A Black Surfer's Journal

#37 Fall Stoke!

2011-09-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

I should've taken my camera!

The weather has been hot lately and that can mean only one thing.....Fall is here! And as every Bay area surfer knows....that means the conditions for good waves are in effect! It took about 2 weeks of hot weather to equalize the pressures over the land and sea and put those onshore winds and fog to rest. Now we have calm winds and glassy water. Add in some south swell and you have the recipe for happiness.

I had been watching the pro surf contest at Trestles for the last couple days and getting all amped to surf fun waves. That wave is particularly enticing because its shape beckons you to be all that you can be. And watching the masters maximize its potential just heightens my own aspirations.

I usually like to check our local surf report: Surfpulse to get the nitty-gritty of what's happening waveside. Today I kept checking it and checking it, but every time all I saw was the post from yesterday. I could feel it....the surf was so fun that our faithful reporter had bailed the report so he could paddle. Finally, at 2pm my suspicions were validated. He had surfed for 3 hours and then was so deliriously high from the session that he forgot all about posting a report.

As fate would have it I got off work at 3pm and was in the water by 4! When I rolled up to the beach and saw the glassy conditions and peaky head high surf rolling in I felt like a little kid. The joy was so pure and the excitement so full that I hardly remember putting on my wetsuit. I only had one hour to surf before I had to return to family responsibilities. I channeled energy from watching the contest and treated the session like a heat.

I scoped the horizon with purpose looking for any and every fun wave I could get into. After a wave I would sprint back out to the line-up. I had so many waves today! The ocean knighted me a wave-magnet today! I was getting the best wave of the set every time. It was incredible. I actually started feeling a bit guilty and towards the end of the session called a couple guys into waves even though I
was in priority position. And both times that happened there was another wave behind it that was even better. I felt very fortunate this session!

I was just so happy out there! It felt good to hoot for guys when they were getting good waves. It was fun to hear dudes hoot when a set approached. The only thing missing from this session was a close friend.

Anticipation is a tricky thing. It is very easy to feel let down after longing for some outcome over a period of time. Every spring and summer I try to put the expectations for the Fall surf conditions to the back of my mind. I do things to keep me in the moment. I always take my fins with me to the beach so that I know I could get in a bodysurf. I really try to focus on being stoked with one good one. I do a lot of fitness training. But even with these tools the hopes for Fall slither their way to my attention.

I do not want to build up Fall too much in my head. There are infinite ways that it could not meet my expectations. Then there would be this empty feeling that would linger until the next Fall when I would hope for another chance. Yet, I think hope is part of our human condition. It is one of those driving forces that gets us up every morning. And so ultimately, I give in to my inner callings for good surf.

Every barrel when I'm bodysurfing is an opportunity to become more familiar with the tube so that when the Fall arrives I can hunt down some in and outs. I constantly push and refine my fitness training so that I can maximize my time in the water without injury and a body that is strong enough and flexible enough to come closer to my imaginings.

If todays session is a sign of things to come..........Yes!
If it is not...............Well, that was one fun day of Fall!

#36 The Ride Home from School!

2011-06-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

How fun is this?

#35 a wave...

2011-05-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

i was flipping through my surf journal and came across an account of a wave i encountered back in the fall....the image is so clear in my head...i wish i had a photo to share, but these words are all that is left:

i saw the most beautiful wave. it was an afternoon session at Ocean Beach. the swell was long interval and decent size. the waves were breaking on the outside sandbar and there was some nice space between them. they peaks were far away from each other so it was hard to be in the right place.

i was sitting on the outside when i see a sneaky big one appear on the horizon. i stroked to get over it, but my 6'5" didn't allow me to cover enough space fast enough so i had to go under. when i came up there as another wave...a bigger wave rising near the horizon.

an opalesce green curtain rose from the sea. the slight texture on the surface made the wave sparkle in the sinking sun. at the top of the wave a double-up formed as if to urge itself to its potential. and then the curtain fell creating a dream-like barrel that raced alone towards the shoulder.

i was memerized by the beauty of this wave!

i had no thought of trying to get over it or under it. i was content in the presence of it. my jaw hung open; my eyes did not blink. i felt present. i felt lucky. i felt grateful. i do not know if anyone else saw it. i wanted to talk to someone about it.

i wanted to ride it : )

#34 "I AM" The Movie

2011-03-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

I invite and encourage you to go see this film!

I AM

Here I am...

#33 a little balance work...

2011-03-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, due to the overwhelming interest in people wanting to see a demo of the board: 2 people! Here are a couple clips...

Playing with this thing has added a lot of strength and comfort in a low squat. I just finished watching a few days the Quicksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks and tripping out on how much power and flow the master wave riders generate out of that coiled position. They're spring loaded whereas most of my surfing is more stickman-style.

Anyway, this toy is a definite step in the right direction of where I want to go...

This one is playing with a small weight to make the balancing muscles work a little harder...

IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE MUSCLES STRONG AROUND THE KNEES!!!

#32 our chance to shine!

2011-02-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

our lives...
what are our lives all about?
what are we doing with our lives?
are we happy?
are we paying attention?
are we grateful for all the little things?...and the big things?

what is this living thing all about?

a fellow surfer died a few days ago

DAVID KEETIN

what?

he was not old...he was a dad...a surfer
he planned the black surfing associations annual mexico surf trips
he was bright...positive...happy
he loved surfing!
they found stage 4 lung cancer
weeks later...he's gone

what?
it happens i know
but
what?

i am not old...i am a dad...a surfer
i help plan the annual black surfer campout in big sur
i am bright...positive...happy
i love surfing!
???

this is our moment
this breathe
this glance
this thought
this is our life

let us live it
fully
be here!
now
this is the time

our chance to shine!

#33 A Chance Encounter...

2011-02-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

This actually took place back in June of 2010. While browsing in our local used bookstore I was catching this vibe that I was being watched while I flipped the pages of Surfer's Journal. Trippy how you can feel that stuff! Well, not really that trippy since we are all way more powerfully aware than we think we are! Okay, okay it is trippy! Anyway, as I left the store I heard a voice say "Hey!". In denial of my awareness(or maybe just testing it) I let the call fall unaddressed. And then I heard the call again; this time with more determination behind it. I turned to see a friendly guy to whom I immediately felt a connection.

He asked if I was a surfer and introduced himself as Santiago a surfer/journalist from Argentina. He asked if he could interview me for his blog. He was representing Wave Tribe...the first ALL GREEN SURF COMPANY. Of course, I was eager to participate so we exchanged info and hooked up at my place a few days later.

[CLICK HERE TO READ INTERVIEW]

How do these 'chance' encounters occur? Are they chance? The fact is that for the a few months leading up to that moment I had been putting a lot of thought into the idea of a future as an "International Humanitarian Surf Ambassador". I never defined exactly what that was, but it feels and sounds right. I actually still don't know exactly what that is, but I am going to put it out there and stay open to the next 'chance' encounter.

Like when I met Danny Hess. My wife and I were on our honeymoon in Costa Rica back in 2004. It was 3 weeks of backpacking around with no particular plans other than to visit the east and west coasts. Oh, and I did have my surfboard so getting some waves was on the agenda : ) We ended up meeting this Canadian couple on the east coast who got us all fired up to join them on a quick jump across the border into Panama to check out Bocas Del Toro island.

When boarding the bus, there was a surfer struggling to get his massive board bag into the baggage area under the bus. I helped him stuff it in there without many words and we boarded the bus. On the Panama side of the boarder we all split up as the hoard of taxi drivers compelled us in different directions. There were two different ferries to the island; we ended up on the same one. He and his wife Erin at the back and us in the front. Still, not even knowing each others names I sent back our camera to him to snap a photo of our honeymoon ferry ride.

Alisa was deeply invested in sampling as much Central American coffee as humanly possible, so we hit the cafe immediately upon landing on the island. The decor was a combination botanical garden meets shipwreck heirlooms, meets surfboard graveyard. I don't know why the light bulb hadn't turned on previously, but this island had waves! Good waves!

Once her caffeine kicked in we were off to find the most lounging accommodation possible. On our 4th stop we came upon this neat little hotel, it only had 4 rooms on the second level for guests. Two rooms faced inland which was cool enough since it is still a tropical island. Aaahh, but the front two rooms shared a huge balcony with hammocks and lounge chairs and had an across-the-street view of the ocean! We picked a room on the front : )

The owning family lived in half of the downstairs. The other half was an open air lounge area great for watching passersby....and for feeling the breeze when the warm afternoon rains would blow down the street.

And if this wasn't excellent enough for our week long stay....luck..chance..fate gifted us with hometown San Francisco locals Danny and Erin Hess as balcony neighbors!

It was there that I was first introduced to the his magic wooden boards. It was love at first sight! I can still remember when I first viewed it in the hallway. It was like an apparition. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was the most gorgeous surfboard I had ever seen. And then when the forever humble Danny said that he made it I was floored. It was shortly after that I made my 10 centavos down payment for my first board!

We had a blast surfing down there. Early morning walks through the sleeping town to a lonely pier waiting for an early bird ponga driver to shuttle us to the surf. Or the epic single-track muddy hike over a neighboring island to a beautiful beach break with our wives. Or watching the local kids bust 360 airs while gold chains dangled from their neck. And dare I forget the evening munching of the mysterious orange and delicious burgers that would bless our palates on rare evenings.

How is it that thousands of miles from home I meet this guy who lives less than 5 miles away at just the right time to have a surf adventure? Chance?

I believe, life is more powerful than chance.
Our connections with those around us, near or far, are stronger than chance.
There is an organized unfolding of existence.
And if we pay attention....sometimes we are fortunate enough to glimpse behind the curtain!

#31 La Manzana Grande

2011-02-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

My wife and I got to spend a couple days in La Manzana Grande over the over the holidays. And lucky for us it was the exact time that the blizzard hit the east coast. The snow started to fall late morning as we rode the bus into town from my folks place in Jersey....and then it didn't stop! We didn't get up to our usual antics in the city, but instead had a snow-filled adventure!

Caught this wave on a late night walk...

Got inspired to do some blizzard surf art...

#30 yet another BALANCE BOARD

2011-02-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is one of my latest homemade budget~friendly toys.
I am 6'2" with super long limbs and short torso so my center of gravity is high.
Not good for surfing!
I use this thing train myself to be able to squat lower and for longer.
Advice I got from tall shredder Danny Hess.
It is definitely working.
It is surprising how difficult it is to reprogram muscle memory,however.
Once I get in the water the usual patterns of standing erect for balance show up.
Still, I'll find myself in positions and places on the wave that I've never experienced all because of the increased strength and stability in a lower position relative to the board.
Surfing is freakin' fun!

#29 Photo Opp'

2011-02-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

Back for some bodysurfing
Having a squat while I sort where to jump in
Nice guy with an old school camera wanted to snap off a photo...

#28 Always going off!

2011-02-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

It is all about having the fins in the back of the car at all times.

Over the last couple years or so my passion for bodysurfing has skyrocketed. The spring/summer here offer up some notoriously windy and junky conditions. It's the kind of conditions that hurt your feelings just to see them. It can honestly be depressing to stare out over a mangled ocean while the gusty onshore wind splatters your face with salty water. That is....if you have not adopted bodysurfing into your surf repertoire!

The magic of Ocean Beach is that even though the wind may play destroyer to the nice wave quality there is usually still some swell energy out there. This is where the fins come in!

