Endangered Species-The”Regional Pro Surfer”

Posted on October 5, 2019 by nealdude85

A Case Study–Santa Cruz, California

By Neal Kearney

*NOTE. THE MEAT OF THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN, YET UNPUBLISHED, IN JUNE 2017 FOR A CERTAIN AMERICAN SURF WHO MAG WHO SHALL GO UNNAMED. THE SURF INDUSTRY SUCKS SOMETIMES! OH WELL…HERE IT IS, I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

It’s hard to make it as pro surfer these days. Even for the world’s best surfers , the cushy, umbrella-sponsorship deals of the past are hard to come by. Last year, you may have noticed that the back half of the World Surf League’s World Tour had rippers like Josh Kerr shredding without a main sponsor. If guys like Kerrzy are in trouble, that means “regional pros” are going extinct.

If top level guys are scraping for support, how does a local legend or talented, up-and- coming surfer (commonly referred to as “Regional Pros”), expect even a piddly crumb from the withering pie that is the surf industry? The pro surfer explosion in Santa Cruz, California, which blossomed in the ’90’s, and fizzled out by the end of the first decade of the twenty fist century. This shift illustrates how difficult it is for up-and-comers to remain relevant and marketable in a hemorrhaging surf industry where a good looking, yet mediocre Instagram surf star is guaranteed more exposure than a tech-inept, shy, introverted, yet phenomenally superb surfer.

The catalyst for the explosion of media attention directed to Santa Cruz can be attributed to many factors, but in the beginning, much of the credit goes to ace photographer and filmmaker Tony Roberts, who pushed the surf media to recognize just how much insane surfing was going on in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Robert’s unique, in-your-face action shots began peppering all of the major US surf mags, including Surfing and Surfer magazine, and helped put the national spotlight Santa Cruz’s stacked talent pool.

It got to the point that Santa Cruz was so saturated with talent that practically every hot surfer had sponsors and contracts; along with free gear, respect and prestige. Many of these surfers went on to become “international pro surfers”: Adam Replogle, Chris Gallagher, Jason “Ratboy” Collins, Shawn “Barney” Barron, Pete Mel, Anthony Ruffo, etc. This crew could travel the world and get paid to huck huge airs and rush giant tubes, fine-tuning their acts with unbridled, point-break power surfing at home.

TR was the man in Santa Cruz during the late ’80’s/early ’90’s, pumping out classic images and even full-length movies, but when he left for Central America in mid 90’s, there was a need for someone to take the control of SC freight train. Ripping skateboarder and surfer Dave Nelson learned a lot from Roberts and could keep the ball rolling, especially Roberts knack for up close fish eye action and skate influenced angles.

“TR was by far my biggest inspiration. I studied what he did daily and we used to shoot and skate and surf every day. He was always experimenting with different lenses and angles. He taught me a lot!” remembers Nelson.

Enter Transworld Surf, established in 1999, and sadly decapitated in 2013 due to the strangulation of print media. Nelson scored countless covers and spreads with his unique angles and inventive use of multiple flashes, film gel, and speed blur effects. He also introduced a new crew of “regional pros” to the masses. These centrally located hot-shots usually stuck relatively close to home during their careers, following Nelson, aka “Nelly”, into a number of local,”studio-esque” surf breaks. Guys like Homer Henard, Matt Rockhold, Bud Freitas, and Austin Smith-Ford were among the local pro’s who worked extensively with Nelson.

Chris Cote, TWS’s editor basically ran the ship, and gave “regional pros” from SC a lot of love, mainly due to Nelson’s wealth of insane photography.

“Regional pros are surfers who absolutely rip their local breaks, AKA, ‘Hometown Heroes’. Locally respected and widely known by ‘traveling pros’ as the guy or girl to either get in contact with when they are rolling through their town, or, watch to out for when competing in their town. Regional pros a lot of times just choose to stay in their hometown a lot of times, not that they don’t have the talent to travel and compete, but for one reason or another, they are content with just being “the guy” in their respective area,” explains Cote.

From 2000-2010, or thereabouts, regional pros in Santa Cruz could make a chunk of chain just cruising with Nelly, scouring the coast for big pits and ramps. They were memorable days for the humble photographer, and he soaked up every minute of it.

“Every day was a mission. An adventure. Some days we went North, but usually we went South. The spots were sharky as Hell. The locals were always watching. I was always ready to go, from dawn to dusk, which some surfers loved, and some hated (laughs)”.

This enabled regional pro’s such as Bud Freitas and Austin Smith-Ford to concentrate on their surfing at home; to the point that no one could touch them- their talent was next level. Cote was more than willing to give love to these under the radar pro’s.

