Surf Tribe

With Surf Tribe, photographer Stephan Vanfleteren shows
that there is far more to surf culture than just sport and
competition. Surfing is also about a deep admiration
and respect for the ocean, as well as the feeling of
insignificance when confronted with the forces of nature.
Surfers use the waves for fun, but also to forget and to
battle, both with others and with themselves.
Vanfleteren looks beyond the traditional borders of the
United States and Australia and searches the globe for
people who live in places where sea and land meet. He
documents a fluid community, which has nature as its
sole leader. He portrays both young talent as well as
living icons and old legends, both competition surfers and
freesurfers.
No action shots on azure blue waves but static and serene
black and white portraits in Vanfleteren’s well-known,
haunting style, which show the real people behind the
surfers, in all their strength and vulnerability. A series of
images that penetrates to the true core of surf culture.
With hundreds of portraits of, amongst others, Kelly Slater,
Gerry Lopez, John John Florence, Mickey Munoz, Filipe
Toledo and Stephanie Gilmore.