Original subtitles

l'm Dana Brown, and l'm a surfer.

This film isn't about a lifestyle, it's about Iife

where style's just an option.

Once you get the sand in between your toes,

you can never leave the beach.

And once the surfing bug bit you...

You get bitten by that, you can never leave.

Surfing is a 2,000-year-old pastime that's become a multibillion-dollar industry.

Still, it's all about the wave.

Waves are this kind of unifying force in the universe.

There's light waves, sound waves

and ocean waves are the only form in which they're at a human scale.

They move at a speed about as fast as we run.

They're in this beautiful medium, the ocean.

All it takes is, you know, just one wave, not even that.

One turn.

You know, just a moment that keeps pulling you back

to have another moment.

And it never ends.

lt's a tribe of people around the world that feed off of that energy.

lt's not a part of this world. You're stepping into liquid.

You're stepping off of concrete ground and into an element

that is always changing and moving and surrounding you.

And it feels good.

Without question, the best surfers in the world are dolphins.

Their zany neighbors, the seals, place a strong second,

followed by the perpetually mellow pelicans.

Humans, in comparison, suck, because we need boards, wax, wet suits,

we panic easy, and we're always convinced we're just about to drown.

Somehow that doesn't stop us, because hell or high water, we're out there.

Many of us have nothing in common except this shared passion.

But each of us began exactly the same way with that first wave.

l think l first stood up in about 1 947.

l rode it all the way in, and l went, "Uh-oh, l'm hooked."

Ran in the house, "Mom, you won't believe what l did!"

My mom kind of, you know, "Big deal."

The Teeny-Weeny Wahine Contest.

Okay, girls, get your wave count, and most importantly, have fun.

lt's not like soccer, with all the moms yelling on the sides.

They're young and absolutely fearless.

They could take three gallons of water up the schnoz and not even blink.

Welcome to the mini-extreme.

lt's really, really fun. That's what l like about it.

You get to hang with your friends.

And l like the ocean, so you get to be in it a lot.

lt's kind of like you're flying.

-l don't like big waves, though. -Yeah.

-Why? -Because they scare me.

Not too big. Like, maybe six foot?

Waves seem big when you're four feet tall.

lt's still big when you're an adult, because it's a better story.

And finally, when you're old and alone, it's never big, because it's "gimongous."

However, there are those who don't need to exaggerate,

a rare few with the talent and mind-set to ride waves that defy description.

Big wave riding is like an inner desire that you have to challenge the sea

or to be in harmony with the sea in its most dynamic moment.

About ten years ago, Laird decided to escape the crowds.

So, with a few friends, he set out to conquer a wave

too big, too fast, and too dangerous to ride,

a wave that required a new approach to surfing.

At a certain size,

it's almost impossible, or actually impossible, to paddle into waves.

So they used the tow rope to kind of pull themselves into these giant waves.

Can't catch a freight train on a bicycle.

You have to match power with power.

Voila. Tow surfing is born.

lf you measure Laird by any standard today,

he's the greatest living surfer in the world today.

No one can touch him as far as performance,

innovation, imagination, pure athleticism,

and just absolutely unquestionable courage.

When Laird drives, Dave Kalama surfs.

Dave's a former windsurfing champion,

but not nearly as well-known as Laird in the surfing world,

which has caused some to portray him as Laird's sidekick,

a lot like figuring Godzilla is King Kong's second banana.

Dave Kalama and Laird...

Anything that goes on in the ocean, those two guys figured out,

before anyone was even interested in most of this stuff.

And by the time everybody starts to notice, they're already really good at it.

While surfing gets the glory, the real hero is whoever is driving the ski.

The ski tows the surfer into the wave, shadows him during the entire ride,

always prepared in case of a wipeout.

Because with the jagged lava shoreline only a couple hundred yards away,

surfing Pea'hi without the ski would be near suicide.

One of the scariest things about Pea'hi isn't actually riding it.

lt's watching my friends ride it.

You're on the shoulder, driving the ski going, "Come on! Faster! Come on!"

You're worried for them because if they eat it,

not only are they gonna go through a heavy experience,

but now l got to go in front of the next wave and try and get them out of it.

lf you've ever seen a dog grab a rag doll and shake it in its teeth,

where the limbs are going every which way...

You feel like any more pressure

and your arm could just get ripped right off your body.

The engine faltered forjust an instant, but that's all it takes.

We're on it, because we don't want, obviously, anybody to be harmed.

Yesterday we lost a ski in the process of trying to rescue somebody.

We figure you can buy more skis, but you can't buy people, so...

l came out of the barrel. l hit what they call a phantom chop.

My knees and everything kind ofjust buckled.

That's when l said, just relax, take it on the head, try to get pushed in,

get a little bit farther in, wait for the rescue.

At that point, l basically experienced the joy

of watching Laird and a couple of my other friends

catch, probably, some of the better waves that l've ever seen.

What began simply as a way to escape the crowds

has redefined the limits of big wave surfing.

But for Laird and David,

tow-in surfing is only a part of a much bigger picture.

Two foot to 20 foot, the fun's the same for me.

All l'm looking for is a smile.

And just riding a wave is what does it for me.

lt's not necessarily the size.

The analogy is music.

You can have a jazz musician, and a rock musician,

and a classical guitarist,

can all appreciate what that other guy hears, but that's not his trip.

And surfing's the same way.

Because of the advanced culture that the Hawaiians had,

they got really serious about developing recreational time

greater than almost any culture.

So surfing was born out of pure recreation,

which means it's just purely for fun.

There's no standard that gets set, like in other sports,

that you have to meet or else fall behind.

l interviewed Timothy Leary, and his thesis was

that the highest destiny of man on Earth

was to live an aesthetic life based on the dance,

and that surfers had discovered this.

Out there as that was, that helped me realize what it was about surfing

that was so worthwhile that it made me feel good

about a day that included a go-out.

The lifestyle of surfing is unlike any other sport.

How many people do you know that go and gaze at a tennis court?

Think about it. "Ooh, l love the surface of that tennis court."

They don't do that.

Think of any other sport where they go and they look

and people just sit and watch waves.

lt doesn't matter if it's perfect waves like we have in Hawaii or the Great Lakes.

Deep in America's heartland, a thousand miles from any ocean

is the surf city of Lake Michigan, Sheboygan, Wisconsin,

a hotbed for freshwater surfers.