“Young kids like Matt “Ratt” [Schrodetz] and Noi [Kaulukukui} were fucking on fire, absolutely ripping. It was easy to fill magazines with Santa Cruz surfers cause they all surfed so good and Nelly was right there to capture it going down.”

Unfortunately, the era of the regional pro, especially in Santa Cruz, was quietly burned to ashes due to the ’08 financial crisis and struggles of the surf industry. Companies had to take a hard look at what surfers would be best to promote their brand, and now, there are only a handful of regional pros who get financial help, let alone free gear.

Matthew Myers of Santa Cruz, now residing in Costa Mesa, works for Rip Curl. His job includes tending to the needs of high profile team riders while building a solid youth presence. A former regional pro himself, Myers has valuable insight into the woes of the surf economy. A common theme he’s noticed is more money is going to the top, world tour, elite athletes, some of which are gunning for world titles. Companies see the biggest, more recognized athletes as a greater asset as they possess the ability to reach a larger audience, which results in a greater return on investment.

“There’s not a ton of regional pro’s in America getting paid anymore,” Myers admits.

“For example, we have a surfer in Santa Cruz who is getting a pay check; definitely not enough to get paid comfortably but he gets to travel the world and have some incredible experiences on Rip Curl’s dime. He’s stayed extremely active, charismatic, has a lot of fun with other people, and is an amazing surfer to boot. To be relevant you must be really outgoing and marketable, and be attractive to the brand to want to use you in either their marketing including social media and websites.”

The regional pro is now an endangered species across the globe, especially in Santa Cruz. For better or for worse, these extremely talented surfers and photographers have been forced to adapt. They’ve returned from their day jobs; running business, cutting hair, working construction, and everything in between. The ripple effect from companies clamping down on their funds has altered the landscape of professional surfing dramatically. Will this stop surf fans from visiting their favorite surf websites or WSL broadcasts? Not a chance. Life is constantly changing, and although regional pros may be a thing of the past, the talent will continue to shine when the waves come up.

HOMETOWN HUCK!

Posted on May 17, 2018 by nealdude85

Who will win? All will be revealed come June!!!

Hometown Huck

Life At Sea’s Tim Ward Offers $$$ to the biggest boost!!

By Neal Kearney

Surf progression is fueled by many things: organized competition, bitter rivalries, cross-training, and a deep pool of iconic influencers and paradigm shifters. Borderline mythical Earth-shakers, from the Duke to Dane, continually redefine the way we look at riding waves. Add in the continual evolution of surfboard and wetsuit design, advent of life saving safety vests and the utilization of jet-ski assistance, and you’ve got some strong forces propelling advancement.

How else can the limits be stretched? In the name of progression, Santa Cruz-based artist Tim Ward and his “Life At Sea” brand, are offering a $15,000 purse for their best-maneuver-caught-on-video competition called “Hometown Huck”. Waged between local Santa Cruz surfers and their respective filmers, this contest awards a honking hunk of cheddar to the craziest display of gravitational gymnastics.

A full $10k of that purse goes to 1^st Place, and prize money has a partial split to the winning filmers. Bitchin’! The window started in 2017 and will end on May 31st of this year. With less than a month remaining to submit entries, this is a clarion call to all local punters to utilize the remaining days concentrating on corking out and submitting their clips before time runs out!

Monsieur Ward

Life At Sea is a Santa Cruz influenced line of stickers, patches, keychains, and more. Most visible locally, are the Monarch, Octopi, Mermaid, Shark, Poppies and other local flora-and-fauna bumper stickers. They are everywhere! Straight from the ever-inspired and creative Ward, the newest designs include a line of Surf Rat, Anchor, Black Flag, and other nautically themed designs.

Now, along with going global with various designs customized for many locales, the brand has donated nearly $50,000 to ocean cleanup and preservation so far, as well as donating toward our local Monarch Sanctuary at Natural Bridges. A portion of every Life At Sea purchase goes toward these honorable causes–which is fuckin’ dope!

Ward’s iconic TR Productions logo

Ward is noted for his cartoon strips in the dearly departed Transworld Surf, as well as designing globally recognized graphics for brands like O’Neill and the Monterey Marine Research Vessel. He is also a stylish surfer, deep thinker, and great friend. With the Hometown Huck contest, Ward and Life at Sea are offering up $10K to the local Santa Cruz surfer who captures themselves launching the craziest air during the contest window, which started in 2017 and will end on May 31^st, 2018.

This kinda aerial competition isn’t unprecedented. In 2008, Volcom announced they would award a ten-grand purse for a completed kickflip on a surfboard caught on tape, fueled in large part by team rider Ozzy Wright’s obsession and near-makes.