I'll look out at the criss-crossed, turbulent, victory-at-sea conditions and I'll see it....a closeout barrel! Boom! That's all it takes.....the wetsuit comes on, the ear plugs go in and with fins in hand I race down to the waters edge to stretch, don the fins, give thanks and jump in!

What a rush to be diving under the waves...feeling every swirl and undulation as the water pushes, pulls, holds and releases me. I have this sense of vulnerability and power as I navigate on the edge of this incomprehensible massive body of water. The coldness and darkness of the water adds to the mystery and excitement. And on most of these less-than-pleasant-for-most conditions I will be the only one in the water. The experience transcends surfing in a way. There's a pureness....a simplicity about it that resonates to the core of my being.

And with all these 'feelings' going on I still search out the longest ride and biggest barrel I can muster. I have gone so fast on a couple that I felt like a helpless pebble being skipped by a child. I have had more tube time than ever before in my life. I have also been scared out of my gourd when the rough conditions proved to be too rough. As a bonus prize it turns out to be amazing exercise. When I return to my surfboard it feels like a retreat.

I have learned a lot about the wave by bodysurfing. There is more intimacy and awareness with my body submerged into the energy source. I learned from the legendary Ocean Beach bodysurfer, Judith Sheridan, about the pocket of energy inside the wave & how to submerge myself into the wave just as it crests for no paddle take-off's. This has been a trippy experience because on a couple attempts I was launched out with so much force that I was sent flying to the trough of the wave...like being shot out of a cannon! I've also been learning about the barrel. On a surfboard I am not an experienced tube rider. I've had some in & outs, but nowhere near as many as I need! This has allowed me to get more comfortable being inside the barrel and experiencing how much space is in there so that I can translate this onto my board riding experience.

The best part of all of this is that now when I go the beach -- It's always going off!

#27 there was an air of gratitude

2010-01-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

it was a neat day at OB.
the sand was pushed high up against the breakwall from the big surf.
there was a 20-foot margin of driftwood and debris near the wall
the negative tide left an expansive beach that was unusually rich with iron making OB a black sand beach
people were wandering the beach with a curiosity that made me think of post-hurricane explorations where you are glad to be out of the house and very interested in how things have changed.
saw a bunch of groups of people sifting through the driftwood and taking pieces.
i saw no wildlife...no pelicans...no sea lions...no dolphins
there were surfers everywhere...putting on suits...taking off suits.
none of them walked to the waves...every surfer ran to the water
the waves were waist to chest high...clean...and down the line
i resisted the side-shore current and enjoyed a bounty all to myself
there was an air of gratitude

#26 Moonlight Session

2009-11-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

A couple full moons back I woke up a couple hours before dawn while my family lay comfortably in their dreams. I woke to live a dream. Making my way quietly down the stairwell to the lonely street I threw all of my gear in the car and navigated the concrete jungle to the untamed waters of Ocean Beach.

There, in the embrace of darkness I slithered into the black rubber suit making myself one with the night. With only my face and hands exposed I grabbed my surfboard and trekked across the low-tide big beach to the sparkling black sea. Tiny crystals of moonlight danced on every ripple.

The impaired vision of the darkness heightened all my senses. I was most amazed by my sense of touch. Walking into the water I was aware of the embrace of the ocean like never before. Every push, pull and swirl seem to hold me and welcome me. I felt safe. I felt truly connected to the ocean.

The moon was getting low providing a moonbeam trail through the surf. Following it over the black rolling water into into the vastness felt like a sacred act. I had to trust myself and the ocean in a different way. I actually surfed one other moonlight session 12 years earlier on Nias Island, Indonesia. I had just learned to surf and did not have the confidence to be able to relax in the dark right-handers peeling through. On this night I was able to just allow myself to be present for the experience and it was wonderful beyond my ability to express.

I've been struggling with this entry for just that reason. All l know is that my connection with the ocean changed that night. Paddling alone into those cold, dark waters was a spiritual awakening. I felt uplifted...high...for days after.

In retrospect, I realized that no fear ever arose during the experience, though I did get startled a couple times. Ocean Beaches true residents, the sea lions, had to come a lot closer to satisfy their curiosity. Instead of the usual ten to fifteen foot away I had two big guys pop up two feet away just to get a good look.

I highly encourage anyone who reads this to paddle out in the moonlight....at least once! Another hidden bonus is that I had the waves all to myself. As the sun made her appearance and guys began paddling out I headed back to the beach grinning from ear to ear!

#25 Love Defined

2009-08-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, the other day I was doing my thing working on the computer as I do to pay the bills. I was due to get off in 15-minutes at 3:00. I had planned on playing with the groms in the afternoon before the official dinner/bath/bedtime routine was due to commence. My wife had to teach a pilates at 6:00 so I was on the solo creep. No complaints I definitely have a house-dad mentality. Just then as I was contemplating my afternoon the phone rang...it was my wife who was chillin' at her friends house for a bit.

She says, "You're almost off right?! I heard the waves are good...you should go surf! I'll be home in a few minutes!"

That's love y'all!

She came home. I charged it to the beach. It was sizey, fairly clean, but a bit fat on the outside due to the tide. I opted to grab my fins to bodysurf the inside. I had some fun, heaving barrels!!!

My wife really stoked me out with that gesture. For all of you other surfers out there I am sending you good vibes that the people in your lives recognize the positive influence surfing has on your life and supports your desire/need to get in the water! And for you non-surfers...thanks for the understanding!

#24 Passing it on...

2009-08-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

I am a surfer, obviously. Surfing...the ocean...the sand...the sun...the sea creatures are an intimate part of who I am. Really we're all ONE thing but that's not the subject for today. I grew up in southern California by the beach. The beach became my definition of fun. My folks would take my Sister and I to the beach when we were young to play in the sand and explore the tide pools. A couple times a year my folks would have beach cookouts with their friends and my sister and I would bring our little crew along. Those were always special times because now not only did we have the beach, but we had a whole camp full of scrumptious food! My mom is an exquisite chef by hobby & her best friend is a exquisite chef by profession....I'm talking seafood smorgasbord! In junior high/high school my Friends and I would get ourselves to the beach to ride the waves, snorkel or just hang out in the sand. Going to the beach was always guaranteed to grant us a good time!

I am so thankful for my parents relocating our family from Ossining, NY to SoCal when I was 5. And I am thankful for all the beach time they granted me. I really owe my love of the ocean to them. Even though my Dad rarely went into the water and my Mom cannot swim they introduced me to beach. Once the relationship developed I explored it in different ways...

Now I am a father of two and, lo and behold, I take the girls to the beach ALL the time. The ocean has given me so much that I would love to pass on that gift for them to explore as they see fit.

And with that generosity of spirit in mind it gave me so much pleasure to watch as my 4 year old daughter eagerly & joyfully scraped all the old wax off my surfboard : )

#23 AQUA Surf Shop: Aaahhh, The Good Ol' Days

2009-03-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

I can remember being 12 and my Dad taking me to the surf shop back in Carlsbad...WITT'S CARLSBAD PIPELINE! That was the spot. Going there became a ritual. Dad would patiently post up in the corner somewhere while I wandered, wide-eyed amongst the surf gear. Although I did want stuff and did buy tons of stuff over time, usually I would just be content to browse. It was like going to a museum. I would study the gear, caress the gear, hold the gear and when something was exceptional I would call to my Dad so that he too would be educated on the latest and greatest.

Witt was usually behind the counter and he would happily show me anything he saw me staring at. There was never a feeling of having to buy anything or having to rush out. It was a place to kick back. There would always be other surfers, big or small, just like me wandering around the shop.

On the occasions, of which there many, that I would acquire some goods Witt, or whoever was behind the counter, would always throw in a bar of wax or a sticker! I'm talking ALWAYS! Sometimes Witt would throw me a sticker after just browsing. As far as I knew that was just how surf shops worked. It was awesome! To this day, the Witt's logo is my favorite!

These memories came flooding back to me after a recent experience at AQUA SURF SHOP. I don't browse as much these days; I went in there to grab a new winter wetsuit. I knew exactly what I wanted, tried it on and was done. After purchasing it the owner Aleks just threw in 4 bars of wax!!!

In a flash, I was feeling that joy like that 12 year old kid again! In terms of monetary value the wax is worth pittance but to bring back the stoke of childhood is priceless! Thanks Aleks for keeping the old school alive!

#22 Brain Saver!

2008-12-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

A few years back….wow, it’s actually been 12 years….when I was on my endless summer surf mission out in the wide open world I spent some time in Australia. DB and I were posted up in the crayfishing town of Dongara about 300 km north of Perth. We just happened upon the place.

Having been out of the States for about 10-months when we landed in Oz our goal was to get a job and rebuild the savings. That way we could live carefree in New Zealand for the next leg of the adventure….it worked! We were at a hostel in Perth putting some feelers out for only a couple dayz when I overheard this dude talking about some farm he knew of up the coast that needed people to pick zucchini. Perfect!

I got the info and called right away from a payphone in the parking lot. Richie answered with his soon to become familiar, friendly voice and said he owned a hostel in Dongara and that he would hook us up with the zucchini job. And just like that it was on….a couple days in the country and we had a job and a place to stay.

That’s the joy of traveling. You are forced to pay attention to your surroundings and be open to people which creates opportunity after opportunity. In our daily lives it is easy to run on auto-pilot and miss all of the gifts.

So the next day we jumped on a bus and headed up the coast. Richie met us at the bus station with his Landcruiser and what do you know…..he’s got a surfboard hanging inside his truck! Now it was really ON!

We lived and worked 7 days a week for a couple months picking zucchini! Those things are low to the ground…hard work…but that’s another story. We bought a car. There was a local surf spot we hit regularly. Went out on a crayfishing boat. Worked in a sheep-shearing shed. Lots of cool stuff but the thing I’m trying to get to is my helmet!

One of the cool cats we met there was Andy. He worked 8-9 months a year as a crayfisherman. For the rest of the time he chased surf around in Indonesia. Over the years he found himself getting more comfortable in the hollow reef breaks and taking more risks in bigger surf. He reached a point where he wanted a helmet but didn’t like the bulky Gath helmets. So as any industrious Aussie would do…he made his own!

The helmet is totally custom made for the surfer. He starts by making a mold of the head and then builds the helmet around the mold. It is an exact fit. The shell is Kevlar which is basically indestructible. It is super light. After all his surfing buddies saw his he ended up making them for all of them. He actually began to support some his travels by bring the materials to Indo and making helmets for surfers.

Here’s mine on its second paint job….

This thing has been perfect for surfing Ocean Beach. The water is so cold that a lot of people wear hooded wetsuits. My helmet fits so snug that it is like a hood...with benefits...especially on the bigger days!

#21 Fortunate Fellow…

2008-12-05T11:17:00.001-08:00

There seems to be a theme of thanks these dayz. This morning I got up early for a dawn patrol session before work. I got to the beach before the sunrise. The winds were steady offshore. The swell was a little overhead and organized. There were only a couple people out and a couple suiting up. Once in the water, the sun rose bright orange behind the mist fanning off the top of the waves. The sky awakened and another beautiful day began…

So good to be a surfer.

#20 A Few Words of Thanks...

