Magazine founder and surfer Joran Briand puts it simply: »West is the Best offers an experience of surfing through tale and travel.« For this third edition, they booked a ticket for Mexico, »a country where surfing presents a conquest,« he says. »And yet, underneath its rigorous facade, the Pacific coast divulges ample surprises for those knowledgeable enough to seize them. This is the case for all the creative women and men to whom this edition gives voice.« French designer Joran Briand tells us more about this newly-launched magazine, made with love along the Pacific coast this past winter.

Every two years, the Paris-based Studio Briand & Berthereau looks for creators, artists and entrepreneurs passionate about the ocean and fascinated by surfing. »Whether they’re designers, architects, or stylists, their testimonials serve as sources of inspiration. From Puerto Escondido to Costa Careyes and in passing by Zihuatanejo, they learned resilience in order to create tailor-made lifestyles where work and pleasure are one in the same,« he explains. »Their lives orbit around surfing in just a balance between hedonism and spirituality, and in the heart the Third-Place – and in their image – ecosystems open allowing us to dream together. They share their backgrounds and projects with a single, yet elegant, motto: work with passion, but with your feet in the sand. In Mexico, some utopias have become realities.«

After a first volume focused on California, out in 2013, and a second edition created about France launched in 2016, the publisher Pyramid offered to present West is the Best Mexico. In this third issue, Joran Briand wanted to pay tribute to women, »so rarely visible in this resolutely masculine world.« Going beyond clichés, transcending the expected from La Saladita to Costa Careyes, this new edition displays common visions able to gather a whole lifestyle, »where surfing unveils a spirituality that reconnects us to nature.«

This West is the Best 3 Mexico will be officially launched in Paris on May, 18 and in Biarritz on June 28. 

Photos: ©Joran Briand

Find more infos on West is the Best

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The SAIL IN FESTIVAL embodies the perfect combination between nautical culture and sailing innovation. Created in 2014, the European festival blends the past, present and future of the sailing culture.

Starting on the 7th of March, 2019, the 6th edition of the SAIL IN FESTIVAL will be the occasion to celebrate sailing through a series of 20 screenings made out of stories, adventures and races, as well as 15 conferences with international speakers, 3 art exhibitions and a workshop.

Urtzi Sagarrubay, director of the SAIL IN festival, says: »We’re creating a unique ecosystem able to combine two essential lines; the educational and sociocultural aspect with the festival, and the innovation aspect and economical development with this special day dedicated to professionals (SAIL INN PRO).« 

Many legendary sailors  have shared their stories on the stage of the SAIL IN. Legends like  Sir Robin Knox – Johnston or Loick Peyron, who once said of the SAIL IN: »You feel the whole team’s desire to share their passion with others. It’ something very beautiful, very pure.«

This year is not different. Among the many incredible guests and presenters will be  Jean-Luc Van Den Heede who needs no introduction. Aged 74, recently spent 211 days at sea and became the winner of the Golden Globe race, a solo world tour, without assistance, without stop and without GPS. He will receive the very first price entitled SAIL IN. For this 2019 edition, art remains a central element.

Another of the this years highlights is the photo exhibition by renowned Italian photographer Carlo Borlenghi whose artworks convey the balance between humans, boats and maritime stories.

When we first met the founders at the Blue Factory and heard the story of their festival,  their vision and dreams for the future, we knew we wanted to sail along. It was love at first sight. Now we are proud to announce Panthalassa will be supporting the SAIL IN  as an official collaborator. We will be helping them spread the word through all our channels, and our Plastic Family will be part of the SAIL IN art exhibition  at the BBK space. We warmly invite you to this 4-day event held in Bilbao on the Bay of Biscay, one of the most popular and important maritime cities in Europe. 

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Diving on reefs no one may have dived on before is incredible. In saying that, human impact can be seen in the most remote of places. Sometimes, it’s the most remote locations that are the most vulnerable!

Todd Thimios describes himself as an Australian underwater photographer with a few strange qualifications. Involved in expeditions with photography today, Todd teaches and guides diving and underwater photography for small private groups. He is also a certified submersible pilot and a fisherman, a couple of extra statuses that makes him stranger than we thought. 

Over the years, he’s been working along some of the world’s most renowned underwater cinematographers, taken under the wing by a few mentors. Today, Todd spends his year following the migrations of marine mammals to be at the right place at the right time. « I really love encounters with big marine life. Holding my ground watching, waiting and trying to get close with trust. The encounters are so powerful. I’m the happiest when in the water I find salt water fixes everything. » We spoke to him about great white sharks and whales, his vision about commercial fishing, freediving as a form of meditation, as well as the human impact on natural environments.

When have you been introduced to photography?  

I think it was my grandfather that gave me my first camera. It was an old SLR that was super confusing to use initially but forced me to learn the foundations of photography pretty quick. I always shot with film in my teenage years and actually studied darkroom processing for a year or so once out of school. I guess it was always about trying to capture memories back then. I’m still finding undeveloped film rolls of mine when I visit family back in Australia. Developing 35mm film rolls 20 years later can certainly bring back some nostalgia. 

Where does this passion for underwater photography come from? 

