Surf’s Up With Patagonia’s Branded ‘Deep Water’ Web Series

There have been many feature films with the ultimate goal of glorifying and immortalizing life among the waves. For my money, you can’t beat Riding Giants, the 2004 documentary about big wave surfers, but the recent film Chasing Mavericks is offering up a more narrative approach. Outdoor clothing company Patagonia has now submitted its entry into the library of surfing media with Deep Water, a web series that follows the life of a big wave surfer in Hawaii.

The subject of Deep Water is Kohl Christensen, who serves as Patagonia’s ‘surf ambassador‘. Christensen lives on Oahu, where he leads a double life as both a surfer and a farmer. He doesn’t seem to be as in interested in money or big competitions, preferring to take on giants for the thrill alone. From what I can understand (or at least from what the first episode of Deep Water tells me), Christensen is a much-respected figure in the big-surf world.

The footage here is absolutely stunning. Christensen gained a share of fame recently thanks to an amazing ride he pulled off

at Cloudbreak Beach in Tavarua, Fiji. Deep Water seems as if it will combine tracking shot footage, as in the video of that stunning ride, with some views taken from the tip of a surfer’s board. The result is a series that is very visually engaging (and can boast a host of supporting interviews as well.

Patagonia’s surf section is filled with videos dedicated to the craft. The company recently directed Groundswell, a feature film about conserving various big-wave hotspots in the Pacific Northwest. You can check out the trailer for that movie in the same places where Deep Water is to be released: On Patagonia’s blog, its Vimeo channel, and its YouTube channel.

Red Bull has become the biggest name in branded online video thanks to its library of extreme sports videos. Can Patagonia and its fascinating surfer stories do the same?