Last Thursday night a crowd of over 100 people came out for the launch of The Vertical, our special collaborative edition created with Patagonia to celebrate East Coast climbing and beyond. Patagonia’s Jeff Johnson shared his photographs from recent trips, while climbing enthusiasts downed Vita Coco and beer from 6 Point Brewery. Here are some party pix if you missed it. And be sure to visit Patagonia’s Meatpacking store (414 14th Street, NYC) to pick up your free copy of the The Vertical, or read it online here. Photos by Brian Uyeda.

When we’re in Montauk, we’re at Jimmy Goldberg’s—the best, and only ding repair in town—more often then we’re actually in the water. It was no surprise, then, that in the hours we spent watching our boards get bandaged back to life, that Jimmy—who’s life experience could be measured by how many ships he’s had to sink with the Coast Guard on his trail—became our default therapist. In this ongoing column, Jimmy waxes poetic on love, life, and surf etiquette while we furiously take notes.

What’s the best way to get psyched again when you keep eating shit in the water?
Try a new board, put a different fin on your board or try someone else’s board. Fresh foam is always exciting. To this day I ride this piece of shit board, but I have these other boards waiting in the wings for when the waves are good. Then I get super-duper excited. Surfing is the only sport I know of that you run to. You don’t run to a baseball game or to play tennis, but when there’s freaking waves I drop everything and get in my car. I never speed, but I don’t talk to anybody – don’t bother me…see ya.

Is chatting with your neighbors in the lineup a no-no?
I chat with some of my friends, but only my real close surfing friends. I’m pretty goddamned focused out there. Even when I’m talking to someone I’ve been surfing with for 30 or 40 years, I always have one eye on the horizon. If he stops to tell me how to make a million dollars and I see a wave coming, I’m going to take the wave before he gives me the answer.

Should women ever make the first move?
Yes. Absolutely. What’s the difference if a guy or a girl makes the first move? Nobody wants to get shut down, but opportunity only knocks once. What’s the old saying? “You throw enough shit on the wall and some of it’s going to stick.”

We keep getting dumped by local boys, what’s going on?
Count your lucky blessings. All I know is that when I was young, I never dumped any girls. There were hardly any around. Now they’re freaking everywhere. Why would you bring a sandwich to a schmorgesborg? That’s pretty chauvinistic, huh?

Maybe the sandwich is better than what’s at the schmorgesborg?
Could very well be. If someone has a great girlfriend that they really care for it doesn’t even matter. You still go to the schmorgesborg, but you just look at the food. Guys are always looking at that food.

Is it ever OK to say “shaka”?
I tend to do the opposite of what people are doing. When they start doing the shaka, I give them the peace sign. And when they do the peace sign, I give them the finger. Not the middle finger, but just a finger. I go against the grain. I was telling my friend in the water yesterday that everyone was getting lean and trim and fit. Not me: I’m getting fat and soft.

What happened to the last guy that tried to start another ding repair in Montauk?
I asked the guy if he was doing dings. He said, “Why?” I said because it’d be pretty difficult to surf with no hands. No, really, if people want to do it they can try, but it’s hard to make money off of it and to get set up. But if someone can get set up, we’ll probably join forces, and compare notes…and then I’ll cut his hands off. No big deal.

Collectively, the Malloy brothers—Chris, Keith and Dan—have traveled the world over countless times searching for great waves. Successful in the mainstream surf industry, they transitioned early on for a more holistic and purpose-driven sponsorship relationship, as Patagonia ambassadors. Also thriving movie-makers, their company Woodshed Films boasts celebrated titles, like 180° South, Come Hell or High Water, and Sliding Liberia. All their traveling may explain why we never tracked Chris down (call us!); but Keith and Dan tell us that these days, exploring locally (each live within seven miles of each other and their parents, near Ojai, CA), is where they’d rather be. We talked to the brothers about food, farming—which they grew up doing on a small scale—and filmmaking. (Photo: Jeff Lipsky)

KEITH

Where are you, right now?
In Lompoc, it’s like an hour north of Santa Barbara. [My family and I] all live pretty much in a seven-mile radius of each other, but I’m actually moving a little farther away.

So, you’re the middle child among the boys: Did you ever have the “middle child” syndrome?
I’ll tell you what I have: Dan and Chris are very talkative, and I think I’m more reserved. I don’t know if that has to do with being the middle child or not. But those guys will talk your ear off for hours on end and make conversation with almost anyone they can. I’m pretty much the opposite. I don’t know if that has to do with being the middle child or not.

