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 THE MEAT OF THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN, YET UNPUBLISHED, IN JUNE 2017 FOR A CERTAIN AMERICAN SURF WHO MAG WHO SHALL GO UNNAMED.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.

~From Kyuss to Cats~ A Discussion with Palm Desert’s Wailing Word-Wizard, John Garcia

Posted on January 11, 2019 by nealdude85

Have you been super excited about something? In that excitement did you allow self doubt, sloth, and suffering to hijack your experience? After a lengthy break from writing, I got to thinking of interview subjects for this blog. I started with some steam, then, in large part due to the stress of chronic pain, I’d continually find myself having a hard time concentrating and finishing tasks, especially the ones that mean the most to me (strangely). With that being said, I’m embarrassed, yet excited to get this post out. After having the absolutely grand pleasure of interviewing Palm Desert vocalist John Garcia in 2016, this sloth relegated our conversation to the far corners of my Iphone’s data, neglected…a sad shame if you ask me!

Garcia is best known in my circle as the former singer for Kyuss, an early ’90’s “stoner rock” band that stunned the music world with epic albums such as Blues for the Red Sun and Welcome to Sky Valley. Along with Garcia, Kyuss had been composed of other legends like Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Scott Reeder, Alfredo Hernandez, and Brant Bjork. Kyuss played a large part in the surf scene in Santa Cruz, cemented when Santa Cruz video God Tony Roberts sprinkled the band’s heavy yet spacey sound throughout some of his classic Santa Cruz-centric flicks.

After listening to and singing his vocals in the shower for nearly twenty-five years, I’m beyond proud to share the conversation we had. Thanks to Mike Pygmie for hookin’ us up! Cheers!

Split Peak Soup-John, I’m such a huge fan of your music, as are so many of my friends up here in Santa Cruz. Have you spent any time up here?

John Garcia-Yeah man, Santa Cruz—what a cool, bitchin’ little town. David Insmore, Unida’s (one of Garcia’s other famous projects) is from Santa Cruz. So yeah, I’m familiar with your beautiful little town. What a great surfing community… I was fortunate to be able to watch a couple competitions up there as a kid. I’ve got some great memories of that place.

David Dinsmore of Santa Cruz- former Unida guitarist

SPS-Thanks John! Yeah, super lucky to call this place home…there’s so much going on! So, starting with Kyuss in about ’97, I have been hearing your voice on all my favorite albums, and here I am chatting with you, which is really fuckin’ surreal. I was wondering if there were any instances in which you were able to meet one of your idols?

The infamous Danzig

JG-I have, there’s two guys. I’m such a fan of singers. I’m just a fan of song. Glenn Danzig reached out to me in that way, as well as Ian Astbury (lead singer of the Cult). To this day, when I go see them, or run into them or whatever every once in a great while, I’m still starstruck. It’s not like we BBQ at the park with the family and shit like that, that’s not the case at all.

Ian Atsbury

Ian Astbury is the reason I started singing, so running into him I’m a stammering fool….”uhhh…duuuhh…duhhh…uhhhh “(laughs). I don’t know what to say so I kinda’ clam up and do some small talk while I’m so fucking nervous. The flip-side of the coin is that, I used their styles of singing songs as guidelines for me. I was a fan and it helped me shape and mold my vocal style.

You know, I’ve always been kinda a realist myself…I’m a father, a husband, I’ve got a normal job and I never asked for any of this. I’m actually lucky to talk to a stranger over the telephone-wire who is a fan of something I helped create many many years ago. So, I myself are in awe even talking with you!

garciagallito_0030

I’m about the whitest Mexican you’ll ever see in your life. I’m a dad to two wonderful children, have got a beautiful wife—everyone is happy and healthy, and I have so much to be thankful for. And one thing to be thankful, again, is to be driving my way to rehearsal talkin’ to a stranger, but a fan, so the pleasure’s all mine man. I don’t go to many shows at all anymore, but when I do, it’s to guys like Ian and The Cult, like the last show I went to. My wife and I went in as spectators and it was great seeing them perform.

SPS-Yeah, for sure. I’ve always loved the howls belted out by guys like Layne Staley, Glenn Danzig, and yours, in particular.

The late, great, Layne Staley of Alice ‘N Chains

Despite the fact that some of my favorite bands were pushed on me from the surf/skate culture, being a youngster on long road trips with my family really influenced my musical tastes. To this day I’m still listening to my parents’ stuff, like the Beatles, Clapton, Door, and even Bonnie Raite! In fact, Rubber Soul has been in my beat-up Honda’s CD player for about six months now (laughs). How about you? Do you have any musicians or groups that left an imprint on you at a young age?