We're in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

We're kind of like in the center of Lake Michigan, midway...

We're 50 miles north of Milwaukee,

and we're 50 miles south

of the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

There's a huge amount of water here.

What generates waves is this fetch or wind to travel distance over water.

We got lots of fetch here. We get lots of waves.

You got a short window for waves, usually six to eight hours sometimes,

and you gotta know where to go and be there at the right time.

We need low-pressure systems that move,

and if they're moving in fast, they create wind.

lf we've got warm water and 20-mile-an-hour winds, we've got waves.

Waves are where you find them.

There's arguments about where's best...

"This doesn't match up with California. lt's not Malibu." Well...

l wouldn't put me in a national contest or anything like that,

but l have as much fun as anybody else and l like it as much.

Describing the surf scene in Sheboygan comes down to two words.

The stoke is a global thing.

l don't think you can measure the stoke in regions of bodies of water.

Good old Doc Beaton.

He's been styling in this lake since 1966.

He's the most stoked person l've ever met.

We've got a tight-knit group of guys, maybe a dozen guys.

We've all grown up together and as kids hung out at the beach.

Some of the guys went off to college, some went off to Vietnam.

But guys came back and married and raised families,

and we surfed through all of this.

We hit the water, we hoot and holler for each other.

We surf for five hours, somebody will crack open a 1 2-pack of beer

and we'll just lie about the good rides we had.

Surfers are honest people, except about surfing,

which is why every surf town has a secret spot

that has the best waves on the planet.

lt's legendary here on the Great Lakes,

and on a good south day, it breaks like Banzai Pipeline, north shore of Oahu.

We get barrels so big, it'll hide a Volkswagen.

Pipeline would not only hide a Volkswagen,

it would probably stick it right next to Jimmy Hoffa.

One of the most violent waves on the planet.

But when it's on, it produces one tremendous tube after another.

No one has ever ridden this place better with more grace or guts

than Mr. Pipeline, Gerry Lopez.

The waves out here, there's none like them anywhere in the world.

l mean, talk about a challenge. For a lifetime.

There's no place like Pipeline where you can drive up,

park your car, walk down the beach, sit there 50 yards away,

watch the best surfers in the world get in the tube.

The uniqueness of the wave and the accessibility of the wave...

And it's been the consensual wave by which all other waves are judged.

When it's on and the surfer's on, there's no better show on Earth.

lt's big, it's powerful, it's exciting, it's really dangerous,

and you can feel that from the beach.

You can literally feel the waves on the beach.

There's waves out here that are not meant to be ridden.

They're just gonna roll through and roll up everything that's in their way.

At Pipe, it's not if, it's when.

lf you're a Pipe surfer, you're gonna get hurt. lt's a fact.

And you just pray that you get injuries than can be fixed.

You're thinking, "l'm gonna die."

Most times you don't. l mean, guys have died here.

But it's so scary at that moment that,

l don't know, maybe you die a little.

Why take the risk?

Maybe it's for those moments when the impossible is conquered

and there's that satisfied joy that connects the present

with someone long forgotten, a familiar face.

Meet your inner child.

He's a great kid, but not exactly the guy your boss hired.

l think there is a legitimate criticism to be made of surfers

that when they're in the water, they're not being productive.

Surfers often can't escape the stereotype of being a beach bum.

Their entire lives, they have to explain themselves.

When you talk about surfing, the more you say, the worse off you are.

lt's something that is very personal and it ends up sounding a little silly.

There's one particular surfer

who's turned silly into something downright heroic.

l was working at this refried chicken place,

and my job was to strain the oil.

l was so confused as to which way to turn the knobs and not to make a mess.

l would've happily left after five minutes.

To have lasted eight hours there

was the longest eight hours l've ever experienced.

Dale Webster does not like wasting time.

With mind-boggling dedication,

he has committed to a goal so simple, it would seem impossible.

Today was 9,1 82 consecutive days,

a little over 25 years.

l'm trying to surf to the year 2004,

and by then l'll be up to 1 0,407 consecutive days.

lf l can reach that goal, you can tell that dreams can come true.

Every day, rain or shine or tonsillitis,

Dale's out there, mano y mano with the caIendar.

ln February 1976, there were five Sundays in a row,

and l saw that that won't happen again until the year 2004.

So there was the challenge to surf every day

until February has that extra Sunday again.

He's kept everything on his pursuit.

lt started out as a streak, it went into a quest,

and now it's some sort of a mission.

l don't really know what the mission is,

but the only worthwhile thing in life is to ride it to the end,

try to find out the meaning of it all.

l wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Your family should come first.

Fortunately, my family knows that this is the best thing for me

to keep doing this as long as l can.

Margo Webster has never missed a single day of school in her entire life.

She has a unique understanding of her father's quest.

lt's just so much a part of his life

that it's what keeps him going.

l try to catch at least three waves a day.

Some days the waves are so big and blowing out and tricky,

that getting three waves takes almost three hours.

When Dale turns and bows to the wave, he's giving thanks.

lt's an ancient Hawaiian tradition.

What l was trying to do was not surfing against anyone else

but surfing against myself.

Because surfing is the ultimate spontaneous involvement

in a natural medium.

l am very proud of what he does.

l truly don't think he'll be able to stop surfing every day,

because after he's gotten that far l'm pretty sure he'll just feel,

"Okay, well, l can surf for 30 years in a row, or l can surf longer."

l come out of the water in a much better mood than l do when l get in,

and if that somehow translates into my life,

and l end up being a happier, nicer person as a result,

then l guess you could argue that surfing is good for society.

A society is made up of individuals.

So is surfing.

Many surfers search for that perfect wave,

and to each one it means something different.

The waves are kind of the central pursuit, but in the long run they're just...

They're just this kind of small cherry on top of this much bigger cake.

They come from Ojai, California,

a cross between the James Gang and the Marx Brothers.

They're the Malloys. Chris is the eldest and the trailblazer.

ln the middle is Keith, the quiet one.

Finally, the youngest and biggest, Danny.

They're unique individuals who share deep respect for their lrish ancestry.

We did come from a certain place, and only a hundred years ago,

my grandmother was on a boat.

lf she didn't sail, we'd probably be in a field right now

herding sheep or something like that.

So l think every single time,

we're suiting up and we're freezing and looking around,

you can get a taste of what our ancestors went through on a daily basis.

