Meet the guy with the goofy voice behind BeefsTV

It’s like if Mason Ho was a YouTuber. Fun, energetic bro who lets roll with unfettered commentary. It’s not the slick corporate edits we’re used to seeing in the Instagram sphere. No. Chris Monroe, the soul behind Beefs TV, presents a refreshingly candid take on surf sessions.

We first noticed Chris’ work with a Catch Surf team trip to the BSR Surf Ranch in Waco.

The film maker confirmed that standing on the beach under the blazing sun filming your friends rip for 10 hours is the loneliest job ever. “I mean, c’mon! I end up talking to myself when I film” he told us.

But shooting a wave pool environment with pros within earshot and drinks and barbecue within arm’s reach? Well that’s quite different from Lowers on a sweltering August weekday.

We interviewed Chris to find out more on how his style of edits for BeefsTV evolved.

You have 30K subscribers on YouTube. And you proudly proclaim to be “Amateur Broadcasting.” Tell us a little bit about BeefsTV. 

Beefs TV is definitely Amateur Broadcasting haha. So I work for Catch Surf and I do a lot of filming for work and I decided to make a channel with a lot of the raw and behind the scenes stuff. For Catch Surf I usually just use the “A” clips and edit out my voice. But for Beefs TV I just leave it in for a laugh. Full on amateur. I think my voice is pretty annoying, but my friends watching the raw footage always love the commentary and then they finally persuaded me to leave it in. It’s, uh, an acquired taste… Haha. So yeah, Beefs TV is pretty much my side hobby of amateur surf filming fun.

So, how many trips have you taken and to which wave pools?
I have been fortunate to go on a few wave pool trips! Back in the day when I bodyboarded I would get sent by my sponsors to the Schlitterbahn Flowrider in New Braunfels Texas to compete in this big event they had every year. I went three times to that and it was a blast. It’s definitely the best Flowrider wave I’ve ever been on and you could get super deep tubes on that one! I’m not sure if the Schlitterbahn is around anymore though. More recently I have been to BSR in Waco Texas and that place is insane! Best artificial wave I’ve been to so far and definitely a blast both shooting and surfing on. 

How is the Waco surf culture? Every edit on YouTube seems to include beer-run footage. Is it all fun? 
Waco is pure fun! My first time there tripped me out because it was in the middle of nowhere and then you get there and you’re like “what?” This wave is insane and there’s a pool bar right there! It’s the only surf trip where you are guaranteed fun waves, cold beers and insane BBQ!

BSR is in the middle of a filtration-system transformation for their water. We’ve heard the old water described as “gnarly” “gross” and “alien”. You were submerged and swimming in it quite a bit. What’s your take on it?

Yeah the clear water will be insane at BSR! It was definitely a little sketchy before as you don’t really know why it’s that fake color and you can’t see anything submerged just inches under the surface. Before I went, Robbie Crawford warned me of snakes in the water but I didn’t see any. Although while shooting I stepped on some slimy creature and was told by one of the workers it was probably a catfish as they sometimes get in through the natural springs or something.

The BSR edit is epic and you have a good crew to travel with – lots of laughs and antics. What didn’t make the final edit?

Stoked you liked the vid! I kept it pretty raw and left a lot of clips in but there were so many of the same airs from the guys that I decided to not put too many and bore the viewers. The wave has so many different styles that is pretty easy to get solid clips with good riders. Fortunately I get to roll with some colorful characters that surf pretty well, especially in wave pools!

On a side note, my buddy Kalani Robb has probably surfed more wave pools than anyone and he’s joined forces with wave pool guru Cheyne Magnusson to make their own pool in Palm Springs! I’m so  psyched there’s going to be a pool so close and in such an iconic place!