S&A's Tyler Balak lives "The Wild Lyfe"

A few days back, we caught up with Surf and Adventure team rider Tyler Balak about his role in the upcoming film "The Wild Lyfe," which features an all-star East Coast cast chasing down some of the heaviest waves ever documented on this side of the Atlantic.
Here's what Tyler, an integral member of the project -- which also has a corresponding website, listed below the video clip -- had to say about a fall and winter of filming that he said produced the best waves of his surfing career.

S&A: Elaborate on how you became involved with the project.
Tyler: I started surfing with Raven early last fall, and using a jetski around the same time. He has filmed with Eddie and Chris of Commonwealth Media Group for a few years. After chasing a few swells with those guys, clips started accumulating, especially when the jetski was involved because that machine enables us to get better waves because you can chase down sets on nearby sandbars. They had been interested in making a video for a while so it just started building more and more momentum each day we filmed.

S&A: We talked about the mentality of only going south from VB for swell. When and how did that perception change for you as you began heading north as well.
Tyler: Well, I think most of us know that sometimes you can go to hatteras and its not exactly as good as the forecasts predict. It can be weird wind or too much current, its sometimes hard to find the right bar, and pretty often when u do find the bar its crowded. Its just refreshing to do something different, and its really fun to check other places out. In addition, it has been our goal to find the biggest and best barrels for a given swell..wherever that may be.

S&A: I know many of your sessions, especially the heavy stuff, have been logged with jet ski assistance. Explain jet skis' role in the project and tell me how using tow power has changed/elevated your surfing.
Tyler: I mentioned before that the ski allows us to get the bombs, even if there up the beach. That is a major benefit. It also takes current out of the equation. Almost all filming has been done strictly at beach breaks so the jetski allows us to overcome the shifty nature of this type of wave. Another benefit of the ski when surfing bigger waves is it allows us to line up with the end bowl..the more makeable section of the wave. It also makes filming the surfer's perspective much more of a reality..there are a few in barrel shots on the teaser that help to demonstrate this. We have also been experimenting with the follow angle filming from the ski and have gotten a few clips like that.
As far as elevating my surfing is concerned, who wouldn't benefit from surfing more and better waves? Towing is sick because you get more tries or the speed necessary to practice a particular maneuver.. I want to be clear though, we only tow when it is really small and hardly worth paddling.

S&A: What has been your heaviest moment to date while filming?
Tyler: Everyone takes they're share of wipeouts..but my heaviest experience was actually when I was driving the ski. It was december in hatteras on the swell that I got my wave in the teaser and raven got a few of his barrel shots. The road had washed out and several houses were washed into the ocean so there was a ton of debris on the beach and floating around in the lineup. We had been out maybe 15 minutes when I dropped Raven into a sick one and ran inside to pick him up..but my ski just seized up. So I was kind of sitting in the impact zone on one of the heaviest days I had ever surfed with more waves coming at me. Luckily I got pushed in enough by some whitewater that we could see what was wrong without getting destroyed. I had sucked a huge garbage bag in my impeller and Raven was able to get it out without us having to beach my ski and risk losing it in the shorebreak. After that the day went smoothly and we got some really sick waves

S&A: Feel free to add anything else about the project/your surfing.
Tyler: We are just trying to have fun with this, chasing swells on the east coast and using the jetski when the conditions allow. Getting clips and making a movie is just a bonus. We really sort of started chasing waves with the ski in the fall but already I have gotten sicker waves than I have in my entire life..and I have done quite a bit of travelling. We realize that not everyone is stoked on PWCs so we try to be respectful and stay away from crowds and people as much as possible. I love all kinds of surfing and am in fact going to Costa Rica this week without a jetski just to get away from summer east coast flatness and have a good time... which is what surfing is all about.


CHECK IT OUT!



The Wild Lyfe Sneak Peak from The Wild Lyfe on Vimeo.

featuring S&A team rider Tyler Balak alongside Raven Lundy, Lucas Rogers, Noah Snyder and more.
zine - http://thewildlyfe.com/zine/
blog - http://thewildlyfe.com/
full movie- premier in summer of 2011
CHECK IT OUT!

By Land, Airs & Sea

Taking day trips down to the Outer Banks has been a part of Virginia Beach surf culture as long as the sport has been around these parts. The geography of the Outer Banks -- barrier islands that jut out to the southeast, where the continental shelf is much closer to shore and the swell window increases -- make these wave-rich sessions therapy for those of us who suffer from summer’s flat spells.
Recently, the Surf and Adventure crew headed down south to hook up with 158 Surf & Skate’s Matt Price for an afternoon of chasing a small, but fun, southwest wrap-around windswell on Hatteras Island. Judging from the awesome amount of photos taken by S&A’s Ryan Massey of shop crewmen Josh, Cody and John, who’s also one of our team riders, the trip was a success despite the heavy sideshore winds. Everyone was ripping and it was really special to have Ryan along to capture those moments. Thanks so much for being a warrior on the beach all day!
As far as our swell prospects, it looks like more of the same with the occasional fun day mixed in when the southerly flow is on. The tropics are quiet, but that can change quickly.
Stay glued to the blog for more content as swells and trips allow.

Pictures following the break.