Words: Mark Rosenberg


Taylor trapped. Pic Dawson

Castles In The Sky has been a long time coming. Like overseas jaunts and new waves, it’s something surfers have been anticipating since Taylor Steele unleashed his last travel opus, Sipping Jetstreams. The Gold Coast premiere was held last night on the Q1 deck, a fitting venue high in the clouds. As expected the hype was warranted. Yews rang out as the credits rolled. Taylor’s done it again.


Team ASL with TS. Mark, Taylor, Will, Talon and his lady. Pic Dawson.

All manner of crew fronted for the event. Shapers, local pros, freeloading media and the requisite stunners. After an hour of mingling with Taylor and friends the lights were dimmed and an expectant audience whisked to corners of the globe, places where they never knew surfing existed. Audiences have become desensitized to seeing the world’s best surfers in action. The online realm has created an abundance of high performance clippery. It’s got to be pretty mind blowing to captivate an audience now, but by splicing in new locales and lifestyle for days, Taylor had them hooked.

T.Steele takes to the stage for Q and A. “I know you all want to hit the bar downstairs so I’ll keep this quick,” he said. “I think a while back surf films were on the rise but due to a number of factors they stagnated. In the last few years surfers have really got behind surf cinema and that’s what’s motivating me now.”


Post film mingle in the GC sky. Pic Dawson.

Later on Taylor was cornered. He’d been drinking Coronas, surely he’d let slip with info about his next movie. A scoop could be scooped. “Well this is part of a trilogy,” he explains. “I’ve already got most of the locations sorted, but you guys will have to wait and see. I’m not giving anything away just yet.”

For a review of Castles In The Sky grab a copy of ASL 265

Interview with Taylor Steele