Traversing La Playa Saladita’s scolding hot sand to make his way from the judges’ table to the announcers’ booth, Israel Preciado is all smiles, peace-signs, and shakas as he acknowledges the hoots and hollers that unfailingly follow the 38-year-old during the Mexi Log Fest.
Sarah Lee The brainchild of Preciado, Mexi Log features art, music, and plenty of revelry to go along with the main event: a classic longboarding competition at one of North America’s premier left-hand point breaks. Clutching his two-year-old daughter Olivia to his “Mexico Is The Shit” t-shirt with one arm, Preciado briefly glances at the heat scores he holds in his other hand, which were calculated by icons of classic logging such as Californian Jimmy Gamboa and Washingtonian Dane Perlee, before he passes them off to be read aloud by the classic logging icons calling the action, including Byron Bay’s Matt Chojnacky and Cornwall’s Mike Lay. This handoff—a rote and mundane convention at surf contests around the globe—is in this case emblematic of Preciado’s monumental feat. Now in its fifth year, with more than 140 (84 men and 60 women) competing atop heavy, traditional, single-fin equipment at one of Mexico’s best waves, the Mexi Log Fest is arguably the most revered competition in all of longboarding.
Sarah Lee In addition, the contest’s insistence on equality—offering equal prize money to men and women—predates recent moves by the World Surf League and the Vans Duct Tape Invitational to do the same.
Sarah Lee “It was actually Kelly’s idea,” says Preciado of his girlfriend—the mother of his daughter and partner of 15 years. We’re sitting upstairs at Lourdes restaurant, HQ for all things Mexi Log. “Now that we have a daughter, it really hits home. The women are surfing so good, they deserve the same opportunity and platform as the men.”
For Preciado, Mexi Log has also always been about offering a platform for Mexico and its surfers. “The whole idea was just to bring opportunity, open doors, and let people see what Mexico is all about—the beauty, the people, the culture, the great waves that have been surfed here by expats since the 1950s and ‘60s,” he says. “Nowadays you get all this bad news out of Mexico. That’s such a small part of this country.”
Sarah Lee
Sarah Lee
Sarah Lee Born in Mexico City, Preciado grew up moving back and forth between the wave-rich regions of Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita. His father and grandfather helped kickstart the tourism industry in those areas, offering boat tours and waterfall excursions. Preciado dove into the family business at an early age. “I think it has something to do with the genes,” he says of his gregarious, hyper-social nature. “I come from a family of hustlers and beach boys.” He started surfing early, and, as his love of surfing grew, his talent—especially on a longboard—blossomed. “I had to go to work and school. So with the minimal time I had to surf, I wanted to catch waves,” he says of his infatuation that grew from practicality. “A longboard lets you surf no matter what.”
Sarah Lee Other than getting his hands on the occasional longboard magazine, or catching a glimpse of legends like Robert “Wingnut” Weaver or Joe Tudor (Joel’s father) when they came to surf Preciado’s home break El Anclote (“Mexican Malibu”), the youngster had little opportunity to see surfing beyond Mexico’s borders. At 18, Preciado—looking to compete abroad—was denied a Visa to the United States. “I remember burning my feet in the hot sand, looking at the border wall at Tijuana,” he recounts. “ I told myself, ‘One day I’m going to make a great contest for longboarding so I can give an opportunity to Mexican people to show their skills.’”
Sarah Lee Nearly two decades later, with the help of friends he’d met through surfing, like founders of Texas-based surf brand Howler Bros, Chase Heard and Andy Stepanian, Preciado launched the Mexi Log Fest. With similar contests popping up around the world—the Duct Tape Invitational, the Deus 9ft. & Single, the Single Fin Mingle, etc—classic longboarding is in the midst of a revival, and the Mexi Log Fest quickly became the contest to attend, attracting an international field of classic logging standouts. In 2017, Joel Tudor brought the Duct Tape to Saladita to run contemporaneously with Mexi Log. With each subsequent contest, more and more Mexican surfers are not just filling out the field – the local kids are quickly becoming the standouts.
Sarah Lee “Local guys are getting so freakin’ good,” Preciado says of a contingent of Mexican surfers that this year included Carlos Rocha and Jonathan Melendres from Sayulita, as well as Marco Mancilla, Aron Ramirez, and Maricio Nuñez from Saladita. “If we keep doing it here, we’ll see the locals give the field a run for their money. My hope is that these kids will have an opportunity to surf Noosa, to surf Malibu, to see the world through surfing.”
