Jul 27 2023

Scoring Empty Surf

Published by under Uncategorized

With how much surfing has blown up in the last 20 years,  it can be hard to score empty waves even traveling to areas like Mexico and Central America. But if you time your trip well and go to the right areas, you can score empty waves at even well known spots. Recently due to issues with crime and the cartels some areas in Mexico have travel advisories (Michoacan and Sinaloa in particular). It doesn’t mean that the areas are off limits, but if you go you should understand the rules for traveling to areas like these. 1) Plan your trip. Know exactly where you’re going, where you’re staying, how to get there, etc. 2) Take the beaten path. Don’t go off and try to find waves down dirt roads or in remote areas. 3) Don’t pull over for anyone except for military check/police check points. If you get pulled over by the police, drive to the nearest gas station to pull over. 4) Tell people where you’re going and check in with them when you get there. Travel with at least two fully charged cell phones and check to make sure your cell plan works in the country you’re going to get. Get emergency phones numbers for the areas. 5) Don’t drive at night. Surf and stay put. Don’t explore. Don’t go out.

If you follow these rules, you’ll be surprised that even at well known spots, how empty they can be.

Evan Asano and Michael Feather surfing in Mexico

Evan Asano (surfing) and Michael Featherman (paddling) scoring an uncrowded wave in Mexico

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Jun 27 2019

Interview with Surftherenow Founder and Entrepreneur: Evan Asano

Published by under Uncategorized

Surf There Now was founded way back in 2007 as a way to share travel news, tips and reviews for surfers for surf destinations all over the world. We cover Central America, Brazil and Indonesia as well as the occasional shark attack. We even had a few posts went viral (mainly the posts on shark attacks like this one on your risk of dying from a shark attack). Here we interview, Evan Asano, the founder of Surf There Now. Evan Asano founded Surf There Now while living in Venice and surfing Southern California, but he had spent the previous 10 years surfing NorCal with a home base in San Francisco and surfing Ocean Beach but hitting every break between Santa Cruz and Bolinas.

Evan’s inspiration for Surf There Now came after a 3 month trip through Central America where he surfed El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The trip was incredible, but finding info on travel, lodging, breaks online was sparse. Hence the inspiration for Surf There Now.

Evan worked in digital media from 2008 – 2011 when he founded, Mediakix, the first influencer marketing agency. Evan was a leader and pioneer in the space. Instagram had just launched and “influencer marketing” hadn’t even been coined as a word. Over the next few years, influencer marketing grew and soon it became an entire industry. Mediakix has been one of the leaders all along the way. Their blog has grown to a readership of over 200K page views/month and publish on content a full range of content on from YouTube Influencer Marketing and influencer marketing case studies.

What inspired you to start Surftherenow.com? When I traveling through Central America in 2007, the only reliable resource for surf was Wannasurf which gave the absolute minimum amount of information about the break, let alone travel to/from, accommodations, what the area was like, etc. There was lots of word of mouth and combining it with travel guides. I wanted to create a blog and forum for traveling surfers both to highlight cool areas, give tips about travel in these areas and create a community.

Surftherenow was just the first of a few companies you founded. Yes, I went on to found Mediakix, the first influencer marketing agency, founded in 2011. We worked with top brands from Blue Apron, Dollar Shave Club, Proctor & Gamble, Sony, ExxonMobile, Uber and many more. We led the industry and were rated as one of the top agencies by Business Insider in 2020. I’ve since gone on to found another creator economy company, the influencer marketing and talent agency, CreatorX. We work with top influencer talent and brands and also are developing some tech to bring to the market including a simple online media kit to help creators market themselves to brands, RallyDex.com.

What have been your favorite surf trips? I’ve done two trips to Indonesia which is hard to beat. In 2005, I did a boat trip to Northern Sumatra when it was totally off the map. We had epic breaks all to ourselves and didn’t see another boat for days. The Central America trip was incredible also, Libertad, Colorado’s and Pavones were the highlights. Local trips around California and Baja are amazing also. There’s a ton of great camping spot.

What your thoughts on the rise of “Surf Influencers”? I think it’s amazing to see channels like Jamie O’brien (Stay Psyched) and Koa Rothman (This is Livin‘). They’re super entertaining and it’s great to see the behind the scenes behind stuff like the Jaws Contest. The two videos on the Jaws contest are amazing to see how surfers prep, the paddle out and what happens after.

Do you think they’ll be more “Surf Influencers”? For sure, on Instagram there are tons of accounts. I think YouTube is really the next growth area and the vlog style is the growth area for it. Surf is such a natural fit (although filming it well is difficult) because of the different ways to film, travel, culture, and then just great waves.

Do you think resources for surfers have come along since you launched Surf There Now? Yeah there’s a ton more available online. I still don’t think it’s perfect but in a way that keeps it an adventure. For sure resources like YouTube, Instagram, etc. are amazing for scoping our locations. When I launched Surf There Now, the only videos of some spots were grainy, shaky videos. Now you get virtual surf spot reads for nearly everywhere.

