Watch: Josh Redman in ‘Backstop’

Josh Redman, the Vanilla Gorilla, recently boarded a plane jetting off on a sneaky solo strike mission to Ireland.  Naturally, we got in touch with him to fire off a quick couple Q’s to get the scoop behind his visit to the Emerald Isle, oh yah and did we mention the brother stitched together a sick edit for all you guys who don’t like to read, enjoy!

ZAG: You went with Ireland over Hawaii, why?

Josh: It wasn’t really a matter of choosing one over the other. I had plans of trying to chase a swell either side of the world just depending on swell. I’m still hoping to go for a Jaws swell if it looks good enough, or even back to Ireland if there’s a big swell before the end of their Winter. There is a huge swell there this week but the winds are unfortunately pretty crazy.

Was this a solo mission, was it a swell chase?

Ya, I chased this one on my own because my usual partner in crime Frank Solomon had commitments and couldn’t pull the trigger. He was gutted and tried to pretend that he was stoked I got waves (laughs)!

Did the trip match the hype? 

I would say the waves definitely matched expectations. The only thing was that I watched countless amounts of waves steamroll through that were just unpaddlable on the bigger days. A ski would have helped a bit.

Anything on the cards for the next couple of months? 

I’m just trying to do a few trips where I can whilst having a family and business to run. It’s tough because I miss swells quite often. I’m going to try to stay on it but at the end of the day, my family comes first. I luckily have a very supportive and understanding wife. Partly because I sulk when I miss swells so she would rather see me go than have to deal with me (laughs)! 

What makes Ireland so ‘returnable’ for you? 

Ireland is just such a special place. The scenery and wave combination is dreamy, and then there is the big issue of the climate. It’s so cold that it keeps crowds away which is a win for guys that can brave it.

Are you aiming to get onto the Big Wave World Tour?

Ya, unfortunately, I think that ship has sailed for me. It would take a year of chasing swells around the world to get a wildcard entry on the tour and I don’t have the time and money for that, but I’m happy with the fact that I still get to travel and chase a few swells throughout the year. 

Josh Redmond – The Backstop from Peter Clyne – Outer Cells on Vimeo.