Hey, What Happens To Filmers After Their Surfer Loses Their Sponsor?

I’m going to let you in on quite the secret right now.

Right, so, surfing sponsorships? An incredibly flaky game. I know, I know. It’s hard to hear. But, truly, there’s just no loyalty, longevity, or even lump sums about it. One day you’re the poster boy, and the next you’re posting on Instagram asking if anyone needs a roommate, even though you’re more than ten years removed from whatever your hypothetical university’s graduation date would’ve been, you guess, even though you don’t really know. You didn’t do that sort of thing because you were sponsored then. 

Of course, unless this is your first day on this earth (in which case, why are you spending it on a computer?), you already knew that. Scoring a sponsor is one thing, keeping it's another, and it’s all good, because that’s just the natural cycle of things. We get into this for the love and fun of things, not because we’re married to the exact sticker placement on our boards.

So, we know about the surfers, but what about the filmers? You know, the friends who shadow along, catch every clip, compile every edit, and compress every file to make it more friendly to send over email. They sleep on even more uncomfortable floors, sit in steerage, and always skip breakfast and all for the pleasure of a half-second shoutout at the end of a three-minute clip. What happens to them after their surfer gets dropped? 

Don’t worry, there are no hurried-out portable partitions, a single gunshot, and a crying child watching it all. It’s not a horserace, despite how jockeying every filmer-surfer relationship seems. 

To really find out, we talked to Josh Walker. You probably don’t know Josh, but you know the guy who he’s spent the past several years following around while hitting records, Grant Noble. He’s been all over these pages. Grant is a great person, and he also is another one of those people who respectfully separated from their longtime sponsor recently. In this case, Vans, and instead of asking Grant all about it, since we’ve asked him a ton of questions throughout the past few years anyway, we decided to talk to Josh about it. So, what happens to filmers when their muse loses studio backing and gets knocked down to second, third billing? Do they have to shrug their shoulders and make a post about being open to freelancing on LinkedIn about it? What do they do? What else is there? What happens to Josh?

Hey, Josh. So, tell me more about what was going on here in this goodbye to Vans clip. 

We did Mexico for a couple of reasons. One, we have a friend down there named Dan who’s a part of team Grant Noble. The other, because Grant particularly was fond of the wave and knows it well.  We were there for three nights, four days, I believe. We stayed at a friend’s place, which was right on the water too, pretty tropical. And, as good as it gets.  

What sort of spot is the surf film industry in, and how bad is it? 

I think as a surf film-maker right now it’s hard. There are so many factors. But, in a nutshell, the industry is in a weird spot. I love it, though. There’s something really unique about the world and people in surfing.

What were some of your influences starting off? 

I got into filmmaking super young and have always loved documenting life. In terms of influences, I’ve always said my friend Truman Hallstrom. He put down the brush now, but still to this day is my favorite artist.  

Film-wise, What Youth, and the way Kai Neville and Michael Cukr created always intrigued me. All three definitely inspired the making of “Walker’s Archive,” which is the multimedia outlet my brother Jack and I created.

How normal is it to be attached to one surfer or only a few? Basically, how do you select your subjects?

Everybody has a different way of doing it. For me, I have a couple of people I really like shooting with. I also think now I have more of a say on who I get to work with, which is cool. I’m super intrigued by certain surfers' styles, so it’s nice to have the freedom or ability to work with those people. I think with Grant specifically, I really like his surfing and we’ve become friends through all of it. We also have a pretty similar vision and preference in media and that makes it a pretty evergreen creative endeavor. 

What else do you film?

I don’t like to just film one thing. I’m super into fashion and skateboarding, so I find myself also filming those subjects. And, when it comes to surf filming, I just follow swells and plan accordingly. It’s a steady mix and can be a heavy workload, but it’s worth it. 

What’s been stoking you out personally, creatively, or otherwise? 

I’m stoked on Timo Simmers and Toasted Media. It’s cool to see him and Caity create alongside each other. I feel like I can resonate with creating with your sibling. Their surfing is also so raw. 

What’s your general outlook on things and advice to anyone else who wants to follow this crazy pursuit?

Oof, it’s tough. The industry is in a weird spot right now and needs a proper refreshing.  I don’t want to dive too deep into it, but I know there are plenty of people who feel the same. 

But if you feel called to it, don’t wait. Life only gets more complicated as you get older.  Also, the more you practice, the better you’ll get. Just follow your own vision and no one else’s. That’s how you’ll perfect your work or “style” in anything.