Sarah Lee Later in the evening, Preciado—again, all smiles with important paperwork in hand—begins taping the score sheets dictating which surfers advanced to the final-16 on a glass window inside Lourdes restaurant. The final day of competition looks to be a compelling one, as each heat will be stacked with internationally renowned talent—Honolua Blomfield (Haw), Mike Lay (Eng), Augusto Olinto (Bra), Tom Payne (Aus), Chloe Calmon (Bra), to name a few. Sayulita’s Melendrez just missed the cut. But he, and many others from the Mexican contingent, fared quite well, all finishing within the top 50.
Sarah Lee As Lourdes buzzes with anticipation for the next day’s competition, Preciado retires for the evening. He can rest easy. He’s realized his dream of bringing the best longboarders in the world to Mexico. And, as is now clear, some of the best longboarders in the world are also from here.
Local Flavor: Hainan, China During the Duct Tape Invitational
Read article
How Vanlife Helps Mick Rodgers Support a Life Shaped by Surf
Read article
Meet the 2 Women Behind the All-Inclusive Traveler Surf Club
Read article
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
More News
Famed Yosemite Climber Zach Milligan Dies After Ice Climbing Fall
Skiing in Japan Is Back Again—and the Powder Was Worth the Wait
10 Winter Hikes to Keep You Trailblazing All Year Round
The North Face Introduces Athlete Development Program
Ocean Rower Fiann Paul Completes Most Grueling Expedition
Snowmobile-accessed Ski Touring in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
Traversing La Playa Saladita’s scolding hot sand to make his way from the judges’ table to the announcers’ booth, Israel Preciado is all smiles, peace-signs, and shakas as he acknowledges the hoots and hollers that unfailingly follow the 38-year-old during the Mexi Log Fest.
The brainchild of Preciado, Mexi Log features art, music, and plenty of revelry to go along with the main event: a classic longboarding competition at one of North America’s premier left-hand point breaks. Clutching his two-year-old daughter Olivia to his “Mexico Is The Shit” t-shirt with one arm, Preciado briefly glances at the heat scores he holds in his other hand, which were calculated by icons of classic logging such as Californian Jimmy Gamboa and Washingtonian Dane Perlee, before he passes them off to be read aloud by the classic logging icons calling the action, including Byron Bay’s Matt Chojnacky and Cornwall’s Mike Lay.
This handoff—a rote and mundane convention at surf contests around the globe—is in this case emblematic of Preciado’s monumental feat. Now in its fifth year, with more than 140 (84 men and 60 women) competing atop heavy, traditional, single-fin equipment at one of Mexico’s best waves, the Mexi Log Fest is arguably the most revered competition in all of longboarding.
In addition, the contest’s insistence on equality—offering equal prize money to men and women—predates recent moves by the World Surf League and the Vans Duct Tape Invitational to do the same.
“It was actually Kelly’s idea,” says Preciado of his girlfriend—the mother of his daughter and partner of 15 years. We’re sitting upstairs at Lourdes restaurant, HQ for all things Mexi Log. “Now that we have a daughter, it really hits home. The women are surfing so good, they deserve the same opportunity and platform as the men.”
For Preciado, Mexi Log has also always been about offering a platform for Mexico and its surfers. “The whole idea was just to bring opportunity, open doors, and let people see what Mexico is all about—the beauty, the people, the culture, the great waves that have been surfed here by expats since the 1950s and ‘60s,” he says. “Nowadays you get all this bad news out of Mexico. That’s such a small part of this country.”
Born in Mexico City, Preciado grew up moving back and forth between the wave-rich regions of Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita. His father and grandfather helped kickstart the tourism industry in those areas, offering boat tours and waterfall excursions. Preciado dove into the family business at an early age. “I think it has something to do with the genes,” he says of his gregarious, hyper-social nature. “I come from a family of hustlers and beach boys.”
He started surfing early, and, as his love of surfing grew, his talent—especially on a longboard—blossomed. “I had to go to work and school. So with the minimal time I had to surf, I wanted to catch waves,” he says of his infatuation that grew from practicality. “A longboard lets you surf no matter what.”