Chris and Dan were born, respectively, December 21st and December 22nd, so…I think they have more similar personalities. I was born in March. I never really believed in that stuff, but if I think about it, they definitely are much more alike and they look a little more similar in ways.

What did you think about California’s Prop 37 to label foods if they are genetically modified? Did you vote on that?
I did. I definitely think that food should be labeled. I mean, that’s just simple. Why not know what you’re eating? Unfortunately, it didn’t go through, but I think it would’ve been great; it made a lot of sense. Dan and Grace were really fighting hard on that one, and I agreed with them 100 percent.

Do you think there’s anything people can do at this point to try and get something like that passed?
The fact that it nearly did is a good sign. I think that things will continue to move in that direction. In the meantime, you probably just want to buy your food at local places, where you know where it’s coming from and what it’s all about. If they would have passed 37, then it would have been touching a lot people that weren’t really concerned or aware of [the issue].

Do you think there’s something in particular that the surf community can focus on as far as surfing responsibly or lessening their impact on the environment?
Environmentalism has turned into a funny word. For me, it’s all about just doing things that are common sense, you know? Times have changed—when our grandparents were alive you could pretty much get away with doing whatever you wanted to the environment. These days, it’s changing, and everyone’s got to make sensible decisions on what they’re doing and what they’re leaving behind, and be mindful of it. I think part of the reason I’m aware of it more is because I’m in the ocean, and the ocean is one of the first things that gets tainted when it comes to emissions—or everything winds up in the ocean. How can you not think about trying to keep the planet clean when you’re actually submerged in the first thing that gets affected when there’s pollution?

If you’re a surfer, get involved in any of your local organizations that are trying to keep the water clean and be mindful of what you’re doing; make sensible decisions on what you use and where it goes.

Is there any one organization in California that you’re involved in?
Surfrider is an obvious one, but every community has their own grassroots organizations, so I would look into your own community to see what’s out there. We work with the guys from Save the Waves a lot, and they’re trying to protect breaks, so that’s a good one.

And you’re also collaborating with Patagonia, with all of the great environmental work they do. Were you ever nervous leaving the world of more commercial surf sponsorship and going with Patagonia who wasn’t necessarily proven yet in the industry?
Yeah, we were. It was definitely a risk going with a company that was not established in surfing, and working with them to help create the surf side of things. But we were also sure at that point in our careers, or lives, that we were really excited to step away from the contest surfing and the mainstream fashion. The philosophy of Patagonia just was really attractive—everything they stand for. It is the kind of company we want to work with and be a part of.

What’s your relationship with Yvon Chouinard? I imagine you got to know him well after filming 180° South?
Yeah. Yvon is great, and we’ve done some great trips together, and surfed together quite a bit in California. And Chris, Dan, and I are all good buddies with him—he’s a really fun guy to be around and he still surfs a ton. He is super active. I enjoy every time I get to hang out with him. You know, it is pretty awesome that I’ve been able to do these trips with him, and go surfing with him. He’s got a great sense of humor. I step back from it sometimes and think about who he is and I’m like, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure this guy’s gonna go down in the history books,” and that’s a pretty big deal.

Your film, 180° South, follows the 5,000-mile path Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins took surfing and climbing from California to deep Patagonia. How did the film change from its original concept to when you started filming and editing?
Chris and I had a game plan to the film, but, along with other surf films, there’s a lot of room for the project to take on a mind of its own. I think that’s part of the beauty of doing a documentary-style film: you make a plan and then just see what happens and where—how the dice land, you know?

The same year we were filming the movie, the surf was huge at Mavericks, we got a great swell for that, and then we went down to Chile and a lot of snow had melted on Corcovado, so they couldn’t quite finish the climb, which was a letdown for sure; but you know, but it was one of those projects where you have to keep going. I liked that aspect of it rather than just doing a completely scripted film. It’s just a true adventure, when it’s like that.

You made Come Hell or Highwater a film about the amazing bodysurfer, and a lifeguard at Pipeline for nearly 20 years—Mark Cunningham. Why do you think his story resonates with so many people?
He’s just got a super colorful personality, super kind, and thoughtful, and funny, and nice. So that’s one end of the deal. And on the other side, he’s this incredible bodysurfer—the most renowned bodysurfer in the world, I would say. He was the awesome, nice guy in Hawaii, but he was always walking down the beach in his Speedos with his twin fins. A lot of people were like, “That’s kind of dorky,” you know? “Why would he do that?” But he just continued to do it for 30-some years. Meanwhile, everyone else has figured out how cool bodysurfing really is, how pure it is, and how hard it is to do it the way he does. So he, along with some other Hawaiians, tapped into bodysurfing 30 years before it was cool.