2008-11-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

trying to capture all the thanks i feel in this one blog is as difficult as trying to express all the love i feel for my wife and kids in a birthday card. so before i even begin i acknowledge the impossibility and accept the task of expressing a little everyday.

these last two days of surfing have been unreal! i felt like i got dropped into a surf video. ob was overhead, glassy, consistent, hollow, peeling and just plain awesome. just watching the waves come in was breathtaking. everyone was in such a good mood! it reminded me of the childhood dayz when we would hoot for each other all the time and people would always announce the sets. so fun!

as i suited up and made my way across the sand past all of the beach walkers i had this overwhelming sense of thankfulness that i knew how to surf. the ocean is such an awe inspiring, life-giving, soul-recharging, magnificent thing that to be able to play in it is an absolute honor. i owe my parents the ultimate thanks for relocating our family from inner new york to coastal sunny southern california when i was a wee lad.

thank you to my wife for understanding and supporting my love of the ocean. i am a working father of two and still get in the water multiple times a week. and when the conditions are exceptional she is cool if i let a few things slack while i savor my sanctuary.

i am also thankful for my health. ob is not an easy place to call your home-break. today, for instance, i was in the water for 2-hours. if i was riding a wave i was constantly paddling north to keep from being swept down the beach with the outgoing tide draining from the bay.

i am thankful, too, that i got to share the ocean today with one of my closest friends, db. being able to look over and see a perfect wave peeling toward you with you friend riding it is like....yes! or seeing a perfect wave forming in front of you and hearing your friend yell for you to get it is like....yes!

so, thanks to all the things that have come together to make my love of the ocean possible!

#19 Our President!

2008-11-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

Yes....this is our President-Elect!!! I can't even put into words how much joy I feel to see a Black man as President.....and then for him to be a surfer, too!!! The world will never be the same.

Black children in this country(& worldwide) are going to see the world completely differently than those who came before. It has always been said that you can do whatever you put your mind to & now there is a major role model leading the country. I wish my Grandparents were alive to see this. I wish I could hear their thoughts on this. My Father, having grown up in the country of Alabama, says this is equal to him seeing an alien in his lifetime....he just NEVER thought it possible. I'm glad he was wrong : )

Where do we go from here?........i guess the answer would be: Anywhere.

#18 Summer In San Francisco!

2008-09-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick note of thanks and welcome to the arrival of Summer-in-San Francisco!!!

I looked off my back deck to see the flags blowing OFFSHORE for the first time in months signaling the beginning of our surf season in deez here parts. The sky was blue, the air was hot! And by golly, there was swell in the water!

To celebrate i spent most of the day at the beach! First i rounded up my little ones and we had a cross-town adventure riding the street train out to the beach. Watching my 3 year old daughter rolling down the sand dunes and thrashing in the water was a treat to my soul. And seeing my 9-month old daughter discover the joys of burying her feet in the warm sand was all that a beach loving dad could ask for......well almost...

After returning home and getting them down for a nap i had to jump in the car and head right back out to the beach so i could do a little celebrating of my own in water! The surf wasn't epic but it was fun and it was an honor to be out on this first offshore day of Summer-in-the-Bay!

#17.5 Photies from the Archives…

2008-07-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

I was doing that thing many of us tend to do…clean out stuff. I was flipping through some photos and these popped up and what the heck…here they are….

The Place: Upstate New Jersey
The time: 1995
After growing up near the beach in California my parents relocated to woodsy upstate Jersey. I had just finished college in Santa Barbara and wasn’t really getting into much. Working 20 hours a week at Olive Garden, bodyboarding, bird-watching and not much else. I had just separated with my long time girlfriend and my folks bought a big house so I moved in.

The photo was staged in our backyard for my cali’ crew to show them how I was holding it down on the east coast….psych! In the 2 years that I lived there I only made it to the coast 5 times. 3 of the times were to play in beach volleyball tournaments, which became my favorite east coast pastime. The other 2 times I made the 3-hour drive in the early dark of morning just to see the sun rise over the ocean!

The Place: Durban, South Africa
The Time: December 1996
This is where is first learned to ride a surfboard. It was the beginning our 18-month backpack/surf trip around the world. The trip was epic, in part because we got all of the drama out on our first day of surfing.

My friend Danny instantly got the job of surf tour guide at the hostel where we were staying. And I became the hostel manager. Among the many perks of our positions were access to the hostel tour van!!! So we did what any surfer would do…we took it surfing.

Over-indulging in the van space Danny took 2 boards. I brought way too much money and my hearty traveling clothes. We parked at a common surf spot in Durban across the street from a military base. The surf was fun, as it always was in Durban….too fun for someone who could barely sit on his board at the time! : ) After the session we came back to climb in our ride only to find an empty parking space…of course!

Turns out that more cars get stolen in Durban and Johannesburg than anywhere in the world….who knew?

The hostel owner was cool. The van was insured and he had wanted another one anyway. We actually saw the van being driven around town on a number of occasions during our stay. The thieves had done an ultra weak paint job and the hostel logo could still clearly be seen.

The event also afforded us a trip to the local police station where the police shared their favorite Playboy magazine issues with us and invited us to go play pool and get drinks. Traveling is the best!

The Place: Transkei, South Africa
The Time: Late December 1996
The Transkei is an area along the Southeast coast of South Africa. On the northern part of the area was this surf campground. This is where we spent Christmas.

The camp sits on a right point break that is common ground for many a shark. Actually the whole Transkei region is known for its high shark presence. We came prepared. Before leaving Durban a local advised us to pick up a shark-bite kit. It was basically a big needle and thread with some gauze for the tears : ) We didn’t need it.

The locals had other means of dealing with sharks. There was always one dude on shark watch. He would sit on the point and scan the waters for finned visitors. On one of the 3 days that we were there we were chillin’ in camp when we heard him yell, “Shark!” We peeked over the bluff to see all the dudes getting out of the water until the coast was clear….or clear enough. Guys paddled back out in 10-minutes! : )

The Place: Singapore
The Time: End of March, 1997
Spoiled! By this time we were 7-months into the journey. We had visited: Lesotho, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Thailand, Malaysia and were en route to Indonesia. We had a friend from college who was working in Singapore and offered to put us up for a week. Little did we know that she and her husband lived in the penthouse of some high rise! Little did she know that we were well committed to our travelers care-free nature. When she opened the door she couldn’t get past our funk to give us hugs : ) Greetings happened after our showers! That was definitely one of the best showers of my life!

Their home was ridiculous. Marble everything. State-of-the-art sound system. State-of-the-art kitchen. Fridge stocked with everything. View of everything. And they both worked during the day so we were free to run amok!

That is one neat city. Startlingly clean. The food was spectacular! It was just so organized!

Our friends opened their doors to us for a week before pre-Indo to prepare and for a week post-Indo to decompress. We were fortunate souls for their hospitality.

The photo is just clowning in their hallway.

The Place: Nias Island, Indonesia
The Time: End of May, 1997
Our last day on Nias Island. We were there for 2-months. We stayed in a lossman(bungalow) that was a stones-throw from the water…literally. We ate fresh fish everyday. We collected fantastic sea shells. We wrote. We gazed out over the ocean for extended periods. We walked empty beaches. We got up at dark and were the first ones in the water. I got malaria. We grew our hair!

This was the heart of our travels.

The picture says it all…

The Place: Big Sur, California
The Time: September 2007
This was during the Black Surfer campout we helped facilitate. It was an amazing and inspiring gathering of people. And the surf was fuuuun!

More on that later….we filmed it!

The Place: Kona, Hawaii
The Time: February 2008
Spoiled again! My folks and sister treated my whole family to a family reunion voyage to a beach house in Kona.

What can I say?…..HAWAII!!! That place is otherworldly. The people, the waves, the landscape….all beautiful! I had some of my best ocean experiences ever in the short time that we were there.

The bliss came not just from the amazing surf and warm water, but more from the vibe I got from the people in the water. There was a pure love of the ocean that radiated from all of the local surfers. The ocean meant so much to them and was such a vital part of their lives that they just glowed in its presence. It was an honor to share surf with them.

A family friend was on the spy cam with for this shot. I didn’t know she was shooting until I was walking back up the beach. I was grateful because it is so rare to get any photos of me doing this thing that means so much to me.

#17 Japanese Surfers, Mini-van, Cheetos, Cloves and Gangster Rap

2008-03-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

During my session the other day I was thinking about my experiences as a Black Surfer. Is it necessary to make the distinction? Is there a distinction? Aren’t I just a surfer with darker skin than the popularized image of surfers? The short answer is: yes. The long answer will be covered in our documentary. But here are some medium thoughts.

As I approached my car after a fun surf there was a different car parked next to me. There was a mini-van with all of the doors open. The back had 3 surfboards and a bodyboard. Inside and around the mini-van were 4 Japanese surfers who were smoking cloves and passing around a bag of Cheetos while gangster rap echoed out into the parking lot. I found the scene fascinating….liberating….inspiring! It made me realize one of the reasons I love surfing.

That image shook up any preconceived idea I had about how we need to behave to be a part of society. Theirs was an image of free expression. They were not fitting into any idea or ideal. They were just doing their thing. And by doing so they caused me to stop for a moment and assess my own judgments. They brought me an awareness of the possibility to live life how I desire. They brought me to the moment.

Being a Black Surfer has a similar affect. I see it almost every time I paddle out. Whether it is the double-takes and paused stares I get as I suit up in the parking lot. Or the actual comments people have given me when they realize I am going surfing: “You’re going surfing? I’ve never seen a black fellow surf before.” – “Go ahead on, Brotha!” While hitchhiking with my board in South Africa back in ‘96 a local Afrikaaner stopped to pick me up. He said with wonder in his eyes, “I’ve lived in South Africa all of my life and I’ve never seen a Black Surfer! Hop in!”. I’ve had similar comments in the water. But what is more common is the attentive way all eyes are on me when I catch my first wave (and most waves thereafter). I can only speculate as to what is on people’s minds but it is clear that their minds are on full alert.

This ‘awakening’ is definitely not why I surf but it is a great side effect.

#16 Balance Board

2007-10-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Balance boards are so cool and so useful for enhancing your balance on your surfboard…..which by default will increase your balance in every activity! There are many different types out there. My wife uses a neat circular one for her practice as a pilates teacher. In acting grad school we simulated the shipwrecking thunderstorm of Shakespeare’s, The Tempest, using 10 balance boards. The most popular model in the surf world is the Indo Board.

I have been eyeing them for a long time but just couldn’t justify spending nearly $200 for a board and a log. Still, the ‘neat surf toy’ factor kept drawing me back to gaze at it when browsing the surf shop. In an effort to satisfy my curiosity I decided to McGyver my own.

The design is as straightforward as they come. It is literally a board and a cylinder. The board was simple enough: a piece of plywood thick enough to retain stiffness. The cylinder was the tricky part. It needed to be stiff enough to support my weight rolling over it without losing its shape. A roller with a flat spot or an egg shape is not so fun. I found and 8” cylinder tube but it had no structural integrity. I had to reinforce it with some support ribs. I added some stain and barefoot friendly grip tape to boost the stylie points.

The whole thing cost me about $50. This is the end result:

I love it! I can’t say definitely that it has improved my surfing but I’m sure over time it will have an effect. I can say that it is ridiculously fun!!!

I am on the verge of becoming the Father of my 2nd Daughter. I probably won’t be getting as much ocean time as we welcome the newest family member to planet earth. The balance board will help keep my sea legs. If I get really desperate I could throw on our ocean ambience cd, jump on the board, close my eyes and teleport myself to the wave of my choice around the world….

#15 Black Surfers United

2007-10-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I participated in my first public protest. It took place in Hollywood. The event was organized by Rhonda Harper of Inkwell Surf. We gathered to show our support for the Black teenagers on trial in Jena, Louisiana. If you haven’t heard of what is going on I strongly encourage you to ‘google it’.