Legendary Raitt always gives ’em somethin’ to talk about

JG– You mention Bonnie Rate, I’ve never heard a journalist, who I’ve spoken to at least, bring up an artist who may not be “cool” in someone else’s eyes. See, I appreciate that.

ewf

Because I appreciate a guy by the name of Maurice White and Phillip Bailey from a band called “Earth, Wind, and Fire”. I appreciate Al Green. I appreciate Rob Skaggs.

Coltrane in fine form

I appreciate Frank Sinatra, YES, John Coltrane- a diverse spread of musicians.

For the record, I have nothing against Monster Magnet!

People think I wake up in the morning, take a bong hit, and listen to the latest Monster Magnet CD; there’s nothing further from the truth. Matter of fact, my wife has said, “Jesus! Will stop listening to all this jazz, it’s driving me nuts!”, The older I get, I find my taste relax. For the past ten years I’ve been getting into stuff older than me- stuff from the 40’s,50’s,60’s.

ratpack

Now, I’m looking more at “Rat Pack” stuff from the 50’s, 60’s. I’m a huge fan of laxing out to that old stuff. It could be Coltrane, could be Sinatra, but that was the only stuff I’ve been listening to for the past ten years. Of course, in my childhood years I was afraid to admit. I love Terence Trent D’Arby, this black dude from New York, whose an R+B guy who had some hits in the ’80’s like Wishing Well. This guy sings amazingly, so fucking amazingly! He blows me away to this day. And I’m a fan!

terrence

Anything that can make me feel, I don’t give a fuck who you are, I will admit, “That, is bad-ass. That was cool”. I appreciate the craft. Being a musician (I’m not going to say ‘as an artist [laughs]) I don’t take that kinda stuff too seriously

“I’m a 9-5, Mom ‘n Pop, Do It Yourself kind of guy—it’s just what I do. Everyone’s page is a little bit different, and I’m definitely not the guy trying to be cool, nor do I want to be cool, I just want to be me, a husband, a father, and that’s it”

john-garcia-nick-oliveri-photo-by-morat-photography

Garcia and Nick Oliveri, former Kyuss Bassist

SPS-I’ve read somewhere that you worked at an animal hospital after Kyuss disbanded. Can you tell me a bit about your relationship to animals, and what makes that connection so strong?

Garcia-I’ve had that connection my whole life. As a kid, one of my first jobs was working at a pet store. Then a “no-kill” shelter. Shit, I probably should have become a veterinarian! I had a counselor up at UC Davis—one of the best vet schools in the country, but I kinda blew that opportunity. Schools just wasn’t for me; I was more hands-on. I like the arts. I love music and working with animals, and sometimes I wish I’d pursued the latter more proactively.

John and his beautiful wife Wendy at Desert Dunes Animal Hospital

Regardless, I have always, whether it be at a “no-kill” shelter or veterinarian clinic, pet-store or grooming facility, loved working with animals. To this day, I help I help run Palm Springs Animal Hospital, where, if I’m not doing X-Rays, I’m drawing blood, or loading rooms, or assisting a surgeon. I kinda get to wear all the hats and am stoked to be involved in that animal care scene.

SPS-What trait do you think you possess that most lends itself towards such a love for helping sick or injured animals; whether it be compassion, sensitivity, or empathy, etc? If so, how has this trait molded other aspects of your life?

Garcia– I’ve just always like animals…I don’t know if that makes me sensitive? I guess it’s just being there to help them in a selfless way, which may sound corny. But it’s true. I’ve always really appreciated the diagnostic side, giving the doctor information to use to help make the right diagnosis. That, for me, is very special and important to me. Some of these animals depend on this information to stay alive.

Look, Neal, I’ve been very lucky to have three things in my life that I love to do. One, being a musician. Two, working with animals. Most importantly however, I am a husband and father, a family-man. I keep my eye on the ball and the “eye on the ball” is the most important thing in my life and that means being there for my son, daughter, and wife no matter what. It’s important to be that dad. To be that husband. That’s my real passion in life; being there for them.

SPS-It seems like, to me, a lot of singers sing to the guitar. When I check out old Youtube footage of you performing with Kyuss and Slo Burn, I see you onstage slithering around like a snake, rocking back and forth, as if you sang to that heaver bass or drum beat. Do I have something there?

Garcia– Oh man, I can’t look at footage of me back then (laughs).

SPS– No way bud! You were in the moment…golden!