You rode a now infamous 60-foot wave at Mavericks. Have you ever experienced anything that epic since?
It was definitely up there in the top three biggest days of surfing I’ve ever been part of. Even though my brothers and I had been surfing and living in Hawaii, and surfed a lot of big waves, it was still really intimidating how giant that day was. Dan and I were out there together, watching out for each other. It was one of those amazing days where we spent pretty much the whole day in the water, and when we got out we were thankful we were on dry land again and made it through the day because it was a really enormous swell.

Tell me about your relationship with surfing in New York. Have you done it much?
I have surfed in New Jersey and Maine, but I don’t think I’ve ever surfed in New York. My wife is from Vermont, and so we go out and see her parents and then drag her up to Maine and surf; and I’ve gone up to Halifax and Nova Scotia. I love the Northeast and I’m looking forward to surfing it more. Even though I haven’t surfed much in New York, there’s such a great surf culture on the East Coast. The tribe of surfers out there is so enthusiastic and awesome. A lot of the kids in California are too cool for anything—too cool for a surf movie—and to see the positive energy and the enthusiasm on the East Coast is refreshing for me.

Who out of the three brothers is the better surfer?
I would say, Dan. He got into it at an early age and had a natural talent. Dan, overall, could’ve been a world champion, or something like that if he wanted to. Whereas Chris and I, you know that, we both did really well but I don’t think we were ever quite on that level. Chris never did the contests. Dan and I did the contests and we both did well, and then we kind of got disenchanted with the whole thing and stopped doing them. I did a little better professionally than Dan, but I think if he would’ve put his mind to it he could’ve done better than me.

Who do you think is the better farmer?
I think Dan is. He definitely spends the most time doing it. Realistically, though, the girls are probably better than all of us. Especially Dan and Grace. Dan’s wife, Grace, and Carla, Chris’s wife, they’re full-time. Then Chris, myself, and my wife, Lauren, work on horses with cattle. But, I mean, we all help with everything.

(Photo: Chris Burkard)

DAN

Where are you living these days?
I live up in Ojai, which is 50 minutes north of Santa Barbara.

And you have a whole farm “situation” out there, right?
Yeah, it’s definitely pretty small-scale at this point, because we’ve got a lot of other things going on; but my folks have a cattle ranch up here, and my brothers and our wives all live fairly close, enough to help out. My wife and my sister-in-law have something that’s between a garden and a farm. It’s a pretty good-sized plot where they grow organic vegetables, and we have a little farm stand on the weekends. It’s been a new project in the last few years, and it’s been really fun. I’ve been learning a lot.

You grew up in this kind of lifestyle, were you able to implement what you learned as a kid, today?
That kind of lifestyle—manual labor and working outside, doing exactly what my dad did—was exactly the last thing I wanted to do. As soon as I got a taste of surfing, I just wanted to do that everyday. It wasn’t until I was 25 or so, and I had been in the city and involved with the surfing industry for a while, that I started to really wake up to the fact that there’s not really a better lifestyle out there than farming and ranching and working outside. I started to take an interest in it again.

How did your upbringing shape your relationship with food today?
Well, we had horses and gardens, but we didn’t grow up on a full-on farm. It was a couple of acres in the country. So really what’s shaped how I look at food has come in the last 10 years. It’s really come through some of the people that I’ve met, and some of the literature I’ve read, and working with Patagonia, and Yvon Chouinard’s stance on food and how that affects us. About six years ago, I read an interview with [farmer and author] Wendell Berry that affected me pretty heavily—every last thing in the article stuck with me. Since then, I met my wife, who’s been farming for a while. She’s been a huge influence on my involvement with farming. She’s a way better farmer than I’ll ever be, definitely, and I’m just chipping away at figuring it out. So it’s been an evolution in the last 10 years, more than something I’ve been involved with my whole life.