I wanted to go down to show my support and it would also allow for a great opportunity to film how Black Surfers are active in the well-being of the community. In discussing the plans with Rhonda she invited me to speak at the event. My honest impulse was to find a reason to say ‘no’. Who am I to speak to the crowd? But as I searched my brain for a real reason to pass on this opportunity I found nothing. Why not speak? After all, I fit all the requirements: I am a Black Surfer, I am greatly concerned about how we treat each other & I did spend 3 years in graduate school learning how to speak : ) So I said ‘yes’.

The march took place on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood at 6:30am. I marched with my surfboard and had the following sign taped to it:

Here is the rough sketch of my speech:

As soon as I heard about this gathering I knew I had to be a part of it. I wanted to join the community. I wanted to put on the black t-shirt and walk among other who were AWARE.

I came down here from San Francisco which is know for being one of the most ‘aware’, ‘in-the-know’ places on earth yet most people I spoke to knew absolutely nothing of the events in Jena.

We have access to all this information still most of us don’t know what is going on.

I grew up surfing. I’ve surfed all over the world. And for the last 9-months I’ve been working on a documentary about Black Surfers. Part of the impetus for the project came when I came when I realized how many people don’t know that there are any Black people who surf. This lack of awareness inspired me to tell their story. On the most basic level…I simply want to make people aware!

And that is what I believe this gathering is all about. By coming together we are saying that we are aware of what is going on in the community. Our coming together will bring awareness to others.

CHANGE BEGINS WITH AWARENESS.

A few months ago we knew nothing of the tree in Jena and now here we are. How many of those trees exist? And in how many schoolyards?

I invite you to discover these trees. And as you become aware I encourage you to share your awareness with others. For only through awareness can we make change.

And I’ll add that you should be mindful for the trees can take many forms. The tree might be a system of beliefs. The tree may live inside your thoughts. We may be nurturing and growing these trees with our actions.

Find the trees!

CHANGE BEGINS WITH AWARENESS.

#14 The Season

2007-09-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

I woke up about a week ago and knew there had been a shift. The air felt different. There was a stillness that was not there when I went to bed. Out the window the sky looked bigger. And then when I checked the buoy readings I saw that there was south swell in the water. These were the signs of the new season…San Francisco’s Surf Season!

I surfed twice that day and nearly everyday since then. That is an unusual feat these days with a job, wife, 2-year old daughter and a new baby arriving in2-months. It seems that my life aligned effortlessly with the shifting elements. Like just last night I had an awesome sunset surf after a full day of work and family fun. Life’s ability to organize itself never ceases to amaze me.

Waves…the good waves begin far from our place of enjoyment. Far out to sea high winds blow directionally over a large area of water for an extended time(aka. fetch). The ocean feels the wind and begins to react. The surface looks agitated as ripples splash and crash chaotically in the direction of the wind. After some time the winds energy is consumed by the sea and the ripples begin to transform. What was once chaotic becomes organized as invisible bands of energy form just below the surface. All of the bands from one given fetch creates the swell. The higher the winds and the longer their duration …the bigger and more organized the swell. The swell marches almost unnoticed for thousands of miles through the ocean until it reaches the shallower waters of the coast. One by one these bands of energy grow and heave into waves. We then tap into their energy as we surf!

This is all to say that things work themselves out. The waves found their way from the wind. It is the same with the desires for our lives. We may have an idea of what it is we want but don’t know how it will ever or can ever come about. Theory and practice have taught me that life will organize around our intention. Granted, the winds did not intend to make waves. That gives us an advantage…..we can set an intention. Imagine if the winds could choose to create a perfect swell for your local spot at your request! Our future is what we decide….

#13 The Glass

2007-08-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

I had planned on getting up at 5:15am this morning for a dawn patrol but my daughter decided that 5:00 would be more appropriate so she got me up a little than expected. After coaxing her back to sleep I was able to be out of the house by 5:30. The weather was clear by my house but as I headed west the fog got so thick I needed the wipers. Even now as I look off my back porch I can see blue skies every directions except west. During the summer the fog enjoys lounging on the coast.

Western fog....

I met my friend at the beach. From the parking lot the ocean was invisible. We decided to go with the odds as far as where to paddle out. There was one spot where 2 dudes and a woman were suiting up. That’s about as good of an assessment as one could wish for given the circumstances. We were not disappointed.

Okay, granted I have had many a session in weak choppy lifeless surf this summer so my wave-o-meter not calibrated. The waves were fun. It’s not so much that they were even that fun because, truth be told, they were backing off quite a bit and had no juice but they were GLASSY!

Oohhhhh, the glass! Paddling out when the ocean is shiny and smooth is a treat regardless of the wave quality. There is something magical about seeing such a huge body of water so well groomed. I imagine myself skimming effortlessly across the surface leaving to trace. And then when the waves came through they were gorgeous. I smile with the thought of it.

Glassy days are rare around here. There is joy in knowing that so many elements had to come together to create those special conditions. It feels like a honor to be able to share in the experience. This morning I celebrated with a few surfers, a curious sea lion pup and a playful dolphin. I still have fond images of exceptionally glassy days from my childhood burned into my memory.

I had planned on getting up at 5:15am this morning for a dawn patrol but my daughter decided that 5:00 would be more appropriate so she got me up a little than expected. After coaxing her back to sleep I was able to be out of the house by 5:30. The weather was clear by my house but as I headed west the fog got so thick I needed the wipers. Even now as I look off my back porch I can see blue skies every directions except west. During the summer the fog enjoys lounging on the coast.

I met my friend at the beach. From the parking lot the ocean was invisible. We decided to go with the odds as far as where to paddle out. There was one spot where 2 dudes and a woman were suiting up. That’s about as good of an assessment as one could wish for given the circumstances. We were not disappointed.

Okay, granted I have had many a session in weak choppy lifeless surf this summer so my wave-o-meter not calibrated. The waves were fun. It’s not so much that they were even that fun because, truth be told, they were backing off quite a bit and had no juice but they were GLASSY!

Oohhhhh, the glass! Paddling out when the ocean is shiny and smooth is a treat regardless of the wave quality. There is something magical about seeing such a huge body of water so well groomed. I imagine myself skimming effortlessly across the surface leaving to trace. And then when the waves came through they were gorgeous. I smile with the thought of it.

Glassy days are rare around here. There is joy in knowing that so many elements had to come together to create those special conditions. It feels like a honor to be able to share in the experience. This morning I celebrated with a few surfers, a curious sea lion pup and a playful dolphin. I still have fond images of exceptionally glassy days from my childhood burned into my memory.

#12 Enjoyment

2007-08-07T01:24:00.000-07:00

There is that famous quote that I’ve heard many times and in many places that goes something like: The best surfer is the one who is having the most fun. I’m not sure who said it but I’m glad they did. This idea has been on my mind a lot recently as I’ve found myself losing some of the pure enjoyment of surfing.

I have been putting a lot of thought and energy into improving my game in the water. Outside the water I have been developing the ‘perfect’ workout routine to maximize my strength and flexibility and balance in the water. There is the stuff from the last entry but that is only the beginning. I am constantly finding excuses to squat down so that low center of balance position becomes 2nd nature. It is a big deal for me at 6’2” and all the height coming from my legs. My wife likes to enjoy the fact that when we sit down she looks down on me.

And then there are the thoughts of surfing. All day long I am daydreaming and analyzing and plotting surf related ideas. I do take breaks to accomplish needed tasks but those are like commercial breaks from the 24~hour marathon. The other day I was telling my wife about a wave I had gotten and midway through I let out this big grunt as I simulated a turn. She laughed and said, “wow, you don’t make noises like that when we make love!” I laughed because I knew she was right and said, “well, yeah! I’ve been in love with you for 8 years but I’ve been in love with surfing for my whole life.” Fortunately, she finds understanding through her lifelong love affair with dance.

When I get in the water it’s time to apply and experiment. I paddle out with a mission. I have specific things I want to try. Each wave is a chance to improve upon the last. After a wave I analyze. What happened? What did I learn? How can I do it better? I am constantly watching other surfers to glean anything I can from there style. I am watching the ocean to see what gems of knowledge I can gather from her movement. I am obsessed to this pursuit of improvement.

I actually don’t mind a little obsession but when it starts to remove the enjoyment things are going to far. I’ve been reading this book called ‘flow’ which talks about achieving happiness. According to them one of the main ingredients to happiness is attaining enjoyment. Enjoyment is achieved through effort towards some goal. Enjoyment is achieved using some level of skill. Enjoyment isn’t always ‘fun’ at the time but when reflected on is looked at as an ‘enjoyed’ experience. Hmmmm….

The more I write about this the more I realize I don’t need to write about it. Surfing absolutely gives me enjoyment! My hang up is a tendency to want instant results. And this expectation leads to a diminished sense of enjoyment. The true lesson here is to develop compassion & patience with myself as I paddle down this lifelong watery path….

#11 Surf Subsidy

2007-06-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

Springtime! High Onshore Winds! White-Capped Seas! Choppy Surf! I guess it’s the seasonal balance we have to endure to enjoy the offshore glassy surf of fall. I’ve still managed to motivate myself…sometimes….to go out into the slop in search of that one good one. I don’t always find it but it is always revitalizing to take that dip in the Pacific. This season, in particular, there have been many-a-day that I didn’t heed the inner draw to the ocean because of ‘life busy-ness’ so I’ve had nurture other ways of subsidizing my surf habit.

For the record I have to state that NOTHING can replace surfing. I’m tempted to explain why but it would take a lifetime….and I guess that’s why the blog : ) That aside there are some things I do to keep me physically and mentally prepared for my next surf. The 3 regulars in my life right now are: Skateboarding, Swimming & Tai Chi.

I grew up riding a regular short skateboard. I was mostly a street skater but would dabble in the Del Mar Skatepark before it’s unfortunate demolition. Those were the days when it was common to slam my body into the concrete repeatedly during the day as I learned new tricks or heaven-forbid I would hit a rock while cruising down the sidewalk! I just had a flashback to my college days. I had stayed up all night for a final in my physics class….appropriate! In a state of total delirium I decided I would skate to class to help get the juices flowing for the test. It was working. The cool morning air. filled my pores. My senses sharpened as I whizzed past the other strolling students. I was feeling ready to own that test……..and then I hit the eucalyptus seed! All that good energy I had built up was violently expelled as I body-slammed to the pavement. I don’t recommend staying up all night before a test.

Nowadays I have transferred my love of skating to a longboard. Straightaway it’s awesome because the weight and size of it seems to allow it to plow over those once menacing pebbles. I left the tricks behind too: no more ollies. These days it’s all about carving!

My skate is about 3.5 feet long with some fat, soft, sticky wheels. I keep the trucks fairly loose. I could use some new bearings but it still goes fast enough to get the job done. I’m on a hiatus from riding my bike all over the city and my skateboard is now my main transport. My bike gloves have transitioned nicely to skate gloves so I can go for the occasional blacktop hand drag. Any smooth flat or downhill surface provides a great place to ride. On the streets I’ll coast in the bike lane until traffic clears and then drift out into the lane as if dropping into a clean lined-up section. And then it’s all about getting low and getting in as many turns as I can before the next motorized 4-wheeler drops in on me. Sidewalks are fun too. The people, trees, fire hydrants & light posts make for good weaving obstacles….and they generally provide a smoother surface.