Vintage Garcia Mane

Garcia– (more laughs) Thanks Neal, I appreciate it. That’s a good way to put it—you’ll have to excuse me, I’m easily embarrassed. To answer your question, I’m a guitar guy, dude. So guitar-driven, vocally. Of course, the rhythm section is there. There’s no doubt about it, that rhythm section—the bass, kick, and snare—those have all got to be there or else the guitar won’t make any sense. Absolutely, 100% and unequivocally in my opinion.

jg-eu

Later in life, I started using in-ear monitors, and of course, I’d have some bass, kick, and snare in there, but mainly what I hear in my monitors is guitar. There’s a “lower” and a “higher” guitar, and I’d use the higher the most, the one that cut through the most, that’s the one I had in my in-ears. Sometimes, I do guitar and vocals only. Of course, I couldn’t do any of that without the rhythm section. Without that section it’s generally just a big fuckin’ mess. That’s a good question.

SPS-Well I know you gotta split, but I wanted to thank you for your time and the rad conversation!

Garcia- My pleasure Neal. Thank you for the interest! This is my number, call me anytime you wanna chat!

jgar

Follow John Garcia!

http://www.facebook.com/johngarciaofficial

@johngarciasolo

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

Flashback Friday- How Three Hawaiian Princes Brought Surfing to Santa Cruz

Posted on November 12, 2016 by nealdude85

Gaze out to sea along our beloved coastline on any given day and you’ll see scores of rubber-clad fun seekers sitting in dense packs, waiting patiently for signs of an approaching wave. Once the waves pour in, these wave riders employ a number of different crafts to catch and ride them.

Some ride short, pointy boards that allow them to carve and even launch above the breaking waves. Others use longer, round-nosed boards for a more relaxed ride, during which the surfer can coast and trim casually, at times dancing to the nose, hanging the toes and gliding along as poised and erect as a statue.

You may even see surfers riding prone on much smaller, rectangular boards, or stand-up surfers using wide paddles to propel their large crafts into the breakers.

These aquatic enthusiasts are a tough and dedicated breed of passionate athletes who willingly enter the frigid waters, even in the most treacherous of conditions, just to get their saltwater fix.

Plain and simple, Santa Cruzans are crazy for surfing. And why shouldn’t they be? After all, our town boasts a number of world-class breaks, beautiful beaches and a rich surfing history. Innovators such as wetsuit pioneer Jack O’Neill, world-renowned shapers like Bob Pearson of Pearson Arrow and modern day surf icons such as Pete Mel and Jason “Ratboy” Collins serve as examples of our community’s influence on the world of surf. In fact, Santa Cruz has had more of an impact on surfing history than most of us probably realize.

Santa Cruz, the TRUE “Surf City”, USA

Despite the area’s long-held reputation as one of the most popular surf mecca’s in the world, though, there’s a bit of history that has slipped through the cracks, until now.

The gumshoe efforts of two passionate local surf historians have revealed the story of the three Hawaiian princes. These princes were the first to surf in mainland America, and the first place they paddled in was Santa Cruz.

The culmination of 35 years of work, Santa Cruz’s Geoffrey Dunn and Kim Stoner have put together a clear, concise and historically supported account of the Hawaiian princes’ stay in Santa Cruz. It is hard evidence supporting a story printed in the local newspaper, the Santa Cruz Daily Surf, on Monday, July 20, 1885.

In the Daily Surf’s page two Beach Breeze column, the writer mentions — along with reports of a packed beach, ideal summer conditions and 30-40 swimmers “dashing and tossing and plunging through the breakers” — the three princes and their surfing exploits in front of a crowd of merry beachgoers at the San Lorenzo River mouth.

“Everyone knew about the Daily Surf mention in 1885,” Dunn said. “But no one knew the actual story.”

Geoffrey Dunn here at home in Santa Cruz

Dunn spent his childhood playing in the waters of the river mouth and has always felt a strong connection to the place. Like most of his peers who grew up on the Westside, Dunn spent a great deal of his time swimming and surfing. The river mouth was his favorite, and he and cousins would surf it on mats during the summer.

“The river mouth used to be an entirely different spot before the harbor was around,” Dunn said. “When big western swells came in during the summer, the wave could get really good and powerful. I’ve always been fascinated with the river mouth as a surf break and could imagine how good it used to get. Being familiar with the story of the princes’ surfing exploits there, I can understand why it caught their attention, as back then it would’ve resembled some of their home breaks on Oahu, such as Waikiki.”

Dunn’s personal connection to the river mouth and love for our city’s rich surfing history inspired his subsequent quest to unearth the details of the surfing princes once and for all. Dunn teamed with Stoner, his childhood friend and a devout advocate for the preservation of Santa Cruz’s surfing history who had similarly developed a fascination with the story of the princes, and began years of research.

