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On the first night, Steve Van Doren and the Vans team hosted the heat draw for the competitors at a casual backyard barbecue. The son of Vans’ co-founder Paul Van Doren, Steve has worked in the family business for decades, and is now known as the Ambassador of Fun. Wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a cowboy hat made out of old shoes, he was definitely dressed for the part. The surfers, along with family and friends gathered in a relaxed setting as 40 men’s and 20 women’s names were drawn from a shoebox. The competition would run in 3 rounds, the top 4 men and 4 women with the highest scores moving onto the finals. When asked about their strategies, most gave answers along the lines of “get waves.” Refreshingly simple.
After waiting a few days for favorable conditions, the first day of competition kicked off with Women’s Round 1. It was finally time to see Pipeline in action. Banzai Pipeline is known as one of the most dangerous places to surf due to the powerful waves breaking over shallow and sharp reefs. With the potential to crash into the rocky edges or have leashes caught in caves, it takes a ton of skill–-and even more courage–to surf here. No stranger to these risks, the first heat included favorites Caity Simmers and “Queen of Pipeline” Moana Jones Wong, who showed off exactly why they’d been successful here in the past. Midway through the heats, Mother Nature decided to throw in another element as a light drizzle turned into a proper downpour. Rain or shine, the athletes went out unfazed, focused on getting their first points on the board.
After another short day’s break, the competition continued with the women’s second round and the men’s first. The beach was filled with spectators, locals and tourists alike, as the competition was free for all to attend. While fans rooted equally for the women and men, the most popular were the local Hawaiian athletes, which made up about half the competition. The women started off the day again, hyping up the crowd with incredible rides. One ride by Bettylou Sakura Johnson earned the first Bag of Cash of the day– a cash prize (of undisclosed amount) awarded in a brown paper bag to any surfer that pulls off a wow moment, excites the crowd, and pulls off something spectacular regardless of what the conditions might look like.
Winds picked up as the men’s competition began and two strategies quickly emerged: an aggressive approach, targeting any decent waves to build small scores; and a patient approach, waiting for the perfect wave to chase a high single score. Even the waves that were unrideable were a spectacle in itself. The sheer size, illustrated by the length of surfboards riding up and over, and the following crash of white water spray was hypnotizing. Then imagining having to experience it out on the water, duck diving under or being lifted over, brought a renewed respect for the surfers.
After watching these early rounds, it was time for office to head back to the cold. With the competition officially spanning from December 8-20, it seemed the forecast was gearing up for some massive waves— and it didn’t disappoint. Following from afar through Vans’ Instagram and live updates, we saw the full extent of what it means to surf at Pipeline. After a series of electrifying and daring surfs, the 2024 winners were crowned: Erin Brooks and Nathan Florence.
The thrill of watching top athletes compete at the highest level of their sport, even remotely, never fails to inspire. Few sports surrender so completely to the forces of nature as surfing does. And at its core, surfing is all about having a deep respect for the ocean—its unpredictable whims, its immense power, and its ever-changing moods.
The ritual may be familiar, but nothing else about the scene — from its setting to its stakes — is ordinary. The backdrop behind Jenna is a sweeping expanse of ice and snow in a small Russian port town called Magadan. Jenna is dressed in drag, but not drag of the Rupaul’s Drag Race variety; her drag has been referred to as “creature drag.” Her signature white face paint, platform heels and surrealist costumes, with their exaggerated sculptural proportions and use of duct tape and repurposed items, catches the ire of her neighbors and the love of online admirers alike. Jenna eventually accrued a following on social media for her public and technically illegal drag performances, which often involved little more than her walking or being in public spaces but nevertheless were often met with abuse and threats of imprisonment.
But when Agniia first encountered Jenna, she hadn’t yet reached the level of virality that would eventually come in the years to follow. The filmmaker was researching different drag performers in Russia for her sophomore project, which she thought would be a docuseries, when she heard from a friend about a young drag queen from Magadan. “I was like, this is impossible. I have to meet this person,” Agniia remembers. “And I could not actually go meet her because I was in Moscow and she was in Saint Petersburg, so I sent a friend of mine with whom I’d been studying with in film school, and she went and filmed the sample.” The simple video, showing Jenna and her friend getting dressed up for a party, struck something in Agniia. The drag was an earlier, more prototypical version of the style Jenna is now known for; less duct tape and ornamentation, but still that signature striking makeup. “Something sparked. I knew I just had to stick to this feeling,” Agniia says. She decided to turn the docuseries into a documentary solely focused on Jenna.
