ELISA ROUTA

After Taylor Steele, this 2nd Focus is dedicated to Elisa Routa.

Elisa is a French writer, journalist and photographer.

After studying in England, she now lives in Anglet where she created a multidisciplinary agency: Relief Agency.

She has been editor-in-chief of Panthalassa and Swenson Magazine, editor for Conde Nast International (Vogue), freelancer writer for magazines and today, she is editor-in-chief of Warm Journal, a collaborative space dedicated to the female voice in the beach culture.

I can't remember the first article we read from Elisa, but what a piece of writing!

Maybe it was in a Surf Session Magazine, Surfer's Journal, or Beach Brother Mag.

Anyhow, an article signed by Elisa is a priority reading, while waiting for her first book.

(Interview conducted in July 2020)

- Hi Elisa,

what's Surf Culture for you?

"Surf Culture is the physical and spiritual memory of a way of life that has existed for centuries.

Because of its photogenic aesthetics, surfing has been, and still is, one of the most documented universe.

Today we have paintings from the origins of surfing in Hawaii back to the earliest drafts, photos from the 1960s and 1970s and films shot in Super 8.

The visual representation of surfing is huge, and became a real jewel for the understanding of surf culture.

Today, we make books, writen pages, make documentaries, make podcasts, we work on new films...

Surf culture never stops to inspire thanks to the notion of fantasy it brings.

And today, for me, The surf culture is a mix between dream and reality, between utopia and certainty.

As surfers, we are very attached to the origins of surfing, to its history, its evolution, its main actors, its anecdotes and its evidence in pictures.

We put forward all these archives, as if we needed to remember to a glorious past, where the pleasure of sliding was, at least we like to hope so, purer, more intense, more authentic.

Like a single fin without leash or a surfmat, we try in different way to get back to the essential.

Far from the idea of "sports", we celebrate feelings rather than turns, we relate sessions like travels, and waves like adventures.

In my opinion, Surf Culture is more about the emotion rather than a simple discipline".

- What are your 3 best surf movies?

"CRYSTAL VOYAGER (1973)

The must see film about surfmat.

We understand the authenticity and humility of the discipline, its underground aspect, and we discover surfmat as one of the first modern surfing machines.

We also perceive the "timeless magic", as Clovis Donizetti would say, and the style of George Greenough."

And today, for me,

The surf culture is a mix between dream and reality,

between utopia and certainty.

"BIARRITZ SURF GANG (2017)

It's a collector piece whose archives and research work by Pierre Denoyel and Nathan Curren are simply impressive.

The aesthetics of the film is crazy, then of course the story.

With this movie, we discover a part of the history of surfing at la Grande Plage in Biarritz in the 80s and 90s, its community of crazy surfers, its characters, its excesses, the weirds, its habits, and its codes too.

These images are precious to portray an entire era.

For me, this film proves once again that documenting one's era - in photos, films or through words - is not only important to analyze it years later, but also and above all to understand it.

To be seen."

"SELF DISCOVERY FOR SOCIAL SURVIVAL (2019)

The experimental aspect of this film is unique.

The soundtrack is crazy.

It's a collective creation, a bit of a weird creation that brings together 16 surfers, male and female, and 8 musicians, including Stephanie Gilmore, the Allah-Las and Connan Mockasin.

The experiment was shot during a trip to Mexico, the Maldives and Iceland and gave life to a film and an album".

- When did you realize what surfing really is?

"The surf culture is so large, so diverse, that you rarely have a clear vision of what it is all about.

It evolves according to each country, each region, even each spot, so it seems complex to define it.

Most of the time, you start surfing with dreams in your head, wishes, butterflies in your belly, illusions sometimes.

The hardest thing is to stick to it, to cling to the idealized vision of the world you've been fantasizing about for a long time.

Quite often, and quite quickly, reality catches up with you.

After the lock down, I had the feeling that we were all united by a common feeling of lack of surfing.

Unable to surf for weeks, many of us shared a real frustration.

So I naively told myself that once we were in the water, we would all be more welcoming to each other.

I foolishly imagined that, having lived through the common experience of deprivation, we would all be happy to see each other again.

Well... I'm going to spoil the end of the story for you, but the cordialities didn't last long.

So to answer your question, and at the risk of sounding pessimistic or even acerbic,

It's already been a few years since I put an end to the idealized vision of the surfing world that I had long dreamed about.

But I'm fine, and I still have dreams."

Linda Benson - Photo John Severson

- Who are your surfing icons?

" The term " icons " bothers me a bit because, in my opinion, starification of any kind can quickly become harmful, even negative, for the person who endorses it.

On the other hand, in terms of style, I am completely in awe when I see Leah Dawson surfing.

She has an inimitable flow and a unique style.

She is also an incredible person spiritually, she has a kind soul that I am fortunate enough to know.

Since I was a teenager, I also love Dave Rastovish, not only for his style on a board but his sober vision of life and his commitment to the environment.

Then of course Linda Benson for what she represents in the great history of surfing.

Last winter, I had the chance to see some of Linda Benson's pictures taken by LeRoy Grannis, at the "Cult to Culture" exhibition at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

It's crazy to see so much talent, presence, confidence and pride without arrogance already in 1968.

When you see Linda Benson on a photo of John Severson, standing upright next to her big board shapened by Donald Takayama, it's inspiring, even 50 years later.

