What is the thethingswedoforwaves...project? Thethingswedoforwaves...project began as a series of journal entries recorded as personal reflections of surf travel and the experiences inherent thereof. In 2001, I took a trip to South America where I developed the thesis behind the thingswedoforwaves...project. Every journal entry that I recorded began with the heading "the things we do for waves...", almost as a cynical reminder of the recurring absurdities that often arise during traveling times. People, places, smells, sounds and memories are the tactile and reflective experiences of traveling that offer an exotic and exciting feeling. Fittingly enough, surfing invokes these same personal responses and the combination of surfing and traveling has always made forthe most interesting and memorable life long experiences.

In 2003 and 2004 I lived in Australia where my little journal entries began to expand into a full on lifestyle. My Aussie friends and I began quoting our surf trips as "thethingswedoforwaves...". At that point I realized that my journal entries captured the most essential characteristics of surfing. All of the stories involved our motivation, passion, dedication and joyful connection with riding waves, finding waves, and sharing waves. I was unknowlingly recording an enthnography of surfing on a global population.

I began making videos in 2004 within my own little surfing culture on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I was taking a college course on video documentaries and video production and used my interest in surfing as my medium. Hurricane swells, interviews with local icons, and filming surfing all began to visually accomodate my intense journal writing quite well. By the time I went to Hawaii for 2005's winter I was creating a full on multimdeia network of my original idea in South America. Between my journal entries, filming and photography I began to develop what I now call thethingswedoforwaves...project.

I recently returned to Australia in 2006, spending all my time in West Oz where most of my friends live. Some of the photos above sum up the experiences I had on this last trip. I took the time to explore Southeast Asia too, visiting Burma, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. The project is now beginning to take the form of a compilation of surfer's stories while traveling and thethingswedofrwaves continues to be an on going project. This website is in development and will take on many different looks as I add to it, so keep checking back periodically for new photos and videos. If you want to take part or would like to contact me you may do so by sending me an email at www.thethingwedoforwaves@hotmail.com. My name is Sam.

Mission Statement -

We are surfers. We are different people brought together by our affinity for the ocean and the chance to ride its energy. Our pursuit for the perfect sandbar, the uncharted reef pass, and the rare, magical session out at our local break with just our friends, is all just a part of the exploration and adventure of surfing. Whether we wake up in a jungle lodge on a deserted coast or wake up to coffee and offshores in our backyards, these are our experiences, our thrills, our routines, our passions, our sacrifices- these are thethingswedoforwaves...

What is thethingswedoforwaves...?