action sports world, one can only imagine how much more these things will be developed and how far the limits will be pushed. It's pretty exciting stuff.



Get out there and get your hands on a Wired Series fleece. It's sure to be worth it. Click HERE to see dealers that sell the Wired Series.