The original boards on display in Santa Cruz

Rare documents and photographs were gathered from the Hawaiian Legacy Archive in Honolulu and the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. They also found previous mentions of the princes by former Sentinel historian Ernest Otto. In time, a clear picture of the princes’ visit to Santa Cruz, as well as the impact their “surfboard swimming” had on its residents, began to emerge.

As it turns out, the young princes had indeed spent time in Santa Cruz while attending St. Matthews Hall in San Mateo, a military school for boys. During their time off school, the princes, named David Kawananakoa, Edward Keliiahonui and Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole, had stayed with Antoinette Swan, a native of Oahu and an adopted member of the royal family.

Swan moved to Santa Cruz in the 1860s with her husband, Lyman. Her home served as a perfect summertime respite for the young men, who most likely were anxious to surf like they did back home on Oahu. It’s easy to see how inviting the waves peeling into the San Lorenzo river mouth on that hot and festive day in 1885 were for the young Hawaiians.

The report of the surfing exposition highlighted the amusement and joy that beachgoers experienced. Ten years later, another article mentions how local boys had taken to surfing the river mouth like the Hawaiian princes. This nugget of overlooked history shows how surfing caught on in Santa Cruz. The surfing spectacle must have had a profound effect on the generation of citizens who witnessed it, adding weight to our town’s claim to the title of the real “Surf City, USA.”

What “localism”?

Kristen Zambucka, an artist and writer from Honolulu who is friends with the descendants of the royal family, came up with the idea to create a plaque to display somewhere in Santa Cruz. After collaborating with Zambucka on the design of the plaque, Dunn got financial support from the royal descendants of the Kawananakoa and Marignoli families. Bronze artist Sean Monaghan and Tom Ralston of Tom Ralston Concrete helped design and build the base, and additional funding came from the Santa Cruz Woodies Club and Friends of Parks and Recreation.

The plaque. Surfing means so much to this town. Here we honor those who came first

For Dunn, the plaque is a perfect way to celebrate the legacy of those who first brought surfing to America.

“It’s gorgeous,” he said. “The city could’ve done something else, but they went out of their way to do something special and I couldn’t be any more pleased. Tom and Sean did a beautiful job on this and created what I think is the most spectacular framework for a monument in California. It’s a beautiful monument, and I’m proud to have played a part in this effort to uncover and pay tribute to a rich part of our community’s history.”

The Surfing Historian…Matt Warshaw

Posted on May 8, 2015 by nealdude85

A scholarly man, a library, and a cat. Smells like History to me.

Historians have a pretty damn hard job. They have to sift through documents, journals, periodicals, legends, and myths; working like detectives to present a fair and balanced account of the past. Now picture this…a SURFING historian? Surfing history is chalk full of zany characters, unbelievable antics, and monumental sessions.. Before webcasts, Go Pro’s, and RED cameras, there wasn’t much to rely on for information but first-hand accounts, grainy footage, hearsay, whispers and mutterings. How in God’s name could someone compile all these stories and watershed moments in surfing history, especially considering all the swollen egos, bitter rivalries, and hazy memories of surfers who’ve bounced off the reef a few too many times or voluntarily fried their brains?

It’s a tough gig, but luckily for us we have a special individual devoted to decoding our surfing heritage, Mr. Matt Warshaw. Warshaw has tasked himself with compiling surfing history into an online database, The Encyclopedia of Surfing.

From the Air-Drop, to Captain Good Vibes, Warshaw has toiled endlessly to allow the public a peek into everything surfing. As a fellow historian and surf scribe, I find this dedication and bounty of knowledge nothing short of amazing. Well, today is Matt’s birthday, so I thought of no better time to let him tell his story, and explain what compelled him to take on such a monumental task…

Early days with fellow surf rat, Jay Adams. Photo Booth fun 1971

Can you tell me briefly how you were introduced to surfing? Did you ever compete, or was it strictly a passion?

My uncle pushed my brother and me across our swimming pool on his huge Hansen surfboard. This was in Tarzana, California, probably 1965. Uncle Dan was coolest person I knew, I already loved the water, so the hook was set. We just had to get out of the Valley, which we did a couple years later when my family moved to Venice. I got my first board in 1969.

Oh yeah, he shreds

I know that editing a magazine can be a tiresome and thankless job at times. It must have also been a thrill to have access to so many colorful characters…How would you describe your tenure at the helm of Surfer Magazine?

There was this long and amazing series of lucky breaks that helped get me to the editor’s chair. Just one thing after the other. On the other hand, I’m driven and ambitious and scheming, and made a lot of things happen as well. I was at SURFER for six years, and only in the last year or so, maybe the last 18 months, did I do anything that I’m proud of. Before that it was me learning the ropes in public, and most of what I did—my own writing anyway—I’m really deeply embarrassed about.

