Castles In L.A.

It was definitely a teaser. A flirtatious peep show of what the world looks like through the eyes of two of the surf world’s most innovative lens and video artists. For the past five years Taylor Steele and Dustin Humphrey have been seeking out the worlds most elusive waves in the most exotic of locales. Iceland. Peru. India. Sri Lanka and a myriad of other nooks, crannies and crevices where waves break amid intense culture.

“This is my passion project,” said Taylor Steele who was sporting a solid gash in the head from stitches he picked up during a recent trip to India. “These trips and these movies [Sipping Jetstreams and Castles in the Sky] are the films that we get to see the world in a whole new way. We take risks in making them. Travel long distances on a whim. Say yes when strangers invite us over for tea. That’s what makes them so special.”

The Ricardo Montalban Theatre was flooded with a guest list that included all sorts of surfers, pseudo and not-so-pseudo celebrities, models and surf industry buffs; all of which were all treated to a 10 minute screening of the new flick, as well as the full-length feature: Sipping Jetstreams. Following the movie in the lobby was an electric discoteque of sweat and dance maneuvers on a Modern Collective level thanks to DJ Mathieu Shreyer.

“We’re just hoping these movies inspire you to sip you own jetstreams,” said Dustin Humphrey of the films. And if Primo and Jim Beam were the jetstreams of the night, then people were definitely drinking it in.

[Be sure to take the photographic journey alongside Dustin and Taylor in the pages of SURFING Magazine. Stay tuned for dispatches from Peru, India and beyond.]