Zoltan Torkos, local Santa Cruz surfer and magician, sent Volcom an entry of him landing a, to be fair, “credit card”, kickflip. Volcom said no dice. Not above the lip, a condition clearly stated in the rules. The internet didn’t agree, and the Youth Against Establishment caved to public pressure ultimately awarding Torkos the cash.

The “Hometown Huck”, is basically the same idea, just on a local level and without restrictions on any particular type of air; much like the 50K payout won by Dusty Payne in 2008’s Kustom Airstrike campaign. Also, this aint’ no corpo publicity stunt, just a creative individual trying to pump out some flair and froth in a dying, core surf scene.

I recently chatted with Ward about his passion project and here’s what he had to say…

Ward Floats the Boat

You’ve been fortunate to have such success with your Life At Sea bumper stickers over the past decade or so. Is this contest a way of bringing back the creativity that Santa Cruz surfers have long been known for?

Great question. I was just thinking the other day, that Santa Cruz has pretty much invented the air, more than once. Kevin Reed in the very beginning, on a single-fin no less. Then Ratboy many years later, in an amphitheater setting at the (Steamer) Lane, when he split the peak with Slater and stole the show with an epic, futuristic Backside 360. Both KR and Ratboy were mag covers. I love the fact that Santa Cruz has such a prominent role in progressive surfing.

Ratty smokes Slates with the “Air Heard Around the World”

When/how did you decide to pursue this competition? Were there any specific inspiration or “Eureka!” moments in the brainstorming process?

Honestly, I feel fortunate to have had some of my art take off the way it has, and I simply came from a wave-sketching grommet-hood. The words, “Hometown Huck”, recently hit me as an event name, combined with a mental image of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn surfing on a fence post . That was it- I wanted to do something new, to give back to SC surf roots, and the Huck Finn idea/image was pretty damn fun.

The Wily Bastard himself, Huckleberry Finn

What kinds of moves are you personally hoping to see? A twist on an old favorite, or one that you’ve never seen or knew existed?

It would be awesome to see a backflip in contention, but I have no preference. Any burly move is a burly move. If you rotate, great, but if you do a huge straight air, great!

Without being too intrusive, how did you come up with the prize money. 10K is a considerable chunk o’ cheese!

The dough comes from the Life At Sea brand sticker/decal sales all over California, Florida, now in Hawaii and beyond. The purse was originally $5k, with a two-month shooting period, last summer (2017). That year was very flat, so I extended the window to an entire year–combining the money from that initial attempt with that of this year, 2018.

Noah “Waggy” Wegrich

Who are some of the local surfers whose entries you are excited to see? Any solid entries so far?

I’m not one of the Huck judges, so I’ll just give my own personal viewpoint and nothing else. The standout to me, with just weeks remaining are: Waggy (Noah Wegrich) with a huge frontside straight air and Shaun Burns with a frontside full rotor. And if we’re being honest, the actual skill and dedication required to stick the kickflips Zoltan (Torkos) does, who knows who will be in the money.

Who makes the call for the winner, and what goes into the final decision?

The judges are Shawn Dollar, Bud Freitas and Kalu Coletta. Each will independently select their own top picks, which will then be merged for the final math.

The “real” Santa Cruz is a distant memory, sadly. Is this an effort to shake up local rivalries and bring back the “core” or “nonconformist” reputation SC is known for?

I’d say it’s simply the result of an appreciation of progressive surfing- which does have a high degree of non-conformity. It’s purely for fun and for stoking some people out though…that’s it! Most of these #hometownhuck clips can be found on my Instagram @timwardart as well as Dave Nelson’s @nellysmagicmoments

Preview: Surfers’ Blood-By Patrick Trefz

Posted on December 30, 2016 by nealdude85

Patrick Trefz’s new film, Surfers’ Blood, is a film about diverse individuals spanning across the globe who share a common thread. That thread is the saltwater that runs through their veins; a passion for sea that compels them to devote their lives to playing in the ocean. ‘Cause that’s what it is right? A gigantic playground where grown men and women can feel young and full of vigor and inspiration.

“That’s what this film is; stories from a diverse group of humans who all share this primordial connection with the ocean. From the history of old world Basque Coast oar fishermen to a Silicon Valley visionary’s unorthodox computer surf board shapes—they all live and breathe to be in the ocean, in whatever form that may call to them. It’s about their almost genetic need to be around the sea. There are striking similarities between Isotonic Ocean Water and internal body fluids, so I thought the title SURFERS’ BLOOD to be apt title,” Trefz explains.

Now, Trefz has dropped a preview of Surfers’ Blood on Redbull TV. Click the link below to check it out.

Surfers’ Blood a film by Patrick Trefz