Surfing the Wasatch Range
A funny thing happened recently in the mountains of Utah. A place known for its skiing and odd marital practices became notable for its surfing. If you haven’t been paying attention, Stacy Peralta (surfer, skate maven, auteur) has put together a film about the adventuresome enterprise of big wave surfing.
Called Riding Giants, the movie chronicles the big wave business. Not just the waves or the equipment to ride them, but the most important part of the equation: the people. The stories stretch from the beginnings of the extreme (Greg Knoll’s semi-mythical 1969 ride at Makaha) to today’s extreme (the tow-in insanity of Laird Hamilton et. al.)
The movie itself caused a big groundswell, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Five thousand films submitted, 100 chosen. Giants was one of them. Something like that makes a big impression on the right folks. Sony Pictures Classics snatched up distribution rights faster than you can say, "Eddie would go."
You might ask, "What does a Hollywood exec know about big wave riding?" And that would be a good question. Let’s put it in perspective. Peralta’s last movie, Dogtown and Z-Boys made over a million dollars at the box office in 2002, and that’s not counting overseas and video profits. More recently, Dana Brown’s Step Into Liquid (it too having a big-wave component) made over 3.5 million dollars. To mix a metaphor, action sports films are the horses to bet.
You might then ask, "What does an East Coaster — especially some knucklehead sixty miles inland — know about big wave riding?" Another good question. My answer: Not much. Sure, I know about the tow-ins going on at a Rhode Island reef, but I sincerely doubt you’d ever see me out there, preferring my waves at a more manageable height.
I guess the only people able to answer the question of big wave riding are those doing it. I can only guess their motivations in the pursuit, but I’d like to hypothesize that it’s more than just a super-sized adrenaline rush. If that’s all they wanted, they could get the same result by riding a roller coaster — probably safer, and a whole lot cheaper.
I’d like to think those who ride the monsters are driven by the same thing that drives me to ride the minors, and you to ride whatever kind of waves you like. Call it love of the feeling, or the glide, or the flow, or whatever; the connection that binds us together transcends the size of the bands of energy propelling us. And if someday someone decides to make a movie about it, I hope to see you in line.