My (Other) Southern California Education

Derek Hynd found sliding around on his finless creation one day at Rincon. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Here's Alex testing out a John Wesley Twin Fin Pin. Shot on a Nikonos V for the Nikonos Project. Tons of trial and error with these cameras, but when a shot does come through, it's a keeper. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Sequence #1 of Dane Reynolds. Perfect spot, perfect wave. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Sequence #2 of Dane Reynolds riding a single fin the way it's meant to be ridden. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Travers Adler has one of the most distinctive styles of anyone at Rincon. Here he is pushing an S/Double single fin to its capacity. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Christian George Taylor burning off some speed through the cove on a familiar winter swell. If you ever see him out in the water between sets, be sure to give him a holler. He's a nice guy. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Sometimes Rincon swings a bit too wide and sections off. When that happens, you just need to wait, find that section, and take off like this guy is doing. Photo: Gregory Swanson

This a new friend, Stephen, who we met out at a sneaky left down in Laguna Beach. Photo: Gregory Swanson

West Newport on an overcast day. It's really easy to score some fun ones here when the sand is right and the crowd is minimal. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Hanging five through the cove instead of being in class is always a rewarding tradeoff. Photo: Gregory Swanson

My brother Alex hitting the eject button at a local yet fickle spot. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Kyle Albers always surprises me with the size of the boards he rides. Here he is on a 5 foot (I believe) Deepest Reaches Pizzaboxxx he shaped. On a side note, Kyle made me a 5'0" microfish that is one of the most fun and functional boards I have ever ridden. Go Kyle! Photo: Gregory Swanson

Kyle Albers, part two, taking a high line on his Pizzaboxxx through the cove. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Taking lessons from my brother Alex, I've been playing around with different perspectives. Here's my best attempt at a selfie. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Nick Cook cruising by on a Deepest Reaches Megafish. Nick, being one of the nicest people out in the water, keeps the lineup fun and enjoyable. Photo: Gregory Swanson

My trusty Viper fins. Custom mismatch for ultimate performance. Photo: Gregory Swanson

Our wonderful friend Beamer Wilkins came down to visit us recently. When he's not doing crazy tech-y software startup stuff (I'm not totally sure what he does, but I do know it's cool), he can be found driving his vanagon looking for surf (or already found surf and is in the water) with his sidekick dog Voltron at his side. Photo: Gregory Swanson

I passed off this Weber (my first log) to my friend Andrew Loy about a year ago. Since then, he has put in some time transitioning from his go-to thruster to this 9'4". Andrew is now back home in Massachusetts finally being able to get away from our Santa Barbara rights and go frontside on some Massachusetts lefts, logging and shortboarding when the waves call for it. Photo: Gregory Swanson

One of my favorite places to be in the water is Laguna Beach. There's always something beautiful to discover there between diving, surfing, bodysurfing, or just exploring in general. Just bring a camera with you when you go to capture its offerings. Photo: Gregory Swanson

​Alex Swanson about to surf the (surprisingly) cold waters of Newport on his John Wesley Twin Fin Pin. Photo: Gregory Swanson

My big brother Alex Swanson is usually found with a camera in one hand and fins in the other. Photo: Gregory Swanson

My brother's (Alex Swanson) 8'8" Almond Pinwheel. After "borrowing" his board, I had to get one as well. Now we have matching boards, wetsuits, cameras and fins. I told him to let me know when he gets something new so I can get it as well. Photo: Gregory Swanson