Around that time, the entire world came to a grinding halt: the onset of COVID-19 pandemic had just led to lockdowns around the globe. With only a couple thousand followers on social media at that point in time, Jenna had tried to branch out and connect with other drag artists in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but faced rejection; her drag was extremely unconventional, and not even other drag artists quite understood it. “I think we found each other at the right moment, because nobody knew what to do, how to cope with all this,” Agniia says. “Jenna was saying that she was lost, and she also didn't know how to develop her art next.”
Unlike some of the other artists Agniia had initially researched, Jenna didn’t need much convincing to allow the camera into her life. “[Especially] after COVID came, there wasn't really [any] drag in my life,” Jenna recounts when I speak to her later over Zoom. “I realized that what drag is for me is not just a costume, a dress, something that you leave, that you take off and then in the dead of the night you put back on. Later, I understood that this is who I am, that I am art and I am drag, and that this is way bigger and more important than just clothing or costume.”
[LEFT TO RIGHT: Agniia Galdanova, Jenna Marvin, Igor Myakotin]
When it came time to move into production stages, Agniia sent a clip to Igor, who had been referred to her by a past colleague. When Igor saw the footage, he was similarly struck by Jenna — and even more struck to find out she shared his small hometown of Magadan. “It was just so fateful to know that I also come from this town, and I've never seen it through this cinematic lens, through the vision that Agniia has,” he says. “I was mesmerized by the footage, mesmerized by Jenna. I thought to myself, I have to do everything I can [for us] to work together, whatever the collaboration is gonna be.”
The two followed Jenna for over three years; Agniia first relocated to St. Petersburg, where Jenna had taken up residence after leaving her grandparents’ home in Magadan, and later Jenna moved in with Agniia in her home in Moscow. All the while, Igor and his team worked remotely from the United States to meet Agniia’s production needs. Inevitably, with all their time spent together, Agniia and Jenna became close.
“There is an unspoken rule in documentary filmmaking that you have to keep this line, and you can’t overcome certain boundaries,” Agniia explains. “In my first film, it was not an easy subject [to do this with] as well. I was following a family for seven months, and [we became] close, but I always was trying to keep my distance, and was constantly thinking about it. How much should I say? How much should I give?” But as she got to know Jenna, it became clear that this time, that distance wouldn’t be possible. “With Jenna almost from the very beginning, I was like, fuck it. That’s not going to work with this one. I'm going to break this rule 100%. I never regretted it, because that's actually what built up the trust that is there.”
As Jenna's public performances continued and began to garner more public attention, her online audience multiplied. Among her virtual admirers was French fashion maven Michèle Lamy, who would eventually sign onto Queendom as an executive producer. Lamy's discovery of Jenna led to an invitation to walk in the Rick Owens show in Paris — her first time modeling, and her first time leaving Russia in her life. Of course, Agniia and her camera followed. But most of their excursions were not so glamorous; many of Jenna's performances shown in the documentary were undertaken at a real risk to her physical safety, and by extension, to the safety of Agniia. But neither of them were daunted.
After all, Jenna was used to both taking risks and documenting them well before she was the subject of a film; she and her friends long filmed the often impassioned, sometimes violent reactions of strangers and policemen to their mere existence in public spaces in drag. And after a protest performance in which she wrapped herself in the Russian flag, Jenna was kicked out of beauty school, her last attempt at a practical route before pursuing her drag as a full time venture.
The only time Agniia tried to dissuade her was on Paratrooper’s Day, a Russian military holiday often characterized by the drunk soldiers roaming the streets. The risk for violence was especially high. “On Paratroopers Day, people say you can't come out in skinny jeans or with nail polish,” Jenna describes. “[I think] you should do the opposite. You should really make a statement and come out wearing what you want to wear. I think that clothes, what we wear, is really at some point beyond our psyche, our mind, our understanding. It is as if it's a certain kind of spice that is enticing you and you follow the scent of that spice and you don't see anything else except that scent and you follow it. That's how I see it.”
