Lost footage of Australia's favorite power surfing child, Brenden Margieson, was uncovered. Here's "Margo - The Lost Tapes."
Many years ago, rumors began to emerge of some lost videotapes recorded on a remote Indonesian island.
The footage showed Australia's favorite power child, Brenden "Margo" Margieson, destroying flawless, innocent, unsuspecting aquamarine waves.
The vision was said to be all but lost until recently discovered by iconic Australian filmmaker Bali Strickland.
"Margo - The Lost Tapes" was edited by surfer Dion Agius and unveils the uninterrupted vision of that graphic Indonesian assault for the first time.
"I was on a boat trip six months before the Banda Aceh earthquake of 2004 and was lucky enough to surf the waves in the area before they changed or disappeared," explains Brenden Margieson.
"Azure being one of them which is featured in the footage."
"I was there with Bali Strickland shooting for his movie 'Freeway,' which had so much additional footage that a lot of it ended up on the cutting room floor."
"Years passed, and video cameras went from tape to digital. Bali went on to new adventures, as did I. This was one of the best surf trips for waves and company that I'd ever done, exploring with Dylan Longbottom and Rasta."
"Eighteen years later, I reconnected with Bali, and he managed to dig through piles of tapes that he had kept away from moisture and mold and pass them on to us."
Never-Seen-Before Footage
Tasmanian-born surfer and filmmaker Dion Agius is also the co-founder of Standard Procedure, a reef-friendly sunscreen brand.
Standard Procedure is mixed with native Australian superfruits containing antioxidants and vitamins A, B, and C and is free of PABA, parabens, oxybenzone, and octinoxate.
The sun protection and skincare company backed up "Margo - The Lost Tapes."
"I grew up on the 1990s and early 2000s surf films of Australian filmmakers such as Bali Strickland, which always heavily featured Australian surfers," reveals Agius.
"Not many people from that era had as much influence on me as Margieson did."
"He was the first real Australian free surfer that I knew of, and I couldn't believe that anyone could get paid to go on surf trips and work on films and not have to compete."
"So when we had the opportunity to work on this project with Margo after idolizing him as a kid really was a dream come true."
"Margo" has been on the Standard Procedure surf team for a while now and using and testing existing products and some new ones in the works.
"Brenden mentioned to me about a year ago that he remembered making this insane trip to Indonesia almost 20 years ago with Bali Strickland," adds Agius.
"He told me of some insane waves they surfed that no longer exist and that he thought might be all but lost, but there may be a chance Bali would still have it."
"So he put me in contact with Bali, who was absolutely legendary and spent the better part of a month searching through his archive of old DV tapes."
"Once he had found all the tapes he shot on the trip, Strickland then tracked down the old camera and cords he needed to go through them all one by one and pull out Margo's waves from the trip."
"When he sent me the raw clips, I was blown away."
"Margo's surfing almost 20 years ago is almost more relevant today than it was then."
"The smooth lines, effortless style, and raw power are the hallmarks of his timeless surfing, all showcased in Indonesian perfection."
"It was an absolutely incredible effort by Bali, and I can't thank him enough for the time and effort he put in for us to get this incredible footage of Margo that would have otherwise sat on those tapes that one, maybe one day would have disappeared," concludes the surfer-entrepreneur.
A Unique Career
Brenden Margieson was born on July 3, 1972, in Sydney, Australia.
The former Australian professional surfer has been considered surfing's first well-paid free surfer and built his career traveling the planet to remote surfing destinations.
He participated in sponsored surf trips and editorial shoots on the world's greatest surf breaks for Australian and international magazines.
The regular footer reached the finals of the 1992 ISA World Surfing Championships in Lacanau, France, and won the 1996 Nias Indonesian Pro,
Margieson was voted the best free surfer in the world by Australian Surfing Life Magazine (1998 and 1999) and conquered the 2020 Boost Mobile Pro Gold Coast Heritage Heat.