After 5 years of shooting the world’s top pro skimboarders   … it helps when you live above one of the greatest skim beaches in the world … my camera admittedly has its favorites. Paulo Prietto. Sammy Stinnett. Tim Fulton. Brad Domke. James Lovett. Austin Keen. Blair Conklin. Beakdog (aka, The Mythical Creature, The Artifact) . . . Serious talents, unique personalities and, on top of it all, they’re pretty darn friendly.

Morgan Just – he’s at the top of that list, too. The reigning champ from this summer’s Vic Skim World Championships (see my coverage, Vic Skim, June 20, 21st, 2010), this guy boards with an intensity that even notches above his already-intense peers. (See photo gallery of the birthday boy in question, below)

And Mo Just is constantly out there.

I’ve sat up here in my “ocean skybox” looking down at an empty February West Street Beach and there’s Mo – bright red skin from head to toe from the frigid water (I’ve seen him wear a wetsuit maybe twice), and he’ll be there for HOURS. Not kidding – HOURS. I mean, seriously, one of you cute girls out there needs to be totin’ the guy a Thermos of soup or something.

When he screwed up his knee a couple years ago, he competed with the brace on. When he banged up his foot this summer and actually had to pull out of skim contests, he was still hobbling down here and boarding with a big ol’ foot brace. The dude is intense.

So, small wonder Victoria Skimboards and Repavision are throwing a Birthday Bash for Morgan Just on Sun, Oct. 17th, at the White House in Laguna Beach. This all-ages gig (till 9:30 p.m., then it’s 21-and-over only) is also featuring the debut of Vic Skim’s 2010 WCS video “Against the Grain.”

Against the Grain is this year’s greatest angles, shots and interviews of the  world’s top skimboarders at the grandpappy skim event in the world – Victoria Skimboard’s World Championships of Skimboarding, 2010.

Vic is doing two showings of the video release Sunday night at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

So, get to the venerable White House Sunday night, just across and up from Main Beach. You’ve got live music by The Blue Machine and Higher Lion, PLUS two showings of Vic Skim’s WCS video, PLUS many of the world’s top skimboarders hanging out, PLUS there’s got to be birthday cake somewhere for Mo’s birthday, right?

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