Flashback Friday: First P5 Team Video Series (Part 2)

Words & Interview: Drew Danielo

This week we take a look back at Part 2 of our very first video series with CB Filmz. For this segment, we interviewed Chris Hau who was one of the riders on the shoot and also the lead photographer. At the time, Chris was a fresh addition to the P5 team and one of the very first Canadian team riders. Anyone who has met Chris knows 2 things:

1. Chris is always excited and down for whatever.

2: Chris is never in a bad mood.

Enjoy the blast back in history with Chris and Part 2 from our first video series!

P5: Chris let's start with how did you get hooked up with Phase 5? As a rider and as a Photographer, EH?

CH: Almost 9 years ago now I joined the Phase 5 team. Wanna know how it happened? The year before joining I almost tore my ACL so I made the switch to wakesurfing from wakeskating purely because the doctor told me to "take it easy". I took all the muscle memory from wakeskating and applied it to wakesurfing. I was comfortably landing shuvs, 360's and airs. I emailed the video to Phase 5 and got an email back from the legend Drew Danielo asking if I wanted to join the team as a Canadian rider. I distinctly remember jumping up and down in excitement. Later that year they invited me to come out to their video and photoshoot in Florida. *Pinch me right!?* I was just developing my skills as a photographer at the time. Drew asked if I wanted to lead some of the photoshoots. Seriously - could this get any better???

P5: So they get you set up for this trip and you are heading to Florida. Did you know any of the crew at this point and what were you expecting, EH?

CH: I remember feeling super nervous. I was only 19 at the time and it was my first international solo trip. I only knew Drew Danielo through a few phone calls and everyone else I'd be meeting for the first time. I really didn't know what to expect - but as a Canadian I was excited to see some sun haha.

P5: What was it like meeting and working with the P5 Crew, EH?

CH: I remember stepping out of Tampa airport and seeing the Phase 5 Van pull up! Low key - it was like out of a classic surfer film. Zach (Smetts) jumps out with his Florida accent & boardshorts and welcomes me with open arms! I was friggen' pumped. Later that day - I got to see how the sausage was made at the Phase 5 factory. Everything from Design, Shaping, setting and marketing. I got an introduction to the whole team at Phase 5 and Zap Skimboards.

Working with the team was rad! Shoots are always stressful. There's a lot of work to get done. The whole team has a super positive and fun personality - even though we had a lot to get through we were all smiling and laughing the whole time.

P5: If you can remember what were 3 stand out moments for you on this trip, EH?

CH: Haha - one of the biggest moments for me was landing my first 3 shuv (and it was on camera) Being around Shane and Drew really pushed me to try more tricks! The pressure in this situation was great.

The next was the amount of times Drew play Chicken Fried by Zac Brown band. That sound was the anthem for that trip!

The last moment was when everyone was ragging on my Canadian accent. The Florida boys loved that I said "EH" like a classic canadian. They even sent me a board with a Canadian flag on it that said EH!

P5: Was photography something you did for a career back then or as a hobby?

CH: I was just getting my feet wet with photographer. No pun intended there. This was one of the bigger shoots I was apart of at the time. So this was great for my portfolio.

P5: This video was about 10 years ago, Tell us what you're up to now. I know your camera career as skyrocketed and your Fiancé also shoots with you as well.

CH: We can say it was a DECADE ago? WOW. OK. Well since then I've become a full-time youtuber, influencer, creative director. It's always weird when people ask what I do for a living and I say I'm a YouTuber. So if you want to learn about photography, running a media company or see some rad travel video you can find me on YouTube under Chris Hau. My fiancé Lizzie Peirce is doing something very similar. You can find her on IG and YouTube if you search Lizzie Peirce :)

P5: You are a pretty big Youtube personality. Tell us a little bit about that?

CH: It's strange to think sometimes that the equivalent to three sold out baseball stadiums watch my videos on a regular basis. It's a unique career. With the really good times come really stressful times. For me - during the summer. Getting out on the boat with my family to wakesurf is my chance to escape the stress, have fun and be fully present.

I'll never forget but on the last day we went fishing right before I went to the airport. I remember Zach asked if I had ever caught a fish before. I said yeah and showed him photo of a 1.5ft fish I caught and he legit laughed out loud. Ok - we're gonna catch a bigger fish for you. So we got out on boat - I threw in a line and caught a 2ft fish and i was like "SICK" and then Zach and the fisherman said.. that's just the bait. He cut the fish in half - threw half of it in the water on a hook and moments later he pulls up a 50lbs Goliath Grouper. I WAS SHOCKEDDD. I caught a MONSTER lolol. We released it back in safety after taking a photo. That's a big memory for me. :P