180LA Takes Surfing from the Web to the Waves for HP

A few months ago, Hewlett-Packard and ad agency 180LA launched the campaign “#BendTheRules” to show the world how a computer that bends in half can help people bend the rules of what’s possible. The HP Pavilion x360 is a versatile hybrid notebook/tablet with 360-degree hinge that allows users to adapt to any situation. 

Professional big wave surfer Ian Walsh was enlisted to use the x360 to find a wave that had never been surfed before—a ghost wave. The adventure was documented by award-winning filmmaker Taylor Steele, who has directed and produced over 40 best-selling titles starring the world’s best surfers and musicians. 

“Technology and surfing might seem like an odd pairing until you realize how much big wave surfers use and depend on technology to track down these monster waves,” says William Gelner, chief creative officer of 180LA.  

The final product, “Ghost Wave,” is an eight-minute documentary short that follows the surf team as last minute conditions point them to West South Africa. While there the team meets up with fellow world champion surfer Grant “Twiggy” Baker to help evaluate surfing conditions.

While other surfers were picking up news of growing swells in South Africa and heading to Dungeon’s, the usual surf location, Ian and his team used technology, guts, and a little bit of luck, to find a remote location that’d never been surfed. The payoff were 40+ foot waves, the biggest Ian’s surfed outside of Hawaii.

Thanks to modern scientific data collection surfers can ride almost anywhere, anytime, with little advance notice. Portability is key when chasing large swell locally or to unknown destinations. The team used the Pavilion x360 to monitor up to the minute buoy readings, wind gauges, tidal charts, and surf web cams to conquer the ghost wave.