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| Surfing for Life: Subject Biographies |
John H. "Doc" Ball at 93 is the oldest living American surfer, and he still skateboards and surfs without a wetsuit in Shelter Cove in Northern California. He has been riding waves since 1929 and wrote the classic book about early California surfing, CALIFORNIA SURFRIDERS (1946). A dentist and a professional photographer, he captured more classic surf images from the 1930s through the '50s than any other photographer. He co-founded the State's first surf club in Palos Verdes, is a great storyteller, a legend among surfers (and surf photographers) and a warm and generous spirit, still "stoked" about life. His fearless skateboarding sequence is the unforgettable ending to Surfing for Life.
Woody Brown is 88 and lives in Maui, Hawaii where he surfs every chance he gets. He became a national flying hero in the '30s, a Hawaiian big wave surf hero in the '40s and--after inventing the catamaran--a yachting world celebrity in the '50s. Woody's great stories are illustrated by several of the classic photos and film footage of him surfing huge Hawaiian waves in the '40s and '50s. His sequence as a volunteer at an Adult Day Health Center in Maui where he is "working with love" clearly reveals Woody's extraordinary compassion, charm and humor.
Anona Napoleon, a 60-year-old Hawaiian native, has surfed for 48 years in Hawaii. She was a championship surfer and kayaker in the late '50s and '60s, winning the prestigious Makaha International Surfing Championship in 1961. This victory followed a miraculous recovery from a paralyzing accident only a year earlier. A warm and gracious example of Hawaii's "Aloha spirit," she is a college humanities lecturer who has five sons and nine grandchildren who surf--often together. Her family's "Napoleon's Holiday," when the full extended family skips school and work to spend the day together surfing, is a high point of Surfing for Life.
Fred Van Dyke, 70, is a legendary pioneer of big wave surfing. He moved from California to Hawaii in the '50s to surf the big waves, taught with his friend Peter Cole at Punahou School and wrote several classic surf books including 30 YEARS OF SURFING THE WORLD'S BIGGEST WAVES. A physical fitness enthusiast, Fred still surfs the 10-footers regularly and gives multi-media presentations on healthy aging and surfing throughout the country. The emotional center of Surfing for Life is his recent painful decision to confront his fear and give up surfing the huge waves with which he had become so identified.
Rabbit Kekai is 79 and a legendary Hawaiian beach boy, waterman and world-class big wave surfer. He began surfing at age five in 1925, became the first practitioner of "hot-dog surfing" and nose-riding in the late 1930s, then became a top beach boy to the stars. Winner of countless international surfing contests, he is still a world-class competitive surfer, story-teller and another gracious embodiment of the Aloha Spirit. He recalls that his eyes still "light up" when his wife says, "Go surfing."
Shay Bintliff, M.D. (64) is an emergency room physician, mother of two and surfer for 35 years. She has traveled the world, studied with Meher Baba in India and performed stand-up comedy. When the surf was good, she recalls leaving word with her secretary that she was off to a "board meeting." Extremely energetic and affable, she embraces life, love, nature and the challenges of aging in her wise observation that "change is inevitable; it's the growth that optional." Her stories about peak experiences and family are high points of the documentary.
John Kelly, 80, is a renowned pioneer of Hawaiian big-wave surfing and one of the first surf board designers. A war hero, musician, conductor and dedicated political activist, he founded the seminal environmental organization "Save Our Surf" in 1965 which has opposed environmental threats to Hawaii's coastal zone and blocked over 30 proposed developments. His sequence recounting the Pearl Harbor attack and its aftermath -- when his Navy job forced him to place dead American and Japanese soldiers face to face in the same coffin, an experience which transformed him into a life-long activist -- is a high point of the film.
Peter Cole, 69, is another legendary big wave surfer who has been surfing for over 50 years. He graduated from Stanford, followed Van Dyke to Hawaii, taught at Punahou and is now a computer consultant. Like his friend Fred Van Dyke, Peter is extremely fit and continues to be a world-class gentleman and surfer. Unlike Fred, though, Peter continues to surf the giant waves on the North Shore of Oahu, the oldest surfer to do so. One of the most memorable scenes in Surfing for Life captures Fred and Peter playfully debating whether they skipped mandatory meetings at Punahou School when the surf was up.
Eve Fletcher, at 73 is one of the oldest women still surfing. A surfer for 40 years, she had a successful career as an animation supervisor for Disney Studios where she worked on SLEEPING BEAUTY, CINDERELLA and hundreds of films. She still surfs regularly with several surfers over 70 at San Onofre, the home of more surfers over 70 than any other beach in the world. Another high point of the film is classic 1958 footage of Eve and her friend "on surfin' safari" in Hawaii where she became friends with Rabbit Kakai and lived in Fred Van Dyke's van which she bought for $75.
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