“I was like, ‘girl, maybe we should not do that,’” Agniia says. “Igor was stressing out and she told us, ‘well, you don't need to follow me. I'm gonna go and do it. I don't care if you're coming or not.’” In the end, Jenna ventured out for her performance anyway, protesting the then-recent invasion of Ukraine. Agniia followed. Not shown in the film is that the two were arrested, and managed to talk the police out of their arrest.
Not too long after, she would have to leave Russia again, this time moving for Paris for good; the film follows her struggles to get a visa in time to leave the country after the onset of the war. “It's already been three years that I've been in France, and it is important for me to understand and remember who I am, and to remember that pain, those moments when we were back in Russia doing drag, fighting with the police and law enforcement,” Jenna says. “It is important that this resistance continues and that those voices are not being silenced. Yes, here there’s much more freedom, there are pride parades and queer people can get married, but this is an illusion because there are also places where you cannot get married and you cannot enjoy the same freedoms. I cling to who I am, who I was from the very beginning. I remember who I am. And this is what carries me through this life.”
“Meeting Jenna gave me hope for the future of the country, because governments come and go, people in power come and go, but the generations change at the same time,” Igor says. “So it warms my heart to see that someone like her came from somewhere like that. If I saw her back then at a similar age, it would be even more personal. I think I would’ve accepted myself as gay quicker, and I wouldn't be nervous or closed and not open to the world or myself… Working with this project also meant that we were amplifying the voices of many, many people who couldn't speak like Jenna could.”
For Agniia, the honor of telling Jenna's story is only paralleled by the honor of having her in her life. “We found each other,” Agniia says. “And what I learned from Jenna is so precious; about life, about art, about surviving. And I appreciate it a lot. This film grew so much larger than just a documentary, because I have a family now, a working family.”
We didn’t expect our questions to be answered by a demographic made up of a majority of 16-21 year olds. But the post-covid generation had a lot to share on the serious topics – and it seems to be all about escape. Dancing to escape a future in a world they are disillusioned by, against the political state and cuts to arts funding - and they haven’t even left school yet. We met a community bizarrely made up of Aries and Pisces zodiac signs, looking for a release in the electronic chaos of the dancefloor - soundtracked by Snow Strippers.
We came to find out what brought them here. Is it really that deep or just a bit of fun? People are coming out, and we want to know how they’re feeling, and where Snow Strippers’ emerging popularity fits into all of this. Are Snow Strippers an anchor to reality or an outlet to escape?
Mazzy, 21, Portland, Oregon
What brought you to London?
Dude I don’t even know - I’m supposed to go on this study abroad program. My options were either Milan or Australia but I don’t fuck with the bugs out there. And I don’t speak Italian so like… it’s London.
What’s your zodiac sign?
My zodiac sign? Crazy ask! Virgo.
What do you do for work?
I was in an internship last semester, train design. I would design trains in Antwerp and the Netherlands
What do you do for fun?
Girl! Girl I don’t know… I scroll on Instagram. I watch YouTube videos. That’s kind of it.
Who’s gonna save the world?
…Me!?
Y2K or 2010s?
2010s
Red Pill or Blue Pill?
Blue pill
Tati or Graham?
Tati.
Thoughts on AI?
Errrr no. Not yet, no.
Do you dance to escape?
Yes
What do you listen to before bed?
3 hour reddit stories (laughing)
Movie of the year?
Anora. It’s amazing
Grace, 16, Cambridge, Aries
Gaby, 17, Cambridge, Sagittarius
Summer, 18
Rosie, 18, Hertfordshire
(l-r)
What brought you here tonight?
Summer beckons to Grace - It was her. Literally her!
Grace - So I said to Summer, please will you come with me to see Snow Strippers
Summer - *beckons to Gaby and Rosie* And these are our plus ones
When did you guys get into Snow Strippers?
Summer - Mine’s only been a few months to be fair, maybe like 6 months
Grace - Probably like 8, 9 months
Kim, 19, Aries, London
Juliana, 17, Cancer, London
(l-r)
What do you do for work?
Juliana - She goes to college, and I just work. I work as an admin in an office.
What do you do for fun?
Juliana - I go to concerts, I like raving.
Would you say you dance to escape or to be a part of something?
