A salty crowd of local Muizes and fellow Capetownians joined us for a mid-week meetup as we went Over the Edge for the Oceans with Matt Bromley and Spike.

Oceaneers, alongside partners Wavescape, Mahina,  Surf.4.Earth, Captain Fanplastic, GLOW and Thank Goodness Foods, played host to a night of big-wave thrills with delicious market food, beers from Jack Black, prizes from Wazoogles, inspiring Ocean talks, and insightful Q&A sessions.

Getting Matt Bromley on board for an Oceaneers event was something we had been set on for quite some time. Luckily for us, the word of Oceaneers had recently crept onto Matt’s radar. So when we reached out to Matt about putting on an event together, we received a resounding YES. To top that off, Matt informed us that his new movie, Over the Edge, was being premiered on October 18th and that he would be stoked to feature his film at our event.

Oceaneers hosted a couple of screenings at the Labia in Town earlier this year, and to great success, but something was missing: a bunch of fellow salty sea goers. We decided the best place to draw in our crowd was to host it at the social hub of Muizenberg, the Blue Bird Garage Market.

The timing of it all became a bit complex, with Kaspar, our Oceaneers founder, due to be back in town for only a few days in November; as well as Matt – gearing up for the big-wave season in the northern hemisphere – set to depart at the first sign of swell. To top that all off, we caught wind that the Protect the West Coast Campaign was set to host the premiere of their documentary, Ours, Not Mine, on our tentative date. With the Protect the West Coast campaign being something that all of us felt strongly aligned with – and deserving of our full support – it was decided that we postpone our event by a few days, landing on Tuesday, November 23rd.

We opened our doors nice and early, allowing our guest to grab their free drink, compliments of our sponsors, Jack Black, and enjoy the delicious food on offer from our favorite local food vendors. with bellies and glasses full, we kicked things off with a quick welcoming from Kaspar, introduced the man of the night, Matt Bromley, and dove straight Over the Edge.

For those who haven’t seen it yet, Matt’s Over the Edge is an absolute must. Having started his surfing career like all fellow Cape Town surfers, in the gentle rollers of Muizenberg, it is truly incredible to see the things Matt is achieving on the global stage. Matt takes us on a two-year journey across the world chasing giant swells. From massive Jaws to Mavericks, Dungeons to Nias, Matt had us enthralled as he continuously threw himself over the edge on absolute monsters. Throughout the film, you could hear the gasps, feel the tension, and you couldn’t help but cheer and whistle for Matt as he caught wave after incredible wave. The movie ended with a cheer and almost a sigh of relief after what Matt had just put us through.

As promised we invited Spike – local surf legend – to host the Q&A session with Matt. Being accustomed to such events, Steve threw Matt a curveball and rather got him to retell answers to some of the more interesting questions he’s received in the past. What followed was epic. Matt’s down-to-earth nature and approachability allowed the audience to really connect with him during that session. As a result, the crowd produced some really awesome questions and Matt followed up with interesting and insightful answers. For 30 minutes the whole crowd was engaged, lapping up every word Matt had to offer.

We wrapped up the Q&A, gave our guests a quick break and moved on to our section about Ocean conservation. We kicked off with a video from Proveg highlighting why you should eat plant-based, something that really speaks to the Oceaneers’ core message.

We were stoked to have the faces behind our brands get up on stage and share their stories and how they are contributing to cleaner Oceans.

Daniel from Surf.4.Earth was first up and spoke on the environmental impact of the surf industry while offering sustainable solutions to this problem in the form of eco-friendly boards.

Next up was Yanga from Captain Fanplastic. Captain Fanplastic has joined us at our previous events and it was a pleasure to have them join us yet again. Involved in educating children about plastic pollution, the plastic-loving pirate, Yanga, read us a brief excerpt from their book, The Legend of Captain Fanplastic.

Finally, Gabriella from Glow shared her story of how she is working toward reducing the footprint of her activewear by creating amazingly colorful and durable athleisure that is made to last.

Last up was our very own Maddie as she addressed the Shell debacle. Maddie is heavily involved with the current campaigns that are fighting against Shell. 

The issue around Shell and their plans to perform seismic surveying on the Wild Coast is a massive issue right now amongst concerned citizens in South Africa. Having attended the recent protests and inspired to play our part in raising awareness around the topic, we simply couldn’t miss the opportunity to speak to our Ocean-loving crowd and educate them on the heinous acts that Shell plans to carry out over the next 5 months.

The bottom line is this: We need to make our voices heard and show major corporations like CCG and Shell that we will not stand by while they seek to destroy our precious resources. Spread the awareness, get out there and protest, and most importantly, BOYCOTT Shell.

For more information check out OceansNotOil – the organisation leading the fight against Shell

 

The end

From left to right: Nathan, Matt, Iggy, Greg, Kaspar, Andrea, Victor, Maddie, Daniel