One epic skate mission I experienced started long before sunrise. At 4:00am one morning 4 dudes and myself piled into a van and headed north across the Golden Gate bridge on route to Mt. Tamalpais. We drove as far as we could up the mountain and then grabbed our skates and helmets and hiked up the gated-off ranger road. Fog had enveloped most of our journey but about halfway up the curvy, tree lined street we broke free of the fog and were welcomed by the clear brightening sky and the lingering stars. We got to the top with just enough time to find a comfortable boulder seat for the show. Below us a blanket of fog sheltered the bay and with universal precision the new day began as the sun peeked its head above the eastern hills. We watched until our souls were charged and then we mounted our boards for the uninterrupted flow down, down, down….

Swimming has obvious value to any surfer. We are land animals. Surfing takes place in the ocean. The ocean is big and powerful. The only way to navigate the ocean (if your leash breaks..which it is known to do) is to be able to swim…well! So for that I swim.

I also started swimming to increase my paddle strength & endurance. After doing some varied style warm up laps I grab one of those hourglass shaped floatation devices and pinch it between my thighs. This floats my legs and allows me to pull myself through the water using only my upper body for an extended period. It’s a good surf simulator. The psychological benefits of knowing I can swim a great distance will be comforting on the bigger days.

The hidden benefit of swimming is the anti-gravity effect. All day long we are relentlessly mashed down by the force of gravity. The effects of this are clear in the shrinking and sagging bodies of our wise elders. The water provides support against gravity. It gives our joints and skeleton and skin a break. Thinking back to how our lives began in the warm, nurturing, suspension of our Mother’s womb gives support to there being some natural, healthy, life enhancing qualities to being surrounded by water.

Surfing is similar but not quite the same because our body is being smashed against the board. The ocean, however, has innumerable other healing qualities that surpass any swimming pool. Sounds like the best thing to do would be to add some bodysurfing to end of each session! : )

On a blown out day last year I was going for a walk along the boardwalk and came across a friend of mine, Sparky. He too was looking out over the sea for the one wave that would inspire him to paddle out. He shared with me one of his life secrets to good health and well-being [& better surfing!]….tai chi. Once I got that information I never looked back.

A common image that comes to mind when I think of tai chi is of old Chinese people moving slowly in a park. It’s actually a very fitting image. Tai Chi is one of the oldest exercises in Chinese history…so old that its beginnings come from the world of legends. Its purpose is simple: to extend life! Of course this is probably the most complicated simple task I can think of…but that’s beside the point : ) The neat thing is that it works. Remember the image: OLD Chinese people. And not only are they old they are moving in ways that most people half their age cannot!

I began by going to the source. I found a group that practices everyday: rain, wind, fog, whatever happens they practice! That’s part of the magic: discipline. The group consisted of about 35 people…all Chinese….95% women…and 95% looked over the age of 65. For an hour they practiced Qi Gong & Tai Chi. And then they would do 30-minutes of line-dancing! Here were a group of ‘old’ people that had found the fountain of youth. To move like them at there age would truly be a gift. A few of them would take turns leading each day. It was totally free to join. And all were welcome. I learned a lot from them but there was no direct teaching so I searched out another group.

In search of a group that I heard practiced in Golden Gate park I stumbled across another small group of people practicing under the trees by the lake. Again they welcomed me to the group. This class was led by a middle-aged Chinese man who 10 years prior had a serious back injury. After unsuccessfully trying everything to fix it he found tai chi…..and it worked. His back is stronger than it’s been his entire life….and you can see it in the way he moves! He teaches the class for free as a way to give back for all tai chi has given him. His passionate teaching was an inspiration. I’ve taken the fundamental teachings from him and now simply use a dvd to learn. It’s not ideal but it’s the best way to keep things going with my schedule.

The advantages of this practice are many. One of the cool things about tai chi is that all I need to practice is a flat surface. Recently, I’ve been using the tennis court near my house. This has a perk because when I’m done I skate around a bit. The court surface is extra-‘grippy’ allowing for sharp turns. I’ve also been playing with walking the length of my board as if I were surfing a longboard…..oooh, I want a longboard so bad! : )

As far as tai chi and surfing. One of the fundamental movements is a twisting of the torso with the knees in a bent position…..prime surfing movement! The movement is done slowly which builds strength throughout every position of the movement. The slow movement also brings awareness to the limits and potential of the body. It’s surprising to find out how difficult it is to move slowly for an extended period of time…physically & mentally! And that’s the other huge bonus of tai chi: development of concentration. Mind & body become trained to work as one. And according to the legend if you are diligent in your practice you can achieve immortality……I’d be stoked to be an old healthy guy in the line-up : )

As a bonus I’ve been able to add one of my old standby’s back into my life: Yoga. My wife teaches Pilates at Bernal Yoga and they allow spouses to take unlimited yoga classes. So Respectable!!!

When I was in Australia I knew this guy, Fish, who was a farmer. Every night he would get absolutely wasted on drugs and alcohol. I watched this for a couple months and then one day said, “Fish, why do you do this to yourself?” With a corner smile he replied, “We’re all going to die……..it would be a waste to die healthy.” And then we laughed : )

He had a point and to it I would add: To die is certain…..to live is not.

Let's strive to LIVE!

#10 ACTION VS. DISTRACTION [aka...Dissed-Action]

2007-06-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

This year has been a relatively dry one for me. Now that spring is nearly gone and I reflect on what went down I see that I had some valuable lessons to learn….

It all started in late January…..actually it started in late December when I pigged out on delicious, decadent junk food at my parents house for the holidays which led to illness upon returning home but that’s a different insight…..getting back to late January…..I was out at OB on a sunny head-high, clean day…..atypical for winter. I was surfing with a good friend. There was no crowd. There were plenty of wave s for everyone. It was one of those days where I was reminded why I love calling OB home.

I felt good heading into the water. ….loose….fluid. I had been watching some surf videos of the pros and analyzing their style for technical inspiration. I felt like some of it had sank into me. About a fourth of the way into the session this nice left came my way. …I’m a goofy-footer! In my excited state I dropped-in, bottom-turned & had a nice carve off the top. I know it was a nice carve because I saw it…..and that’s where the problem lies!

While my head remained gloriously admiring the fan of water over my left shoulder the lower half of my body continued around & down to the bottom of the wave. My energy was going down and right while my head went up and left. My spine got totally compressed and my hips were instantly jammed out of alignment. Even the chiropractor was like, “Wow!” when she looked at my twisted skeleton. It was not good….definitely as painful as one might expect. Thankfully she was able to tweek me back.

So what went wrong? This was an extreme example of the downfall of distraction. The distraction was my desire to see the maneuver while trying to do the maneuver. Whereas the pros are pulling off all of these amazing maneuvers they rarely witness the results. That’s because in order to pull the maneuver they have to complete it with their whole body….which means ‘no peeking’. The head is the heaviest part of our body and where it goes the rest of the body will naturally want to follow. I started the movement with my head and as my body followed I looked back to see the spray but it was too late. The momentum of the board and the wave carried my feet around while my head remained behind me…..crunch!

In any surf video you can see how the pros lead all their movement with their head. It’s actually neat to watch a video and focus on their heads. It is amazing how quickly their heads are swiveling around leading them through an infinite array of intricate maneuvers. This phenomenon of the ‘leading head’ can be seen in any activity. Even the simple act of walking begins with our head. It should really be called ‘falling’ because we are actually allowing our head to gently fall forward and then stepping forward to catch it.

Getting back to the distraction. I need to work on simplifying my action. Whatever it is I’m trying to do I need to just do it. As much as my ego wants to checkout what is going on I need to let go and trust that things are working. Until then the distraction will ruin all attempts at advancing my surfing…..thus the ‘dissed~action’!

As usual this applies effortlessly to life. Anything and everything we strive to do in life could be called and ‘action’. The dictionary defines action as: the process or state of acting or doing. Well, that about sums up life. All day every day we are doing things. The more we can concentrate on whatever it is we are doing the more success we will have.

And distraction has many faces. There are the obvious times we know we are giving into some distraction. And there are the times that distraction disguises itself as a seemingly productive activity. An example might be deciding to clean your house when you have an important project due for school or work the next day. Yeah, the house may be dirty but cleaning right now might lead to a less successful project.

As I incorporate these ideas into my life I’ve found that it’s important to be patient with myself. Going the way of distraction is as human as breathing. So when I find myself ‘off-the-path’ I take a breath and allow myself to ease back on track. Each breath is an opportunity to try again….

#9 The Documentary

2007-02-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

The message on my phone this afternoon was “I heard you got started. A friend told me there were a bunch of Black guys with boards and cameras at the beach. “

We’ve actually been brainstorming, researching, making connections and have had one other filming session but today did feel like the beginning! Kevin, who I interviewed a few blogs back, and myself are putting our energy into making a documentary about the Black Surfing Experience.

This morning at 7:15am my buzzer sounds the arrival of Kevin with the camera. He’s here to get some footage of me packing gear into the car for the session. At the van I meet another Black surfer who Kevin met one day getting out of the water. His name is Jerrod Ewell. He grew up surfing the waters of Oahu and has become a recent transplant to the mainland. Right away the deep camaraderie of this shared passion makes the stories start to flow. He tells me how in one of his earliest sessions he was saved in the water by the legendary Black surfer Buttons Kaluhiokalani.

The stories continued to flow all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge as we made our way to Cronkhite Beach where we would meet up with another Black surfer whose roots go all the way back to the Dogtown crew, Jason Gittens. He’s surfed & skated with some of the best of them, traveled the world in search off waves and now calls this cozy, tucked away wave his homebreak.

The cameras rolled in the cold, misty morning as we enthusiastically came together to share some waves. The elements joined in by giving us a small window of some fun little waves before the onshores turned on and blew us out of the water. Jason and I introduced Jerrod to the Nor Cal tradition of carrying a large bottle of hot water in the car for a euphoric post cold-water –surf rinse. From there it was off to the local Marin surf shop, Proof Lab. Without any notice they welcomed us in and let us set up to do some on camera interviews right in the middle of the shop.

It was an epic day. Everything came together in ways greater than our expectation. For me today was an inspiration that this film need to be made. These stories need to be told. The more I learn the more excited & surprised I am by the depth of the Black Surf Experience. Stories reaching back to the 40’s. Stories arising from all over the globe. Stories that transcend race, class, gender & any other artificial divisive classification are alive and ready to be shared.

I started this blog with the intention to add one more voice to a growing diversity of surfers. That impulse has grown into a desire to share the many voices that are relishing the joys of a life in the ocean….

Check out the website!

www.BlackSurferDocumentary.com

Contact us if you would like to get involved!

Surf like there is no tomorrow!

#8 [Flashback] Nias Island: Alifa II

2007-02-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

It’s now about 8:30pm two days after the attack and the Pit Monsters should be coming out of their daytime slumber. I don’t want to kill them so I’m going to trap them in a water bottle and free them across the street in the rice fields….at least that’s the plan….

No one was up when I first checked before bed so I just went to sleep & figured I’d see them through the night, as usual. Sure enough on my first ‘wake & pee’ I found the bigger of the smaller one’s EATING at the bottom of the steps. This was great because I didn’t know what they ate.

The Pit Monster’s were carnivorous!!! A giant cockroach lay in 3 pieces being devoured by the Monster. Cool! I would miss the exterminator qualities but it was time to evacuate.

Using my trap made of a 1.5 liter water bottle with the top cut off and a 12 inch extremely rusty knife I patiently and easily gathered up the Monster. I then took it across the street for relocation. It looked even more ominous as it frantically, yet purposefully, crawled around a giant leaf violently swinging its body in the air. Once it reached the ground it darted straight into a hole…..someone received an unexpected, unhappy guest!

