In my youth, I was often labeled a “surfer” based on the
fact I had long blond hair, I wore surfer clothing and a majority of my friends
were in fact real surfers. I spent
a great deal of my free time hanging out at the beach, paddling out and riding
waves. I learned how to surf in high school and later sharpened up my skills in
college by taking surfing electives. The “A’s” helped boost my GPA and the
units went towards graduation but more importantly the class motivated me to be
in the ocean 3 days a week and I really needed that. I appreciate the ocean and
I appreciate the scene however I never fully dedicated myself to the sport. To
this day I have never owned my own surfboard and/or my own wetsuit therefore in
my mind I am not a surfer.
I have always loved surf culture. I enjoy following the trends, the brands, the professionals, the artwork and the history of all things surf. Cavotu (est. 2005) has always been dubbed a lifestyle brand long before the phrase became a hip cliché used by the masses. My inspiration for the brand today is still drawn from surf/skate/California culture.
In 2006, I rounded up a few surfers to be a part of the first Team Cavotu. (Parker, Prunckle and Boyle in the photos above and below) I honestly had no idea what I was doing (still don’t to this day- cheers to consistency!) but I knew sponsoring young talented athletes was a great way to get the Cavotu name out there. Around this time a major shakedown went down in the surfing industry with the closure of Clark Foam. You can read all about it here but it really was a big deal. Now that we had a Surf Team it seemed like the perfect time to release a “surf” tee. I coined the phrase “get barreled” and “stay vicious” shortly after.
I became obsessed with drawing barrels and taking pictures of barrels. I was researching all types of barrels from old school wine barrels, to rusted out oil drums to silver beer kegs etc. I watched endless hours of surfing videos as I fantasized about what it felt like to be inside the tube aka getting barreled. A “barrel” in surfer terminology is where the wave is hollow when it is breaking, for some surfers it’s the be all and end all of surfing, and sometimes called a “tube.” The Nolan tee was the design that emerged during all this madness.
Asher Nolan was a professional surfer that I befriended in one of my court ordered (yes I have been to jail, yes more than once, don’t judge me) classes back in 2002. Nolan rode for Hurley, got paid to travel the world and surf everyday. We were both in our early twenties so our weekly conversations were short and meaningless mostly about surfing, partying, and girls. I wanted his life. I am pretty sure he didn’t want mine. When it came down to naming the “get barreled” design, Nolan was the first word that came to mind.
Since the Nolan tee was released in 2006, I have often gone back and forth with the idea of designing a new version with the same “get barreled” tagline. More often than not, I am never 100% satisfied with my artwork hence the major delays/procrastinations/excuses as to why I have not released more products with more frequency. I will admit in retrospect, the Nolan was not my favorite design. My fans, supporters, friends ate this one up and the limited edition run easily sold out despite the fact that I never fully loved it. The story on the other hand is great; great as in everything made sense. So the idea of a new version has always remained in the back of my mind…
I realize that everything in the fashion game has usually been done at least once in one form or another so I am not taking this one personal but I do find it rather amusing. I would easily argue that I bet the story behind this tee, whatever it might be, is far inferior than the story behind the Nolan tee but regardless I came across this earlier today while looking thru the latest catalog from Swell.
The “gettin barreled” tee is offered in 3 different color ways and is part of the 2013 Spring Men’s line for RVCA. I have been a fan of RVCA since their humble beginnings. Pat Tenore, founder, seems like a real genuine dude. RVCA was purchased by Billabong a couple years ago so they are definitely setup for the future when it comes to financial backing. RVCA now has the opportunity to take their brand to the next level to which they have and continue to do so.
All this talk about surfing, designing shirts, ideas, telling stories…it really puts a smile on my face. I have been told that I have nice teeth and that I should show them off more often. There are quite a few things I don’t do anymore and smiling was added to that list for some stupid reason. I raise my glass of water to you my friends, here is to the future, here is to the future, cheers!
Cavotu (the word and the logo) is a registered trademark. However I have never trademarked or registered any of my phrases/taglines but I have an extensive hard drive of original Cavotu designs. I also make a habit of mailing my own personal artwork to myself and never opening it; therefore it is sealed and dated by the postmark.
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