Images by @duncanm // campaign vid by Sam Brumby // interview vid by Thomas Crews

The new Billabong x Otis Carey collab is here, and the shoot for the collection is next fucking level.

Yesterday went a little like this: Billabong and Otis share campaign, our jaws drop, we then empty our bank accounts shopping the range on their site, before returning to the video for multiple re-watches. And can you blame us? The shoot sees Otis, his son Lenny, and Bong team rider Bodhi Simon head into Desert Country to celebrate the collection, with the beautiful landscape bleeding into the range.

It was so good that we thought we should go a little deeper with Otis to try and get a grip on what the energy was like out there, his favourite pieces from the collection, and what inspired the design elements of the drop. Check it out below and head here to shop the new Billabong x Otis Carey collection now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOMtFXizrpg

Tell us about the filming experience in the NT. What was the energy like in the car as you went deeper into the heart of Australia?

So that was my first time in Alice Springs. I did not expect such beauty. And I feel arrogant to the fact that I’d never really paid much attention to Alice Springs. I got the whole photo of it being dry, barren. I get there, we drive, and it’s just these beautiful landscapes.

The artist Albert Namatjira, he paints all the landscapes around Alice Springs, and I really got to understand his work. So it was great to really admire an artist and see his work in the flesh. But just the waterholes and the colours, it was so beautiful.

Were you able to witness this through your son’s eyes?

It was quite a really beautiful experience. I think that might have been the first time he’s actually seen the red earth that’s actually that deep ochre, heart red.

Just to watch his eyes light up everywhere we went. Always like, “Whoa Dad, look at that mountain. Look at the colour.” I thought it was really cool.

Describe what the days were like out there. How did it feel?

Honestly, the things that really captured my eye and my heart was you’d wake up in the morning, the light’s a certain depth and brightness, and then come midday everything just changes. It’s like a new place. You’re in the same space, but it’s a new place. Then the sunset and it’s like we’re on Mars. It’s crazy. It’s beautiful.

Did you have a chance to connect with locals? What was that like?

I caught up with Tommy Snowden, a musician. He’s one of my favourite musicians actually. Weirdly enough, years ago I sort of reached out to him on Instagram. I was like, “Man, I love your fucking voice. It goes straight through my heart and into my spirit.”

We just became really good friends and, funny enough, he lives out there and he’s someone Brumby’s actually grown up with. Tom was out there when we were there, so it’s just sick.

Bodhi is once again along for the ride. What’s cool about working with a rising surfer?

Man, I love Bodhi. I think she’s a beautiful young woman who’s very connected to her culture, and to have her a part of the range every year really inspires me.

Just seeing her wearing the gear, and when she’s on the shoot how proud she looks wearing it. I love that. I was listening to an interview with her and she was legit, from the bottom of her heart, so stoked on it and being part of it. It was really cool to hear.

A young girl that rips, but also going, “It’s sick as. I look up to you.” But also going, “It’s my culture. I get to wear it every time I surf.” I thought that was pretty cool.

You’ve worked with this crew, including Brumby, multiple times. What makes it all gel so well?

Sam Brumby’s a legend. I actually love his work and Brumby really knows me and my work. So he really knows how to shoot me and my work.

For Billabong to have Brumby on the shoots really makes me feel safe, knowing the fact that he knows how to shoot me and the ranges. It was just a great thing.

What made this shoot different from others?

I think this shoot was definitely different because we were sort of off Country. Just the scenery, the energy. It was like we were in the heart of Mother Earth. Just the deep colours and the energy and the culture out there is so rich.

I think it really informs the range. Just the energy of the space out there. I feel like from a location, from a collection, this is the most all the elements came together to showcase the range in the best possible way.

Tell us about the main artwork on the sweater and hoodie. What does that represent? Why the mirror reflection in the bottom corner?

One of the main artworks is this print here, Gaagal. This artwork is one of the works that I use in my fine art on my canvases. I feel like it really elevates the range to another level as well, using my fine art throughout this range.

But yeah, Gaagal, the ocean, is one of our shared totems for us Gumbaynggirr mob. I feel like it was a great representation in the range because the ocean really surrounds us and connects us all. So it was really beautiful that we were in the centre of so-called Australia shooting a range while being surrounded by Gaagal, the ocean.

What are your favourite pieces (men’s, women’s, youth)?

I think my favourite piece is the sweater, for art. For the women’s, probably the linen pants. For the groms, the hoodie. It’s hard to pick a favourite though because I love the vest so much. I love everything.

How do you think fashion and art can help create more visibility for Indigenous people in surfing and creative industries?

Growing up surfing around Coffs, there was only Johnny Laurie and a couple of boys that surfed who were black. It would really have helped my confidence in my surfing to be a part of a bigger Indigenous surfing community. Back when I started there was really me and Dale Richards on the pro juniors for six to eight years.

Now, 10 or 15 years later, there’s just so many little black kids getting around and surfing really well. It’s great to see that and support that too. And with the women as well, Malia Simons — I’ve been watching her surf. She shreds. She’s a mad little surfer. That makes me really proud, to see black women really elevate their talents.

What does seeing Indigenous women represented in global surf culture mean to you personally?

That makes me really proud, to see black women really elevate their talents.

What are you most proud of in your career?

To be honest, I’m really proud of my art career. I’m just about as accomplished as an artist can get in Australia.

But my proudest work is with Billabong by far. It has the most impact in what I want to share, how I want to tell my stories, and how I want to create safe spaces for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to come together and learn from each other. Because we’re all here to learn from each other and, at the end of the day, we’ve got to walk each other home.

Any other projects in the pipeline?

I’ve got some works alongside Lindy Lee sculptures in a new building in Circular Quay, Sydney. I’ll be working on those works over the next few weeks and I think the opening’s in June. And then doing a bit of work with Cartier. They’re doing a pop-up thing in a big house in Melbourne and they’re using my art inside.

You’ve been collaborating with the Billabong team for so long. What makes this partnership and working with them so smooth?

From the start, me and Billabong have had a beautiful, open relationship. Everything’s been easy. The boys really understand what I’m about and who I am and what I want to share as a black man, but also just as a human.

They’ve really nurtured that and I’m really grateful that Billabong have given me and held that space for me to be able to express myself, share my stories and bring people together.

Head here to shop the new Billabong x Otis Carey collection now.