Before everything, I’ve always been an avid fisherman and diver. This was installed in me by my father and uncle who lived and breathed fishing all their life growing up on the Great Barrier Reef. Some of my earliest memories are learning to snorkel on the reef. I think underwater photography was always going to be a natural merge of hobbies. 

Then, you became dive instructor. What did your life look like at the time?

It looked good (laughs), real good! I lived on a small island between Australia and New Zealand for around 6 or 7 years. The population was small, only about 500 people on average but the island was, and still is, incredibly beautiful and I was spending hours and hours underwater everyday.

Never far from water, right? 

Yeah! I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled a lot over the years, and still get really excited by the idea of going to new locations. I think after a while marine life really started to orientate my traveling. Knowing a location was popular for a certain natural event. Maybe migrations of marine mammals frequent an exact location each year or certain species of sharks arrive to one spot as temperatures cool. Now, it’s all about researching where and why it’s going to happen and trying to be there for when it does.

For the last decade, you’ve been sailing and diving around the world, through the Maldives, Costa Rica and Patagonia. How was it like to dive some of the world’s best and most remote locations? 

I’m always doing my best on trips to get remote. I find peace so much quicker in isolated places. Diving on reefs you think no one may have dived on before is incredible. In saying that, the human impact can be seen in the most remote of places. Sometimes it’s the most remote locations that are the most vulnerable! Nowadays massive commercial fishing boats can spend months at sea without returning to port. They catch – using illegal, unsustainable techniques – process, pack and freeze all while at sea, meaning they can continue this for months before having to go back to shore. Imagine locations so remote in the middle of the Pacific that, even though they may be protected by laws against commercial fishing, they’re just too far from anything to be policed.

You have some records under your belt like a hundred of dives to depth as deep as 380 meters. Is performance a part of your passion for diving? 

These depths are done in a submersible. I gained certification a few years back as submersible pilot. These are small Submarines that can take normally 2 or 3 passengers to depths up to 1000 meters. It’s another world! 

The unique silence, this colorful life… The underwater world is very special. How would you describe the life out there?

Freediving, with or without a camera, certainly is a form of meditation. I tend to think about nothing but only what I’m doing in that moment whilst diving. I can’t find that clarity anywhere else. Then there’s the relationship and awareness with marine life. I really love encounters with big marine life. Holding my ground watching, waiting and trying to get close with trust. The encounters can be so powerful. I’m happiest when in the water I find salt water fixes everything. 

Over the years, you’ve been in the forefront of the rich diversity of marine life. What would be your message to the future generations?

Probably to just try to gain an interest and fascination in your subject. I find the more I learn about something or a place I’m about to see, the more excited and fascinated I become. Learning about the biology of sharks has helped me understand their behavior, learning migration patterns of whales, for example, has left me in awe of the journey that they must have completed and the state they must be in. Also, if a camera is anything – it’s a great tool to get you outside and traveling – it may put you in places or situations you never would have dreamt of.

Today, you dedicate some of your projects to the conservation of our oceans. Tell us more about these projects.

I’ve been based in Spain for a while now and I’ve been helping contribute to a few organizations that are aiming to bring awareness about single use plastic. It’s interesting to see that some countries are fully aware of the issues of single use plastic and others – sometimes strong modern and advanced economies – just have no idea. Another thing that I touched on earlier is commercial fishing. I’m finding more and more the reality of the situation is just not seen or known by the public.

What’s next for you Todd? 

I have a few trips this year lined up hopefully. One that I am really excited about is a return to the Arctic in the north of Norway, a place that I absolutely love. I’m showing my photography at a gallery for the first time later in the year, which is new and exciting. Also, I’ve started a new degree in Marine Science and Management. So, overall, things are pretty exciting.

Discover more of Todd Thimios’ work on his website.

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Born and raised in Slovakia, photographer Natalia Horinkova, 31, left her home when she was 18 to fullfil her strong desire to discover the world. Growing up as a rhythmic gymnast, Horinkova used to travel across Europe for competitions since a very young age. Fascinated by people and their behaviour, Horinkova has been travelling to learn from the land she visits, and from the food she tries for the first time. »But most importantly from the people I meet alongside my journey,« she says. »What I like the most is being able to tell a story. People and relationships have always played a big part in my life.«

Capturing kids surfing on a wooden plank in Ghana and wild giraffes in Kenya, diving into the translucent waters of Madagascar, travelling across the rural areas of Tanzania, documenting Ugand, India, Indonesia, Australia, and Sri Lanka, travel and lifestyle photographer Horinkova has been covering some of the wildest places on earth, staying never too far from the sea. »If you can’t find me by the sea, I’m walking towards it«, she writes. 

In last November, she was sailing around the islands of North Madagascar on a 1960 Dutch ship. »I consider myself a very lucky girl,« she says. »I thought you must go on an adventure to find out where you belong. But I found out that home is wherever your heart lies, and sometimes ​it is in more than just one place.« Currently living in Sydney, Australia, the artist dreams of settling down »somehwere by the sea, far from the busy cities.« Used to swim and fish with local fishermen, dive under turquoise waters, catch an octupus and cook seafood, we chose to share with you a glimpse of Natalia Horinkova’s sweet daily life all over the world.

Discover more of Natalia Horinkova on her website.

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