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Dylan Graves’ Weird Waves has been an iconic surfing series since it debuted in January of 2019. Its viewership reaches much farther than within just the surfing community, and we’re stoked to see it return later this week, May 5, on the Vans YouTube Channel.
There is nothing more core to surfing than the search for fun and interesting waves across the world, and with a host like Dylan, whose genuine demeanor and great sense of humor perfectly fits the series, it’s little wonder why the show has gathered such a following.
I actually had the chance to meet Dylan at my home break in the Bay Area earlier this winter (this past winter I guess; it’s barely even spring at this point). Surprising, seeing how low-key and off the beaten path my little nook of the world is, but then again, weird waves are Dylan’s specialty. It was a bombing winter day and the water was packed with surfers from across the Bay Area as less protected beaches such as Ocean Beach in San Francisco were un-surfably massive.
I paddled out to the lineup and noticed a fellow longhaired man whose level of ripping was on another level than is usually seen there. The surf was almost too big for this super-protected break to handle (a pretty rare occurrence), and closeouts were frequent, but this particular conquistador de olas was making the best of it, throwing huge airs into the channel with a frequency that was certainly turning heads in the water. He seemed familiar, but I was sure pretty sure I hadn’t seen him at the break before, so I didn’t think he was a local. But the checkered Vans wetsuit and Hayden Shapes surfboard (as well as the long hair, scruffy mustache, and goatee) rang a bell in my memory.
A courageous grom sidled up to him: “I love the wetsuit man,” he said. “Are you sponsored by Vans?” Dylan chuckled.
“Yeah,” he said, “they’ve been with me for years, I’m super lucky to be a part of their team.”
As awkward as I ever am, not to mention being in the presence of one of my surf idols, I couldn’t help butting in. “Yeah, this wave weird enough for ya?” I asked (still kicking myself over such a dumb joke these few months later). He looked confused for a second, and then laughed. “It’s not bad actually! Plenty of fun to be had,” he answered. (Dylan, if you’re reading this, I was that kook in the blue wetsuit, and sorry for blowing your cover!). I went on to tell him I’m a big fan of his work (another kook move) and suggest he give the nearby longboarding break a shot as well while he was in town.
If the trailer on Dylan’s Instagram is anything to go off of, we’ve got plenty of fun shenanigans to look forward to in the next season of Weird Waves, including some more ice-cold surfing, backwash billies, and night surfing, and I hope he takes me up on my suggestion and hops on a longboard somewhere as well.