They're good boys, you know.

The Malloys are really... They're good people.

There's honestly not a bad bone in their body.

We go, "Yeah, we're lrish," and they just start laughing, you know.

lt doesn't matter if you're 1 00% lrish. lf you're from America, you're American.

l mean, you're coming here, you know, to drink a Guinness,

to put on warm clothes and beanies

and full suits and booties and sit it out.

l mean, personally, l...

lt's awesome to be in this gnarly weather. A rainstorm, to me, is fun, you know.

l had a lady come up

and l'm pretty sure that she'd never seen surfing before in her life.

She was amazed, and it was cool that she appreciated it because she just...

She was with her family and was so excited about it,

and was telling us she'd never seen something like that

and that we made it look easy.

To them, it's just this cold, dark thing, and they're, like,

"So you're going in today, are ya?"

They kind ofjust wanna see it.

They don't really believe you're gonna do it.

They see you in this weird rubber suit...

They can't believe you're going out for fun.

Yeah, exactly.

l'm the first one in my family to surf

which kind of pisses off my dad

'cause he used to be always swimming.

So he's pissed off that surfing wasn't in lreland 40 years ago.

When you say, "l was in lreland surfing,"

they smirk and they go, "Oh, really? You catch a couple of waves over there."

They don't realize that the waves are perfect.

lt doesn't happen that often, and you really got to wait for it,

but when it happens it happens.

These fast, hollow waves break over a shallow rock bottom.

This spot's called Pampa, fittingly named after a local insurance company.

The nastiest wave they found was a place called Mullaghmore.

lt turned out to be perfect to introduce tow-in surfing to Donegal County.

These people had never seen anything quite like this.

lreland gets surf as good as lndonesia, Tahiti or Australia, just not as often.

Which works out well, because it takes three days

to regain feeling in your feet.

Keith got out of the water. We'd surfed for two and a half hours.

He goes, "l'm not very cold."

He couldn't even move his lips. His lips were completely numb.

Doesn't matter who you are, come to lreland, you open up to people and talk.

They're stoked, they just wanna make conversation.

"The crack" here is the good time. Having a good time is the crack.

One of the few rare things in the world, surfing can bring people together.

No matter what race, creed or color, we're all under the one sky.

United we stand. We share the weather. That's our band together.

We are the surfing tribe.

We're close to the border with Northern lreland, which is a different country.

ln Northern lreland, there's quite a divide between the two communities.

You've got Protestants and Catholics.

So what my brother does, he brings Protestant children

from a school in Northern lreland down to Bundoran.

The school here is obviously predominantly Catholic children.

So you use a medium like surfing to bring them together and let them bond.

Even though it's 15 miles north,

most of them have never even been to this part of lreland.

Together, once they all got in the water,

there was absolutely no separation between them.

They were just all laughing, screaming and playing and cheering for each other.

lt was like... l don't know if it hit us harder or them,

what was actually going on, but it was beautiful.

He caught a wave, turned around and goes, "That's the best thing l've done all year."

He was just pumped up, so excited,

his hair was wet, there was snot coming out of his nose,

and he's beside a Catholic kid, kid from town here.

So, it was very, very good. lt was a good buzz to see them.

One of the kids got on the beach and looked at me.

He was really quiet, but he got a good ride, and he looked at me and said,

"So, how much do these surfing boards cost, anyway?"

And l could tell he was hooked.

l guarantee next year, when we come back, he'll have his own board.

l didn't really know what it was gonna be like today,

but whenever l came along and l seen the big waves,

l just wanted to get out there and surf.

l got up once on one of them. That was wicked!

And l never surfed before.

And l'd like to try it again, so...

lt looks like...

lt looks hard on the TV, but it's easy enough.

You can take yourself and just go out there and do your best.

Recommend it to anybody who wants to come surfing.

Later, we were talking to some local guys who were, "That was actually really heavy."

A lot of these kids have never been down to this part of lreland.

They were Protestants surfing with the Catholic kids.

The local guys watching it all, it was a pretty big deal.

lt was fun to be a part of.

For us it was easy, and we had a blast.

ln Hollywood, a happy ending for a surf movie has the hero leaving the beach

because he's wised up to the importance of hard shoes.

Sometimes the crazed fool decides to go for one last kick and drowns like a rat.

Somehow this subtle message of "Get out of the water and put on your shoes"

has been totally lost on real surfers.

Their names are legendary in surfing

with a combined wave-riding experience of over 150 years

because real surfers never quit.

Every year they come to Costa Rica to stay at the vacation home of Robert August.

Robert's a true believer in, "What goes around, comes around."

ln Hawaii, they have the aloha spirit.

ln Costa Rica, they have the pura vida spirit, pure life.

We're only on this planet a little while. Don't mess with it.

Enjoy it, spread a little cheer,

and then you're gone.

Robert was 18 when he rode the perfect wave in The Endless Summer.

Amazingly, he seems to have never stopped.

Those are the guys that make surfing what it is.

Robert comes from a surfing family. His father was a great surfer.

He has a great heritage, and passed that heritage and that stoke on to his son.

And then Robert's passed it on to his son.

The family tradition of what it represents carries on.

lf you have surfed for any period of time

it can't go out of your mind.

And there's still that same excitement when you paddle out

'cause every wave you catch is gonna be different,

and you might be in the spot for the best wave of the day

whether you're really smart or not.

You could just be sitting there and look up and go, "My God!

"lt's coming to me! lt's my wave!"

What they lose up top is gained in the middle, but the talent remains.

The perfect example, former U.S. champion Mark Martinson.

The first wave Mark caught, it pulls into the tube

and travels about 15 feet right in front of me.

l'm thinking, "Hey, man, that guy's 55 years old or something.

"l can't do that."

lt's always surprising when an apparent suicide attempt

turns into a great wave.

That's experience.

The whole environment is so alluring,

and it's one of, often, great peace and happiness,

and, you know, giggles,

and the wonderful memory that you come away with.

To me, that's the perfect wave.

Paul Strauch's style set a standard for a generation.

Gerry Lopez still calls him his idol.

They're living out their childhood dreams, surfing and having fun.

Even though it was 40 years ago,

you can still paddle out together and go surfing.

You can't go play football with each other when you're our age.

You'd all be in the hospital the next day in casts and stuff.

They won't break any bones, but they will take a few shots.

