A short film shot on the North Shore of Oahu featuring Kalani Chapman, Flynn Novak, TJ Barron,
Bruce Irons, Keali’i Mamala and more.

Directed by Alex DePhillipo
Water Cinematography- Erik Ippel, Alex DePhillipo
Edit- Alex DePhillipo
Additional Cinematography- Freddy Malone
Please Like our Facebook page and get all updates and edits!
Visit darkfallproductions.tv

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Last week I was in good old Huntington Beach again to surf the Katin Pro/Am Team comp. I surfed for team Fox along side good friends Jesse Evans, Che Stang, and Bud Frietas.. Out of the 21 teams we pulled in at a cool 7th place.

Prior to the comp I had a few killer freesurf sessions with the boys at the pier. I stayed at the Shorebreak Hotel, thanks to Chris Drummy at FOX, which over looks the Northside from one of the most styled out rooms I’ve ever stayed in. The view I had each morning was better than any HD surf cam I’ve ever seen!

Having lived in the area for a few years, I received an insane welcome from old friends when I showed up each morning, and we had a couple of the funnest sessions I can remember in some time.. Just goes to show, surfing builds a family of it’s own, and I love to see my brothers and have a battle session or two.. I had a blast! (not to mention it’s been flat here in NJ) Check out some shots from the sessions below..

Pier bowl Rock'n'roll

Che came up from San Diego for the FOX squad

Jesse's made the final at this event before. Being his home spot he was quick to show me where to find some ramps!!

Inside bowl was sick

Ryan Carlson knows how to get some sick shots in H.B. Innovative in front of the pier..

Flying High, trying to get used to the altitude for my long flight back to Jersey.

As a co-producer of the film I am grateful for all the support we’ve received in this project, and I have to say the feeling I get, not only from watching the film, but in reflection on production/premieres/film festival win, is that of the love one can only find from family and friends (often I see as one in the same). We made this film for our peers, and the recognition they deserve, and for our families, as to help them best understand our lives..

The win, and I’ll speak for my brother Alex as well, as excited as we are about it and as respectable a win it is (much respect to Mike, Tyler, and Adam at NYSFF, who pulled off yet another amazing event), was merely icing on the cake to the success we had at home with the people we hold so close to our hearts..

Thank you again for all your love and support and make sure to continue with a vote for “Best Film of the Year” at surferpoll.com. Every Vote Counts! Check out your local surf shops as the film is starting to hit core collections now. Thank you everyone, you know who you are, and so do we!!

Thank You!

Here's a good looking wave.. photo Rich McMullin

I can remember growing up, watching Jim Cantorre on the weather channel. Everything was simple then, local forecast on the 8′s, tropical update every hour, if the storm looked like it was coming close to the coast we were stoked, our home beach would be pumping! Even if it sucked, we didn’t know the difference, it WAS PUMPING!

Should I have driven south? photo:Moran

It’s different now. You can research ANYTHING these days. Swell direction, wind, unspoken-of nooks in the coastline, it’s maddening trying to pick a theory to surf to. With knowledge comes power, right? They never say, with knowledge comes the anxiety that you’re surfing the wrong spot, or that you’ve made the wrong call by driving away from waves, when it’s pumping at home, or vice-versa. They never talk about getting shacked while thinking I could be standing taller in the pit if I had driven another hour, or two, or four…

Where should we shred?

Well, that’s the truth of the matter, and that’s surfing. I guess all perspective based on what you’ve experienced, and what you haven’t. Surfers are always looking to step it up to bigger, wider pits and gnarlier maneuvers.. It’s only natural to be unsatisfied at times. Crap, who am I kidding. I got nothing to complain about, surfing in this age is FREAKIN SICK! Cheers to the boys who’ve found new spots for the shots last run, and here’s to the motivated mind I find again and again in our sport! Now that the clowns in red trunks and their “sackless, no-one in the water and nobody gets hurt” mentality have gone back to Ohio, round here it’s gonna be an interesting Fall!!! What are you plotting?

Some where else is pumping... photo:McMullin

Get that weird feeling! Freak-em-Out!

