Wood Water Soul - Soul - Why?
I ask myself, after over ten years working on this project, why did I do this? It started out with a single mission to interview and document a part of surfing history that I thought was being overlooked. The project evolved quickly, maybe too quickly. In five days, I went from an uneducated view of surfing to talking with over six surfing legends. I was going to call surfing a sport, but it’s not. It’s a way of life. Tommy Maus, Rene Yater, Al Merrick, Carl Eckstrom, Don Cherry and Jim Phillips. When I got back to Monterey, I started to research these men. I realized that there was very little out there on them. There were YouTube videos with over 220 views, so to the world outside of surfing, these people were almost unknown.
Carl Eckstrom invented the snowboard but couldn’t get the patent on it because the US patent office decided that snow and water were different materials, hence no patent.
Don Cherry was making fins of unbelievable beauty and functionality.
Tommy Muas had worked directly with Donald Takayama and was carrying on his traditions and technics.
Al Merrick had been designing surfboards since the late 1960’s and had Kelly Slater, an 11-time world champion, in his quiver of riders.
And Rene Yater,
oh my. Rene had invented the spoon (a surfboard design) and was continuing his work to build beautiful surfboards. Rene had been at the forefront of foam technology and helped revolutionize modern surfing. In his early career, surfing went from boards that could weigh as much as 60-80 pounds to the lightweight boards we see today.
Jim Phillips had been an East Coast surfing champion. He gave me a lesson in the history of board design and surfing history.
During that time, I watched Brando at Rough House shaping room show me the precision shape of a board cut by a CNC machine.
So why did I do it?
Rene told me he was 82 at the time of our first interview and still went surfing in Mexico for three weeks a year. I want to be that guy when I’m 82. I wanted to preserve and document what these men had to say for eternity. As the movie developed, I felt as if I was a collector of knowledge of irreplaceable information. The interviews increased in number after that first 3-day adventure, adding to my knowledge, and deepening my respect. On the final night of the first trip south, we had access to Dos Pueblos Ranch, just north of Santa Barbara. I slept in the bed that the Dalai Lama had slept in. I know now that there is magic and freedom all around us, and success is not measured by the physical. My heart has grown immeasurably and I would never trade the experience. I know that’s why I got involved. These men, with their wisdom, joy, and peace, changed me forever.
If you’d like to support this project, Addicted to Joy, I’d ask you to make a donation to the American Red Cross for Southern California fire relief. If you like to help feed people, donate to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. If you want to help the project, buy a coffee cup or a t-shirt and share your joy. Thanks for reading.
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I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy the film and all of the full-length interviews. We do have some pretty cool things in the shop these days. 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.
