Issue 45.1 - Summer 20/21

Zigzag

SA's core surf mag since 1976

Zigzag1 min read
Zigzag
Publisher Andy Davis - andy@zigzag.co.za Guest Editors Will Bendix & Alan Van Gysen Online Editor Sean Kelly - sean@zigzag.co.za Design Studio Kronk - info@studiokronk.com Subscriptions & Surf shops Charlene Mazery - charlene@zigzag.co.za Contributor
Zigzag4 min read
True Grit
In a 1972 issue of International Surfing Magazine, a feature about the state of surfing in South Africa focussed much of its attention on two young cousins from Durban, Shaun and Michael Tomson. Shaun, the article asserted, was probably the better su
Zigzag4 min read
Renaissance Woman
First memory of being in the water? I was six years old and my dad pushed me onto my very first wave at Tofo, in Mozambique. I was riding his 9’0 pink Natural Curve longboard – we still have that board! I fell in love with surfing and have been in th
Zigzag3 min read
Crab Island
Kakuni means 'crab' in Maldivian. We named this wave after the infestation of crabs on the island off which it breaks. The whole island floor seemed to undulate with the critters, to the point that they’d climb up your legs if you stood still for too
Zigzag11 min read
End Days
Back in April, the world was a simpler place. We only had to deal with a pandemic and a few corona cops – not the breakdown of social order, the upending of world geopolitics, and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Since the lockdo
Zigzag7 min read
Conquistadors Of The Useless
3 QUESTIONS 1 DO YOU WANT TO SURF THE BEST WAVES OF YOUR LIFE? 2 CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? 3 ARE YOU ABLE TO MEET ME AT THE AIRPORT AT 6AM TOMORROW? What would you do if the same questions were pinged to you by a famous surf photographer on a Monday mor
Zigzag10 min read
Head On The James Lowe Story
I wiggled my toes, then moved my legs. Next, I swung my arms, checking for injuries that my adrenalin might have masked. Miraculously, I was okay. I was alive and I wasn't hurt. Thank you Lord, I thought, thank you! Moments earlier, I’d been cruising
Zigzag5 min read
Following The Lines
This photo was taken at the wave that would later become known as The Snake. The area is home to a large fishing community, and for these fishermen, the daily struggle to feed their families is back-breaking. Crews of three to four men paddle hundred
Zigzag8 min read
Making Myth
What has surf photography got to do with the evolution of surf culture? Everything. Absolutely everything. Before the rise of video and social media, the pre-digital currency on which the act of riding waves hung was the old-fashioned magazine pic. I
Zigzag20 min read
Buys’s Guide 2020
RRP R599.99 •180gsm heavyweight pigment-dyed single jersey with Mfeb art graphics RRP R1 199.99 • Made with sturdy textile and suede uppers • Includes rubber toe caps • Moulded UltraCush sockliners for upgraded cushioning • Vulc Lite construction and
Zigzag4 min read
OFF THE Leash The Ben Trovato Column
Andy ‘your column’s late’ Davis once again left it to the last minute to give me a fake deadline. The theme for this issue was the capturing of moments, of transformation and representation, the making of myths… I laid the phone down gently and slipp
Zigzag2 min read
Double-up
It was 1977 – I’d just won the world title and MR had just unveiled his new twin-fin design in Hawaii. Mark and I were very competitive. We both wanted to be considered the best guy in the world, be it free surfing or in contests, and Off the Wall wa
Zigzag5 min read
The Longing
Nobody from Bulawayo surfs. Indeed, it is an impossible task. But before I get ahead of myself: you may never have heard of Bulawayo, so I should probably state its genesis. This hidden diamond lies tucked away in the south-west of Zimbabwe, and was
Zigzag1 min read
Checkout
The overall plan for this issue was to theme it around photography but, rather than a stock-standard ‘photo issue’, the idea was to dig deeper and draw out compelling stories around the medium and the people who dedicate their lives to it. We’ll be t

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