drift, perspectives in surfing

A profile of shaper Chris Jones: If you surf sooner or later you’ll end up at Chris Jones’ door. Who else can offer you fifty years of shaping experience? Who else was there at the beginning? CJ, legendary shaper/surfer, rugby fanatic, pasty connoisseur is this morning sanding down a vintage Tiki for restoration.

Drift checks in with Andrew Crockett following the release of the much-anticipated 'Switch-Foot II', a tribute to surfing's counter-culture.

Looking to the future with an eye firmly on the past, Tom Wegener has reintroduced the transport of kings to surfing's elite. His boards are works of art, but it's his veg patch that really floating Tom's boat right now... Words: Tommy Leitch Photos: Jamie Bott

Portugal explodes onto the global big wave circuit with a handful of household names and a freakish wave canyon. Photos: Jorge Leal and Wilson Ribeiro.

Chris Burkard's photographs are about more than barrels, perfect point breaks, and carving radical lines – they capture a moment in which the surfer is a mere player and the real star is the scenery. Words: Dan Hamlin Photos: Chris Burkard

"I'm not interested in formulae when it comes to surfing and art." Ryan Lovelace talks to Chris Preston about trusting your eyes, hands, and feet, and adding another leaf to the weird-hull-alternative-vibe-tree. Photos: Morgan Maasen, Brandon DiPierri & Ryan Lovelace

Mark Sankey and Alexa Poppe uncover the isolation and challenges of the Mentawai Islands, and consider the challenge of balancing tourism and sustainability, in an environmentally sensitive surfing destination.

The Sunshine Coast. Home to some of the world's most accomplished surfers, including marquee names like Julian Wilson and Mitch Coleborn. As a result, the region is fast becoming a breeding ground for some of the most progressive young surfers that Australia, and the world, has ever seen.

London ad exec Tom Birmingham set off in November in search of adventure on the Southwest Indian coastline. Accompanied by guesthouse owners Ed and Sofie of Soul and Surf in Kerala, he soon found himself surfing uncharted waves to an audience of school children and fisherman. Words and Photos: Tom Birmingham

A shaper with a real passion for his craft, Tyler Hatzikian has consistently refused to compromise the quality or the integrity of his work in order to make a quick buck. He talked to Drift about nose-riding, refining longboard design and his reluctance to take the limelight. Words & photos: Jamie Bott

Stephen Jones, director of triple-award-winning surf film El Mar Mi Alma, shares his vision of the surf-blessed land of Chile, its people, and the ocean that defines it.