Griffin Colapinto, Ethan Ewing, and Seth Moniz scoring perfect waves from Peru to Indonesia to South Africa to Tahiti? You’ve got my attention. In their latest film release Trilogy: New Wave (a tribute to Taylor Steele’s original 2007 Trilogy featuring Andy Irons, Taj Burrow, and Joel Parkinson) the trio of Billabong surfers show how far their surfing has come when they’re legitimately unleashing everything they have – something Griffin astutely points out is not always seen in their tour surfing.
But it’s not just a film about shredding. It’s also a story of friendship; how the bond between these three amigos has developed throughout their careers and given them a shoulder to lean on when the going gets tough on the road. Just ahead of their September 19 screening of the film in Beverly Hills, California, I jumped on a video call with all three surfers plus the film’s director Andrew Mackenzie to discuss the film’s birth, the memorable moments of filming, and takeaways from the project now that it’s been released to the public.
How was this project born?
Andrew: I met the three of them on a tarmac in the Marshall Islands in 2020, right before COVID broke out. They were taking the plane out that I came in on. Seth walked up to me and acted like he already knew me. These two (looks at Ethan and Griffin) were too cool to talk to me (everyone laughs). They were on a Stab trip and it was pumping, so I really wanted to see that footage. The surfing was crazy. All three of them completely scored. It was hitting me in the head: This is a new Trilogy. Billabong hasn’t had this many talented guys on the label at once since Andy, Taj, and Joel. I wrote the treatment and brought it to Taylor Steele. He was super behind it, so we brought it to Evan Slater. Evan connected us all on Zoom in early 2021 and kicked off the project.
Seth Moniz, enjoying every minute of his freesurf voyage. Photo: Quinn Matthews
How did you decide who would be the three surfers in the film – just based on that encounter on the tarmac?
Andrew: I was pretty familiar with Griffin’s surfing, but not Ethan’s as much at the time. Once that edit came out, it was obvious – it had to be these three. Once we got that initial funding to start making it, we were off to the races.
What makes this particular film special compared to other surf films out there?
Seth: I think it’s doing it with two friends, traveling with these guys. We’ve been on Billabong since we were 10 years old, even younger – traveling the world, doing the QS together. Now we’re all on tour and to be able to get away from competitive surfing, go on these adventures, and surf really good waves, while we still had to compete at the same time, that was pretty unique. We were trying not to get injured, staying focused, and trying to still keep our spots on tour/make the cut, then letting loose on the surf trips. Also having the production team traveling with us each place we went – anywhere from 10 to 17 guys. That was something we had to get used to. Normally, when we go for a surf, you tell your filmer to get ready and we’re ready in 10 minutes. But on these trips, we needed to be prepared and give ourselves an hour to get ready to leave the house to go surf. We had to adapt and learn how to travel with the big group. But it was worth it.
The film highlights the importance of friendship and rediscovering the love of surfing outside of competition. How important are those factors for success in your careers?
Griffin: Having friends on tour is huge. You’re traveling the world and in some places you’re unable to bring your close friends from home. It feels really good to have friends who are also doing the same thing, who you can relate with super well, share personal things that are going on in your life, and connect on a deeper level. It makes you not feel alone. I feel like our friendship allows us to feel comfortable on tour and will make our careers last a long time. The freesurf trip adds a huge part because we’re all pushing each other and seeing where each other’s levels are when we go our absolute hardest. Sometimes you don’t see that in contests, so your surfing is automatically going to improve from that.
Ethan Ewing, enjoying his working vacation. Photo: Quinn Matthews
Was it stressful balancing freesurfing with the Championship Tour while you guys were traveling?
Ethan: Yeah, I found it pretty stressful, just the amount of travel. We had such hectic schedules with the tour, but it was such a great opportunity to get to surf with these guys and work with Andy and his crew. It was pretty exciting to break away from the contest mold.
What was the favorite wave you surfed in the film and the most memorable moment during the filming?
Seth: My favorite trip was Peru. We scored insane waves that none of us had really seen videos of before. My favorite moment was the day we scored Periscopes (Indonesia). I got hurt that day, but I watched these guys surf and it was pretty insane – some of the best surfing I’ve seen.
Griffin: For me it was the Periscopes session. The waves were incredible. When we were going there, we weren’t really expecting much, especially from Periscopes. We had heard it’s super fickle and hard to score. That day we pulled up and it was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. As far as my favorite moments, just the little adventures in Indo, going out in Bali and Peru, going down dirt roads, adventuring around, stuff like that.
Ethan: Overall my favorite waves were Peru and Periscopes. But I’d say my favorite moment was first surfing in Peru. I came around the corner and saw this perfect left-hand point break. We were all losing it in the car.
Yeah, Griffin Colapinto logged all types of air miles during filming. Photo: Quinn Matthews
What was your biggest takeaway or lesson learned from the project?
Seth: Listen to your body when you get hurt and don’t surf through injuries. In the big scheme of things, you got to enjoy the process, enjoy the moment. Because after being done filming for over a year and a half, you forget about the moments. But now being here (in California) with these guys, just from last night to this morning, we got to reminisce on all the memories we had. We had a lot of fun filming this project and made a lot of new friends through traveling with this whole production crew.
Griffin: I learned that going into something like this, you got to be all in, 100 percent committed, and ready for any outcome. If I go into it giving it my best, I feel that indecision goes away and everything unfolds naturally. We were all able to do that, even though Seth got hurt. The way it all unfolded went super well and made for a really good story.
Ethan: It took me back to why I got into surfing. All year we’re doing contests and you can get pretty caught up in results. But just going on surf trips with your friends and getting back to the basics was the big thing I took out of it.
Did this film spur ideas for another project?
Andrew: For sure. But timing is everything. When I first set out to make this film, the industry was in a really different place. Coming out of COVID, I don’t think we necessarily have the same opportunities because of where the industry is. All three of these guys are going to be my first call for the rest of my life in anything I want to do in surfing. I would love to work with all three of them again. I’ve got some things percolating, some stuff in the background trying to figure out what that next move is.
You can watch Trilogy: New Wave in its entirety, here.
