Breaking Ice

My computer is covered in orange post-its, dosed in black permanent sharpie. My sink is full of dishes and my apartment is in a hurricane of confusion and filth. In a strange and unexplainable way I’m now in my happy place. It’s the final turn in my final edit for Breaking Ice, the long cut.

I’ve veered from the blog for almost a week. A week that included a stint of 30 hours without sleep, being lost in the woods in Tantallon and watching over sized muscle-heads beat each other senseless. I even got paid for it. An interesting career I’ve chosen indeed. And after finishing these unorthodox assignments it’s been back to my layer of creative confusion I call home to go to war with surf on film. That being said I am happy to announce that within two weeks Breaking Ice will be heading to a post house for final color correction, final audio mix and then hopefully I can put this beast to rest. Never question my commitment to the cause, the culture that some of us are trying to preserve. The east coast surf culture that I was welcomed into almost three years ago. This is my gift back to you, so enjoy. I’ll see you in the water.

I checked the clock again and I was right. 12:32 in the am, Thursday morning and that was two hours ago already. I’ve just begun…

…I ventured from home around 11:00 in the morning to catch up with an old friend, Andrew Hunter. Singer, songwriter and surfer. I caught his performance at the Seahorse the week earlier and wanted to say hello…

…Andrew leaned in to refill my tea. “I wrote that one a while ago, but we just got it to where it needed to be.”

[Story and Gallery continues...]

Continue Reading »

photo courtesy SBC Surf magazine

I was out early the other morning, hunting around Halifax for a video camera. After losing faith in all appliances electronic I found myself wandering onto Blowers Street and into Dacane’s Surf Shop. Owner/operator and surf local Lance Moore was inside. I yelled as I made my way forward. I interrupted his reading but he seemed happy enough to see me. I had some questions about a used board I found for sale and he assured me the price was right.

I asked what he was reading and he passed me the new edition of SBC Surf, Canada’s surfing magazine. It just hit the stands. I started scanning through, and Lance grabbed it from my hands. He flipped it two thirds of the way through and there it was. Malcolm Johnson, SBC Surf Editor had caught the premiere of Breaking Ice: The Birth of a Canadian Surf Culture, and found fit to find a place in his magazine for his thoughts on my documentary.

 

When the lights went down for Breaking Ice, more than a few squares in the audience must’ve wondered what had hit them-their festival screen had suddenly been given over to wipeouts and cutbacks and noserides and freezing arse winter waves, all of it narrated by middle-aged men who, though seemingly normal, had built their lives around the outwardly insane pursuit of surfing in conditions cold enough to glaze inches of ice onto the rocks. Breaking Ice ended to a thunderous round of applause…”

Call it an ego boost, excitement or even a bit of vanity, but it’s always good to know others appreciate your work. I haven’t wiped the grin from my face yet.

The magazine is gorgeous. Great photography, well thought out articles, including pieces from local surfers Nico Manos and Neal Durling and an article on Maine transplant Dean Petty. To say the east coast of Canada is represented in this magazine is an under statement. Keep it up Malcolm, and hopefully instead of twice a year you can do this thing once a month.

I’m up late again, neglecting my usual four hours of solid sack time. My coffee consumption is hitting an all time high and my eyes occasionally lose focus. Not a good thing when your main source of income comes from looking through a camera lens. Then again any project worth doing is at least worth driving yourself to the brink of insanity in the process. And there is a light at the end of the tunnel, the extended version of “Breaking Ice”.

We’re aiming at a forty-four minute version of what began as an eighteen and a half minute short documentary. And I can’t wait for you all to see some of the great treasures we came across on our journey. I know there are still quite a few of you who haven’t seen the original, and there will be opportunity to see it again. But the extended version will be stacked! More insight on this unique culture of ours told by those people who’ve shaped it, more great music by local surfers and more surf footage that will knock your booties off! Stay tuned and thanks to all of you that have taken an interest in preserving and growing our culture. I hope you’re as excited as I am.

Be sure to look for these upcoming stories on breakingice.ca:

1. Nova Scotia’s next big surf band Andrew Hunter & the Gatherers

2. Scott Forbes, one of Nova Scotia’s most versatile surf artists

3. Announcements about the Canadian ISA world surf teams

and if you have any story ideas, let me know. I’ll try and make them happen

Cheers

Mike

It’s March. It’s cold, grey and down right depressing…so what the hell are these people doing in the water. Over two years and I’m still piecing it together. I want to know what it’s about. Maybe you’ve seen me. Camera, make shift weather bag and a rosey red bald head. Maybe a touch of frost bite. I’m Mike.

The pioneers of Canadian surfing had a story to tell. Together we created “Breaking Ice”, the birth of a Canadian surf culture. A documentary that premiered as an official selection at the 2007 Atlantic Film Festival.

I’ll be posting here daily about world and Canadian surfing news, and the people that have made the culture and community thrive. Have any travelling stories? What about photos or video of your best rides? Here’s your outlet. Breakingice.ca, the blog of a Canadian surf culture.