In the past three weeks I’ve been to CA three times,so sorry for the disconnect.. It’s a lot of work producing a film! Check out my last post about DARK FALL.. Alex DePhillipo and I have ben busy getting this thing ready for all of you!! Our last trip had us on the set of FUEL TV’s “The Daily Habit!” All I gotta say is Pat Parnell is the MAN!!! I’ll keep you posted on when the TV show will air, usually takes two weeks.. For now, keep your earballs open for Alex, Zack, and myself on 102.7FM 8:00 Friday morning, it should be a HOOT!!! In the mean time, check out a little Cali web-clip Alex and I put together!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The World Premiere has been set! July 16th at the House of Blues, the Showboat, in Atlantic City.. Two years in the making, DARK FALL, the NJ surf documentary film, takes you through a year in the lives of professional surfers from the state. Experience the passionate stories told by Dean Randazzo, Sam Hammer, Zack Humphreys, Clay Pollioni, Chris Kelly, Jamie Moran, and Mike Gleason as they bring you into the line-up in some of the best NJ surf ever captured on film. Narrated by yours truly, the film by Alex DePhillipo also showcases NJ surfers, Matt Keenan, Kevin Richards, Randy Townsed, Al Pollioni, Ian Block, Ben Graeff, and Rob Kelly filmed in High-Speed HD with the RED CAMERA courtesy of Robbie Beach at Beach Video. Check out the trailer, and don’t miss the World Premiere this July, it’s going to be this summer’s biggest event!!!

Buy Tickets Here!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out the whacky videos and roster for the event here..

Is this really a surf contest?? Wait, what am I getting myself into?

I love newps

Spring is a killer time of year. Life is rekindled everywhere around us in excitement for the upcoming summer season and it’s not limited to the birds, bees, plants, or trees, everything has a new spark. Businesses re-open when the sun warms the earth and our coastal towns come alive.. The surf, in the past, although not at it’s very best, seems to become consistent with long-lasting SE swell, and as we shed layers with the warming water, the winter surfer progresses after the intense “forced resistance training” endured while wearing full cold weather gear. First the hood, then the gloves, and lighter, more flexible, wetsuits allow for a less restraining, high energy surf session that will only leave you in love with the ocean and the sport. You’ll find yourself saying, “I Love Surfing” much like Randazzo’s last post..

So Happy Spring my friends, see you in the sea..

From hood, boots, and gloves.. -mcmullin

..to boots and gloves.. -mcmullin

All Photos By Rich McMullin & Trevor Moran

Conditions were looking pretty dismal first thing in the morning. The small surf wasn’t even showing up on the wave cams before I left my house to make the northernly trek up to Seaside with my teammates, Jamie Moran, Zach Humphreys, and Ian Bloch. It was no different story when we arrived to the beach for registration, but, the event, and it’s coordinators, had an optimistic plan and a little luck because for the three hours they needed to run the tide was incoming and the consistently pulsing 1-2ft ground swell was at it’s most manageable.

There are two rounds in this event. The first is a round of eight teams, two, one hour, heats of four teams. Each team has four surfers, two shop employees and two shop pros, one team member is in the water at a time. Each competitor  can catch a maximum of three waves with only one (the best) wave score counting toward the teams final tally. Before the heats beginning the team designates a “double whammy” surfer. This surfer is picked on his scoring potential for the day and the conditions. The “whammy surfer” is also limited to three waves, but when he thinks he’s scored to the highest of his potential he lets the judges know by throwing his hands up to double the score (a 5 counts for 10, an 8.5 would be 17). Top four totals out of all eight teams make the final where teams start from zero again and battle for the qualifying position.

After edging out runner-up, team 7th Street, 29.31 to 21.59 in the final, this is the third year running that Heritage has taken home the qualifier and earned an expense paid trip to Huntington Beach for the final, September 13th.  The Surf Shop receives free advertisement in Surfer Magazine, and the team reaps benefit to a list of goodies, including wetsuits, surfboards, and an invite to the Surfer Poll Awards.

We have a consistent formula for running under the format that has only been fine tuned after each passing year, and we’re ready to take it out west again. Not to mention, there is a fire under our asses because of the mishap of not making flights in time to compete as a full team last year due to conflicting schedules and success in later rounds of the 2009 Belmar Pro (Zack Humpreys and I couldn’t make the flight scheduled too closely to the end of the comp). We are making sure everything goes as planned and we make it to the finals, team in tact, to meet some stiff competition in hope to take home the title and the $10,000 prize money! Stay tuned!

One of the bigger waves of the day!

You have to run to and from the "team box" to tag up WWF style. The clock never stops ticking..

In the box awaiting scores to drop while Ian was in the line-up.

See you in the Finals..