Tell me about the amazing bike tour you did down the California coast this summer.
I’ve also been fascinated by the idea of getting in that traveling state of mind, but I feel like there’s so much more to learn at home that you can apply to your life, your family. So I wanted to experiment with ways to get into that frame of mind at home. I was talking to my friend Kellen Kean over a few beers, and I was like, “Hey, how fun would it be to just get on our bikes and ride down a big chunk of the California coast, and then document the whole thing, and surf as much as we could, and stay at farms and with craftspeople, and spend a month and a half on the road?” It was one of my many pipe dreams, but Kellen was really excited about it, and before long we were packing up and taking off from about a hundred miles north of San Francisco in Point Arena. There were three of us altogether: my friend Kanoa Zimmerman, a still photographer; Kellen, a videographer and still photographer; and myself. We got a ride up there and got dropped off and spent just about two months riding down the coast and working and documenting it.

What is it about traveling that’s so important to you?
I don’t know, exactly, it’s kind of a mystery to me, and it bugs me sometimes that hitting the road will awaken me so much. I wish I could feel that vibrant when I’m at home every day, but for whatever reason it just makes me feel really good to be on the road. To be honest, my goal is to access that frame of mind at home because there are just as many great adventures to be had right here, within 100 miles of my house or less. I’ll probably travel quite a bit for the rest of my life, but how to integrate that same kind of deal and be home more is actually my goal.

You’ve done a lot of trips to remote areas. Have you ever found a way to give back to the communities you experience while traveling?
I did a trip to Liberia, and I don’t know, it’s always been a bit awkward for me to show up in a really remote, poor place and feel like, “Here, we have some answers for you, and we’re gonna help you.” A lot of the trips I’ve been on have been surf trips, so we’re there doing this kind of selfish thing, and it’s always made me feel a little bit awkward to travel overseas and try to help other people. I feel much more comfortable working on things at home. I know it’s kind of strange, I’d love to just give you the answer that I’ve done a bunch of AIDS work overseas, but I’ve never felt that comfortable in that situation. I feel like there’s so much to learn in these places; but to show up with a bunch of answers has always felt awkward.

Tell me about your relationship with your brothers, do you feel like you’re a collaborator with them?
Yeah, we definitely collaborate a ton. We have since we were kids, and we have all stuck together with everything we’ve done. When it comes to surfing and the films and all that stuff, we spend a lot of time together, working on those projects. We bounce everything off of each other, so it really is a team effort. It’s worked out really well so far; not to say that we always get along perfectly, but in the grand scheme of things it works well. We’re pretty honest with each other: If we don’t like something or if it doesn’t feel quite right, we can tell each other. Working on the books and films together is an interesting process. I didn’t know if we’d be done with that stuff by this point, but we’re having a lot of fun with it, so I think we’ll continue to make stuff that hopefully we’re proud of.

So was it always this fluid, or as the youngest, did you get bullied?
I was quite a bit younger. Chris and Keith used to brawl when they were growing up—no punching in the face, that didn’t happen in our house. My brothers were both big, so I didn’t get bullied that much when I was growing up; but I definitely didn’t have too many choices, at the same time. In my family, nobody called shotgun, it was just seniority, and that’s how it’s always been. I didn’t really talk back because my brothers were way bigger. Now that we’re getting older, and all about the same size, things get questionable every once in awhile, but for the most part we all stay in line.

You left more mainstream sponsorship deals to work with Patagonia. That must have been an exciting opportunity, but were you nervous at all?
Yeah, that was interesting. A huge part of me wasn’t nervous at all because I was disillusioned with the industry and the way it worked. I just realized we were making kind of crappy clothes, and we were sort of glorified t-shirt salesmen; and if we’re going to be glorified t-shirt salesmen, we might as well sell some good t-shirts. I was bummed when the smoke started to clear and I realized that we were just a big part of a mess. From that aspect, when the Patagonia deal started to come together, I did not flinch for a second. There’s so much respect for what the brand was about. I really looked up to what they were doing for a long time, and even more so after my experience in the industry.

Then there was a side of me that was totally nervous, as far as seeing 50 other big brands—not surf brands—in other industries try to break into surfing. They never pull it off. It’s always like a bad dream: you see the clothing, you see the ads, and you’re just like, Oh my god—so that side of it was nerve-racking. But the other part of it was such a no-brainer, to be a part of Patagonia. There’s no second thought about the gear they make, and their ethos in general is exactly what we were looking for, and it’s been great.

Have you been out to New York much to surf?
I’ve surfed New York a few times, and I’ve done a couple tours with [filmmaker] Thomas Campbell when he was in New York to show his movies. I also used to pass through on my way to Europe quite a bit for competitions. Being kind of a country kid, I was fascinated by New York.

