A chorus of approval...

Josh Hall, slider/creator of many crafts.

The beautiful present, as framed by Thomas Campbell, places us surfers in a mad mansion of a million rooms, all populated by subgroups of enthusiasts. And we, the lucky, get to inhabit the most dynamic room of all- the green room. And what a fascinating diaspora of characters fill our room. Middle of summer booty wearers rub shoulders with smug sliders with surf knots on their weathered feet. Hi-pro bro/brahs give the surfer's shake to profoundly experienced feral tube hunters. Small wave fishmongers look at each other eye to eye and grin, both knowing a pleasure unique to our sub culture. In the evolution of surfing we are immersed in a period of much experimentation and open minded joy inspired simply by the act of sliding a wave in a pleasing manner. We need to celebrate this moment.

This morning there were logs, fish, shorties, alaias, mats(me), boogies, SUPs, and bodysurfers in the water at my local. Hoot for the kook. Hoot for the ripper. Hoot for the grom. Help them to understand the etiquette of the lineup with patience and understanding. Embrace the joy of the present and give thanks for being a part of our strange, wonderful tribe.

Above, Josh Hall, San Diego shaper, points the way. Sin Diego has always had something of a "ride anything" mentality. We've always had our niche slide tribes. Now the functionality of that mindset is manifesting among a new generation. Encouraging.

Small steps forward....

Fate sometimes seems to shrug her shoulders, cover her eyes, and flip a coin.

A few years ago a triad of reasons led me to spend more time surfing in one spot than I had in the past preferred. I needed easy access, consistent waves, and a place where my family could spend time at the beach. A nice spring swell had me sliding Civil Rights and the decision was made. In time, I learned the spot(s) and met some outstanding surfers amid the chaos of a very busy break in the very busy city I call home. Unexpectedly, my "have-to" spot has become one of my favorite places to surf and be a surfer. Yes, the surf schools, softboards, and SoCal 'Tude Dudes dirty the water a bit, but what I've found is a pretty rootsy gathering of surf stoked generations coexisting happily(?) amid the waves. Among those of the younger generation is Josh Oldenburg.

Fade the peak and go right. Cross step, cross step. Hang. Throw ten toes. Back to the tail. Kick out to kneepaddle.

Such was my introduction to young surfer/shaper Joshua Oldenburg. Friendly, reflective, motivated, and intelligent make a good recipe when cooking up a fledgling shaping career. But nothing beats out skill. By his own admission he's always been good with his hands. The proof is in the pudding. Granted, he's a true grom in shaping terms, but it is evident that he cares about surfboards and has the desire to create remarkable surfcraft. "I love all things related to surfboards." Josh says. It shows. He crafts a variety of equipment, all a vision of his own surfing life. You'll find sleek singles, aircraft carrier noseriders, pod racers, and more coming out of his workshop. Interestingly, all glasswork is by his own hand. "It allows me to keep completely engrossed in the building process." Josh reflects.



His stomping grounds and its accomplished surfers have shaped his vision of surfing. Watching Kevin Connelly, his primary surfing and shaping influence, has been the inspiration for his full-involvement noseriding style and the fountainhead for his log design. "My largest influence comes from Kevin Connelley. His ability to ride any type of board well is amazing. On a log Kevin never leaves the tip that style of nose riding has definitely transferred heavily into my shape design." His work with Roy Sanchez and Mike "Matzo "Mataratzo have informed his glasswork. Conversations with local shapers such as Terry Goldsmith and Don Laughlin have provided necessary guardrails on the highway of his shaping trip. The coalescing force of so many divergent but experienced board builders has empowered Joshua to flatten his learning curve a bit.


It is not surprising that a break where Rusty, Bob Mitsven, Richard Kenvin, and Josh Hall might be sharing the lineup on any given day would produce young shapers and surfers of note. Joshua Oldenburg understands that he is fortunate to have been witness to great surfing and shaping during his young surfing life and also understands that he is at the beginning of a long, beautiful life of board building. "Just like anyone else who has attempted to shape could tell you, those first couple boards are rough, but I stuck with it and now my shapes are resembling surfboards. I really build because I love most things related to surfing."



That love of surfing and surfboards has led him to this point. With all the force of influence coming to bear on his able hands he is beginning to create really nice boards. Mind you, there is room to grow, but this is something Joshua understands and takes seriously. "My shapes are constantly evolving, progressing and expanding. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with phenomenal surfers who are willing to ride my creations and give me constructive feedback. Richard Kaminski, Peter Newin, Garrett Highhouse, and Tristan Sullaway (young rippers) have been really supportive of my shapes and with their help I have been able to make them boards that work. I am really looking forward to developing a brand name and business out of my shapes...At the end of the day I see myself building surfboards for as long as I can."

Shorepound jump, belly to a paddle. Spin, dig hard. Pop up and set the rail. view......

This morning I spent an hour and a half in hollow closeouts with one friend. A set came. We pulled in, smiled at the view, and were digested by the sandy,sweet sea. Conversation drifted towards the prismatic visions of life offered to us by our personal history as surfers. We were thankful to be surfers and thankful to surfing for helping to broaden our experience. I look into the future with optimism, past the polluting smog of crowds, Billavolcom, and narrow minds, confident that places like mine with people like those who surf and sip coffee there will inspire people like Josh Oldenburg to surf and create.