Surfing is a selfish sport.

lt's about you getting a really good wave. Screw the other guy.

The same thing... Hang out with old guys, you're gonna look good.

Robert Weaver. Wingnut. The nickname says it all.

His nonstop repartee masks a deep-seated admiration for Robert, Paul and Mark.

They were his idols as a kid and the reason he's a surfer.

lt's their inspiration that has allowed Wingnut to fulfill another need,

to constantly be the center of attention.

They casually charge from one adventure to another

with a Zen-like confidence that no matter what happens

they're gonna enjoy themselves.

lt's not the result of when you get there.

lt's anything that can happen along the way.

They take nothing for granted, and they never forget how lucky they are.

For them, these are the good old days.

The first 20 years is just to figure out if you're really interested or not.

And then the journey doesn't really begin

until the second 20.

For those who started surfing in the '50s, surfing has changed.

A rebellious subculture has become mainstream.

When l started to surf, there was maybe a thousand surfers,

and you kind of semi-almost knew all the guys that surfed.

And then, in 1 959,

that whole thing happened where the movie Gidget came out,

and the whole thing got commodified.

lt went from maybe 2,000 people

to four million people in three or four years.

lt was like a hula hoop that never went away.

And neither has Gidget.

Kathy Kohner was given that nickname back in the '50s when she surfed Malibu.

She was just a teenager, and one of the very few women surfing at the time.

Her father was inspired to write a novel about her adventures

and Hollywood soon followed.

Pop culture has been mixed up with surfing ever since.

Gidget still lives near Malibu,

and over the last 10 years has seen an explosion in women's surfing.

lt's no longer an insult to surf like a girl.

l always surfed like a girl. That was just me.

l don't know if it's my personality, my influences.

Each person can kind of bring their own special flair to it.

These girls are really good.

This ride alone represents my entire lifetime of hanging five.

This kind of talent can wreak havoc on the old male ego.

Sometimes the guys get kind of "aggro"

but those are the kind of people that are just mad at the world anyway

and they're gonna find a problem with whoever's out there,

especially when a bunch of girls show up and they probably surf better than them.

l love being with my friends and being with family.

Fortunately, for me,

most of my friends and family do surf, and those are the best times l've spent.

You're done. Once you're a surfer, you're done, you're in. You know?

lt's like the mob or something. You're not getting out.

Humor, more than anything, defines a surfer.

Talent's fine, but funny's a lot better.

Those that are too serious are treated like Hare Krishnas at the airport.

Because after all, why surf if you're not having fun?

And by keeping it light, the heavy can be handled.

Everyone is on the same page.

We all enjoy the pure fact of riding waves

and being in the ocean.

No matter how you're doing it, if it's on your stomach,

you know, it's just the pure love of the ocean.

lf l'm lying down, l'm gonna be surfing. Standing up? Surfing.

Halfway standing up, kneeling down, l don't care.

As long as l get in the water and surf, it's gonna go down.

lt's about showing other people how you can collaborate with somebody else,

even though they're in a position the way Jesse's in.

He's still willing to, like, hey, you know, you like to surf.

Just the way if he was walking... "Let's continue to do this."

He's a Pisces. He's a fish. He's supposed to be in the water.

Thatjust tells everybody else, "Hey, if he's surfing...

"He might be paralyzed, but, hey, that gives me inspiration.

"Let's go out there and do it."

l was always into basketball and all these sports,

but surfing now, the way l look at it, it's a whole different way.

lt's more spiritual.

l have a lot of burning sensation, pain in my body,

but once l hit the water l have no pain whatsoever.

lf l'm tight, my limbs are, like, you know, tight,

as soon as l hit the water everything's loose.

l got a smile from ear to ear,

and it's like nothing, nothing could compare to that.

To be such a top prospect as an amateur,

to be just destined to become a professional surfer,

and to have such a tragic accident happen to him...

l broke my neck surfing about five years ago.

Just pulled into a barrel.

When l was coming out, the wave hit me in my back.

l went head first and didn't have time to put my arms in front of me.

l just hit the bottom and my whole body went numb and tingly.

lt's so hard for me to think that there's just, like, that nerve...

lt's broken... lt's one little nerve that's broken right there,

and that's the whole thing that connects...

l don't think l'd do so well. You know?

Jesse called me up because he was having a golf tournament

to raise money for his foundation,

and he also wanted to talk to me about getting back in the water.

Rob's past the famous surf star.

He's, like, as a human being, no one really knows about.

He's just so special, he's got the biggest heart.

You know, l mean, l was honored.

And at the same time, really kind of scared.

l was like, "We're going.

"l'm not nervous. As long as l got you guys, we're fine."

But they were all scared. There's no need. No need.

lt was crazy.

The first day we took him surfing was just a complete unknown.

We did it.

This was just the beginning.

Soon, Jesse and Rob surfed at every opportunity,

and with the help of Jesse's brother Josh, his nurse Sonny,

and support from old friends like the Malloy brothers,

Jesse is back and he's charging.

For him, nothing's changed.

He wants to take off deep. He wants to stay out as long as he can.

l asked him, "Would you rather have it be big and stormy,

"or like this, nice and glassy?"

And he's all, "Bigger."

And regarding surfing with Rob, since he's a goofy-foot,

he's been really biased about me taking off on rights.

You're not gonna convert me to a goofy-footerjust because you are.

-He's a goofy-foot too. -Hey, don't knock goofy-foots, man.

So am l.

-He's surrounded. -l'm the only regular-foot!

Cooties. Goofy cooties.

Thank you that l have Jesse,

and that l have what l have, and everything l have,

my friends, my family.

You know?

Every time he surfs, he calls us up and he's like,

"Hey, Rob took me surfing, man. That guy rules!"

lf there's anybody who knows about ruling,

it's Kelly Slater, the Michael Jordan of surfing.

While millions worldwide think of him as a champion, a hero,

in his home country of the US, he represents one thing, a surfer.

Surfing in the United States is really unfairly stereotyped.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the whole concept of "Hey, dude,"

it really portrayed surfing in a bad way.

l mean you can turn on SportsCenter on ESPN...

l don't think l've ever seen a surfer on ESPN, to be honest.

Yet you turn on Channel 9 News in Australia,

the latest tournament in tennis or golf, surfing's right there with it.

ln Australia, surfing is like the national pastime.

