onetoomennie

I have been interested in art since I can remember, I will not say that I understand art or am in any way educated in the subject. However, I have always loved to draw and paint and create little things, most of which may well be rubbish, but they have been mine and I reckon art is a personal thing…..I enjoy it, I like it, it makes me happy, who wins?…….me.
Anyway, I picked up a book in my favourite shop in the world, ‘Real Groovy’ Record Store in Auckland about 5 years ago which changed my life. It was an Ed Templeton book called ‘The Golden Age of Neglect’. The book looked more like a magazine and was basically full of photos of ‘youth culture’. I have never related to anything so much before i picked up this book. Im not saying that this book was an exact image of my youth, but it was real for me and I stood in that shop for at least an hour looking through the pages in awe, kinda remembering and kinda dreaming that this was a diary of my youth.
This photo is one of Ed’s shots that I really love, not sure why, I just do…….

about to get clobbered by a little main beach double up, Byron Bay. Photo by Mia.

So we finally got a teaser put together for Children of the Norn. We had this little idea when we got back from our travels in January once we saw how many people are surfing well around here now. It took us a couple of months to get a new camera, and it has been pretty slow getting footage together when we are not working and there is a bit of swell. But its finally coming together. We are aiming to have the short film (maybe 30-40minutes) finished by the end of summer, if we get some waves! The track on the teaser is from a sick little band from Lisburn called ‘The Couth’, check them out…. http://www.reverbnation.com/thecouth

Yesterday, my brother Alastair paddled from the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland to Islay, Scotland. He was the first (and i’m sure the last) person to ever try or accomplish this incredible feat……
Well what can I say about yesterday?…… Literally any time Al steps foot in the ocean he impresses me, but yesterday, I witnessed the single most impressive display of fitness, determination, endurance, stubbornness, and skill I have ever seen from any human being. On a beautiful sunny day with a small swell running, I had imagined Al to be up for a very long (possibly a little boring) paddle across very calm water. I couldnt have been more wrong. Yes the sun was shining, but for the most part of that epic 9+hour paddle, the water was anything but calm. Between the causeway coast and the Scottish island of Islay, enormous bodies of water are moving against each other, add in the effect of tidal movements and a stiff wind, and what you get is a pretty hectic stretch of water, to say the least! Hats off to Al and everyone who helped out. Im am very proud to have a superhero like Al as a brother!!!

water water everywhere

water, sugars and food (and plugging the sponsors)

Within 2 miles of Islay, Scotland

spent but buzzing

My own wee treat after 12 hours on the boat.....Islay's own Bowmore single malt scotch, nae tae bad!

2 recent surfs with 2 mates at home…

We have been scoring some real good waves and been hanging out with good mates that we haven’t seen in ages.  Melanie has got her campervan up and running again now, so I am looking forward to a lot of little surf trips up and down the coast!!!   This video, and the thought of making one back home gets me excited about the months ahead!

Shepard Fairey, one of my favourite artists and the genius behind OBEY Clothing, paints Asbury Park, New Jersey.

We just had our first trip to Lombok. Wow, what an amazing place! Lombok lies to the east of Bali and to the west of Sumbawa. It is a mainly Muslim country and therefore a little different to Bali. We had an awesome trip along with our friend John, and met some of the most beautiful, friendly and welcoming people ever. The more I travel around Indonesia, the more I start to see how Bali is losing its ‘paradise tropical island’ image which it has always been famous for.
Right now, an international airport is under construction near the tiny village of Kuta, South Lombok. I imagine that it wont be long before the whole area is taken over by the same huge hotel complexes which cover the more beautiful parts of Bali. The pristine beaches will always be there (hopefully) but right now they are still empty and free to explore. South Lombok was what I expected to find the first time I travelled to Bali. Get there if you can, quick!
Oh, and the waves are pretty sick!

Our latest video, filmed in spring time in Australia just before we left the country. Now chilling in Indo and scoring some good waves before we head home to cold dark days and thick wet wettys…

This is one of Stephen Scullion’s shots from back home in Ireland a couple of years ago, on a sick little 6’2″ from Rosy.  Just realised that I haven’t surfed at home since 2009.   Getting excited about it now, I know i’m gonna freeze my balls off but I cant wait to see my family and friends and score some of my favourite little beachys and reefs!

shipquay st. from andrew mennie on Vimeo.

After spending a month in indo surfing some seriously shallow and sharp reefs without any serious injuries, I was frothing about getting back to Aus to pull into some nice easy sand bottom barrels. On Monday a new swell lit up the wreck in Byron. Melanie, our friend Alex and I were all over it. It was low tide and super sucky. I took off on a little shoulder high drainer, pulled into the barrell but it outran me, as usual I was sucked over the falls, not a big deal, but somehow whilst going over the falls, my board smashed me in my mouth, really hard. I thought ‘shit, i might be bleeding a bit’. When I popped up there were 3 guys looking at me jaws dropped. I looked down and saw that my chest was covered in blood and there was blood pouring out of my mouth. I managed to wave Melanie out of the water, who took one horrified look at me and said ‘dont look at it’ and ‘hospital now’. We abandoned Alex (sorry mate) and drove straight to hospital. Still in my wetty and covered in blood I received a few worried looks from people we passed en route to A+E.
The doctors and nurses were amazing, and after an hour or two they had managed to stitch my mouth back together. 14 stitches around my bottom lip to reattach it properly, and 4 more in the other corner of my mouth which was split as well.  Out of the water for a while and eating anything that I can suck up a straw.
Lesson learned?……..nope

Its whaling season again, and unfortunately the cetaceans are under threat again. Sea Shepherd are a non-profit organisation fighting to end whaling forever. Join the fight or at least check out their website and raise awareness…

http://www.seashepherd.org/

Just got back from indo, and as usual, it was awesome. Scored some super fun waves, met heaps of old and new friends, had some wild nights, got a few new scars and survived a few sketchy boat and car journeys. Here are a couple of shots from the trip. More photos and a little video to come………. Thanks to Hayley Fisher for the ‘wallet drop’ and ‘mini-boost’ photos.

