While professional surfer Matt Pagan is doing his thing in the water, you’ll likely find his brother, Mike, filming closeby. As founders of the surf-centric website One4LA, the Pagan brothers aim to share what makes their childhood home such a vibrant place to live. In their latest short film, “Loose in Los Angeles”, they capture waves and pavement against a myriad of backdrops, including the iconic Hollywood sign, Santa Monica Pier, the legendary Venice skate park, El Porto surf break, and Downtown L.A. cityscape.
So why, one might ask, out of all the exotic and remote surf destinations in the world, does Matt choose to call Los Angeles his home? Here’s our exclusive interview with the California-born surfer to find out why he is drawn to our beaches, what inspires him, and where he likes to hangout locally.
What makes living in L.A. so different from living anywhere else in the world?
Los Angeles is one of the most populated cities in the world, and second most, next to New York in the United States. With that said, there’s a mixed bag of every kind of ethnicity, profession, culture, etc. Despite the influx of differences you may see from an outside perspective, the surfing, skate and music culture in LA has always maintained its own unique core persona. Our goal is to represent that.
What inspired you and your brother, Mike, to create One4LA?
Our passions brought the inspiration to start a platform for where we live. Mike is amazingly gifted with the creativity to capture moments and piece them together, while my passion is to become the best at what I do.
Favorite place to ‘let loose’?
The beach, the street and everywhere in between!
Top L.A. surf breaks?
We grew up going to El Porto in Manhattan Beach and it is still our go-to spot to see what the swell is doing. But our jetties, as well as our beach breaks to the south, offer quality waves when you know where to look.
First barrel?
My first barrel was at El Porto in the winter time. Not sure if it was my first one, but I got my board to my mouth trying to pull in and learned really quick what to do and what not to do.
When not in the water, we might find Matt hanging out at local favorite(s)…
You can find me at Java Man in Hermosa Beach for a coffee, Marine Street Cafe for breaky, Del Rey Deli Co. for a sandwich, Level 10 Fitness & also Watermans in Hermosa for dinner and to hang with friends. I’m all over the map!
Beachfront Manhattan: Steps from the sand and surf, with panoramic ocean views of Palos Verdes, Catalina Island and Malibu. » View Home
When a friend is visiting from out of town, I take them…
When friends are visiting, depending on what they want to do, I usually take them surfing if we have waves and then grab some good food. We have tons of great restaurants.
Favorite L.A. sports team?
Dodgers and Lakers all the way.
Next trip?
Hawaii season is coming up and I’m super excited for that.
We can sense that giving back to your roots is very important to the Pagan brothers.
Yes, we just finished up our first round of T-Shirts and a percentage of each shirt will be going to a local charity benefiting the great people of our city. We have other ideas to follow and you can stay in tune via our website: one4la.com
View video below or here on vimeo.