Everybody knows Kelly Slater,

and everybody knows the future.

l'm just hungry for results and hungry for a world title

and all the rest of it.

Taj makes his living at the highest level of surfing competition,

the World Cup Tour.

He's among an elite 44 who battle nine months in eight countries

for the world championship.

Taj qualified for the World Tour when he was 15 years old.

He decided to finish high school instead.

He became rookie of the year,

and the following season was runner-up for the world championship.

Oh, l think Taj Burrow today

is the epitome of modern surfing.

Taj Burrow, to me, is one of the best surfers in the world.

He looks like the kind of guy that you'd draw in your comic book, Surfer Guy.

lt's surprised me that Taj hasn't won a world title yet.

He's such a talented surfer.

He's the perfect example of that future of pro surfing.

Many think he has the potential to be more than a future champion,

but the future of the sport, the next step in surfing's evolution.

He's a national hero, but definitely low maintenance.

His posse consists of a dog named Reef.

Maybe this is normal for an Aussie phenom named after an American blues singer

with a one-mutt posse from Yallingup.

This is just perfect because it's really quiet

and the waves are really good and it's not so crowded.

lt's just a lot more relaxing lifestyle

than packing your bags and checking into flights and checking into hotels.

l think it's the perfect balance.

Taj was born in Australia, but his parents are both American.

They came here in 1970 looking for waves and never left.

l took him surfing when he was one or two, on the nose of my board,

and rode a few waves with him like that.

That was really good.

But he didn't pick it up himself until he was about seven.

My dad tells everybody he taught me to surf.

My parents both surf, so it was pretty much inevitable l'd end up surfing.

lt was kind of disappointing. l wanted to teach him more about surfing.

He picked it up so quickly l didn't get the pleasure of passing on my knowledge.

He was like, "Whee!"

Taj makes everything look easy. Maybe too easy.

The best surfer doesn't always win.

The pro tour's just gotten better and better,

and they are addressing more of the creative approach to surfing a wave

which is great, 'cause Taj is quite creative.

Creativity is one of the most magical things about surfing

and also one of the most difficult to judge.

lt's gonna take a long time for us to really catch up to speed with Taj's level.

Gonna take a while for the judges to comprehend what he's doing

because he is truly somebody that doesn't compare to anybody else

as far as how many maneuvers he packs in a wave,

how innovative he is when he launches air.

Taj, by any measure, is a great success.

At 23, he's already been inducted into Australia's Surfing Hall of Fame.

Still, without the world title he's not satisfied.

The expectation of becoming the next Kelly Slater

has turned that little monkey on his back into a 500-pound gorilla.

You wanna compare Taj and Kelly, there's only one huge difference,

Kelly's won six world titles and Taj has won none.

To compare great surfers is like comparing artists.

Who's to say which one's more aesthetically pleasing?

The cut-and-dry has no place in liquid.

Life is a matter of perception.

A 20-foot tube may be the perfect wave to one person,

but to me it's a watery grave.

But perceptions change.

Mine did, in Tahiti, when it came to the world of professional women surfers.

l thought they had a big chip on their shoulders. l was dead wrong.

Even when l've just come off the tour,

been traveling from ocean to ocean, beach to beach for three months,

the first thing l wanna do when l get home is go back to the beach.

That's the life of a pro surfer.

lt's a pleasure to go beyond one dimension and being in a court and having lines,

and being able to come into a rhythm with the ocean,

and not just whoever you're surfing against.

lt's never been about who you're surfing against, even though you wanna beat them.

l'd say the best surfer in the world

is the one having the most fun.

l notice a real difference in the water

when l'm surfing with guys as opposed to women

because the water is more filled with estrogen as opposed to testosterone.

The girls love to have fun. We can laugh at ourselves.

That was my biggest surprise. These girls knew all about having fun.

Remember that classic tomboy that could beat you at all the sports,

and then she grew up and was a beautiful woman and could still beat you?

Meet Layne Beachley, five-time world champion.

Then there's Rochelle Ballard.

She stands 5'1" on land

but somehow seems to expand to 8'6" in the water.

The premier women's surfer in big waves is Keala Kennelly.

She has the unbelievable knack of being able to recite Caddyshack line by line.

Rochelle, Layne and Keala

are overqualified to be considered "one of the boys"

so in the interest of fair play l decided l'd become one of the girls.

lt took me a while to explain myself to the crew.

Surfing, for the last 100 years, has been completely wrong.

Women were looked down on if they wanted to surf.

Women weren't welcomed into the club

where, in the original essence of surfing, they were part of the club.

So you gotta hand it to those women who have persevered in the pro scene,

especially women like Keala and Rochelle and Layne

who have actually made inroads into the big wave scene

which is a testosterone pit if there ever was one.

The sacrifices they made,

it's paying off for the generation coming up behind them.

Shallow and razor-sharp,

this coral reef creates one of the most powerful waves on the planet,

legendary for its reward and its punishment.

Layne Beachley almost drowned here. Keala Kennelly too.

But they've come back to Teahupo'o

which in Tahitian means "the end of the road."

Even if you're scared, it just looks so nice that you just wanna go.

Even professional surfers, they come here, l can see fear on their face

which is understandable because it's some really heavy waves.

lt's the only wave that has teeth.

The ultimate ride for a surfer is to get deep inside

the breaking section of a wave, the deeper the better.

This is called getting locked in the tube or riding the barrel.

Keala Kennelly has spent so much time in the barrel,

she's like a clown at the rodeo.

Some men don't do what they do. And, well, it's...

l take my hat off.

l hope one day my daughter can surf like them.

lt's like falling in love. You know?

You don't know what the feeling is until you've felt it.

That's what being able to face a challenge and to live a dream,

and to feel the energy, and to experience the beauty,

and to get spat out in glory.

Thanks to Layne, Rochelle and Keala, it's official. Tahiti is surfing paradise.

But, of course, paradise is actually a state of mind.

You might be somewhere where there isn't a decent wave for a hundred miles

and all you need is a little imagination and a supertanker.

lt begins where the Atlantic Ocean ends.

Fifteen miles wide and 30 miles long,

supertankers make this trip from Galveston to Houston,

which in Texas means, "Surf's up!"

We're chasing supertankers.

l guess you'd call it supertanker surfing.

When l was a young kid, we used to ride ship waves

about five miles from here over on the shore.

