In a suitably Canadian fashion, Shrink is low-key about some pretty heavy surf. This short video is little more than promotion piece for Sepp and Raph Bruhwiler, but it is also a beautiful document about surfing Canada’s wild west, Vancouver Island. From the first scene — a water shot taken during a driving sleet storm — the viewer gets a real feel for what it must be like to be a surfer in British Columbia.
Apart from the nut-shrinking temperatures and having to wear a five-mil suit year-round, surfing Canada’s West Coast means learning how to be self-sufficient in one of North America’s last remaining wilderness areas. The Bruhwiler brothers and their pal Peter Devries are great guides to this wilderness. Native sons of Tofino, the epicenter of Vancouver Island surfing, this crew of Canadians ranges out the back of beyond looking for surf. On their way to the waves, they find bears, killer whales, horny sea lions, otters and eagles. Seeing this crew tackle burly point breaks and heavy rock reefs in all kinds of conditions breeds a real respect for these truly committed surfers and their cold-water Indonesia.
CS rating: chill — good soundtrack
Running time 32 minutes. Made in 2006 by Jeremy Koreski and Kuan-Jian Foo. Filmed on location in Canada, California, Mexico and Hawaii.
