Join the Manera crew as they stay salty, and head to the far northern Scottish islands to discover some of the best kitespots on the planet. It might be cold, but it’s as near to perfection as you can get!

MANERA set the tone three years ago in Iceland, where they filmed 'Valhalla'. They tend to bypass the paradisiac cliché videos, and choose to test and shoot their products in remote locations where wind, waves, rugged beaches are guaranteed, if the sun shines then that’s a bonus.

The following year, the crew spent ten days off the coast of Vancouver on a remote island, to film 'Rugged Point'. Last May, the crew once again shared frozen smiles as they drove to the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland to film their latest project 'The Island Of The Strangers'.  In this issue, we find out what goes on behind the scenes when putting a movie like this together!

Julien Salles, MANERA’s Brand Manager, has one set goal when it comes to creating a movie, and that is to inspire riders to go for a session during the coldest months of the year. With a strong crew, a shared vision and extreme conditions, the plan's set in motion!

Julien explains, “I mostly travel with the same crew, we get along well, and share the same ideals. It’s important to work with people that enjoy what they are doing, as that reflects on the outcome."

The cameraman, Olivier Sautet from Petole Prod does all the filming and editing himself. He can pilot the drone, swim with a camera in 6 foot waves, and film from the top of a cliff, all in the same session. He's a remarkable videographer and does a fantastic job. Our photographers are Robin Christol, who mostly shoots sailing and regattas, and Matt Georges, who is a snowboard/skateboard specialist. The combination of talents, angles, and styles left us with jaw-dropping footage.

The riders are chosen based on their adventurous spirit, and their determination to put on a wet wetsuit in freezing temperatures! Besides that, a crew of eleven will are divided into two campervans (plus an additional van for equipment) for two weeks; what could go wrong?

Tell Us About Your Experience

Matt Georges: Photography, surfing, kiteboarding and skateboarding while camping and exploring the Outer Hebrides in Scotland with the crew; it doesn't get much better than this!

Olivier: We found ourselves in remote and uncharted places with cold, grey, rough conditions and that’s what made the trip so memorable. I didn't feel like we were on a product shoot, we were on an adventure, and I was able to capture that essential vibe in the movie.

How Was It Living In A Campervan?

Mallory: To be honest, I was a little bit worried about that. During our trip to Iceland, it was pretty tight living with six guys in such a small space, but I must say, it went better than I expected this time.

Pauline: It’s not easy to keep things tidy when you're six people chilling, eating and sleeping in 6m², but it wasn't as bad as it sounds. Our first experience in Iceland prepared me for 'how to survive in a campervan with five people!'

Matt: It was of course very tiny, and we weren't exactly travelling light. We each had at least two big bags each, including drones, flashes, water housing, a variety of lenses, tripods, all the kiteboarding equipment, our regular clothes and above that (literally) we had Robin Christol, a 2m tall guy, and who took up loads of space!

Paul: The main problem I faced while living with two photographers and a cameraman is the amount of equipment that needed to be charged every evening; the campervan had cables everywhere!

How Did You Sleep?

Camille: I slept pretty well during the trip, but my roommates seemed a little sleep deprived - apparently I snore quite a bit!

Set: Camille's snoring problem didn't help the sleeping situation at all!

Mallory: I had to share the same bed with Liam, which was fine but Camille's snoring was intense and kept us all up at night!

How Was The Drive?

Julien: We arrived in Edinburgh airport late in the afternoon, drove six hours to the Isle of Skye, and that's where we took the ferry to Lewis & Harris Islands. Driving on the left-hand side of the little roads at night, while we were exhausted was not the best idea. We decided to stop, and we spent our first night somewhere in the middle of Scotland, with only Camille’s snoring setting the ambience!

Paul: Olivier and I drove our campervan 99% of the time because Matt was busy taking photos on the road. Julien and Robin drove the equipment van and Liam and Mallory the other campervan.

Olivier: Matt, Paul and I shared the wheel, to begin with, but later on we consciously decided to skip Paul in the rotation, as we probably had a better chance of getting to the spots in one piece!

Camille: Who was the best driver? I would have to say, Liam, as Mallory shattered one of the side mirrors on our campervan.

Was It Hard to Find A Hot Shower Every day?

Pauline: I've been on MANERA shoots many times, and I came to terms with the fact that I was not going to get a hot shower after a cold session!