All photos Garrett Highhouse, who I believe also helped with Josh's logo and website (which iz the biz).


Busted a fin box on my favorite board, 5'8 Josh Hall mini fish simmons in the shorey this morning. Damn you closeout barrells! No, I didn't mean that. Really.

Meanderings...

As of late I've been meandering about the watery world on boards of increased scale. I've been riding a lot of this:

Christian Beamish, 10' or so.

because of this:

Josh Hall, big fish simmons

and this:

Skip Frye

Leary had it right...

As strange as the man was, he had it right. Pseudo-shaman Timothy Leary, prophet at the center of the now decades old LSD centrifuge, once said that surfers were perhaps the most "evolved" of all people groups. We give up accumulation for the sake of "the dance". We forsake cultural self-evaluation and the consequent neuroticism for "the dance". The stage becomes more important than the audience. The improvisational act becomes more relished than the expectation of a scripted life. "The dance", the pure moments experienced while riding on a wave of energy moving through liquid beneath your body, is a consuming presence in the surfer's thoughts.

As it is for a wave it is for a life. The moments spent creating compel us onward. The emergence of a new paradigm is a moving target, but worth pursuing. Doodle becomes sketch becomes painting becomes triptych becomes installation becomes interaction between idea and the viewer. One wave becomes scribble becomes board dimensions becomes draft shape becomes a realized board design strand. Creative acts build upon their own younger brothers' foundational steps. Just as that first wave transforms into that life-long memory of a wave. Just as one board design becomes an access point to another design.

Above, Manuel C. Caro shares a snapshot in the evolution of his surfing and shaping dance. He is a man who relishes the creative act for the full engagement that is required of it and the rewards it brings in like kind. The only description of riding a hull that has ever intrigued me beyond, "that's a cool trip." I was fortunate enough to handle a fine little stubby, fruit of Mr. Caro's hands, and can honestly say that I'm ready to give the shape a go. The dance goes on.

Gener(aliz)ations...

Terry Martin has literally spent as much time holding a Skil 100 in his hands as Griffin has spent breathing. And yet, there is a kinship.

A web of experience links us dynamically. There is the shared excitement of the night-before-the-dawn, the early bird's delight, The moment of real fear when you are a ghost of your dream surfer, peering over the edge of your local break at just-out-of-comfort-zone size. We see it in each others' eyes, glassed over from a glass half-full outlook on life born of a transcendental pursuit. The pedestrian act of the surf check is our weekly parade through the stations of the cross. Our collective memory revolves around saints who you might meet on State Street or on the hills of Oregon. Accessible, assessable.

But really, it is a selfish enterprise. We want to share the love of the experience, but not the wave. A grand argument between theologians has long surrounded the question of the true nature of the human spirit. Are we generous and good? Are we selfish and bad? Yes.

And in the picture above Griffin is listening. And Terry is telling. And so goes the stoke of one surfer to another. Shaper of yesterday and now to shaper of tomorrow. Here is the difference. Here is how surfing and surfboards are different. Mass produced commodities of the pre-pubescent mega consumer be damned. Bring forth the young and the willing to listen, learn, surf, and shape. Griffin, when you shape your 100th look me up. I've got an order for you.

Photo Marsek

Celestine Aquifer...

On a hill above the southwind beachbreak live a pantheon of surfers. All more adept than me. Or you.

My son and friends walk through a hallway. Windows show syncopated fin flicks, tail slides, and speed runs on either side of the corridor. GG traces a winding line through the hall, gazing through each shrine's window. He observes, questions, places himself amid the scope and scale of the ocean's varied inhabitants.

We lay for a moment on the floor. In front of us and above us is a pane of glass. On one side concrete, petro chemicals, the necessity of land preservation (my son says "Thanks, Mr. President.") On the other is a column of water, stacked with an array of creatures each of their own dignity, wholeness. Our eyes scan the portal. We imagine ourselves as creatures of the sea.

Outside the building I look down at surfers playing in the happy swells. I scan from Cave Cove to Triton Pier. A thousand times I've surfed those waves in my mind's eye as I stood watching them. A thousand times I've slipped the surface that binds me and entered the water below. Today I don't dream of surfing the waves. Today I imagine that I am below the waves, immersed completely in the salty, holy water.

Happy Birthday GG. It was a happy day for me, too.

Anythink beyond three...

Nice location to spread out in the water and on the beach. Can you spot my mat?

Mirandon innovation.

When I was thirteen I could barely put a nail into a 2x4. Mini-Simmons from Windan' Grom Griffin.

Michael Miller is a talented craftsman and as sincere as Sunday (bringin' it back!).

JHall fish with killer artwork.Lovelace's extremely functional fishy being examined by yours truly. Yes, keels are for reals.

The first Fish Frye I've attended since Toby brought stew. I enjoyed it, though the focus has shifted as interests do, away from the San Diego Centric Fishy scene (I had two Fryes and a Lis on the beach to be ridden and only one taker!). Lots of bladey hulls, Campbell Mindful Machines, twin bars of soap, and quad destroyers were on the beach. I tried out my bad toe on a Pendo (Thanks Steve!) but I sucked (don't run down the rocks at bahia burrito reef) . Went to the mat and had a ball- as always. The highlights were talking to and meeting some names and faces, seeing some boards and fins, being in the sun and at the beach. I'll go again next year with a good toe.

All photos borrowed from the internets. Thanks.