Play Series, Pt 3: Surf

Our athletic cuts are made to move. So we tapped one of our favorite photographers Matt Johnson to capture some of our best basics in motion.

In a three-part photo story we’re calling our Play Series, we asked Matt to head out on location and shoot everyday athletes doing their thing.

Matt Johnson on the Play Series: 

Though it’s pretty common for a photoshoot to be attributed as a ‘lifestyle’ shoot, it’s not as often that the lifestyle being captured is genuine. It’s usually, “Stand there, hold this, pretend, act as if…” That sort of thing. Sometimes those images can come out great, but if it’s an option, I’ll always prefer the photoshoot where the story being told is an authentic one. If the images are truly representative of who that person is—the actual ‘style’ in which they live their life—that’s always going to add value to an image. That’s what I enjoyed about shooting the Play Series, there’s nothing disingenuous about what these photos are saying.

For our Play Series, Pt. 3: Surf, we feature surfer Kimzie Luong.

Matt on Kimzie:

I grew up in California, I went to school minutes from the ocean, and so now living in NYC, especially in these winter months, I tend to miss the coast dearly. Essentially, I miss the potential for the lifestyle of someone like Kimzie. She has an undeniable relationship to the ocean, one that was immediately apparent as she looked out over the cliff to greet the waves, see how they were doing. I think there’s something in most of us that wishes we had a better connection with nature, and photographing somebody who has that, that desire becomes obvious.

Location: Crystal Cove, California

Photos by Matt Johnson

Interview by Shannon Randall