Tijuana Swimmin Club

Jeff Edwards is a cliff-jumping film-maker and regular contributor at Stay Wild magazine with army of adventurous friends we call the "Swimmin Club."

Here's what happened when the Swimmin Club went to Tijuana, Mexico...

"I grew up in Southern California, so when I tell people I’ve never been to Tijuana they’re very surprised. That’s where kids went to party if they were under 21, but I got a fake ID when I was 15 that said I was 31. I found it in a field next to the Wienerschnitzel by the Showcase Theater in Corona. It wasn’t even a driver’s license. It was a Green Card for a guy named Raul Rubio Muniz. We looked nothing alike. So to finally visit TJ at age 33 was pretty strange—but fuck it, why not.

Sanuk gave us a bunch of flip-flops and some rafts to go dicking around at a waterpark called El Vergel on the outskirts of TJ. We gathered a huge posse, got a bunch of rooms at Hotel Ticuán, and spent the weekend partying. We rented a private bus to get to the park and raged the whole way there. The driver obviously didn’t care we were chugging tequila the entire time. We drove up, waited in line, and then got ready in the co-ed locker room. 

After lotioning down, we went to a palapa that sold Tecates for 25 pesos, which is about $1.50 US. They also had micheladas for $3, so we pounded down a few of those as well. 
My mom’s work rented the water park Wild Rivers in Irvine for their company picnics when I was a kid, and I would spend the whole day sliding and getting water up my ass. But if I tried to do something stupid, like go down head-first or naked, I would immediately get yelled at by the staff. At El Vergel, they don’t give a fuck what you do. Pretty much the more stupid and dangerous the act, the more the workers laughed and told you to go for it. 

Because of how relaxed the rules were, some of us got pretty fucked up. We all got tons of scrapes and bruises, I ate shit trying to jump over a fence, and two people in our group got thrown in the drunk tank. Our friend Virgil must have got drugged ‘cause we found him passed out on the cement with the paramedics trying to resuscitate him. So, of course, we teabagged him. 

After the park, we took our bus back to the hotel and took a nap for a bit. Then we got up and went to the strip club." 

This adventure was made with help by Sanuk
Directed // Filmed // Edited by Jeff Edwards
Drone Footage by Renee Lusano
Music by Guantanamo Baywatch

Desert and Denim

The Anti-Trade Show

By Gianna Keiko Rankart // giannakeiko.com // @giannakeiko

Photo by Skyler Greene of Candy Mountain Collective

We are not here to talk about work. Or womenswear. With brand slogans like “Be Honest, Stay True” (Hot Cakes) and “Find Some Place to Get Lost” (Iron & Resin), Desert & Denim is the anti-trade show. Here, you’re more likely to juggle a herb-infused organic cocktail (Art in the Age) while hand-dyeing a hemp tee-shirt (Jungmaven), when waiting for a constellation tattoo (Premium Oakland), than discuss how to make outdoor gear appeal to both your fly-fishing dad and your vagabond little brother. Desert & Denim isn’t about selling another slightly different jacket. It’s about a larger cultural shift. One could argue that it’s inspired by the distinguished dirtbags at Patagonia on Black Friday, who told us “don’t buy this jacket,” and instead urged us to repair our thrift apparel. The choice not to consume and conform reflects a mindset and value structure that has developed outside the paradigm of retail supply chains.  

Desert & Denim was a two-day gathering, though most folks hiked and camped for a week, hosted by Juniper Ridge—a wilderness perfume company whose fragrances are inspired by scents experienced on trails and around campfires. Upon entering and receiving an intoxicating Desert Denim Wash spray, I asked how the event came about and if it was going to be an annual affair. I was told, “Basically, Obi Kaufmann and a couple other guys got drunk and were ragging on all the shitty trade shows they’d been to. Will it happen next year? Ummm, ask me at the wrap party.” A self-proclaimed “drunken poet,” Obi is as authentically Kerouac-ian as they come, and is wicked at remembering names. He’s the same vibrant spirit around a campfire at midnight as he is at 9 a.m. leading a foraging hike in the Mojave Desert. The event was small, approximately 23 brands and 100 or so attendees. The booths were invite-only, and tickets to the public were offered only a few days in advance, making it more akin to a curated artists’ salon than a giant outdoor industry trade show.

Focusing on creators and makers, Desert & Denim is equal parts debauchery and inspiration. It’s only fitting that it took place at the Mojave Sands, an eco-chic boutique motel in Joshua Tree. The hotel is managed by Sue Burnett, who was formerly a part of exclusive vintage and vintage-inspired brand Wasteland. One of the most refreshing parts of walking around the booths was interacting with authentic designers and visionaries who are on a mission to reconnect raw, hand-processed goods to thoughtful communities. There weren’t any well-intentioned representatives: Everyone in attendance had indigo-dyed fingertips, scars from welding, and stories to tell about failed dye processes. There’s an honesty to the people behind the brands. Peg and Awl, a contributing couple, said, “Well, we got started because I got pregnant. Our work is made from old things. We used to make them for ourselves, and now we make them for everyone.” Similar stories abounded as creators shared their sourcing and techniques. 

Photo by Colin McCarthy

There were demos for days on everything from natural dyeing, leather care (Otter Wax), and whiskey-making (Workhorse Rye), but they had to compete for attention from complimentary men’s haircuts (Fellow Barber) or sunset motorcycle rides captured by drone cameras on dried-up lake beds in the Bureau of Land Management territory. Desert & Denim isn’t about stocking stores with the hippest “lumbersexual” gear—it’s about connecting consumers to the process, the creators, and why we choose lockstitch construction techniques (Jack/Knife), chain-stitch techniques (Ft. Lonesome), or hand-shaped fur felt hats (Havstad) over mass-produced industrial goods. It’s uncompromisingly American-made, and reminiscent of simpler times, built to withstand even the best shenanigans.

We went to the desert to howl… to be modern anthropologists. We are here to make the best goods possible, while deriving inspiration from nature and experience. Our goods allow the consumer to become part of the process, and unite them with unapologetic, trailblazing makers and creators. We haven’t gathered these visionaries to talk about budgets and sales, push a lifestyle trend, or figure out how to make money being designers. We came to the desert to uphold the creative spirit that emerges in the in-between moments, the negative space, the room to roam. As Camus said, “With rebellion, awareness is born.” 

desertanddenim.juniperridge.com // @juniperridge

NEWS FLASH! They're planning another one and you can help. Just pitch into their kickstarter. Heck we did and it didn't even sting.

Fall 2015 // Release Party

VANCOUVER BC, Let's Party!!!! Swing by The Shop Vancouver this Saturday Oct 10th, 6-9pm and grab a free copy of the new Stay Wild Magazine. Chug some drinks with us while your at it, eh? BEER: Postmark Brewing KOMBUCHA: Brew Dr. Kombucha 

Can't make it to the party? That's fine, we'll have a copy waiting for you at your favorite shop down the street >>>

The Speedster

“I built the car around the front end as a Speedster that kind of looked like an airplane. I reversed a 1931 Ford Model A chassis and put a Ford 221 V8 in it out of a 1962-1963 Ford Fairlane. I Z’ed the frame and dropped the rear. It drove so rad with the independent front end and the ridged rear suspension. It really was a rad blessing. It is street legal. Pretty much. I get a lot of grace, I’m sure, driving down the road.” 

—Brian Bent, jack-of-all-trades, artist, rebel, born and raised in Southern California

Photos by Paul Collins // paulncollins.com // @paulnemirahcollins