With that creature removed I was chillin’ with the thought of removing the small one. I didn’t see it however, so I went to bed. As I slept a huge thunderstorm rolled in bringing Monsoon amounts of rain. Upon returning to the bathroom later in the night I found a surprise that got stirred up by the downpour…..the HUGE Pit Monster had returned!

I was peeing when I first saw it and my reflexes took me on top of the toilet bowl in one quick leap. This time it didn’t ease my concern with slow movement; it raced frantically along the floor with uncanny quickness. I knew what had to be done but wasn’t eager.

I grabbed my trusty knife and containment device for the hunt. For the previous hunt I had prepared myself by getting clothed but this sudden challenge had me butt naked. In retrospect it was a sweet….Nature vs. Nature moment! : )

After a couple unsuccessful round-up’s the Monster ran up the leg of the table. There, it lay motionless waiting for my next move. It had to be returned to the floor for capture so I decided to give it a quick poke with the knife. Sounded easy enough.

However when I poked the Monster it clung to the end of my knife and quickly raced up the blade towards my hand……Uuuuughhh! I flung the knife & teleported to the top of the stairs!

Deep breath…….okay, no problem. I could see the Monster on the floor and my knife was accessible. The hunt had to continue.

With tools gathered I nudged the Monster into the corner. The nudges were actually more like solid pushes because this thing did not want to move. The amount of resistance and mass of this creature was way more than any bug. Eventually it curled itself up in such a way that its stinging tail stuck out creating a formidable defense.

After much shaky & hesitant prodding I got it inside the container. Once captured it lay still. I held it to the light for a respectful investigation before setting it free in the rain across the street.

Phew, my adrenalin was crazy!

It took a week and another big thunderstorm to bring the smallest Monster out. Again I found myself in the raw for the hunt. Experience made successful nabbing come quick.

Still, I had an uneasy feeling because I swear it looked Bigger!…..

#7 ~ Riding the Rogue Wave

2006-12-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

~Last Winter~

Ocean Beach was huge today. It was one of those days where it seems the entire city comes to check out the waves. My whole family made the journey. From high on the hill of Skyline Boulevard I could see waves breaking and whitewash rolling so far out to sea that it seemed like a totally different beach. I had to ask my wife to repeat what she was saying as I got lost in calculations of how far out that must be and how big those waves must be to be breaking so far from shore. The buoys were reading over 20 feet but when we reached the shore it was hard to tell the size for a couple reasons. There was no one out riding it to gauge against. Also, Ocean Beach has a way of ALWAYS being bigger than it looks once you paddle out.

I was fascinated by the sheer power….the energy in the water. Standing in the parking lot I could feel this exuberance in the air. As people pulled up to park their eyes lit up like a kids first trip to the candy store. Explosions of water blasted into the air as the thick-lipped barrels thundered shut. Peaks of mysterious size reared and heaved all the way out to the horizon. I was jealous of the woman who sat in her car with giant binoculars gazing at the outer bars. The inside was pure whitewater chaos. Out of respect I should say that I did actually see 2 guys paddle out a ways and ride 2 giant foamy rollers back to the beach. It looked like they too were curious about the energy in the water. I commend them for taking a feel. I settled for the electricity in the air.

My wife said the ocean reminded her of that famous Hokusai etching of the giant wave off the coast of Kanagawa.

My daughter just kept staring and pointing at the ocean saying, “Waves! Waves! Waves!”

~last winter, too~

What is the magic of big waves?

A few weeks back I was talking my friend Sparky about the biggest waves we’ve experienced. He talked about how he and a crew of guys stood at the water’s edge searching & waiting for a space to paddle out. When the moment came he and only half the crew endured the battle to the outside. Once he got out there however, he realized it was too big and that he wasn’t too keen to catch one. With only one way back to the beach he dropped into one and subsequently received the beating of a lifetime. As he got to the part about how big it was he said, “I’m not sure exactly how big it was but it was HUGE!”

My wife grew up in the bay area with cold, unfriendly OB as her beach. Needless to say she is not comfortable with the ocean. After 8 years together, however I have convinced her to try bodyboarding. We were out in Pacifica riding 1-2' mushy, mellow waves and after crashing on a knee-high wave she popped up with eyes of terror, gasped for air & then returned to the beach because so much adrenalin was flowing through her body that she was shaking and couldn’t catch her breath. In the car she reflected, “Did you see how HUGE that was?”

I love that. There are two different surfers in two totally different conditions who shared the exact same experience! The thing that made it possible was the ‘huge’ waves. Ultimately, the size didn’t matter since it was relative to the individual. Both of them were challenging their own personal potential.

Our potential. How do we achieve it? Paddling out into ‘big’ waves is a great way to explore & learn about how we deal with our potential. It takes planning & preparation to successfully push our limits of wave size. Yeah, sometimes we get lucky and have the easy paddle out along with that one sweet ride but to do that consistently takes dedication & discipline.

There are all the physical preparations like: paddling regularly to build endurance, stretching, studying the waves, swimming to prepare for possible leash breakage, finding the right board. Doing all of that will get you in a very good place but it will be meaningless if the mental preparation is left undone. No matter how great your physical condition and understanding of the break if you panic at the wrong time…..

So I’d say the mental prep is really the most important. How do we do it? I think all of the physical work and studying will definitely help put the mind in the right place. Still, I’ve found there are more barriers that arise. The biggest one for me is fear. I’ll be out on a ‘big’ day for me and that freak set…..that bunch of waves that’s bigger than all the others.….the rogue waves (as my chiropractor calls it) will appear on the horizon. Instantly, fear floods my body. My heart races too fast. My breath becomes shallow. My mind flickers instantly through possible bad outcomes. I’m no longer surfing. The whole experience becomes a life or death encounter. Fortunately, I’ve held it together enough to deal thus far but it’s not solved.

It’s a trippy experience because everything will be fine and then that wave shows up, which is a tad bigger, and my mind shatters. How to trust our experience and stay concentrated when faced with the ‘bigness’ of our potential?

I’m sure there are lots of answers out there. One example of a solution comes from a good friend of mine who wanted to paddle out at Maverick’s. He’s a well-seasoned surfer. He’s traveled extensively. He’s surfed the biggest days at OB. He had researched and talked to friends of his who surfed there. He’d done all of the necessary physical work. From the outsiders point of view he was totally ready. Still, there was hesitation when it came to surfing Maverick’s. The final hurdle was getting over that mental block. His solution: a Maverick’s journal.

Once he decided, “Yes, I’m going to surf this place!”…he began writing about it. Anything and everything that came up relative to making the paddle he jot down. He created a mental workout. It worked. He paddled there last winter! I read that the respected big wave rider, the late Jay Moriarty, also wrote essays as preparation to surfing Maverick’s. There must be something to it! It’s all about the mental exercise…however you decide to get it!

‘Big’ waves could be seen as our potential in our daily lives. How we deal with rogue waves in the water can shed light on how we face the limitless potential of our lives. Marianne Williamson writes:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

No matter how big it gets just keep on riding……

#6 ~ Wonderful Exhaustion

2006-11-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

Candid Shot by DB

I dare not forget November as a solid part of the San Francisco surf season. The surf has been so fun for the last week and I have surfed so much that I am wonderfully exhausted. This morning’s session had to be cut short out of sheer muscle fatigue. Good waves kept coming through but my jello arms were giving way to late drops and subsequent thrashings.

When I realized that my get-up-and-go had got-up-and-gone a thought from the Surfer’s Path article on Ocean Beach (issue #55) flowed through my mind. Pete Reich states, “I think it’s tough to get good at Ocean Beach. There’s a lot more paddle time versus ride time, compared to a place like Santa Barbara or San Diego where it’s less intense to get to the surf and ride it. So it’s difficult to learn and progress here, although you do of course learn how to deal with big waves.” That is a pretty accurate description of my last week. Paddle, paddle, paddle and more paddle!

It’s really amazing how much paddling it takes to get waves at OB. Between the treadmill of whitewater, the ever shifting peaks and the relentless sideshore current surfers have to keep their arms moving constantly. The cool thing is that it forces one to be in great physical condition if you want to surf. The tricky side for me is that I have fantasies about being an extremely good surfer which will be difficult to achieve at OB.

Maybe that’s what I love about this place. It’s the ultimate life training ground. Just as in our day to day aspirations if we want something we have to really give it our all to get it. One of my most respected acting teachers Jon Jory achieved amazing success in his still thriving career. Amidst his stories of glory were relentless obstacles. His way of overcoming them was simple: just keep working! By continuing to work he was always learning new things, challenging himself and ultimately triumphing in his medium. OB reinforces this idea through paddling.

At some point it becomes natural to just keep paddling. A 30 minute paddle to reach the line-up followed by an entire session of paddling against the current just to keep from drifting along the beach becomes instinctive in the journey to ride the waves. Even places that are more user friendly will yield rewards to those with a diligent paddle ethic. OB is good for those stubborn students like myself.

#5 ~ Beginner’s Mind

2006-11-09T00:26:00.000-08:00

October…my wife’s birthday month….my buddy DB’s birthday month….my parents wedding anniversary month…..and the beginning of fall……all of this adds up to good times and good surf! This is the time when the conditions at OB all line up for sunny days and offshore winds. It’s no secret. All local surfers who have their head even slightly above water know that this is the beginning of surf season!

I wake up with my daughter at 6:00am everyday. After singing her a few rounds of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds while freshening her diaper I deliver her to Mom for her daily super vitamin of breast milk. And now it’s time to check the surf. From our back porch I can see the flags hoisted above the city skyline pointing due west as the warm winds come from inland and journey out to sea. They are beacons guiding me to the water. After a cup of hot water to stoke my internal furnace I gather my gear in anticipation of what I will find when I reach the wilderness of Ocean Beach. A few kisses for my ladies begin my quest.

The flags never lie. As I crest the hill of the Great Highway to reveal the ocean I see a surf mag image come to life. Silken barrels are peeling from peaks stretching as far as my eye can see along the shore. Tell-tale mists of water are fanning off the top of every pitching wave. The sun is shining; the air is warm. It’s epic.

I suit up as efficiently as possible to avoid any delays in getting in the water. At the water’s edge I do a warm-up I learned in a Tai Chi class while surveying for a comfortable way to paddle out. Upon entering the water I give thanks to the ocean for welcoming me once again. I also pay my respects to the over 60 million Africans who lost their lives at sea during the 300 year African Slave Trade.

The paddle out always seems easy with the wind at my back. As I paddle over the tops of waves I can see rainbows in the sunlit fanning mists. I see people pulling into and coming out of barrels and fantasize that I may be so fortunate when I reach the line-up. The unridden, unblemished waves are gorgeous. Every breath and glance yields potential.

The vibe in the water reminds me of my childhood days. The whole pack becomes friends as we paddle in this liquid playground. My favorite moments are when a gorgeous set wave appears on the horizon and everyone sends out a cheer…..not because anyone is riding it…..we are simply celebrating the wave! And if someone is fortunate enough to catch it the cheers resound again. We all become the free-spirited, expressive kids from our younger days.

I often think about how growing older tends to coincide with less freedom. A classic scenario of youth is a teenager lashing out in a moment of anger with a thought like “I can’t wait until I’m older so I can do whatever I want!”. To some extent this is true; we can make choices for ourselves once we become ‘of age’. The catch is that we also tend to limit our possibilities…..whether we know it or not. We put barriers around how we behave, how we feel and what we do. For many of us that age ripened ‘wisdom’ translates to having higher, more durable self-limiting walls.

