Perhaps it was Andy Lewis’s stellar slackline appearance during Madonna’s equally impressive Super Bowl half time show. Or maybe it was simply due to a lack of waves…regardless of the motivation, my dear friend Kadri DB Kurgun and I were inspired one sunny morning in Rincon, Puerto Rico to do a slackline photo shoot in a large field with massive palm trees, beautiful ocean background views and what we thought would be innocent bystanders - some of the local cows.
Now for those of you who have been following the progress of the YogaSlackers, or even slacklining in general, you know that there has been some crazy stuff going on. From long lines to high lines, water lines, rodeo lines, static lines and dynamic lines we seem to be diversifying in all shapes, sizes and directions, especially over the last year. As Andy Lewis so eloquently put it “Slacklining isn’t a trend, it’s a lifestyle”. And it’s true – we’re all pushing the limits of this amazing practice of balance, love and lifestyle.
Which is why it only seems fitting to get some animals involved…
Little did we know when we set up the line that the seemingly uninterested cows would even take notice. Choosing a set of palm trees based on the lighting, we anchored the line expecting the cows to stay in their herd in the background. But as soon as the line went up things rapidly progressed. Turns out cows are totally into slacklining, or very curious about it at least.
As we began shooting all I could see was Kadri’s face laughing as I took a couple poses wondering why the seemingly short, 35 ft line was shaking like a 300 ft long line. Turns out the cows had walked up to it and were actually nudging it with their heads and even tongues.
More cows came over to check it out and we even had to stop shooting for a moment to chase after one that picked up my bag of clothes in it’s mouth and started to walk off with it
Needless to say these amazingly cute creatures are also very inquisitive and quite observant. After their initial check in with the line and sad conclusion that it could not be eaten, the cows sat back and watched, with one even licking my hand at times with a huge black tongues, about the length of my head. And after their initial check in and failed attempt to score a bag of free yoga clothes the cows went back to their business of eating, sleeping and even playing with each other (so cute again).
So not to say there is an implied trend here but there is a lifestyle consideration underneath it all as I do believe we could all stand to spend some more time interacting with animals that often times get neglected until they can serve purpose for our needs. And maybe, just maybe over time all of this balance, concentration and fun that slacklining instills inside us could extend to our other relationships with our friends, family, strangers and perhaps even the animals we pass by time and time again.
Special thanks to Kadri Kurgun for sharing the experience and always making me laugh (even when cows aren’t involved). Check out more of his work at www.kadrikurgun.com
With love for slackers, and cows everywhere…
-adi
And a couple more shots from the day after the cows got bored with us...
More cows came over to check it out and we even had to stop shooting for a moment to chase after one that picked up my bag of clothes in it’s mouth and started to walk off with it 
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