Nick Callister catching a few in his premium (the ichiban) game.

Urban Isolation from Russell Houghten on Vimeo.

Big ups to San Diego’s very own Russell Houghten for putting this incredible shot of the 805 in his latest short for Red, Urban Isolation. Incredible shots of LA skate.

Big ups to Matuse family members Chris Burkard and Pat Millin for this small film from their travels to Norway this past winter. Enjoy.

Morning sesh from Sol Raiz Organics on Vimeo.

Big ups to Sol Raiz Organics and Matuse family member/president Kenny Stittsworth for reppin the Ichiban in their latest edit. Kenny’s suit of choice this past winter was the Tumo Hooded 43. Erik Derman killing it with the camera skills. Much respect to these two talented dudes. Go out and grab some Peruvian Quinoa and Maca before your next surf.

All Of The Lights from Hadaya Turner on Vimeo.

Directed by Hype Williams.

Photos: Mikala Jones

Matuse Family Member, Mikala Jones, recently sent over some images of Ogoh Ogoh’s for Saka in Melasti. Saka is the Balinese Hindu New Year. Nyepi is the “Day of Silence” observed on New Year’s day. The 3 days leading up to Saka are filled with prayer and rituals on the beaches. Then the night before New Year’s day there is the Ngrupuk parade. Ogoh Ogoh’s are normally mythological beings or demons made for the Ngrupuk parade. Their main purpose is to purify the environment of any evil spirits and also pollutants emitted from the activities of humans. After the parade the Ogoh Ogoh are taken back to each village and burned. Then at 6am Nyepi starts and the whole country shuts down for 24 hours. No lights, no fires, no talking, no eating and no one on the streets. Everyone stays indoors in the dark to reflect and meditate. Even the international airport and non-Hindu people observe this tradition. A very colorful and interesting time of year in Indonesia.

Congratulations to the UAPO surf foundation for a successful contest held last weekend at the famous San Miguel point break in Ensenada, Baja, Mexico. With 50+ competitors in the water UAPO was blessed with clean head high San Miguel peelers. Saturday saw the 1st stop of the US/Mex school surf circuit. The final for this will be held at Mission Beach, San Diego in June, date TBD. Sunday saw the Walter Caloca Open held in the perfect head high point waves where local Ensenada surfer Kevin Meza won the contest and made is home town proud. Kevin placed 2nd the day before qualifying him for the San Diego contest set for June.

UAPO stands for United Athletes of the Pacific Ocean and is the first bi-national surf organization created by Alfredo Ramirez. UAPO looks to provide quality competition for Latin American and Mexican surfers while also providing a platform for cultural exchange between all Pacific surfing communities. To learn more about UAPO visit their official website at http://www.uaposurf.com/.

Matuse Family Member, Michael Muller, giving us a behind the scenes look of a recent photo shoot of Jimmy Chin for the cover of Outside Magazine. Shot on location in Death Valley. Big ups to Mike for sporting the new Matuse Ichiban Kanji shirt due out this summer. You can check out his website to see more of his work at http://www.mullerphoto.com/#/.

Matuse Family Member, Michael Muller, giving us a behind the scenes look of a recent photo shoot of Jimmy Chin for the cover of Outside Magazine. Shot on location in Death Valley. Big ups to Mike for sporting the new Matuse Ichiban Kanji shirt due out this summer.

Photo: Michael Kew

Remember Occy ripping Saint-Leu in those old Billabong videos? Or the recent footage of Jordy and crew in Modern Collective? Or the fact that the ASP has staged pro contests there? Oui, that’s reason enough to hop halfway around the planet to Réunion, kids.

– Michael Kew