A couple years back, a couple of us went out

and started following the ships and noticing some great places to go surfing.

Nobody knows where we are.

At the beach, everybody knows where we are.

But out here we're on our own.

Every time there's good stories to tell.

There's a lot of variables.

lt has to be low tide, a little bit of wind.

lt's nice to have a tanker by itself, full speed ahead at about 13 knots.

The wave comes out of deep water and just drags along in the shoal.

lt's a difficult wave to ride, but it goes forever.

l think you could probably ride one for two or three miles, no bullshit.

You're gonna ride the wake of a supertanker for two or three miles,

you'd better put aside a good portion of the afternoon.

You're riding two or three minutes at a time which is a whole different sport.

Particularly here in Texas. The rides are really short.

You're used to two or three-second rides.

The first 20 or 30 seconds you're just blown away,

and then you're like, "My legs are starting to hurt."

You could be eating a sandwich on it, you'd still enjoy it.

We miss a wave, motor out in front of the wave and drop them off again,

because itjust keeps breaking.

lt'll be a set of maybe up to eight waves that are real close together.

So, fortunately, right after it there'll be another wave and you just keep on...

Keep on catching them until they all make it out of the shoal area

and just play out altogether.

Then you got to wait on another tanker.

There's a lot of characters in surfing, and these Texans are on the top of the list.

But they can't hold a candle to those wackos from Santa Cruz.

They call these frigid, shark-infested waters their playground.

They're a group of lifelong friends famous in the water for their big-wave ability,

and infamous on land for being slightly unhinged.

Collectively, they're called the Maverick's Crew.

l think the Maverick's Crew, in general,

is one of the most messed-up group of fricking wild men...

They're nuts.

Santa Cruz has kind of been a nickname kind of ground.

l don't think you're cool unless you have one.

The nicknames come from who they are... Barney's a Barney.

Flea, he's just a little guy and he drops in on huge waves.

Skinny, he was always a skinny cat.

Unfortunately, he kind of grew up, and he's big now.

But that's what happens. Nicknames, if they stick, you're done.

Wasn't something l enjoyed being called, the Condor.

My mom didn't want me to be a surfer... "No, surfers are slackers.

"Dope-smoking losers. You're not gonna be one of those."

They'd try to get me into sports, so l was always doing it behind their back.

l was sneaking out. l had a board at my friend's house.

l kept my board and wet suit at a friend's house.

l'd come home from the beach.

l'd be all sunburned and salty, she'd taste my skin and go,

"You... You're grounded!"

My father runs a surf shop here in town.

Basically grew up in a surf shop factory, shaping room.

So l pretty much had surfing in my blood since the moment l was crawling.

At this point in my life, he's my best friend.

lt helps. That's the main thing, especially for what we're doing

is a partnership to have that kind of security.

The Maverick's Crew has a reputation

as the best big wave, paddle-in surfers in the world,

so it came as a surprise to many, including themselves,

when they decided to take up tow-in surfing.

Pete had a ski and said, "Hey, wanna do this?" l'm, like, "All right."

We didn't know. And now l realize, it's good stuff.

Being new to tow-in surfing,

the Maverick's Crew looks to Maui and the Strapped Crew for ideas and guidance.

Everything that we've done to lead up to it,

we've kind of taken from them, bits and pieces.

They're legends, straight up.

The Maverick's Crew and the Strapped Crew knew each other,

but because of the 2,500 miles of ocean between them,

they'd never really had an opportunity to surf together.

That was about to change.

l don't think the Maverick's guys are gonna have problems coming over here

other than adjusting to warm water and not having to wear wet suits.

Our biggest problem is, we're going to be really white and get sunburned.

Regardless of their skin color, these two groups had a lot in common.

l would say, like our group, they have every personality defect in the book

in their group as well.

Perfect.

l appreciate their sick humor.

They're a lot smaller than l thought.

Laird's only 5'5" or something. l thought he was 6'2".

Eight of the world's best big wave surfers together again for the first time.

The type of conditions we're capable of experiencing at this break,

you know, this is the windiest spot on Earth.

Tow surfing has made the once impossible rideable.

But even that has its limits.

A tow board in winds like this is almost impossible to ride.

That's the beauty of living on Maui.

lt's windy so often that if you don't learn to take advantage of the wind,

you're gonna be a real sourpuss of a surfer,

because it's not that good over here very often.

That's part of being here, is being creative,

trying to come up with ways to use the wind to incorporate surfing,

but take advantage of the wind also.

The foil boards that we're riding are one way to take advantage of it.

At first glance, the foil board looks like some kind of practical joke.

Laird assured us that the hydrofoil fin makes the board glide above the water.

l figured he meant it felt like it was gliding above the water.

Even though you see it, you can hardly believe it.

Their feet strapped in snowboard boots two feet above the water,

the wind hardly affected them at all.

The history of the foil boards from our group

was Brad Nichol grabbing this thing called an Air Chair

and bringing it back from Maui.

You sit down on it. We all went out and tried it.

And it was fun.

Of course, Laird had to take it to the next step, so he sawed the seat off

and figured out how to stand on it.

Then, like everything, once you see that something is possible,

then somebody else has to try it.

That's the way it goes.

There's thousands and thousands of surfboard shapers,

and there's one guy making this thing that you can sit on

and he doesn't even know we're standing on them yet.

Laird and David spend as much time in each other's garage

refining the foil board's design as they do riding it.

They're an interesting cross between surf gods and hobby geeks.

The foil itself actually uses the energy of the wave under the water

touching a deeper source of the wave.

lt's got a real cushiony, soft feeling, almost like you're surfing on a cloud.

A magic carpet ride on a board

that can ride both a ripple and the biggest of waves.

The foil board's ability to catch a wave early

and cut through the heaviest wind chop

gives it the potential to ride a wave over a hundred feet tall.

l think when, actually, Laird went to school at this place...

They tore it down. lt's old now.

l think this is where they came up with the idea for the hydrofoil.

lt's pretty cool, you know.

See, they figured out it's better...

lt's better to use it in the water, though.

They stand on the edge of a new frontier sharing a common pursuit of happiness.

A pursuit that can bond a father with his son

and have the future pushed by the past.

Jim and Alex Knost have gone on many surf trips together,

but none of them quite like this.

l had no choice but to go over into a war

and into a war-torn country.