Other than getting his hands on the occasional longboard magazine, or catching a glimpse of legends like Robert “Wingnut” Weaver or Joe Tudor (Joel’s father) when they came to surf Preciado’s home break El Anclote (“Mexican Malibu”), the youngster had little opportunity to see surfing beyond Mexico’s borders. At 18, Preciado—looking to compete abroad—was denied a Visa to the United States. “I remember burning my feet in the hot sand, looking at the border wall at Tijuana,” he recounts. “ I told myself, ‘One day I’m going to make a great contest for longboarding so I can give an opportunity to Mexican people to show their skills.’”
Nearly two decades later, with the help of friends he’d met through surfing, like founders of Texas-based surf brand Howler Bros, Chase Heard and Andy Stepanian, Preciado launched the Mexi Log Fest. With similar contests popping up around the world—the Duct Tape Invitational, the Deus 9ft. & Single, the Single Fin Mingle, etc—classic longboarding is in the midst of a revival, and the Mexi Log Fest quickly became the contest to attend, attracting an international field of classic logging standouts. In 2017, Joel Tudor brought the Duct Tape to Saladita to run contemporaneously with Mexi Log.
With each subsequent contest, more and more Mexican surfers are not just filling out the field – the local kids are quickly becoming the standouts.
“Local guys are getting so freakin’ good,” Preciado says of a contingent of Mexican surfers that this year included Carlos Rocha and Jonathan Melendres from Sayulita, as well as Marco Mancilla, Aron Ramirez, and Maricio Nuñez from Saladita. “If we keep doing it here, we’ll see the locals give the field a run for their money. My hope is that these kids will have an opportunity to surf Noosa, to surf Malibu, to see the world through surfing.”
Later in the evening, Preciado—again, all smiles with important paperwork in hand—begins taping the score sheets dictating which surfers advanced to the final-16 on a glass window inside Lourdes restaurant. The final day of competition looks to be a compelling one, as each heat will be stacked with internationally renowned talent—Honolua Blomfield (Haw), Mike Lay (Eng), Augusto Olinto (Bra), Tom Payne (Aus), Chloe Calmon (Bra), to name a few. Sayulita’s Melendrez just missed the cut. But he, and many others from the Mexican contingent, fared quite well, all finishing within the top 50.
As Lourdes buzzes with anticipation for the next day’s competition, Preciado retires for the evening. He can rest easy. He’s realized his dream of bringing the best longboarders in the world to Mexico. And, as is now clear, some of the best longboarders in the world are also from here.
Local Flavor: Hainan, China During the Duct Tape Invitational
Read article
How Vanlife Helps Mick Rodgers Support a Life Shaped by Surf
Read article
Meet the 2 Women Behind the All-Inclusive Traveler Surf Club
Read article
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
Local Flavor: Hainan, China During the Duct Tape Invitational
Read article
Local Flavor: Hainan, China During the Duct Tape Invitational
How Vanlife Helps Mick Rodgers Support a Life Shaped by Surf
Read article
How Vanlife Helps Mick Rodgers Support a Life Shaped by Surf
Meet the 2 Women Behind the All-Inclusive Traveler Surf Club
Read article
Meet the 2 Women Behind the All-Inclusive Traveler Surf Club
More News
Famed Yosemite Climber Zach Milligan Dies After Ice Climbing Fall
Skiing in Japan Is Back Again—and the Powder Was Worth the Wait
10 Winter Hikes to Keep You Trailblazing All Year Round
The North Face Introduces Athlete Development Program
Ocean Rower Fiann Paul Completes Most Grueling Expedition
Snowmobile-accessed Ski Touring in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More News
Famed Yosemite Climber Zach Milligan Dies After Ice Climbing Fall
Skiing in Japan Is Back Again—and the Powder Was Worth the Wait
10 Winter Hikes to Keep You Trailblazing All Year Round
The North Face Introduces Athlete Development Program
Ocean Rower Fiann Paul Completes Most Grueling Expedition
Snowmobile-accessed Ski Touring in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More News
Famed Yosemite Climber Zach Milligan Dies After Ice Climbing Fall
Skiing in Japan Is Back Again—and the Powder Was Worth the Wait
10 Winter Hikes to Keep You Trailblazing All Year Round
The North Face Introduces Athlete Development Program
Ocean Rower Fiann Paul Completes Most Grueling Expedition
Snowmobile-accessed Ski Touring in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
