This week’s post was scheduled to be a hard sell of the new hoodies, write about how their production fell into place, the images used, how this two images worked so well in the artwork and then on the screen printer’s silk, the ease of finding the right garment [thanks Hunter!] And then the awesome feedback from those that have already bought, blah, blah.
But after writing the peice below it doesn’t feel good trying to pimp the PhotoCPL wares, so veering out of that lane;
Brushes With Brilliance
One of Surfing’s greatest storytellers has left the building, 76 year old Jack McCoy passed 26 May after a long illness.
I can’t lay claim to knowing the legendary Jack McCoy. My two brushes with the master of surf cinematography were fleeting. The first was at Bull’s Paddock, NSW in 2005 when I was on a Rusty Photoshoot with Justin Souter, Luke Harwood and Mikey Banks. McCoy was there also with the late great WA Surf Photog Twiggy and the Billabong A team, Andy Irons, Joel Parkinson and Taj Burrows. We were there first- but naturally Twiggy was sent over to see what we were up to. I did know Twig a lot better, he’d shot a lot of Chrissy Davie, Reg and the other Kiwi WA contingent and we’d published those images in NZ Surf Mag. Twig was a good bastard, a dyed in the wool Ocker partier.
The interchange was nothing but convivial, but he was sent along the sand by Jack and the Billabong manager to make sure we were staying in our lane, that I wouldn’t shoot their guys. It’s a common courtesy all surf photographers largely adhere to. From memory we were actually done, I think there was warm banter that they had missed the morning glass. We were happy to watch and fanboy. I also remember how hard Jack was working, off the back of a jetski, then on land, then back in the water.
The other brushing was while Jack was on tour promoting his Parko movie Free As A Dog in 2006. I think the movie had footage from the Bull’s Paddock sessions and some epic NZ footage. I was the local mag editor, Jack was on a promo tour, he was in showman mode, like an old school surf movie tour, that sorta meeting. Again nothing but convivial and nice, but also nothing more than a glancing. I had already commissioned my offsider Rowan Klevstul to do the McCoy interview.
We’ve all grown up on McCoy’s moving vision from Tubular Swells, Kong’s Island [a firm fave] , Sons of Fun [best sound track eva] , Sik Joy, Sabo Taj, The Occumentary… Blue Horizons… There are 25 Full length McCoy Surf Movies, but the man contributed so much more to other seminal surf movies and shorts. Little wonder there has been a huge outpouring of love and sympathy for his family in surf media and socials. Truly an innovator and absolute surfing royalty, Jack’s contribution to our global tribe’s story has been massive. Rest in peace, sir, you are a definitive legend.