Juliana - I don’t know, I just enjoy it. But sometimes I do it to escape work, boring stuff.
What other events do you go to, like raves?
Juliana - I haven’t been to much because I’m still young and I don't really have friends in the rave scene, so I go to venues like E1. But I usually go to metal gigs. I go to more of that.
Sahana, 17, East London, Guidford, Pisces “can you tell?”
Yasmin, 16, London
(l-r)
What brought you here?
Yasmin - Snowstrippers. I love their music.
Tati or Graham?
Yasmin - Tati
Y2K or 2010s?
Yasmin - It depends if we’re talking about the early 2010s or the late 2010s. I’m thinking 2014 like …. Like that’s… the skinny jeans with the boots over (references her outfit)
Do you dance to escape?
Sahana - I guess I’d say that.
What do you listen to before bed?
Sahana - Fake Mink. I actually do. I love Fake Mink.
Y2K or 2010s?
Sahana - 2010s. I like the 2010s.
What part of the 2010s?
Sahana - 2014, 2015.
What brought you here tonight?
Sahana - Fake Mink and Snow Strippers. I love their songs.
What’s your favorite brand?
Sahana - Racer Worldwide.
Yasmin - I don’t really have a favorite brand. I'm not that into shopping.
How do you style yourselves?
Sahana - Brick lane, DEPOP
Yasmin - I like vintage, car boots a lot. Do you know the one in Dalston? I go every weekend! I got this top from there, these jeans, these boots. Literally everything is from there. So cheap as well.
Reuben, 16, London
Tati or Graham?
Can’t lie, Graham. I know that Graham’s behind the production of all the songs and I’m more into the production of the music. And I like Tati’s vocals but I’m more into the beats and shit.
Do you dance to escape or are you dancing for the music itself?
I used to do breakdancing. And I just dance to feel like myself. I feel like moving around and getting the [rhythm] is some way of just expressing yourself and letting yourself be free. I think a lot of people here come to these concerts to enjoy themselves. I’d say there’s a social setting as well. You can see everyone dressing the same and it’s just good… it's like community.
Like a uniform. It’s a separation from the rest of the world.
Sahana - Yes. Some aren’t just coming for the actual artist, they’re coming just to socialize.
Reuben - It’s like [Snow Strippers] know the demographic they attract.
Frida, 18, England
Alex, 17, Greece
Alice, 19, Brazil
(l-r)
Would you travel to space if somebody asked you?
All - Yes.
Are you afraid of AI or do you support it?
Alice - I’m kind of afraid
Alex - I support it because I love Chat GPT
Alice - Yeah, I do all my fucking uni work on Chat GPT
Alex - But my professor doesn’t even care. He loves it [because I do psychology].
Who’s gonna save the world?
Alice - maybe Kamala Harris
Frida - Aliens
Alex - Yes, aliens. I agree with that.
Frida - I think they’d come and just put things right
One last question, would you say you dance to escape or be involved in something?
Alice - I dance for both.
Alex - I just dance for the vibe. You guys are both… your vibe is just UGH.
Colin, 19, Florida
Berkeley, 18, Florida
(l-r)
Does AI scare you?
Colin - OH SHIT
Berkeley - I’d say to a certain extent as far as creativity
The Lolas, 18, Twickenham,
Virgo (left) / Aries (right)
What are your names?
Both - Lola. We’re Lola. We’re both Lola.
What is your zodiac sign?
LV - Virgo.
LA - Aries.
(To Mathilde) Let’s get a photo of them together
LV - Yeah, because it’s the Lolas. Do you know what I mean?
LA - We are the Lola’s.
Space travel: yes or no?
LV - Yes.
LA - It’s just too much. Too much.
Does AI scare you?
Both - Yeees! Yes.
LV - I hate robots.
LA - Especially for artists. We both do art. AI is gonna ruin the industry.
LV - Even when I was looking at unis I was looking at Plymouth. And basically, they said that they’re taking AI as art. Like, degree-level pieces.
LA - Yeah Yeah! They’re accepting it as final pieces.
Do you think the current technological state is affecting art and media?
LV - Yes 100%. It’s changing every day. All of it’s advancements, I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think everyone should stay organic to just what we can create as humans.
LA - I think it’s good in essays, and in medical care. I’m glad we’ve got those advancements.
