a peak into my day yesterday

first light

a wide swinger, a wee bit chunky
southern california canyon
these were the ones you wanted. the little insiders were the ones that had the pocket juice and the best shape.
seth stone is my buddy.
Steve Brom and Chris Fallon are mad. this board is INSANE. steve is designing these boards and chris is doing the airbrush work. basically steve is making these brand new boards that look like they are thrashed. this board in particular is NUTZ! it looks like 2 different boards stuck together...check my video for more...there is so much going on with this board ...i don't even know where to start...
chris is the dude with his back to the camera, here is another shot of the board....my video had more details of this board.
ross bushnell has this 9'11" by 22" olympia pig/speed shape. this board is CLEAN!
the bottom.
the rocker. (hello ross)
the blackbaords were jaw dropping. to say gene and crew had been busting ASS would be a dishonor to them. gene described the last month of his life like this "mike, every day i had to go into the shop and fight a bear. i'd get to the shop and unlock the door and fight that bear that day...i'd kick his ass...and then i'd go home...i knew i'd have to come back and do it the next day." gene's craftsmanship isn't accidental.
a few of the cooperfish blackboards.
my experience yesterday was overwhelming at times. i woke up at 4 am and didn't get back home until 12:45 am. gnarly. i was stoked out of my mind to see so many great friends at once. sacred craft is a wondrous monster. its a situation that ultimately contributes something very positive to the surf community. ...consumers should have an opportunity to to see so many amazing craftsmen in one place at one time. in fact, they have these shapers shaping boards...why don't they have glassers glass the shaped boards and then auction the finished product at the end of the closing day of the show? wouldn't it be great to see a board go from raw material to finished product? i had this strange realization while walking around. ...you have to understand the stimulus overload that happens while you are walking. you are seeing old friends and you are seeing people you think you know , but you forget how you know them, you are also seeing amazing surfing crafts.....least i neglect to mention...you are also seeing some junk (shit that makes you feel like you are at the walmart of surf craft)...it is insanely loud...they are pumping music through speakers. all of a sudden I am thinking "what the fuck has surfing come to?" that was when i walked outside and caught my second session of the day. it was AMAZING. the circus was right there on the point in ventura. shit piles of the surfing industry right there... the waves a stone's through from the madness were peeling relatively uncrowded. my buddy and i caught a 2 hour window of goodness. from about 1:15 - 3:15. NICE!!! it was ironic...all these people in a warehouse TALKING about their "design" ...here we were surfing. it was just what the doctor ordered. I went back in there recharged to spread the word of stoke. then we had the show. it was a long day. Reno Abellira (here is a video that helps those of you ignant people to understand who Reno is) showed up and gave me a quiz. I failed. his quiz was "hey! who is that actors name with the mustache?" he was clearly referring to "mustache lou". i said ..i have no idea, it was told to me once , but i didn't commit it to memory. he scoffed and walked off...saying "what kind of a film maker doesn't even know the name of the actors in the film?"...fair point ... more than that ...we exchanged some words... i told him how embarrassed and ashamed i was that i failed his quiz, he told me the only reason he was subjecting me to the quiz was because he wanted to remember the actor's name. he claimed he was a film buff. i said "shaka bra!" he said "cool" and asked for a shirt. i gave him one. after the show, i asked all that attended if there was anyone that would like to ask any questions or heckle me. Reno pipes up "what is the actors name?!" i yell back..."reno! we already went through this... I DON'T KNOW!". it turns out the actor he was quizing me on is named gilbert roland... NICE!!
below is a video of the day... its over 5 minutes, but i think all of it has merit. the day started off with a session at SEQUITS, then we move into the circus, then a session at STABLES, then the jazz show. towards the end of the video clip i talk a little about invasion from planet c and then we get a peak into gene discussing blackboard design elements with Marc Andreini and Brian Hilbers.

below is gene speaking on his get up