Surfer Stories

When Life Gets Rough, Keep Paddling

Tom Curren and Chris Shiflett 5/19/23, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, California | Photo: Anne Menke

One of surfing’s great joys is the eclectic characters that it attracts. That’s the premise of a new book edited by Claudia Lebenthal called Surfer Stories: 12 Untold Stories by 12 Writers about 12 of the World’s Greatest Surfers.

“I love everything about the culture, the photography, the style, the surfers — it’s just so rich in so many different ways,” said Lebenthal, a long-time photographer and creative director in a phone interview. “I’ve been obsessed.” In Surfer Stories, Lebenthal focuses on the people at the heart of surfing and finds life lessons in the ocean’s unpredictability and the search for balance riding waves requires.

‘Surfer Stories’ cover image features the 1977 World Champion Shaun Tomson at age 14 in Makaha, Hawaii, 1969. | Photo: Courtesy

The book’s chapters roughly follow the arc of surfing history, and the collection opens with an immersive account of waves forming and traveling across the ocean by Gerry Lopez. “Waves come from wind and can travel thousands of miles before getting to where that surfer is waiting,” he writes. “The surfer waits, trying to be exactly where he thinks that next wave will be.” A pioneer at Pipeline in the 1970s, Lopez describes the feeling of being caught out of position and held underwater. He readily connects the experience to life on land. “Surfing teaches us to go with the flow smoothly and to be in the moment spontaneously,” he writes. “When we find ourselves caught inside, the best thing we can do is to keep paddling.”

One of the strengths of Surfer Stories comes from the connections between the writers and their subjects. “You don’t have to be a surfer to love these stories,” Lebenthal said. When she began contacting writers for the project, she found that they all had surfers they wanted to profile.

In a chapter called “A Heart Shining Through Darkness,” Karen Rinaldi writes about Rell Sunn, a stylish and influential Hawaiian. “Rinaldi went through breast cancer, and she wanted to write about Rell because Rell had breast cancer and advocated for women’s health,” said Lebenthal. “Rell became a beacon for her.”

The way surfing creates these human connections is a recurring theme of the book.

There are some fun surprises too, such as the conversation between two Santa Barbara locals, three-time world champion Tom Curren and Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett. They reminisce about cleaning tar off their feet after days at East Beach, underground skateboard spots, and learning to surf. “My memory of that period of Santa Barbara was like, everybody’s parents were shaggy-haired and smoking weed, and it just seemed like it was Fiesta or Summer Solstice all the time,” writes Shiflett of his childhood in the late 1970s. Their conversation also explores the tensions that arise when a creative pursuit such as music or surfing transforms into a profession and how they’ve each continued to find avenues for self-expression.

Editor Claudia Lebenthal | Photo: Courtesy

That theme reappears in a depiction of 11-time world champion Kelly Slater, who is best known for his ruthless competitive drive. But Shaun Tomson, himself a world champion, has a different perspective and highlights Slater’s creativity and his almost mystical connection with the ocean.

“Kelly is multi-dimensional,” said Tomson (another Santa Barbaran) in a phone interview. “Creativity, courage, commitment — there’s just so many aspects to him.” In his piece “In the Moment,” Tomson describes how Slater followed a pod of dolphins during the closing minutes of a crucial contest heat. He found a perfect wave and won the heat. “People are looking into their phones and they’re not looking at where they are,” said Tomson. Tomson believes that Slater’s story shows us the importance of being present.

Unexpectedly for Lebenthal, Surfer Stories evolved into a book about diversity. In a moving story, Selema Masekela weaves together his father’s experiences as a jazz musician in the Apartheid era with the electric and stylish surfing of the Black South African Michael February. Born the year before Apartheid ended, February is a transformative figure to Masekela. “I can’t begin to imagine what my late-teenage life, my young adult life, the entirety of my surfing existence would have looked like if a Black Michael February … had existed when I started surfing,” he writes.

Liza Monroy meanwhile narrates big-wave surfer Keala Kennelly’s experience as a gay surfer who has struggled to find acceptance. “Here’s the world of surfing,” said Lebenthal. “It’s gay, it’s straight, it’s white, and it’s Black. It’s all different kinds of people.”

The loosely connected structure of Surfer Stories makes it easy to dip in and enjoy. “If you like great stories, put it by your bedside,” said Lebenthal. “Whether you surf or not, these are great people stories. They’re entertaining.”

However the reader comes to the collection, Lebenthal believes it will resonate. While many of the life lessons on offer in the collection may feel familiar, Lebenthal suggests that there’s always new inspiration to find in them. “Life can get tough, and you have to keep paddling,” she said. “When you’re getting overwhelmed and deluged, just relax. Breathe and relax.”