Jim couldn't believe he was back. lt'd been a long time.

ln the service, l was a salvage diver.

Hard-hat salvage diver.

So l got an opportunity to see a lot of beautiful beaches

and ride through some swells.

lt was always my thought that these swells had to be landing somewhere.

lt was those swells that brought Jim back to Vietnam.

With him, his son Alex.

They were there for some adventure, fun and surf.

Being a communist country, Vietnam has millions of laws,

except on the roadways.

An 800-mile white-knuckle journey for surf.

These guys look at the surfboards, "What the hell are those guys doing?"

We looked everywhere for waves,

out in the country, near cities, even once next to a leper colony

which was the only time we were happy there was no surf.

The rest of the time, the perfection mocked us.

The beaches were dazzling, but the South China Sea was a lake.

lf there's no surf, Alex begins to twitch a little bit.

That's okay. He's not used to spending that much time out of the water.

Jim and Alex started sand surfing,

and if you're gonna surf sand, you might as well surf big sand.

So they headed up the coast hoping to find that perfect dune.

Without hesitation, Alex jumped into the first ride of the day.

The wipeout seemed over, and then he looked behind him.

Jim thought it looked easy and ended up with a 20-grit enema.

This kid was the big kahuna of the dunes.

He showed the Knosts how to really ride the sand.

The kid was so stoked on the board,

he made Jim and Alex follow him back to his village so he could show his pals.

This kid had a lot of pals and they were all stoked on the board.

Hundreds of them.

Alex could hardly move and tried to take sanctuary in the water.

That didn't really help matters much.

lt didn't really matter that they were riding ripples.

The joint went ballistic.

Every time they stood up, the kids went into a full frothing frenzy.

What can you say? How can you deny them?

lt reminds me of the first time l went surfing.

Jim was using the standing start, which is a fairly cool method.

Alex, meanwhile, found a salad bowl, and challenged the croutons in it to a race.

Croutons got his board, he got their bowl.

The four on the board were a well-oiled machine. Alex was the Titanic.

Jim's students were fed up and it turned into a full mutiny.

-Hang ten! -Hang ten!

-Wipe out! -Wipe out!

-Cutback! -Cutback!

-Bottom turn! -Bottom turn!

With all their newfound friends following them, chanting, "Cowabunga,"

Jim and Alex set out for one final stop.

lt was the last place Jim had surfed in Vietnam, Da Nang.

They still had hope, especially when they found out Da Nang had a surf club.

This club from 1 992. And so we have over 1 0 surfer.

-Over 1 0 surfers? -Yeah, over 1 0 surfer.

Over 10 out of a population of nearly 80 million.

Numbers don't matter when you're stoked.

l have got free time, l must go to the sea and play surfing.

The Da Nang Surf Club is also the national swim team.

They request that every guest sign their register.

With Jim and Alex's signature, their 10-year total of visitors reached 24.

At the end of the day, Jim gave the club his surfboard.

He'd done a similar thing in 1972 when his military tour ended.

Two surfboards, 30 years apart, both left in Da Nang.

One given by a young soldier, the other by a father with his son.

lt's the kind of thing that makes a surf trip worthwhile.

There comes a time in every surfer's life

when he realizes he's always gonna be a surfer forever.

lt's no longer what he does. lt's who he is. lt's part of his inner compass.

Laird, David, Pete and Skinny have a compass,

but only the four of them can read it.

Their Maui meeting has somehow become a trip

to the Earth's belly button, Rapa Nui.

Three thousand miles off the coast of Chile,

a friendly place, but also remote and mysterious.

To describe the energy that you feel here is like to try to describe a color in words.

Unless you've seen it, it's hard to explain.

The power of the land and the power of the people

that still have survived on this most remote island in the world.

lt's rugged and raw, but it's one of the more pure places in the world

that hasn't been spoiled by the western civilization.

So you come here, you know, and it's just warmth.

We're in such a remote location, and to see somebody surfing,

you can see the smiles on their face, giggling and laughing.

Those pure moments that surfing has to offer,

that aren't as common as they used to be,

really are what make the whole thing special.

You'd think a small island like this, doing a lot of inbreeding,

there'd be some goofy, ugly people.

Some of the most beautiful people l've ever seen in the world, inside and out.

Rapa Nui is a very special place. You can actually feel it.

ln the morning, when they'd awake, they'd find gifts on their front door,

anonymous signs of appreciation.

They'd become instant folk heroes,

and with their respect for the island and the natives,

it was a mutual admiration society.

They seemed to feed off of each other's energy.

The boys were nonstop action.

A circus of perpetual motion was Skindog, the ringmaster.

They gave me a hard time for being all pale. "You're not buff, dude. You're not tan.

"You need to get in the buff, bronzed and bitching club, buddy," all that shit.

l'm, like, "Come on!"

You see one guy do something stupid,

then try and do something even more stupid.

Make it happen and make it fun.

That's what surfing's about, is having fun.

There was something different about Peter's hair.

l feel the love here.

Can you feel it? You feeling it? l'm feeling it.

Laird, David, Pete and Skinny had become fast friends,

but the time had come for them to go back to their respective homes.

Life is interesting in the sense of,

no matter where you go in life, you always meet people you'll relate to,

from different tribe, different language, different country.

When you have something as incredible as the ocean to relate to,

you get to have some brothers that you haven't known,

but you get to meet for the first time.

That's a feeling... That's a life.

You know, that's your life.

On Rapa Nui, the statues are called moai.

How they got there, who built them, is a mystery.

A lot like surfers, who are always looking for that better wave

just past the horizon,

somehow believing that at that moment, that perfect wave may appear.

How many good surf spots people have found,

and a lot of places l'd been looking, figuring, "There's no surf there."

Next thing you know, there's some great surf.

You got to be there on the right day, right time of the year, etcetera.

To find it, be patient. lt's nature's schedule, not yours.

Surf forecaster Sean Collins knows this.

He's had his eye on one place for a decade.

Cortes Bank is probably one of the most fragile areas you could imagine,

because it is so open to so many other swells and so open to the wind.

We only have maybe five days out there where the wind's really under 1 0 knots.

So, you know, maybe five days a year that's even surfable,

and then trying to get one of those five days to have 60-foot waves.

You know, your odds are pretty much against you.

That's why we waited 1 0 years before we were able to get it.

A once-in-a-lifetime deal.