Sick little vid of Rosy Skatepark in Derry!!!

This is Melanie’s latest movie. I think its the best yet, such good filming angles with sick backdrops and foregrounds! Well done Mel, you rock!!!

Mia is a Pharmacist/Photographer/Crazy Bitch from Germany who is currently living in Byron Bay. She has been taking some really cool pics and I reckon her future in photography looks bright. There are 2 of her shots below, we have better ones but this is just a sample for now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-Cv792abW4&feature=related

Life in Byron Bay right now is epic! It is now autumn, and although the days are a little shorter, the sun is still shining, the waves still pumping and I can still surf for 4 hours in boardies and a t-shirt. The bustling town is still……… bustling and we can watch live bands every night of the week if we want. After 3 very quiet months (lack of waves and atmosphere) up in Noosa, we couldnt be in a better or more beautiful place than Byron Bay right now. Heavy beachy barrels and one of the best sand bottom points I have ever seen. Welcome to PARADISE!

“Actually I don’t remember being born, it must have happened during one of my black outs.”
Jim Morrison

beautiful, sunny, drunken, hippie, beachy, musical, sharky, fun BYRON BAY……

One of the great things about young people is that they do question, that they do care deeply about justice, and that they have open minds.
Zack de la Rocha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC5vY83x2Wc

My friend Coady is a Cornish Pirate who just arrived in Australia, he came to stay for a few days of surfing, quarry jumping and general debauchery. Since it was his first time here I thought it would be best to steer him clear of the local weak beers and introduce him to Buckfast! Maddness ensued, you can see some clips from his genuinely piratey visit on my next vid coming soon…
This is Coady and Mel modelling a fine #1 bottle purchased in Byron Bay.

A short vid from a couple of weeks ago during a fun swell at noosa. Met Shirley at Lennox, what an epic lady! Thanks for the tune!

“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.”
Frank Sinatra

I am currently staying in Hervey Bay, southern Queensland. 20 miles away, rivers are bursting their banks and houses are being inundated with water. Over 200,000 people are directly affected by this tragedy, with thousands of people being evacuated from their homes and losing everything to the flood waters. Today, it is raining once again and the people of Queensland still cant see the end. I have seen the heartache caused by natural disasters such as this one, but I have never seen such a strong nation, stick together and remain positive through such difficult times. I am truly impressed.
Help the victims of Queensland’s worst disaster in recorded history with a donation to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal.

Follow this link for more details about how to help.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/donate-to-queenslands-flood-victims-20110107-19hyx.html

This wee vid was filmed in November. Goddamn endless rain!!! This is footage from a few sessions in pretty average conditions inbetween downpours. Lennox, Byron, Sunshine Beach, Coolum. Music by Busta Rhymes.

Look at these legends. Floods everywhere, people drowning, their whole city is being evacuated, up to their chest in water, but still clinging onto their cans of Bundy rum and coke!

Just started this site, and to be honest, I have been ripping my hair out trying to understand how it works! It is still pretty small but it will grow with time.
Enjoy your new years celebrations!
Boom!

Christmas banter. Music by Andrew Wilson.

“You can spend the money on new housing for poor people and the homeless, or you can spend it on a football stadium or a golf course.”
Jello Biafra

“If you don’t think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD’s and burn them.”
Bill Hicks

This wee vid was filmed in November. Goddamn endless rain!!! This is footage from a few sessions in pretty average conditions inbetween downpours. Lennox, Byron, Sunshine Beach, Coolum. Music by Busta Rhymes.
Christmas vid coming soon….

This was a sick trip to a spot in NSW, after seeing the spot on a recent surf movie, I found it on google earth, watched the charts for a few weeks and had a guess that conditions might be right for it. It is about 5 hours away from where we were based in Queensland so I was pretty nervous about ringing Mike and convincing him that it would be worth the drive. Considering none of us had been there before and were guessing that it might be ok, I think the gamble payed off!

The first video from our Australia trip. Footage from July to September of my initial recovery and learning how to surf again. Progress was slow but steady. Thanks to Mel for all the support and the filming.

A trip back up to noosa resulted in some low tide barrels and a night of debauchery with good friends. This is my favourite shot from the weekend……..Mike at 9am dealing with his hangover Devon style…………ROCK n ROLL!

As I’m new to this blogging game, I cant say whats gonna become of this blog, maybe a few people will look at it, maybe people will hate it, I dont really give a fuck to be honest but if I make one person feel something, then I guess thats pretty cool for me.  I might express my creativeness, I might piss and moan about absolutely nothing in particular, I might inspire someone, I might anger everyone, but it seems I can do whatever I want, so fuck it, lets see what happens………….IT IS WHAT IT IS…………………