The East Coast surf scene is really interesting because some of the best surfers in the world are from there. The waves aren’t good quite as often, but when it is good you appreciate it so much. I like to be around people that are really enthusiastic about surfing. When the waves are good, all of my friends on the East Coast who are world-class surfers, surf all day long, and the guys from Hawaii and California will just go out and surf a few waves. If you’re a surfer out there, it’s like the real thing. I’ve heard people say that there’s no such thing as a real sports fan on the West Coast, it’s almost like that a little bit with surfing. Yeah, you have to really want to be a surfer. Whether the water is cold or whatever, the people that do surf have a real community there. They have something that they’re going out of their way to be a part of.

Who out of the three brothers is the better surfer?
I feel like a politician every time somebody asks me that, but we’ve all done different stuff. I mean, Chris for sure has surfed the biggest waves out of all of us—he has paddled into the biggest waves—and he’s the best at big aerials. I think that I’ve got a knack for being able to ride all sorts of different boards—we all just do different things; it just depends on what skill you’re looking at.

Who do you think is the better farmer?
Our wives. Our wives are way better farmers than any of us together. We have a hard time sitting still, so our ADD doesn’t help us too much.

Read The Vertical online HERE.

We love the new microsite they created about Owen Wright where, in this anatomical study of his physique, they highlight his enormous presence compared to his pro surfing peers as well as other professional athletes.

photo: James Katsipis

How did a kid from the Upper West Side get involved in surfing?
I was traveling around and getting to be in places where there’s beautiful water and waves. Not taking advantage of that seemed like a shame. That coupled with the fact that my older son is ocean-obsessed. He’s 9 years old and about to do his first surf competition. So if I wanted to spend anytime with him then I had to learn how to surf.

So your son basically taught you how to surf?
Well, I don’t want that to get back to him. There’s all kinds of egos involved. But I would say he’s more of the inspiration. I can still handle him in the line-up. Let the record state – I can still hold my own against him in a heat. That will not last that much longer.

When did you start going out to Montauk and why?
It was kind of from coming to Malibu that we ended up in Montauk. We spend our summers in Malibu in Point Dune and there are nature reserves. You would never know you’re in a city next to 11 million people. Then we’d come back to New York in September and the kids would be in school after surfing all summer, and we’d kind of be in culture shock. The only thing that we found that was comprable to Point Dune was Montauk.

You had a wine blog for a while. Your reviews were much more fun than the average wine write up. Are there any food or drink items you’ve had in Montauk that are review worthy?
Countless. One of the things that inspired me to blog about wine was some of the great, locally source, quickly put together meals that I’ve had in Montauk. Simple, grilled local fish and veggies from the farmers market. And usually – because of the time of year we’re out there – I generally a White Burgundy or a Chabli wine, which is a sub-region of Burgundy.  That’s about as good as it gets: when you have a little bit of salt air and a little bit of salt water taste in your mouth from being in the water and you’re getting your creatures that you’re eating from right there in the water, and you’re getting your produce from farms that are nearby.

Grand Royal is still one of my favorite magazines of all time. If you ever started another publication, who would be on your dream list of editorial subjects?
That’s a tough one. Maybe it’s because of the time that we’re talking right now—it’s 4 p.m. and I really need an espresso—but I would love to do an in-depth espresso article. I want it on all levels. I want to go traditional Italian. I want to hit the things that are happening with coffee in the U.S., I want to get down to the science and neurology, and what happens when people drink coffee. So, if you have an editor that’s willing to give me ridiculous amounts of expenses to achieve this—I’m going to need a worldwide travel budget to make it happen—I’m willing to do it.

What music do you listen to these days?
I’m always all over the place. I get a little crunk with it. Now that I’m in Malibu, I get a little Neil Young with it. I get a little Santigold with it. I get a little Rusko with it.  I listen to a lot of old music actually.

Would you ever encourage your sons to pursue a career in music?
I have to admit I cringe a little bit at that thought. I just feel like music is a tricky thing. It’s like a last resort. You should only do it if you’re so obsessed with it you couldn’t possibly do anything else. But I guess you could say that about anything creative and in the end I would totally encourage them to do anything and everything in the creative realm. It’s difficult to make it and it takes a toll in terms of doing it and putting yourself out there. It can be a path hard forged, but it can be very rewarding.

What was it like playing CBGB’s for the first time in the 80s?
It was kind of a big deal for us as hardcore kids from NYC. I mean CB’s was legendary. We were too young to have gone to any of the first wave of infamous punk shows there: Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, Blondie, Suicide, Talking heads, etc. But that was the legend that was woven into the stinky, stale-beer-and-cigarette-air of that spot. Plus we were huge Bad Brains fans, and there we were, all of the sudden, opening shows for them there.

