Addicted to Joy - Wayne Lynch
Master Soul Surfer and Craftsman
My interview with Wayne Lynch came about five months after I started filming. I got to interview him a second time about a year later. During that time, I did get to spend a lot of quality time with him. I was impressed with his thoughtfulness and how much respect he had for the surfers who had come before him. Wayne’s first surfboard, as he recounted to me, was an inflatable “Surf O’s,” an inflatable raft. At the end of our first interview, I asked him if he wanted to tell me a story, to which he replied in his typical style, “No,”
and then went on to relate an incident that had happened where he felt he was going to die. That story is included in its entirety at the end of the full-length interview I am finishing right now. I hope you will check it out when it’s ready.
Wayne was born in 1952 in Lorne, Victoria, Australia, where surfers were few and far between - Syndey and the Gold Coast had far more surfers. Wayne told me that when they even saw someone with a surfboard, they would stop them and just pump them for knowledge.
Wayne started surfing at a very early age and soon became quite proficient at it. In the early 1960’s, he was already competing in regional and national surf contests. He is credited with the evolution of the sport and the “shortboard” in particular. In my interview with him, he said, “I don’t see it as a sport at all - I see it as a way of life.” I knew I was talking to the right person because by this time in my filming, I knew that Addicted to Joy would not be so much about the surfboards but about the men who shaped and rode them and how they chose to live their lives.
During our second set of interviews his son Jarrad was along, and it was evident how much respect father had for son and son had for father. Also in attendance that day was Darrick Doerner.
Wayne retreated from the surf scene, focusing on “soul surfing” rather than the intense commercialization of the sport that was going on during the early 1970’s. I’m going to list a few more quotes from his interviews and just let you chew on the immensity of his words.
“Surfing is all about relationships at any level.”
“It’s a spiritual connection into the unmatched energy of the ocean.”
Wayne talking to me about early surfing.
“We should honor those people and honor that history - in the way we make surfboards - in the way we function - in the way we talk to each other and respect each other.”
“It’s a chance to re-establish something in our society - with depth - with meaning - with continuity.”
“If you don’t know your history and don’t understand your culture, you wind up with chaos!”
Today, Wayne Lynch is celebrated as a cultural icon and one of surfing's most important innovators. His early history reflects both his pioneering contributions to the sport and his commitment to a lifestyle grounded in simplicity and harmony with the ocean.
I can’t thank Wayne enough for the wisdom he shared with me and it is with great gratitude that I share it with you. I hope you enjoy his interview in full; I’ll let you know when it’s ready.
I want to wish you all the best for the holidays. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy the film and all of the full-length interviews. Aloha
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I want to thank you all for reading Wood Water Soul. Please share this Blog with a fellow surfer or with a friend who needs some Joy in their lives. I invite you to watch, Addicted to Joy for free, Aloha.