Evan Asano has been a thought leader in the influencer marketing space since 2010 with the last launch of one of first agencies. He also was often featured in press and news articles for insights and predictions about influencer marketing including: making the top 100 list of most influential people in influencer marketing, discussing Revolve’s influencer strategy in Forbes, discussing the growth of influencer marketing in the New York Times, collaborating with the Wall Street Journal on a study of influencer sponsorship rates, discussing Instagram’s strategy in competing with TikTok in CNN, and highlighting and industry-revealing case study with fake influencers and brand sponsorships in Adweek.

Evan Asano has been a speaker on influencer marketing at events like Vidcon and Social Media Week. Evan is an also real estate investor with Airbnb and video production spaces & properties in Venice and other Southern California areas.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sep 28 2011

Amazing Video – Baby Great White Shark Rescued by Surfers

Published by under Sharks,Videos

A baby great white shark is caught by fishermen in Venice, California off the pier and brought to the beach. The fisherman and surfers help to pull the hook out and rescue the shark, releasing it back in the ocean. Amazing video. Let’s hope the shark remembers the kindness of strangers when he’s 18 ft long and weighs 2 tons!

One response so far

Sep 04 2011

Unbelievable – Shark Spotted in Wave with Surfers – Swami’s – California

Published by under California,Sharks,Videos

Crazy photo taken on Wednesday August 30, 2011 at Swami’s outside of San Diego California. Swami’s is a popular point surf break in Encinitas. Ralph Collier of the Shark Research Committee estimated the shark to be a 10-12 ft long Great White. No surfer was touched by the shark and few seemed aware of it’s presence.

Shark Swamis Surf Surfer Wave

One of the lifeguards in the news report suggests it’s the leg of a surfer, what do you think shark or surfer? Add your comment below.

Check out all the latest shark news on surftherenow.com here.

6 responses so far

Aug 29 2011

Amazing Slo-mo Footage of Surfing Barrel in Tahiti (High Def) – Billabong Pro

Published by under ASP Tour,Big wave,Videos

The folks at Billabong using the “phantom camera,” an amazing piece of technology that shoots over 1 million frames per second!!!, recorded incredible of pro surfers at the Billabong Pro Tahiti 2011 at Teahupoo, one of the world heaviest, most perfect barrels. This is the most incredible surf footage to date. The footage is mesmerizing. Watch it in HD and maximize the screen.

 

Most Popular Posts:

Incredible HD Footage of Surfer in the Barrel

Clark Little’s Stunning Images of Waves

Diver Fights and Kills 12 ft. Tiger Shark (Photos)

Your Risk of Dying of a Shark Attack

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Nov 03 2010

Andy Irons Tribute Videos

Published by under Andy Irons,ASP Tour

Andy Irons Standing Tall at Teahupoo

Tracks Magazine has put together a compilation/tribute of Andy Irons with interviews from Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater and footage of Andy surfing. RIP Andy. Sincerest condolences to Andy’s family and friends.

Here’s another video by renowned surf photographer, Brian Bielmann.

Andy Irons Tribute from Brian Bielmann from M. Scott Mortensen on Vimeo.

7 responses so far

Aug 16 2010

Huge Teahupoo – Huge Wipe-Outs (Video)

Published by under ASP Tour,Big wave,Videos

The trials at Teahupoo are on, new swell has arrived and the boys are on it. As always, big barrels come with big wipe-outs. Check out these massive wipe-outs including Laurie Towner and Anthony Walsh.

2 responses so far

Aug 13 2010

Great White Sharks on Video at San Onofre

Published by under Sharks,SUP Surfing,Videos

Me my Shark and I from Chuck Patterson on Vimeo.

Chuck Patterson, on a stand-up paddle board at San Onofre, films two juvenile Great White sharks. Great footage.

Check out all the latest shark news on Surftherenow.com here.

6 responses so far

Aug 01 2010

Epic Indo Surf, Barrels at Kandui’s – HD Video

Published by under Indonesia,Videos

Brad Gerlach and crew at Kandui’s and right. Epic, epic, epic. These waves are right in front of Kandui Resort.

ONE KANDUI DAY from FTR Films on Vimeo.

See Other Amazing Posts on SurfThereNow:

Clark Little’s Stunning Images of Waves

Diver Fights and Kills 12 ft. Tiger Shark (Photos)

Your Risk of Dying of a Shark Attack

Incredible HD Footage of Surfer in the Barrel

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Jul 13 2010

Jeffery’s Bay Billabong Pro Top Moments (Video)

Published by under ASP Tour

Here’s a clip of the top moments of the J-Bay Billabong Pro as told by the pro’s.

Webisode 07 – JBay’s Greatest Moments from Billabong on Vimeo.

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