Shunryu Suzuki, the Zen Master who founded the respected Zen Center in San Francisco, states, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”

Age has a way of making us ‘expert’s’. I’ve been on a journey to chip away at these walls. It’s been a bumpy road that’s taken me around the world, through many jobs, upon many meditation cushions & into the water. And since I still find myself running into these invisible walls everyday I am thankful for the epic surf days that bring out the ‘beginner’ in me.

The journey continues……

#4 ~ Kevin Speaks

2006-10-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

I surf all the time and I see a much broader diversity of surfers in the water than are represented by popular media. Who are these anonymous surfers? Lately, I’ve been making an effort to meet many more people in the water. It’s surprisingly satisfying to paddle over and say, “How’s it goin’?” to the stranger sitting on the next peak. The ocean instantly becomes much smaller…and so does the world!

Here is an interview with one such ‘stranger’. His name is Kevin and he is married to Bethany. They have two kids: Zoe and Gordon.

What’s your job?

I work in the biotech industry in the regulatory department. That’s probably as far as I should go with that. I could say more but I’d put you to sleep.

That’s alright.

I do a lot of reading of federal regulations as it pertains to bio-tech pharmaceutical products.

Is that your background?

No, actually, I have an IT background but I actually went to school for interior design. It’s kinda like a progression. It started in art doing interior design, then I started doing graphics, from graphics it went to web design, to technical support, to technical support for a biotech company, to regulatory.

How long have you been surfing?

I’ve been surfing for about 5 years but I’ve owned a surfboard for at least twice as long. So, I bought my first surfboard when I was a senior in high school, but I didn’t start surfing until about 5 or 6 years ago.

Why the big gap?

I grew up on the east coast in Maryland and I used to spend the summers vacationing as a kid down in the outer banks of North Carolina. As a kid at 12 or 13 years old I used to go bodysurfing in the ocean on the east coast and then I got a boogie board and started boogie boarding. By the time I was a senior in high school I had a friend who had a surfboard. I’d always had an interest in surfing but never did. I had a friend who had a surfboard and he offered to sell it to me for a $100 bucks and I was like ‘sure, why not?”. I knew it was something I knew I wanted to get into….so I bought it!

One of the tough things about living where I lived was that I was 5 hours from any major body of water so in the summers I would take my surfboard to Cape Hatteras, the outer banks of North Carolina. I would only be there for a week so I never really had the consistency to develop and learn. It was kinda like…”let me just take the board”…it’s a 6’2” WRV…”let me just take it in the water and see what happens!”. That would be 1 or 2 weeks out of the summer and then it wouldn’t happen again for another year.

About 10 years ago I moved to san Francisco and lived literally within a 2 minute drive to the ocean. I was like “alright it’s either now or never!” so I just bought a used longboard off craigslist and started going out 3 or 4 times a week. That was about 5 to 6 years ago.

So, what size board are you riding now?

Right now I ride an 8’0”. I have 3 boards. I still have the 6’2” that I bought when I was a senior in high school. I have a 9’0” that I bought off craiglist. That’s really the board I consider my first board because that’s the board I caught my first wave on. And I just recently graduated to an 8’0”. I bought a Linden… a Catalina funboard. That one is my first brand new board.

So where is your local spot?

My local spot is by default Linda Mar…Taco Bell Beach. But this past year a lot of opportunities have opened up for me to surf up and down the coast of northern California. I went down to Wydell(beach), Steamer’s Lane in Santa Cruz….this is all within the past few months. Ocean Beach, because next to Taco Bell Beach OB would be my 2nd to home spot because of proximity. And Half Moon Bay. I think next on my list is Maverick’s…..not in February or March though! (laughter) Normal surf at Maverick’s you can go out there and catch 3 to 5 footers…maybe even a 6 footer here or there. But not the Maverick’s that pulls in people from all over the globe!

What keeps you surfing?

Although I’ve really only considered myself surfing for 5, 6 years I feel like surfing has really been in my blood since I was in high school. It all started with getting into skate culture…riding skateboards and going to the beach, the outer banks of North Carolina. Something about being there and always wanting to get into the water and just totally experience the wave whether it be bodysurfing or on a boogie board. I really feel deep in my soul that surfing has been in my blood since high school.

Everything has come to fruition just since I’ve lived in California for the past 12 years…..having access to the water right there.

Today the main thing that pulls me in the water is that at the end of my day when I’m done working and I suit up & I paddle out the second I’m in the water everything else just goes away….it’s just complete disconnect. Regardless of how great your day was or how bad your day was, as soon as I hit the water everything disconnects.

It’s one of those things that are hard to articulate. You really have to go out into the water to feel that….to know what that’s like. For some people it might be other things but for me surfing is just my way of just disconnecting…and just releasing.

You said you skateboarded a lot, too. Do you still skate? How much were you into skating?

I did skateboard when I was younger, a lot. We used to have in our neighborhood this ramp that they built…about 20 kids. That was back before they secured constructions sites. A bunch of kids at nighttime would go and snag all this plywood and 2x4’s. And there was a creek that they would soak the plywood in. They would let it soak for days. And they just started building this ramp. They would take the wet plywood and start bending it and nailing it down and they built this half-pipe.

We would go down there and skate during the summers. I would do the ramp but I would never do these in-the-air acrobats and stuff. It’s just part of the board culture; if you can’t surf it’s the next best thing.

I hadn’t skateboarded in a while….in a long time; I’d say over 15 years. And recently I turned 35; my birthday was last week.

Heyyy, Happy Birthday!!

Right on, now forget it…no. (laughter). For my birthday I told my wife “you know I think I’m gonna go buy a skateboard”.

I have a son who is gonna be 3 in a few weeks. And part of the reason I bought a skateboard is because whenever we drive by the skate park he totally lights up! We go in the skate park; he likes to sit on the outside and watch all the other skaters do aerials and stuff. And the other part is that I think that once that gets into you…that desire…I don’t think it ever goes away.

For me it was symbolic. 35 was a big leap for me. I know a lot of people I talk to are like, “Dude, you’re still young. You’re still a kid!” But for me it’s like “nahh!”, because I walk around and kids younger than me are looking at me like “look at that old guy!” So part of buying a skateboard was a way of me clinging on to that youth.

Can you talk about your best session? Do you have a favorite session that stands out in your mind?

That’s a hard one. Some of my better sessions have definitely been within the last year. Like I mentioned before I just recently bought my first brand new surfboard which was an 8’0” funboard. And some of the better sessions I’ve had have been since I’ve had this board. It’s a lot easier to maneuver and turn with the wave. There are a couple specific times I remember catching what seemed to me like 100 ft. waves, which I’m sure in reality were like 3’ waves. Overall I’d say seasonally the past year has been a time where I’ve had better sessions.

Oh wait…forgot one….Kauai, last summer. That was by far the best surfing experience I’ve ever had in my entire life. We went to Kauai for family vacation, the 4 of us. We stayed at Poipu Beach. We have a friend whose sister lives in Kauai and she’s a surfer and so I hooked up with her and she let me borrow one of her husband’s boards which was a 9’0”. Keep in mind that my entire experience surfing had been in northern California where a wetsuit is not an option; it’s required. And then I go down to Poipu Beach in Kauai…..now I know where the term “surf naked” came from! You get in the water and it’s bath warm. You look 8 feet below you and you can see all the rocks and stuff, which is a little disconcerting, but the waves and the breaks were so clean and so consistent that I definitely, by far, have had my best surf experience. And that will always, until I catch the ‘killer wave’, be my best surf experience. Because of where I was, the consistency of the wave, it wasn’t really that crowded…it was just awesome!

Has surfing taught you anything?

Surfing has taught me a lot. One of the things growing up that I think every kid deals with is the pressure of conforming to what other people think you should be and conforming to what other people think you should do. The second you do something that’s outside what they’re used to seeing I don’t think they know how to process that.

When I think of what has surfing taught me I think of don’t ever let anybody tell you that you can’t do something whether it be because of your age, whether it be because of your color, whether it be because of your disability, whatever it is. Surfing to me, I have such an intimate joy with it that I will not allow anybody to tell me that I can’t, regardless of how old I am or what I look like or what people expect me to be or think that I should be.

Have you had any drama surfing?

Yeah, of course. Surfing’s a funny culture. Certain spots, and I kinda understand it…the one thing that is pretty common in a lot of places is that certain spots can be very territorial. One of the things that I’ve learned from my earlier days of surfing is to respect that, because these are local people and these are their stomping grounds. You have to, one, understand and know what your skill level is. And, two, with that respect those areas.

Every once in a while you run into some drama but you have to learn to blow it off and not allow that experience to rob the joy of what you’re in the water for.

Any other thoughts we didn’t get to?

I’ll tell you my coming of age surfing story. Like I mentioned I got my first surfboard right around my senior year; I was just graduating. I had taken it in the water maybe once or twice. I grew up in a suburban area of mostly white families; there were some black families here or there and that was a lot of my school experience: elementary, junior high & high school. When it went to college I went to Howard(University) which is one of the oldest black institutions in the U.S.

I remember I took this speech communications class. The assignment we were given was to give a speech on something about ourselves that people don’t know or would never guess. I gave a speech on a friend of mine that was 6’2” whose name was Bonk, because that was the name of the surfboard.

I remember I commuted from Silver Springs into D.C. which was like an hour and forty-five minute commute everyday, one way. So the day came I had to give my speech. I wrapped up my surfboard; I had my (surfboard)sock on it. I took this surfboard with me on the bus, on the subway, walked the 5 blocks from the subway to campus and to class. I got a wide range of reactions from the time I left the house to the time I got to school. You can only imagine people were like “we’re like 5 hours from the nearest body of water; what is this guy doing on the bus with a surfboard?”

I was very self conscious about it….especially once I got to campus. And this goes back to what I was saying one of the things it taught me is never let anybody tell you that you can’t do something regardless of whatever the condition is. I had people say things to the effect of ‘you’re a fool!” to “That’s really cool!” And that comment, when they looked at me and said, “That’s really cool!” I knew exactly what they were saying. Part of it was ‘hey, that’s really cool that you surf.” But for who I was and where I was that comment showed me that there’s such a wide range of personalities out there…a wide range of interests. Sometimes we’re bound by what people expect of us and we don’t allow ourselves to pursue those things that are close to us. Whether it be “I’m black and I surf” but that’s not necessarily what you always think of as being synonymous.

Even after class I had some people ask all sorts of questions: where do you surf? How long have you surfed?….just this interest level. And then other people seeing that realizing “maybe if this is something I might be interested in, maybe it is cool that I go and try this out and see if it’s something I can totally dig on”.

That experience for me was liberating. Not to make the focal point of me being black and me being a surfer, but like you eloquently put it on the blog, this is just the circumstances of the world that we live in. So for me that experience was a liberation to be able to go to school and be like ‘yeah, this is what I do!” For me to publicly say that this is something that I’m very passionate about required some vulnerability. So that story is definitely a defining point in terms of my pursuit or passion of growing as a surfer.

Wow, thank you.

#3 ~ [Flashback] Nias Island: Alifa I

2006-10-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

Time: April/May 1997
Place: Nias Island, Indonesia
Circumstances: My friend DB and I were 7-months into our 18-month endless summer surf trip around the globe. We’re spending 2-months on this remote island off of Sumatra that is home to Lagundri Bay, an internationally famous right reef break. We were staying right on the bay in a lossman. Ours was a studio-style thatch bungalow on stilts with a big porch and bathroom off the back. Inside the room were two twin beds draped with mosquito nets and a nightstand. Our lossman was 50 yards off the water and cost $0.25 per night.