LV - I think in the art industry it doesn’t help.
LA - I wanna work in the film industry and that’s like, I’m against that. I would never watch an AI movie.
Do you dance to escape?
Both - Yeahhhhhh!
LV - It’s an escape from reality
LA - I love a dance.
What was the most recent nightmare you had?
LV - Oo I feel like we can find a conjoined… (looking at each other like they’re telepathically attempting to recall a shared dream)
LA - My aunt beat me up (giggling). That was my nightmare.
LV - A real-life nightmare! I don't know… last night I had a dream that I was throwing up and then I actually felt like I was gonna throw up, so that was a pretty recent nightmare.
LA - It was like a manifestation.
LV - I was just a bit hungover really.
Vicky, 20, Poland, Taurus
Cindy, 21, Korea, Libra
(l-r)
What brought you here tonight?
Both - Snow Strippers!
Cindy - We just met!
How long have you two been fans?
Vicky - I’d say 2 years. A while.
Cindy - I think similar.
Vicky - I’m really glad I got a ticket because they sold out really fast. Luckily a friend of mine couldn’t make it and then I met Cindy in the queue, and she knows my friend. They were gonna go together and we just bumped into each other.
How has the recession hindered your creativity?
Vicky - I mean it probably has helped in a way, because I feel very distressed. I can’t afford anything, I can't afford to sew and I can’t afford materials to do the things I want to do but at the same time that kind of fuels you wanting to do it more because there are so many barriers stopping me. It feels like there are a lot of people in the creative industry who have nepotism and a lot of financial help from their family and [I] feel a little bit of jealousy with this. Like you can’t do it because you don’t have the facilities that they do.
Do you dance to escape?
Cindy - Oh yeah, actually I do.
What do you escape?
Cindy - I’m an overthinker so I tend to worry about a lot of different things. I feel like when you’re dancing and just dancing to music that you really love, you can kind of forget about the reality sometimes. I sometimes use it as a factor to just run away from something that worries me. And I think it also links to my creativity…
(an ambulance rolls past us so we have to pause the interview)
Ellie,17, Stratford
Joyce, 17, Stratford
(l-r)
What’s your zodiac sign?
Joyce - Ah I don’t even know.
When’s your birthday?
Joyce - June 28th
You’re a cancer, just like me!
Joyce - Aahhh!
Who’s going to save the world?
Joyce - Jesus, God.
Does AI scare you?
Joyce - Actually, it does. I feel like it does.
What do you do?
Joyce - I am a student. Film and TV.
What’s your zodiac sign?
Ellie - I don't do zodiac signs.
At this point, someone from the crowd interrupts Ellie:
Guy - ‘Yo I know you from the Lola’s. Do you know the Lola’s? I know you from the Lola’s… I just spotted you from over there ... You coming to her birthday party?
Ellie - Yeah, are you? *turns back to me* Sorry.
Who’s going to save the world?
Ellie - Jesus
I think we should just end it on that
Ellie and Joyce high five
Nat, 22, Wales, Libra
What brought you here?
Loving their music for so long and loving them honestly
Tati or Graham?
Tati because she’s one of the girls. Goes without saying.
*taking photos* Glasses? No glasses?
Whatever you prefer.
Starts posing, showing us how her outfit matches the baby pink look , holding up the pink glasses…
All of the pink matches. It all matches so it just had to be done!
What’s your zodiac?
I’m a libra… *posing* make sure to get the back
Y2Ks or 2010s?
Oh my god. The hardest question you could have probably ever asked me. But I would have to say 2000s.
Who’s gonna save the world?
Charli XCX.
What do you listen to before bed?
Lana or Frank Ocean
What do you listen to when you wake up?
Snowstrippeeeers!
Movie of the year?
The Substance. Absolutely The Substance.
Are you team Elizabeth or Sue?
I think we're all Sue. No, we’re all Sue but we also have an Elizabeth. You know?
Safe, 17, London, Gemini
Amber, 16, London
Daphne, 17, London
(l-r)
What brought you here?
Safe - Snowstrippers, bro… I love it
Tean Tati or Graham?
Safe - I don’t really have a favorite… *a beat*…Tati
Joanna, 21, Bournemouth, Pisces
Sophia, 22, London, Aries
(l-r)