Do you ever get writers/creators block and if so how do you alleviate that?
As a band we spent a vast amount of our career in the studio with writer’s block. The only sure fire thing is that you just have to keep showing up. There are moments in your work where things came together really quickly or really seamlessly, where it took no effort at all, then there’s moments where there are things that you’ve trashed time and time again, started something and picked it back up two years later because you couldn’t figure it out, but then somehow it comes together in the end. That’s just as good as those quickly inspired moments – it’s just a lot less fun along the way.

Tell me about the work you’ve been doing down at the Rockaways. What do you think those in New York and otherwise can do now to help those still affected by Sandy?
It’s interesting, for me personally I have never been in a situation that demanded such immediate action. There was no time to think, or take meetings, or plot out. There were real, basic human needs that had to be met. So it was heart first, dive in, start doing, get warm food to people and figure it out as we go.

Rob McKinley and I went out to Rockaway a few days after Sandy. We brought a car full of supplies: batteries, cleaning stuff, boots, etc. It was heartening to see the effective grassroots distribution networks that arose, taking place at the Rockaway Surf Club, Veggie Island, etc. It was good hearted and right-minded people handling business among displaced sand, pieces of boardwalk, and cars strewn about. People’s ruined appliances and lives were literally kicked to the curb.

There was no power, no businesses open, and no hot food for people. [The latter] was one basic need where we felt we could have some impact. So immediately we contacted restaurant friends: Fat Radish, The Breslin, Back 40, Sam Talbot, etc. and started bringing hot meals out from the city. Quickly we realized that by the time we were getting meals to people in high rises, community centers, and churches, it was not so hot. A food truck was needed to provide this rapidly changing landscape with hot meals. All the restaurant people and our friends on the ground helping us out were so amazing, enabling us to feed 500 people, daily. So I guess my take away is: go in first hand. See what is there, and where there are needs, then focus intensely and specifically on what you can do. Don’t be hasty, but do not deliberate at all.

Issue No. 4: The Usual X Patagonia IS OUT NOW!
Read the magazine online HERE. Click HERE to see where you can pick up your copy if you live in NYC.

If you’re a fan from out of town and want to purchase a copy, please paypal info@theusualmontauk.com with your name and mailing address. ($5 USD Domestic, $10 USD International to cover shipping.) 

ABOUT THE ISSUE:

The East Coast has been through a lot lately. Hurricane Sandy devastated much of the New York and New Jersey coastline, leaving us — and the amazing, dedicated, and brave many — picking up the pieces of the areas we know, love, and surf in. That’s why we felt it was more important than ever to bring you Issue 4 of The Usual, our “Bowery and Beyond” edition, to highlight our humble, strong and vibrant surf scene. After the storm, watching friends, neighbors, and strangers rally to rebuild, we’re more proud than ever to call New York home. And even though the debate lives on over whether New Jersey or Rockaway breeds gnarlier surfers, whether Long Beach has the best waves, or if Montauk has the cutest boys and makes the best lobster rolls; at the end of the day, we’re all one united East Coast surf community.
On the following pages, we start on the Bowery, where our favorite company Patagonia will take over the old CBGB gallery to open their first East Coast surf store in early 2013. Just like CBGB’s nurtured New York’s alternative music culture, Patagonia’s shop will be a hub for surfers— the misfits of the global brand. We bring you Mike D, one third of the legendary Beastie Boys, who reached iconic Empire State status not long after playing CBGB’s for the first time; and photographer Roberta Bayley who captured many a rock star at the iconic venue. She shares her day at Coney Island with Joey Ramone, showing us his sporty side. We interview the Malloy Brothers, who epitomize Patagonia’s spirit and commitment to the environment, and who all agree their wives make better farmers than the three of them combined. We ask Kim Diggs, an Outer Banks, NC surf pro, about her first time in the Big Apple; and Balaram Stack, who at last year’s QuikPro in Long Beach showed the world (what we knew all along) that the Atlantic breeds dedicated, and slightly crazier groms. We check out what it looks like—both in and out of the water—to surf in New York from photographer Zak Bush, and writer Malcolm Johnson’s perspectives. Dan Ross, also a Patagonia ambassador, talks about saving our oceans, one plastic bottle at a time.

We hope you enjoy reading about the individuals on the Bowery and beyond as much as we enjoyed talking to them. And if not, at least you’ll have 16 pages of kindling for your fireplace this winter.