Her status as a pioneer is eternal, and with that she built the beginnings of an evolution of thought in the surfing world.

For a real change, there is a beginning and Linda Benson undoubtedly symbolizes, a beginning of the change of mentalities in the surfing world".

Far from the idea of "sports",

we celebrate feelings rather than turns,

we relate sessions like travels, and waves like adventures.

- What are your best songs to go in the water?

"It depends on the time of year, but right now, in summer mode, I would say:

MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS - Echo Beach

DOPE LEMON - Home soon

LOS BITCHOS - Frozen Margarita

BANANAGUN- Out of Reach

- What are your best after surf songs ?

SKINSHAPE - Don't call my name

FRENCH 79 - Sailing

THE WHOLE OF THE MOON - Waterboys

GUS DAPPERTON - Coax and botany"

- One action for the planet ?

"Just one ?

Hard.

Plastic pollution is one of the major problems of our time,

I would say try as much as possible not to consume plastic.

It's a simple attitude, but in the end it makes everything to our environment.

Recycling is good, but being able to consume without waste is great.

Micro-plastics inevitably end up in the ocean, so we should refuse its use as much as possible.

For my part, apart from the fact that I spend a lot of time in the ocean,

I grow my own vegetable garden, with vegetables and herbs, and it makes on a daily basis my environmental convictions and my desire to minimize the impact on the ecosystems that surround me".

Photo Angèle Debuire

- A surf photo?

"This is a photo taken during a session in San Onofre in March 2019.

Although this is one of the most mythical spots in California, on that day everything was closed.

No pick-up truck full of boards, no van, no wacky truck was parked on the famous sand parking in front of the spot.

The spot was completely empty.

This is as rare as it is precious.

We had to park higher, walk down and we went into the water with my friend Séréna Lutton.

The waves were not crazy, but from the water, the vision of the spot usually over crowded and temporarily a deserted beach, was crazy".

Photo Angèle Debuire

- What are Warm Collective and Relief Agency?

"WARM is a project starting by my friend Séréna Lutton, photographer, art director and graphic designer.

It is a platform - which brings together collective, newspaper and agency - launched at the beginning of 2020 and intended to promote the voice of women in ocean-related culture.

We are a collective of journalists, writers, photographers, graphic designers, environmentalists and filmmakers united by our love for the ocean.

Through stories, portraits and interviews published on the newspaper that I am pleased to be in charge of, we wish to spread a message of equality, inclusion, diversity and freedom of expression, outside of the dictates imposed by some surf media that still force women to sit perpetually as spectators of a world, in the corner of the room.

WARM gives a voice to women surfers, environmentalists, activists, artists, artisans, photographers of all backgrounds and origins, as well as to the founders of ethical brands that propose a responsible and conscious approach.

As Audre Lorde, feminist, black, lesbian, poet and warrior, wrote, we need to "transform silence into language and action" because we are convinced that the spoken word is a revolt that rumbles and can change things.

Especially in terms of social and environmental justice.

The RELIEF agency is a content creation agency specialized in the outdoor field that we co-founded with my friend Jérémie Barlog, graphic designer and creative director.

We wish above all to retranscribe authentic stories essentially guided by passion and a sensibility for the outdoors.

Since the creation in 2017, we have collaborated with many brands, companies with environmental values and a lot of media.

We have also helped explorers such as the French adventurer Matthieu Tordeur in his adventure in total autonomy and without assistance in Antarctica, and the French navigator Benjamin Ferré through his single-handed transatlantic crossing.

We have an incredible opportunity to work with an invaluable global network of creative experts from the worlds of design, art, photography, video, media, surf and outdoor culture".

And then, I dream of being able to write more,

to wake up and do just that.

Photo Angèle Debuire

- What are you dreaming about right now?

"Oh. I dream all the time.

So in no particular order...

Early morning hold-up sessions in the Basque Country before the summer crowds arrive on the beaches.

The civil rights movement in the United States and gathering more and more people.

Max Richter's album "Sleep".

Richard Brautigan's poems ("Why unknown poets remain unknown").

The escapades in van in les Landes, the jumps in the rivers and the naps in fields of ferns.

The dream of a bike trip next September, we plan to leave Royan to reach Sète with the bare minimum in the saddlebags:

750 km in pairs along the Canal de Garonne and the Canal du Midi to join the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean.

And then, I dream of being able to write more, to wake up and do just that.

I dream of concretizing a book project, a collection of chronicles started during the lock down."

"2020 has been as crazy as predicted.

I finally did a ride nearly 800 kilometers on my bike in September, a real sensory escape.

And then... I finally wrote a book published by Tellement last November.
We'll see if 2021 is as crazy as we say it is."

Thank you Elisa

Elisa, on the "Chroniques du Royaume", Tellement editions:

"For nearly 7 months, I tried to document the year 2020 marked by great upheavals.
Through this collection of chronicles written on a daily basis, I make the observation of a world that is slipping.
Because "we have the art not to die from the truth", this collection has no other intention than to tell with great humility and poetry, the little story in the big story and the common evils that affect us, universally.

Nature and the ocean are, as in each of my projects, at the heart of the texts and what I regularly look at".

It is available here only in french :

https://www.elisarouta.com/livre/p/chroniquesduroyaume