The Zag Brah Grill - with shaper, videographer and paddle-ski maker, Lampeace

THE ZAG BRAH GRILL - WHERE WE INTERROGATE THE FAMOUS, THE UNKNOWN, AND THE INFAMOUS.

Johannes ‘Lampeace’ Lamprecht has been part of the East London scene for yonks, either shaping quality boards, hooking lips at The Reef, or capturing homegrown stoke in his collection of classic DVDs and video clips. So good in fact that he recently won the Zigzag GoPro comp and a tidy O’Neill wetsuit. But Zag noticed a disturbing trend of late that emerged with a spoof video originally planted on the Zag Shot Bru pages. The video showed Lamps divvying up his time making the most heinous of surf craft in his shaping bay, the Goatboat. And as the saying goes, many a word spoken in jest... So we hauled in Johannes, and naturally, we grilled him.

Interview by Louis Wulff

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Louis Wulff: Hey Lamps, the guys at Zag showed a video of you shaping a paddleski on the Zag website which I believe may have led to some extra trade for you. They specifically want me to ask you about it.
Lampeace: Hahaha. Unfortunate business in a sense! Well, the guy that should actually be here is old Heinie Meiring. He is the spokesperson. But I guess that I will have to do. Ja, I have had quite a few guys phoning me requesting to have their skis altered or new custom ones made. I’ve tried to explain to them that I’m actually not an expert at this and referred them to Kolaski. But because it’s been played on Youtube so much, they are under the impression that I am an expert boatie shaper ... hahaha, it’s backfired on me!



Louis: So surely if it’s going that well, you should be looking at giving up your day job as a surfboard shaper and turning to shaping paddleskis?
Lamps: No no no, it’s still full steam ahead. Surfboards are the main thing, but I do shape a couple of skis, I have to admit, just for the export market. Purely export, for a guy that contracts me from the UK, so just for the export market hey?
 
Louis: You sound defensive. I believe the surfers at Nahoon Reef are keen to see some of your skis in the lineup?
Lamps: Ja well, like Roger Smith (a keen Nahoon reef local) says it’s a scourge and I am promoting it. He is an attorney so I don’t want to get on his wrong side. C’mon bru!
 
Louis: Mmm, remember, we’re watching you!... You’ve also have been shooting tons of GoPro work with your camera mounted on a silver pole. What’s up with that?
Lamps: Well, when Kevin Olsen was here about two years ago, he liked doing moves really close to me. With the GoPro being a fisheye lens, you have to get close. We both had the same idea: rather put the camera on a pole (I use a tripod leg) as it moves me out of harm’s way. You know what Kevin is like, he’ll just ride over you to get the shot. So basically we thought “let’s play it safe and get a different angle as well”. You know like when a guy does a cuttie or whatever, you don’t get spray all over the lens. After we came up with that idea, Shaun Makings reminded me that in ’98 I glassed a pole onto his camera, but it didn’t work due to the big, heavy and bulky camera. That’s why the GoPro works. It’s lighter and smaller.



Louis: Quite unusual to use a tripod leg as a pole. Any new tricks up your sleeve?
Lamps: We are actually working on a new rig, a full 3m extension onto the tripod leg. Don’t know whether I can balance it, but will try it when it’s super shallow on smaller days. Probably going to get completely caned, but might get lucky.
 
Louis: Lamps. Do you know that you won a O’Neill Psycho II for your GoPro work?
Lamps: Oh yeah, got a call from the Zag. I was quite surprised, but completely stoked as I saw some of the other clips and there were a couple that were good. I think what did it was the unusual perspective, the perfect waves and the dolphins out there.
 
Louis: Don’t you think it’s just wrong that they give the prize to an ‘advertiser’?
Lamps: Well, I haven’t actually advertised for a long time, haha!. Funnily enough, I emailed a showcase through to them for the next issue a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think that it was anything to do with it though, haha. I know that clip has been doing well as my website guy says it has been getting a shitload of hits. So...
(there was no restriction on who could enter aside from Zag staff, but nice Louis, thanks for that – Ed)

Louis: Hey, I note that you have something weird written on the back of your Gath. What’s up with that?
Lamps: I wrote it a few years back. It says “Don’t laugh – it can pick up at any moment”. The reason for this is that I used to wear a Gath helmet ‘cause I don’t have any hair so I get sunburnt. I was surfing at Easterns on a small day when this little girl paddled passed me and said “Don’t worry Uncle, it’s not that big out here today”. It was one of the little chicks who is bigger now. Maybe she thought I was wearing it because I was scared of the waves. Haha.
 
Louis: What’s your favourite wave in EL?
Lamps: Probably Nahoon Reef, it’s close and not that crowded. For videoing, it would be that other spot we don’t name.
 
Louis: But we never see you swimming at Reef?
Lamps: I always forget my flippers or something when going to Reef. Pure coincidence I tell you.
 
Louis: Hhhmmm conveniently forget your fins eh?
Lamps: I won’t swim at Reef man. Not a frig! One or two fins out there hey. I was videoing out there off a surfboard one day and a fin popped up next to me. A guy paddling next to me saw it and tuned me about it. You’re looking through the lens and don’t see a damn thing. I thought nooit, no more. I don’t feel kosher out there.
 
Louis: Shoo…heavy man. Thanks Lamps. Well done for the prize. Just watch those Goatboats.