Video & Photography by Morgan Maassen | Words by Alexei Obolensky
Freddie Meadows is a dear friend. I don’t really know where to start, but in the interest of time. I’ll repurpose a previous intro.
Freddie Meadows is a striking figure. We first met at the lobby of the Rider’s bar in LAAX; I’ve always maintained hotel lobby bars are a good starting point for any encounter. Transient places, filled with storied and interesting people. The first lines of Saltburn come to mind:
“I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him.”
Freddie is a tall man, his mop of blonde hair contrasting starkly against a black roll neck (we would recommend looking up Singular Society). We’re coming off the back of what can only be described as a clusterfuck of a night out in Zurich and trying to keep things level. Fred meanwhile is as sober as a judge and looking positively radiant. Nursing a spritz, he gently reminds us we still haven’t replied to a DM he sent years ago; we assure him all interns responsible have been fired. The details of the conversations at this point are hazy but it was decided that fateful evening that by hook or by crook, we would go to Sweden. We spent an eventful few days in Sweden where our love for Sweden was born, and a beautiful friendship blossomed. Since then, Fred and I have spent numerous evenings in the fleshpots of Stockholm, in the hospitals of Costa Rica and the Ferries of the Mentawai islands. We once even went surfing together.
Now Freddie is an interesting Chap. To say the least, there are no pro surfers like him. There aren’t many men like Freddie. Dropping off the QS and spending a decade exploring nooks and crannies of the Arctic Circle and the Baltic, is a niche move but fuck me, one that takes some tenacity. I remember Freddie once telling me he would be upset that everyone would point out his Autism, but no one would listen to his speeches on the bathometry of Åaland Island.
With Ran, a quite frankly fucked up Slab in the Arctic being hailed his Magnus Opus, is a serious story, told by a serious man, our other dear friend and sauna enthusiast Morgan Maassen. We decided that the film is too beautiful, the narrative arc too perfect to ask any serious questions.
“I met freddie during the summer of 2022, at a lavish Breitling event at a palace in Biarittz, France. Amongst the high-end swiss watches, free-flowing rosé, sunburnt influencers and endless steak tartare… i had a moment of sheer clarity that this brand new friend, a swedish/british surfer with a long mane of white hair and small instagram following and the only sober person at the most lavish and boozy event ever… was the most interesting surfer i’ve come across in years. retired from chasing surfers surfing great waves and semi-retired from making surf films after the covid years dashed so many dreams, i proposed to him that i just document him existing, surfing, trying and failing and succeeding in his miserable and often frozen corner of the world. he graciously agreed, and we were off to the races!
What came next was the four years of adventure, hardship, rain and snow and sleet and patience and the most miserably cold water and the most glorious 30 minute sessions. so many saunas, so much hunting for car charging stations! freddie swiftly positioned himself as one of my best friends, with his massive heart and infinite energy. sometimes i wanted to kill him, for his dedication to never letting me drive the car – weird – and not being born in some delicious tropical locale. but in the end, Scandinavia won me over, with its breathtaking beauty, profound people and immaculate food. and most importantly, we finally scored. and not just any score, not just another glassy day in Indo or crystalline day at Teahupo’o… this was the craziest score of my respective career, one where we woke up with snow on the ground, witnessed a wave do things akin to the Right in western australia, and then be flat as a lake the following morning. surreal is a weak word to describe what we experienced.
Films are films and are subjective, never perfect, and usually crushed to bits by youtube’s ads and compression settings. but this film is perfect to me. not in what i made, but what i set out to do. meet someone, experience their world, understand their approach to something that means so much to me, and see them triumph. freddie did it! he got the waves of his life. and what we experienced together along the way, every swedish meatball and deathly sauna session and so hours just being frozen… i can’t wait to do it again, once the swedish krona weakens a bit.” – Morgan Maassen
So here you have it, Freddie Meadows. A serious man. A deeply silly interview.
Being a connoisseur of the baltic, north and artic seas, how would you best describe the challenges of surfing these waters ? And shooting in those climates?
There are short term challenges and there are long term ones. The short term ones are the obvious ones: the cold, the daylight, the sheer elements blocking your way, keeping you at home. It’s fickle… The biggest long term issue (at least in the baltic) is the lack of surfing. The feeling of surfing and ones connection to it leaving your veins slowly but surely as the weeks, even months pass without surfing. It’s now mid May, it’s been pretty frozen this winter, so some of the boys haven’t surfed since November. A combo of flatness and ice. It gets to you after a while.
Do you have any advice for an intermediate surfer who’s looking to give Ran a punt?
Believe in yourself, and mind the step.
You’ve worked closely with Morgan Maassen for a few years now. How did that working relationship first come to fruition?