Matt: We found hot showers a couple of times, but other than that, we rocked the so-called "French Shower", and we used deodorant to cover up the smell!

Camille: I had no choice but to live up to the MANERA slogan and "Stay Salty", that's what it's all about, right?

Mallory: This was the longest time I'd ever stayed without showering, but I smelt pretty good, I think!

How Did You Feed Yourselves?

Mallory: You should have seen the amount of food we bought on our first shopping run! Two shopping carts filled to the top, with a mixture of healthy and junk food, as that is precisely what you need after a freezing session!

Pauline: I was impressed by the amount of food that the guys were able to consume. When we went shopping, I naively assumed that we had enough food to last us the whole trip, but within three days, there was nothing left.

Olivier: Paul was the rookie in our campervan, but he also did most of the cooking. Robin helped him a little, and they did a great job. By the end of the trip, they even managed to cook pasta properly!

Max: I was stuck in the van with all the vegetarians, so I didn’t eat meat for a week, so that was pretty boring.

Paul: I was the designated dishwasher in our campervan, as I was the youngest. Max was in the same situation in the campervan in he was in!

What Did You Do To Keep Yourselves Busy When You Weren’t Riding?

Camille: Well, most of the time we were driving around, looking for new spots and taking "lifestyle" photos. We also played soccer and card games.

Matt: Liam and I went skateboarding on the grass, and we flew the drone around to explore our surroundings.

Mallory: I loved playing football. Paul, Liam and I kicked ass! Playing UNO was fun too. The rest of the time we were driving, kiting and surfing.

How Was Partying With The Scots?

Camille: We ended up at a local pub in Stornoway, and met some great people over there. They were very welcoming and surprised to meet a group of strangers coming to shoot a movie on their island.

Paul: It was one hell of a night! It’s not every day that the locals meet kitesurfers in the area, so they were pretty happy to talk to us and of course, drink lots of beers. The locals were very friendly, and they loved sharing their stories with us.

Olivier: It was whiskey after whiskey after whiskey, and we woke up exceptionally hung over! The morning after we realised that our campervan's battery was flat, so that was a little hectic to deal with.

Tell Us About The Riding

Mallory:  The spots at the bay were magical; they'll forever be in my mind! There were two perfect waves (one right and one left), and two big lagoons for freestyle, all at the same spot. The first day, we scored some epic lefts surfing, and the following morning, the wind picked up, and it was like riding Ponta Preta but as a left. The freestyle spot in the lagoon was comparable to Brazil (minus 15-20ºC!) The following day, the wind shifted, and I rode with Camille for hours on the endless right-hander that would be comparable to the waves in Dakhla. I was the last to leave the water, and that was at about 11:00 pm.

Paul: the Lochs were perfect for freestyle; we just had to find some with the right wind direction.

Max: We started playing a game called 'K.I.T.E', where we take in turns doing a trick, and then the next person up, needs to match it and if not, they get a letter; first to get K.I.T.E loses. Liam and I are both very competitive; we were trying tricks we knew the other wouldn't be able to match. I almost beat him, but we had to stop, as we were on our 13m kites, and the wind picked up so strong that I was only able to perform tricks holding onto my chicken loop.

Set: Coming from Brazil I'm used to slightly warmer climates! I kited in cold waters in Europe, but it was the coldest water I have been riding in. It was worth it though; the spots were terrific.

Camille: In only 500 meters, the spot offered a surf and kite wave (left) with offshore wind and another surf and kite wave (right) with side onshore wind. It may be one of the craziest spots I’ve ever ridden: perfect waves and incredible backdrops.

Olivier: The shooting conditions were excellent. The most beautiful landscape, awesome crew, perfect wind, waves, and a sunset that seemed to last forever. We couldn't have asked for better locations and conditions!

Mallory: We foiled and surfed small but clean waves and we scored perfect lefts and rights kiting. For freestyle, the guys could throw big doubles in the lagoons. Looking back, it couldn’t have gotten any better.

Julien: We arrived in a bay up North, and the swell was pumping, with long left and a right reef breaks. We surfed great waves; all geared up in our hoods, boots and gloves under an extraordinary light. Cold water adventures bring me far more pleasure than any tropical trip, probably because moments like these are never forgotten.

MANERA will come back for 2020 with another fantastic location and a film to be remembered.

Videos

MANERA - ISLANDS OF THE STRANGERS
By Julien Salles

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