It was owned by a beautiful family: Grandma, Mom, Dad, 3 Sons and 2 Daughters. Grandma was the masseur. Mom was the master chef. Dad was mr. Fix-it. The eldest son, Daniel, was the local surf guru and spoke the most English. When the younger kids were not in school they were always having fun: climbing papaya trees, messing with the chickens or laughing at my big feet when we played hackey sack.

During the earthquakes & subsequent tsunamis near Sumatra in December 2004 and March 2005 Nias sustained devastating loss. My heart goes out to all of the amazing, lovely, generous people I met and their families. I’m thankful to surfing for directing my curiosity to visit such far away lands and broaden my human awareness.

The following excerpt is from a journal I kept on the island:

This lived in our bathroom! Our bathroom was a 4’x 15’ tile-floored room that sat three steps down off the back of our lossman. It was equipped with table, toilet, spicket & bucket. The bucket was huge and filled with water that we would scoop out to flush the toilet. We were fortunate to have our own running water and toilet connected to our in the lossman!

Every night I have to trek to the bathroom at least a couple times. A couple days into our stay here I noticed a long speedy thing going across the floor. I’m generally fond of bugs but this one had a particularly unnerving look about it & moved way too fast. Still, I yelled to DB and we admired it.

As I had to use the bathroom and I didn’t want it to crawl on me I’d always take the flashlight with me The thing didn’t seem too interested in me. It just seemed to zoom around the floor all night….only at night!

After a couple weeks I noticed it had gotten bigger. I have no idea what it ate in there but it was bigger. When I mentioned this to DB he thought it absurd that I could notice an increase in size in that short time. I knew it was bigger but still thought…”huh, maybe he’s right.”

By this point we had been referring to the creature rather amiably as the “The Pit Monster”.

Well, that night I found myself on the usual midnight run….only this time I had some solid business to tend. Sitting down wasn’t as easy with a flashlight because when I’d look one way the other way would be in total blackness. I quickly found the Monster cruising along the nearby wall to my left & it indeed didn’t look that big. I watched it cruise in front of me seemingly investigating my feet which I promptly lifted! As it went under the table I lost sight of it but saw some movement on top of the table. A quick flashlight adjustment revealed the secret to the growth…….there was another one……a BIGGER one!

Now I had to track both of these Monsters with my one beam of light. Luckily, the tabletop Monster didn’t seem interested in coming to the floor. I was following the smaller dude around the floor & periodically(quite often!) checking the table, too. I watched as it passed my feet again disappearing behind the bucket. The next thing to happen was a Stephen King creation. As I kept the light on the bucket to make sure there would be no sneak attacks I saw something straight out of a nightmare.

Slowly making its way from behind the bucket was a Pit Monster over twice as big as the Bigger Monster! I was in awe! 3 of them……the 3rd one being more of a snake with legs than a bug! …..and me with a beam of light and my pants down!

I remained calm because one was still on the table & the Biggest Monster was a slow mover. I watched them for a while & then returned to bed having to bite my tongue to keep from waking DB with the news!

For the next few days I did my best to hold-it during the night but still found myself on full alert peeing with 3 Monsters. The Biggest one disappeared after 2 days so I was left to deal with the two Little ones. I saw them more like caterpillars now after having seen the potential. Most of the fear was now directed towards the Big one. Nevertheless I still did not want them to crawl on me but was much less cautious.

After a week I noticed my flashlight beam fading so in the interest of battery conservation I decided it okay to turn off the light once successfully reaching the toilet. Well, on my second night of this heroic method I found myself having a seat once again. Once situated & comfortable I turned off the light. That’s when it happened……. Aaaaghhh!

Something had bitten or stung my ankle. I swatted & jumped up on the toilet in one move. By the time I turned on the light all I saw was a cricket hopping across the floor. I tried momentarily to convince myself that my ankle bracelet had caught my hairs but the pain was far too intense.

The pain came not from a single point but an area the size of an egg was on fire. I saw one drop of blood in the middle and it all started to swell. My rubbing was as soothing as throwing a cup of water on a forest fire.

I scrambled to bed and shakily dowsed the area with peroxide. Inside the darkness of my mosquito net I fantasized myself to sleep with thoughts of the awful things that could happen from the bite of some tropical jungle bug. [a few weeks later I would get Malaria from such a bug….but that’s another story!]

The morning brought good and bad discoveries. The good news was that I had moderate swelling and intense pain which lasted until the following day. The bad news was that we solved the mystery of why we only saw the Pit Monster at night. To our dismay we found the Smallest Monster curled up under the seat of the toilet….not good!

2 days after the attack I was drawing the picture above when our local friend Daniel cruised up. I asked about the creature. His response, “Yeah, I know this, Alifa. Very Dangerous. You see one? Kill it! If it bite you, 2 days no walking! Kill it! But when you try kill it, make sure it die. If not die it will come back to get you. Kill it!” Not exactly the response I was hoping for. He also said the smaller ones weren’t as bad.

Well, that did explain my day of pain. And if my swat pissed it off that also explains the sudden interest in the toilet…..REVENGE!!!

Coming soon: The Hunt!

#2 ~ Charge it!

2006-10-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

Almost one week ago a great leader in the community died unexpectedly. His name is Carlos Aceituno and his positive influence spread thick throughout the bay area and well beyond. I studied Brazilian drumming and Capoeira under him a handful of times. From my view he was one of those people with infinite energy and enthusiasm. Even when he was running you into the ground with warm-up exercises he still looked as though he were on a leisurely stroll through the dunes…..and this is why his death has had such an impact on me. You never know when your days in this life will come to an end.

There have been many days I have gone down to the beach to check it before deciding whether or not to surf. I would look out over the ocean and judge whether or not the conditions were worthy of me paddling out. Recently I’ve been working on lowering my criteria for entry. As long as I have the time, it’s not absolutely flat [rare at OB]& it’s not too big [not so rare at OB] I find myself suiting up for a session. The new standard I’ve been working towards is to see one rideable wave. Sometimes I don’t even see a good one and I’ll paddle anyway…..and sometimes I still don’t paddle out. Of course my wife would disagree. She sees me check the online report before leaving the house and says “I don’t know why you bother checking it; you go out anyway."

It’s actually fun surfing on the days when there is “no surf”. There’s never a crowd factor to maneuver. In fact, there’s a slight joy in knowing that I might be the only person to have surfed that stretch of beach that day. The rawness of OB makes it especially exhilarating when there is any size to it. Enduring the treadmill of whitewater is an often humbling, great physical and mental exercise.

When the surf is simply blown-out & basically junky the fun comes in other ways. The game becomes trying to find that one good one. The ocean becomes a living puzzle of closeouts, backwash, dredgers, double-up’s & all-around whitewater chaos. Successfully navigating a wave out of all that is definitely enough to bring a smile to my face. It’s amazing how the criteria for ‘good one’ drops down in those conditions. It’s like Eddie Murphy’s skit on giving a starving man a cracker…..it must be a Ritz!

And if I’m unable to unlock the puzzle that day Mother Ocean has other treats. It’s a common experience for me to be floating alone and then be surprised by a curious sea lion popping up 10 feet away or a passing pod of dolphins which is always enough to awaken my spirit. Our fellow pelicans are always game to show the true mastery of riding the waves. Just the other day I was heading out on a ‘not-so-good’ day when I looked down to see a posse of lime sized sand~crabs scurrying out with the receding sea.

The greatest gift, however, comes from simply being in the ocean. I live right in the heart of San Francisco, which is a luxury in one respect, but it also means being surrounded by concrete, cars and pollution. To escape the unforgiving, lifeless asphalt for the all-enveloping, dynamic, living ocean is enough to make a good session!

Surfing is about a lot more than just ‘riding the waves’. Our lives are so precious. Even with all the drama that is an inevitable part of living we are fortunate souls to be alive at this time in history. And to share in something so magical as Surfing we are indeed lucky beings! I am going to savor it in every way as much as I can!!!

The cool thing is that this idea can be easily extended to everything I do in life......as can most of surfing lessons. Aaahh, yet another reason to paddle out!

You’re invited to pick up one handful of trash after you surf.

#1 ~ Greetings World!

2006-10-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

What’s up, World? Let me just start by saying that it is a trip writing something that could be read by potentially anyone, anywhere in the world. Besides being a surfer I’m also an actor and one of the primary questions we ask ourselves when doing a monologue is “who am I talking to?” The answer to this question greatly determines how to proceed. For example, say you were talking about your last surf trip. How you told the story to your best friend would greatly differ from how you told it to your 5-year old Niece. I’m still not sure how to address ‘the world’ but I’m going to move ahead anyway. It’s like paddling out at Spot X for the first time…..not quite sure what’s out there but you just keep on paddling….
Since the acting reference bubbled up I’ll just continue down that path. Another vital question is: who am I? That’s of obvious importance when an actor is attempting to portray the life of some character. Here it is important because the world wide web is intense! There are so many different people plugged into this thing that I could be ANYBODY. To clarify things a bit I’ll give you a brief lowdown on me. Ideally, more will be revealed through the continuing entries….
Hmmm, I am a Surfer.
I am a Black Surfer. It has to be qualified because, ,good or bad, that’s just the way things are on this planet.
I am a Husband, Father, Son & Brother.
I am a Traveler.
I am an Observer.
I am an Actor…..
……which brings me to the next key question: What are the circumstances? I grew up as a competitive Bodyboarder in Carlsbad, California back in the mid 80’s. Then strayed from the ocean in college when volleyball became my thing except for annual surf trips to Baja or Nexpa. As soon as I graduated I was back in the water primarily still Bodyboarding but leaning towards Surfing. Two years in the heart of New Jersey had me beached again. And then I packed up with a Friend and decided to learn to surf on the road. So with surfboards and backpacks we traveled the world for 18-months. My beginnings as a stand-up Surfer were: South Africa, Mauritius, Indonesia, Australia & New Zealand….with a few other non-surfing countries in between. Coming back to the U.S. I settled in San Francisco where Ocean Beach became my home break. Then it was up to Seattle for a few years where I made the occasional 2 hour & 14 minute surf trip out to Westport when grad school would allow…..plus, the honeymoon/surf trip/baby conception to Costa Rica and Panama. And now I’m happy to be back at good ol’ Ocean Beach! (read about it in the Surfer’s Path magazine; issue #55)

In my travels I’ve encountered Black surfers all over the globe yet I see little mention of us in the media. We’re rarely seen in surf magazines….and even less in videos. I have had some success searching on the web. I was especially stoked to come across the writings on Nick Galbadon,…a Black surfer from the 40’s! I wish I knew about him as a kid. Also, there is the Black Surfing Association & Quashi surfboards which are doing tons of great stuff…someday I hope to surf with that crew. And I found Rahim Walker who is documenting an epic surf adventure….and ‘surfsister’ who is documenting her own adventures in SoCal. These are just a few of the people I was happy to discover but unfortunately I didn’t find too many more. Given those circumstances I simply wish to add one more voice to the community. Surfing has given me so much that it’s an honor and pleasure to share it.

A broad diversity of surfers are enjoying the ocean these days! It seems almost weekly I’ll see or meet another Black surfer in the Bay area. One of the most diverse places I’ve surfed is a spot a few miles south of OB called Linda Mar. EVERYBODY (literally) surfs there. It’s always a treat to be surrounded by the myriad shades and sexes of our species! As we move into this new century I think the more people who take up surfing the better off the planet will be [excluding the crowd factor].

Surfing has a lot to teach us…….