'Cause l've been out there in boats quite a few times,

and l've never, you know, never seen it even...

l've seen gnarly looking white water

and backwash and white sharks and all that stuff,

but never a wave l'd think you could ride.

The wave there is made by a sea mount, they call it.

lt's just a mountain in the ocean at the end of the continental shelf,

so you got open ocean swells, and it's just 5,000 feet,

and itjust goes straight down.

We met them down in San Diego at about 5:00 pm.

We loaded up the boat, got everything on there.

lt was like, "God, l hope somebody doesn't get hurt.

"Hope somebody doesn't die."

Met the captain. A funny guy. He's a young guy, like, 22.

He skated out, and l thought he was some deck hand.

He was, "What's up? l'm your captain! We're taking you out to Cortes."

l'm like, "You? Kid? Oh, man!"

l was like, "Right on. Let's do this!"

For us, this is, you know, an adventure, a rocket ride to the moon.

l'd never been out that far.

l was scared to go driving a boat out in 20-foot seas in the middle of the night.

Trudging along for 12 hours,

we had a few engine problems in the middle of the night.

We were all bummed, thinking we weren't even gonna get there.

We got out there on one engine.

Okay, 1 00 miles out, everybody's trying to get their skis off the boat.

Whew! This is serious.

When the first ski hit the water,

Skinny went out for a closer look.

When l first pulled up, there was, l'd say, 100 seals out there.

You think you're the only people out there, and, no, you're the newcomers.

The locals don't even want you around here. "Get out of here."

Then the set came, and that really tripped me out. l'm, like, "Oh, my God!"

So we knew then, we had some perspective that it was pretty darn big.

That was the shocker for me.

"l'm a hundred miles out to sea on a jet ski!"

lt's like watching these waves. "Let's do this."

There are very few surfers in the world

who have the mind-set or the ability to go out and surf waves of this size

in a break completely unknown.

Peter and Mel caught the first wave.

John Wallop, the young boat captain, who'd paddled out for a closer look

realized he'd made a serious mistake.

You really have to make it. You don't want to fall.

The young captain survived and made it back to the boat

which was lucky for everybody.

After all, who'd drive us home?

You're riding a mountain in the ocean, there's nothing in front of you.

As soon as you get off your board, you wanna get on that ski so fast

'cause it's so much stuff out there.

You can guarantee there's some big fish out there that'd love to eat you.

Cortes is teeming with life.

With all the seals, it's a snack stand for white sharks.

But when you're this excited, nothing exists except the wave.

All around the reef, there's water breaking.

So itjust seems like there's shore around.

You don't really realize until you sit down during a lull or something,

and you look at your buddy and go, "We're out 1 00 miles at sea! Perfect!"

High-five each other. That's the only time you realize it's pretty cool.

Those guys actually got the biggest wave because it was their turn.

lt was the luck of the draw. l'm watching them get this thing.

Oh, my God! lt's such a killer wave!

Swell's picking up. l turn around. "You want this one?" And he's like...

l remember going through my mind, going, "You know, don't be a wuss."

l remember picking him up after. He said, "Yeah! That was just...

"Yeah, l was just... l was dropping in forever!

"l just kept going and kept going and kept going and kept going!"

He goes, "That was the biggest wave l ever had in my life!"

He was just, "Whoo!" l'm all, "Get back on. Here's another one!"

Just right back out there and wham, put him into another one!

Taking a break for lunch, they talked very little

while the waves kept pouring through.

We went out there thinking, half hour, an hour "sesh"

we'll be able to get in, and then the wind will blow and ruin it.

No, itjust got glassier.

We're looking at each other and going, "ls there an oil spill around?"

We just ended up surfing all day long.

Have lunch, go suit up, back out.

The wind completely stopped. The ocean and sky merged.

And it seemed that the waves knew the game.

They'd come to play with giants.

So when we were leaving, it was still glassy.

Sun's going down. lt's all pink.

We're watching the waves stand up offshore blow off

like a giant stallion running in the middle of the ocean.

"Oh, my God. Was that for real?" Still pinching yourself.

That ride home, when we were just sitting there

the four of us looking at each other, just glowing, you know.

You don't even have to say anything to each other.

You just look at each other and just smile.

"This is it. This is how good l feel. This is what it's all about."

lt was the end of a fantastic adventure,

but l realized the perfect wave isn't one thing.

lt's always changing, depending on the surfer and the situation.

lt's a choice. lt's what you make of it.

Surfing is great while it's happening, but boy!

You can talk about it forever and ever.

And in a way, you know, the stories are all intertwined.

Whether it be oil tank surfing or the guy surfing every day of his life,

or us on the outer reefs,

itjust carries on, and it's just the love and the laughter.

lt just goes on and on, and it's to the grave.

lt is so pure and so intense

that we hang all this crap and bullshit on surfing and it survives it all

'cause the ride itself is so bitching.

lt's the moments, the people and the passion.

There's something to be said for being stoked.

l guess the bottom line is, real surfers don't say "dude."

The difference between surfing on the ocean and surfing on the Great Lakes...

There are some geologic differences

at... At... At... At...

So it's important for me to know...

l don't know, but, yeah.

You love it? Love it.

What?

Okay, Dana. Fire away, baby.

You're an animal. Burrow.

Can we start with something easier?

Quiet, please. Rolling.

Let's cut the camera crew. Five second mini break.

-Distraction. -Damn, bro.

-Focus. -We're talking about surfing right now.

To me, that is surfing. A different kind.

My name...

An lrishman would say, "Oh, geez, it looks good out there today.

"You're gonna get out and get a couple waves. lt looks pretty great."

And a Scottish guy would say, "Oh, great! Look at that!

"l can't believe it! Are you going surfing or not?"

Dude. Dude.

Dude!

l'm getting in touch with my feminine side, so now l'm able to deal with it.

This is an exact replica of my father, shrunken down and with blond hair.

Kids like to throw these around in their bathtub.

l've caught my dad, actually, playing with this in the bathtub as well.

He enjoys it.

l like being around him. l like playing golf with him.

l like surfing with him.

l like to talk to him on the phone when the phone rings.

l'll be there in a minute.

Dinner's ready. You're welcome.

Yeah. Hey, guys, it's 3:00. The Packers are playing.

We gotta get out of here. We can't stick around.

-lt's a wrap. -See you. Cut.