Morgan is just a wonderful guy… I was fortunate enough to meet him 3 or 4 years ago at our yearly Breitling event in Biarritz. His work stops you in your tracks and makes you pay close attention, and has felt like the peak of surf cinematography since I can remember. So when we hung up our call, after deciding to make a film together, I was inevitably completely beside myself. I now know him as one of my best friends; after all we’ve experienced together it would be strange not to.
In the Arctic, one often lives in close quarters. I know this from reading Shackleton. Did you and Morgan spoon?
We never spooned, no… Americans aren’t really into it. But we’ve done a lot of saunas together. And those who sauna together stay together.
Morgan is known for polished aesthetics. Was this a perfect pairing for a Scandinavian like yourself?
Morgs is a magician, what’s interesting is you barely notice him capturing the magic… it never feels like a production or a process. It just happens… I remember we were planning our first trip, I obviously wanted to have him come over for a proper swell, a score worthy of his lens, the time and travel. Though, when on a call he said “Fred, I wanna watch you get skunked…” I don’t think he knew how healing those words were, they removed all pressure and set the project up to be this super joyful experience… which in turn led to the greatest score imaginable so. There was a lot in those words there.
Can you talk us through what it took to score that wave in the last section of the film?
That was a trip… I’ll try to keep this as short as I can.
Our waiting period was a month, my plan was to head over and spend the time on site, to have all in place should a swell arise and the call be made. I’d driven the first sort of 15 hours from home towards Rán when I stopped to charge the car. Whilst waiting, I checked the charts and saw that this crazy system had materialised on the long range, just during the drive. The system and winds kept holding, so with 5 days to go I messaged the boys that it could be on. With 3 days to go the system had strengthened and the local winds still looked good, so the call had to be made. Everyone started arriving the day before, all these legends turning up in the middle of nowhere – it felt surreal.
I couldn’t sleep the night before… I was too hype. We were expecting a snowstorm and low visibility for the session, which would’ve been rough… but classic I thought; that our first big wave attempt would be in true Scandinavian fashion. I remember checking the local weather at like 2am and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it had changed to full sunshine, with even less wind than previously predicted.
Another fun fact is that the jet ski arrived ten minutes before it was time to head out to the wave. The last piece to the puzzle. A huge shoutout to Magnus who drove for 2 days straight on some very treacherous roads to deliver the ski and then film all day. Still mind boggling how he made it in time, against all odds. Safe to say he slept for 15 hours once we’d returned that afternoon.
Once out on the boat, en route to Rán – the vibe and energy was incredible. Perfect weather, light winds, signs of big swell everywhere you looked… the whole team in place. Just all of us being there was a huge part of the challenge overcome, yet it had gone so smoothly and felt almost easy. Nothing phased us… There were a lot of reasons to be stressed, yet everyone was super calm. Until we saw the wave haha. That’s when we all lost our shit, jumping around and hugging each other; letting out cheers of joy… It was huge, glassy and about as beautiful a day you could wish for up here in Scandinavia.
Another huge shoutout and thank you to Nic and Cotty and the rest of the team; for all the support and for making the trip so special.
Is it true you mainly survive off steak, oysters and salt water through an IV?
Some truth to this. Im a huge believer that you are what you eat…
Aside from Ran, it’s also rumoured you immaculately conceived a Norwegian Filmer called Magnus, the first birth of it’s kind since the one of our lord Jesus Christ. Could you regail us the story?
Yes, a strange tale… Morgan Alexei and I are his fathers. We found him in the slums of Unstad and decided to keep him.
Why are Swedish people so hot, and so rich?
Could it be a Swedish right… to be born hot and rich? With that being said I believe the vikings had something to do with it. Some sort of selection was made and here we are.
In a fight between the Vikings and Soviet Russia (with the Red Army at it’s peak) who would win and why?
Basically the same as asking who would win in a fight between me and Alexei (at his peak).
Favourite dictator and why?
No.
How much is a bottle of Riesling in Riche?
It’s fine… just put it on your Riche Rewards program.
You’ve been described a billionaire Viking with severe ADHD. Do you dispute this?
Though the circumstances were questionable when this title was handed out… it is, since then, considered to be my spirit animal.
Our editor in chief once broke his leg surfing with you in 2ft waves in Central America, how do you mental prepare for moments like this?
That was so weird, the way it broke. So unlucky… And the truth is, you never leave a man behind Martin. He’s my dear friend. A lot did happen after the incident though. From me being slightly concerned when the cartel organised his evacuation to the hospital in the capital city. Or when, upon his return 4 days later, I see him using his crutches as weapons on the dance floor of a jungle rave. And I’ll never forget when my mother asked who my friend was that was “spread out on the couch snoring like a tractor”… Once he’d awoken from his painkiller haze, he charmed her with epic recommendations for series’ on Netflix etc. They are now great friends.
