This piece is excerpted from the feature “Birds of a Feather” starring Ryan Burch and Bryce Young in the new print issue of SURFER. Order your copy here.
Nine years ago, artist and filmmaker Thomas Campbell recruited dynamic duo Ryan Burch and Bryce Young to join him on a shoot for a forthcoming film project. Shot in voluptuous 16mm film around the world, nearly a decade down the track, Campell’s opus, “YI-Wo,” is finally ready to dance across the silver screen. At the center of the film is the wave-riding, surfboard design, and brotherly relationship of Burch and Young.
Drawn together by pure surf aesthetic, it was around Burch’s forward-thinking designs that they’d build a lasting friendship. Through good times and bad, including a wildfire that destroyed the Young family farm, they’ve built boards together and endeavored to see just how far they could push their concepts. The following is how they reckon their relationship:
Ryan Burch: We got some great trial runs at Deserts. It was big and unruly, but there were moments, and I got some great waves with him. From there he invited me back to their house in Australia. So, I jumped on board with him and went back to his house. The rest is kind of history.
Bryce Young: After seeing him surf, I was so enamored with not just his surfing, but who he was and what he was doing. At Deserts he was toying with every section, every bump, every undulation in the water, his body positioning, the way his board was cutting through the water, I’d never really been rendered speechless like that. I sat and watched him ride maybe 15 waves over two hours, it was truly monumental. It wasn’t just unique; it was brand new. His approach, his attitude, and just how fucking cool he was. We bonded over a love of dark beer and surfboards.
After that Deserts trip, we clicked, we bonded instantly. I think I just asked him if he wanted to come home to Australia. I told him it wasn’t exactly the time of year, but we could try to get a wave when we can, visit the family farm and build some boards together. He changed his plan and jumped on a flight with me and stayed for a month. We got skunked on the waves, but it didn’t put him off one bit. He came back a few months later and we scored.
Burch: That first trip was really special. Bryce’s dad was really into helping us build boards, and his mom helped us get blanks and do whatever she had to to make it happen. We got all the materials we needed and headed out to their family farm, which is about an hour from the coast. They have a bunch of land and space out there, and an old shed where Bryce’s brother Beau used to build boards. That’s where, start to finish, I built Bryce five boards. There were three carbon-rail asyms of various sizes, a 4’11” fish and a 9’9” log single-fin. This was right after I’d come off a board-building stint at home where I made myself 40 boards, so I was really dialed in at the time with the whole process from start to finish. I still feel like those are some of the best boards I ever made him.
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