Spotlight Series: Gavin Iwai

The Spotlight Series is back! In this Series we like to share some of our Spotlight with wave slide culture enthusiasts from around the world. This week we are spotlighting a wave rider from Hawaii. So in this Spotlight Series we would like to introduce, Gavin Iwai. Read up on him below.

Photo: Zack Dougan

Name?

Gavin Iwai


Where are you from? 

Kaneohe, HI



How long have you been wave riding?

Since I was about 10 years old

Photo: Ryan Beppu

What got you into wave riding?

Just love the ocean as a whole. If itʻs an activity with water, Iʻm game.  Getting barreled and pitted has got to be the best view/feeling in the world.



How long have you been riding?

Since I was about 10 years old


Amateur or Professional?

Amateur


What's your go-to board (surf,bodyboard, paipo, handplane) size and shape in any condition?

Bodyboard, 40", Crescent Tail, Double-Stringer with Mesh. Science Bodyboard Pro styles are my favorite. 


Favorite board color combo?

Anything mixed with black (my favorite color)



Favorite Breaks or Surf Spots (Can choose not to disclose/reveal these breaks, but just be general, ex. Mexico, Portugal...)?

Sandy Beach, Makapuʻu and Renex

Are there any wave riders you used to look up to growing up? Anyone you considered a rival to you? 

Mike Stewart. No rivals here.

Photo: Sash Fitzsimmons

Any word of advice for up and coming wave riders?

Just enjoy life and be happy, especially in the lineup. Patience is key, especially when trying to perfect a trick. Try and try again. 

Any projects that you have coming up that we should keep up an eye out for?

No upcoming projects. I mostly just ride for the thrill of it. Feeling the stoke each and every time.

Photo: Shane Gracey

Any shoutouts to friends, family, sponsors?

Sandy Beach Surf Crew (they know who they are), Mynakyne Clothing Co., True Honor, and HIdentity





We just wanted to give a special thanks to Gavin! If you wanted to follow more on Gavin check out his Instagram at @oceannmotion  . Also if you would like to get featured on our Spotlight Series, just send us an email to info@okshoots.com

PLC: Pierre Louis Costes

Pierre Louis Costes aka PLC, is one of the best wave riders in the world to do it on a bodyboard. This man has been in the spotlight of the bodyboarding world since he was a young grom. Since bursting on the bodyboard scene as a young grom, he has been one of the fortunate ones to win a World Title in the sport of bodyboarding. PLC is one of the most stylish and progressive riders in the game right now. He is fearless when throwing his signature move, the backflip, on any type of wave conditions. Enjoy these clips of him in small surf and then ripping when there are actually waves.

Pierre Louis Costes without waves from Hugo Matos on Vimeo.

Pierre's expeditions : The "Tertia" Island from Wonderland Prod on Vimeo.

Happy Father's Day

How's it! We here at Ok Shoots just wanted to give a shout out to all the fathers in the world! Thanks for the hard work you do in providing for your families.

With that we leave you with a clip of the "Godfather" of bodyboarding, a true waterman, respected wave rider, Mr. Mike Stewart. This is a clip of Mike passing along a message of be passionate about your passions and be mindful of the power that you have in this world.

Skimboarder: Austin Keen

When people outside of the wave riding world think of skimboarding, they usually assume it’s one of those boards that you just on just to skim across flat water. That technically is skimboarding/sandsliding, but wave riders choose to use this wave craft go big and charge hard. Austin Keen is one of the most respected wave riders to do it on a skimboard. The video below is of him skurfing which is pretty much paddling into the wave, but then he takes it to a whole other level and jumps off the paddleboard and onto his skimboard and from that point the game changes. Being finless while surfing opens up the possibility for insane maneuvers. Enjoy the clips below.

Da' Hammah Time

Whenever we think about wave riders that do it DK style on a bodyboard, we imagine someone who charges big, personifies power, and someone that is just about pure stoke. Check out this clip below of wave rider  Micah "Da Hammah" McMullin. We promise it'll get you stoked! Cheeeeee!


Hinano presents Micah McMullin from MichaelKini on Vimeo.

Bodysurfing

We want you guys to know that we see the votes on our poll and we see that there is that one vote for bodysurfing posts. So ask and you shall get it. Enjoy some of these body surfing clips from us here at Ok Shoots going on YouTube and searching for bodysurfing clips from this past year. Enjoy.

Mason Rose

Mason Rose to us here at Ok Shoots is one of the most stylish wave riders out there to do it on the knee. The following clip is from an old promo video for one of Mason Rose's Pro Model that came out with Turbo Surf Designs. Enjoy this vintage prime video of Mr. Mason Rose.

Wave Rider: Sam Stinnett

Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this little video clip of wave rider Sam Stinnett doing amazing things on a skimboard. Ladies and gentlemen, Sam Stinnett.

Stand Up Bodyboard or Super Shortboard

It's interesting to see how the surfing world can come a full circle and still get inspiration from a bodyboard shape to create a surfboard. Well one surf company shop has done that and it's pretty rad to see this happen. Bing Surf is the shop that has done just this. Below is a brief description of the board.

"Speed Square

Inspired by his fond childhood memories on a Mach-77 boogie board, Bing team rider, Chris Del Moro convinced shaper, Matt Calvani to help him recapture the magic in this modern-day twin-finned version called the Speed Square. Because of its short length, Matt added belly in the nose with a quick transition into a hard, tapered rail in the tail so that the board would be quick and responsive.  He added a deep straight concave that runs from where your front foot sits through the tail of the board to gain efficiency in glide and maintained thickness in the tail to improve glide and wave-catching ability.  The small twin keels maintain a “fin-less” riding quality but still allowing for some control.  Ride it short, ride it fast and get ready for a whole lot of fun! "

Lady Wave Riders

If there's one thing us guys enjoy it's seeing beautiful women at the beach whether it's in the water or just at the shore trying to get their tan on. We think there's something much more enjoyable than that, it's a women that can surf and shred with the best of them. Here's a clip we found of lady wave shredder Isabela Sousa shredding it up in Rio. Enjoy.

BELA IN RIO from LifeMedia on Vimeo.

Vintage Jacob Romero

This is the footage from a while back in which we realized that Jacob Romero was going to be a force in the bodyboarding world. One reason why we thought this is because of the pure fact that whenever he rides in this clip, he just seems to have fun. Pretty much that's what we love to see in professionals is are they having fun doing what they're doing. Check out the clip.