Another thing I remember was, when I got to SURFER, in 1985, everyone on staff was still using typewriters. I was the first person in the building to get a word processor, I think it was 1986. The year after that we all got word processors, and the art director got some primitive designing software, and some of the issues from the late ‘80s have this horrible sort of Nintendo-y design look.

On the plus side, I got to work with Derek Hynd, Jeff Divine, Matt George, Warren Bolster, Steve Pezman, Paul Holmes, and lots of other really talented people. I was only actually editor for maybe six months, but that position set up everything that followed in my work life. I’m really proud and honored to be a SURFER guy.

After Surfer, what was next on your agenda? Did you continue to freelance, or did you look at other avenues outside the realm of surfing to make ends meet?

After SURFER I went to UC Berkeley to finish college, and I funded that by selling my house in San Clemente and by sponging off my family. I did a bit of freelancing too. Actually I got some good assignments. I did a short piece for Esquire, and a couple things for Interview. Again, all those doors opened because of my skillful playing of the SURFER card.

Warshaw and vestiges of the past

I’m sure that as Editor at Surfer you established ties with countless extraordinarily interesting cats…did these personalities and their stories compel you to start the Encyclopedia of Surfing–a sort of time capsule to bring all the legends and monumental events to the public in a familiar (Encyclopedia) and digestible format?

After college I mostly did articles for Surfer’s Journal and SURFER, then did a couple of books. One morning I made some random comment to my dad about knowing more about surfing than anybody in the world, and he said “So write an encyclopedia,” and a half-million words later it was done. The making of EOS is too boring to get into, but I’ll just say that I spent all of 2000 doing data entry prior to actually starting on the book. The whole year, loading up a Filemaker Pro database. You can’t spin that into anything gonzo. It’s drudgery, plain and simple.

What surfer doesn’t relish the tube. Matt, tucked in all cozy like

Expanding on the last question, was there any “Eureka!” moment when you realized the importance of saving these stories and compiling them for public consumption?

No, never. None of this ever seemed important in any kind of good-for-the-world sense. It gives me something to do. It makes use of this ridiculous among of very particular information I’ve got stored in my head and my various hard drives. I love the work. To a fault, almost. I wake up and can’t wait to start working. But never have I kidded myself into thinking that it’s important. It’s nice that I’ve been able to organize and archive and present the sport in some way. It is useful. Some of it is entertaining. But your surfing experience, my surfing experience—nobody’s surfing experience is affected by it.

The book that started it all

How do you go about gathering information for your EOS entries? There are so many legends, showdowns/rivalries, design breakthrough, and epic stories to document–it must be a bit overwhelming!!

EOS will never be complete, and will never be finished. It’s a permanent work in progress. I knew that from the minute I started the book version, and 15 years later this remains the greatest comfort. I’m actually not overwhelmed. I do have a responsibility to surf history, but at some level what I do, what any historian or archivist does, is arbitrary. Especially with the website, where I need photos and video. There are entries in the book that aren’t on the website because I don’t have photos. There are huge holes on EOS. All I can do is post pages when they’re ready. And meanwhile fix all the typos, and update John John Florence’s page every month, and clown around endlessly on social media to try and get people to my site.

Surfers can have some pretty inflated egos…how do you deal with rejection and or avoidance while contacting sources for information? Has anyone called you out for something you’ve written about them? Also, have you ever had anyone call you out for not including them and their exploits/contributions in the EOS?

EOS is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and the entire “company” is me, working in my guest room for less money than I made as a surf shop clerk in 1983. When people call me out for whatever—it doesn’t happen that often, maybe once or twice a month—I throw my hands up and play the little man card. I can only do so much. I’ll get there when I can. Thanks for the patience. Which isn’t bullshit. But it’s also a way to deflect.

Howdy!

This must be a tough one to answer, but what has been the most enjoyable entry for you to include in the EOS thus far?

No single entry stands out. But what’s surprised me is much I enjoy flogging the site on Facebook and Twitter, and doing the EOS blog posts. I was late to social media, and was dragged there in chains, but once I signed on I really loved it. When I’m doing something for publication, a book or an article, I write the shit out of it, draft after draft after draft. Writing for the web has loosened me up. My writing is better for it. I’m learning from guys who are better at it than I am. I love my job because, even though I’ve been doing it for 30-something years, in one form or the other, I really seriously feel like I’m just now getting the hang of it.

Follow Matt on instagram- encyclopedia_of_surfing and be sure to check out www.encyclopdiaofsurfing.com