Photo: TJ Trhan
Editor’s Note: The Hometown Hype film tour is presented by White Claw.
TJ Thran lives in two worlds. He splits his time between Rhode Island and Vermont, something he’s done since childhood. His father lives in Rhode Island, and his mother in Vermont, so he grew up snowboarding in the Vermont winter and surfing in the Rhode Island summer.
It was a natural progression from that to filming. At first, he and his friends would make ski and snowboard edits together. Then he bought a telephoto lens and began documenting Rhode Island surfers. That eventually turned into CVRRENT, a media company that explores the intersection of surf, art, and culture through films, images, artwork and events.
Which brings us to the latest episode Hometown Hype. In it, Thran turns his directorial eye towards South County, Rhode Island.
As Thran describes it, Rhode Island essentially has two surf scenes. There’s Newport, which is synonymous with Sid Abruzzi and the Water Brothers — a little more shortboard focused and a little more high performance. And then there’s South County, which has always been more of a place for longboards and alternative surf craft.
“I’ve traveled all over the world. I’ve seen surf communities all over the place. I think something that is unique about South County is the people there are just really salt of the earth,” explains Thran. “You’re far enough north where you still have to deal with extremely cold and kind of brutal conditions for surfing, so it has that kind of a hardcore, New England surfer culture going down.”
However, that’s not all there is to it. Because those harsh winters then give way to summer, and the scene becomes something entirely different. Tourists come, drawn by the warm weather and approachable waves. “Eventually you can shred in trunks and you get to go longboard with your friends,” continues Thran. “Maybe it’s locals, maybe it’s people who just show up every summer, but you have what almost feels like a mini California sort of vibe. It’s laid back. It’s small, but it’s big enough where you can have different friend groups in different spots you surf. It’s got that small town vibe, but it also has enough people where it doesn’t get stale.”
Photo: TJ Thran
Though the summers may be idyllic, the breaks still require the respect Rhode Island’s harsh winters demand. “Like with any surf town that has that core local crew that’s there toughing it out seven months out of the year when it’s cold and gnarly, we just want everyone to come with respect and respect the landmarks, if you’re shooting photos or videos, and respect the people if you’re surfing,” explains Thran. “They’ll absolutely open their arms and hearts and doors and dinner tables to you, if you show up with respect.”
The Hometown Hype premiere of Rhode Island is Thursday, November 6th at The Ocean Mist in South Kingstown. Please RSVP here to attend the show. A special thanks to White Claw for bringing this fantastic film tour to life.
A Film By Tj Thran
Additional Filming
Cate Brown
Sam Morissey
Chris Gauthier
Will Simons
Brent Mccarron
Jarrod Seavey
Josh Feld
Brendan Gouin
Oli Randall
Anya Hanson
NOAA
Timelapses
Giles Van Gruisen
Photography
Andrew Fisher
Cate Brown
Tj Thran
Featuring
Steve Morissey
Mike Morissey
Keith Kyle
Chris Maletta
Bobby Kelly
Sid Abruzzi
Tricia Pan
Emma Limburg
Kevin Tanner
Mick Chivers
Myles Point
Agus & Indra Winangun
Cate Brown
Andrew Nota
Music
“June Nineteenth” And “Re-Entry” By Sean Spellman
“Sandbar” And “Mating Season” By Erev
“Crowns 44” By Tommy Swoop
“Harper Positive” By Aedie
“Live Acoustic Jams” By Agus & Indra
And Music From Motion Array
Executive Producer
Luke House
