102: Alex Knost/The Knost Conundrum
“When you do something without hesitation, it’s going to come out successful; whether or not people consider it terrible.”
My guest this week is Alex Knost, a surfer, musician and photographer and definitely one of the most polarising figures in modern surfing.
He’s a stylist who is renowned for his highly individual approach to wave-riding and life in general. For some, he’s the arty-party epitome of hipster surfing who is all style and no substance.
To others, he’s a genuine original who has managed the miraculous feat of achieving a totally original and cohesive style at this late stage in surfing’s development.
Wherever you stand, he’s one of the most enigmatic and interesting presences in modern surfing. Alex was in town for the London Surf Film Festival where he was promoting his film Tan Madonna, so I headed up town to sit down with him to see if I could get to the bottom of the Knost conundrum.
Listen to the episode here:
Show Notes
- New faces at the Vans Duct Tape event in NY.
- East coast weather.
- Screening Tan Madonna at London Surf Film Festival.
- “For a film it didn’t take that incredibly long”.
- Creative control.
- Being impressionistic.
- Alex’s dialogue at the start.
- Working with Lee-Ann Curren.
- Making the soundtrack.
- “As time surpasses, the true form emerges”.
- The initial gestural stroke.
- The public eye: “they can see you but you can’t see them”.
- Alex’s visual aesthetic.
- Tomorrows Tulips.
- Part of a small music subculture.
- Playing in a band with no restrictions.
- Going to Las Vegas with his grandmother.
- Formative exposure to music.
- Discovering 50s/60s music in a diner.
- Loathed Pennywise.
- Dead Coyote.
- Richard Hell & The Voidoids.
- Buzzcocks.
- ‘One Foot in the Grave’ by Beck.
- Japanese Motors.
- “Lyric guy”
- Exposed to much more music thanks to technology.
- Today’s cool kids: “unhinged radicalism”.
- Surf clubs.
- Shortboarding phase.
- Blackies.
- Echo Beach.
- Being on a podcast: “it’s a weird place to be in, because you’re trying to be honest but you could be like Bob Dylan and make up a bunch of shit”.
- Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back.
- #content.
- Being a journalist today.
- Patti Smith’s speech.
- The Simpsons’ Fraudcast News.
People Mentioned
- Ben Mondy
- Paul Evans
- Lee-Ann Curren
- Ford Archbold
- Talking Heads
- Bob Dylan
- Neil Young
- Taylor Steele
- Mike Lohrman
- Ricky Barnes
- Nolan Hall
- Kelly Slater
- Mark Martinson
- Robert ? 34:54
- Nathan Webster
- Shane Dorian
- Patti Smith
- Steve Douglas
- Sam McGuire
- Dave Carson
- Jake Black
- Danny MacAskill
- Demi Taylor
- Chris Nelson
- Ben and Simon from Vans? 50:29
Places Mentioned
- New York, USA
- Rockaway Beach, USA
- Las Vegas, USA
- Santa Cruz, USA
- Newport Beach, USA
- ? 35:46
- Malibu, USA