Take your Christmas procrastination to a new level by downing tools and watching the Gerry Lopez biopic.
I wrote about the film here, laid my thoughts bare, however you may not agree with my take.
Press play and find out for yourself.
"That board felt like the starting point for a new life."
The inner mechanics of Russell's mind.
Sniffing out the bounty on land and at sea.
From a day with a low wave count yet high consequence.
Like a hundred social media clips joined together but not on social media.
Seeking darkness on a sunny day.
And Matahi lifts the bar yet again.
Bite size humans in king size waves.
Comments
Watching and enjoying film. At 1.04.00 mark though they have pic with apparently Lopez with Indo military guys. I reckon picture is of Paul 'Gringo' Anderson from Sunny Coast and long time Bali Indo pioneer.
Can this be confirmed??
It's Gringo for sure.
Yep thought so. Cheers.
Cursor skimmed through it for surf footage, and to avoid Sam George. The Bali and G Land bit were very good, especially the pure majesty of G Land (although missing Peter McCabe).
Read your review and agree the yin Yang analogy is flimsy but does it really matter? He got the golden ticket and made the most of it and pulled off doing it with innocence in a narrow window straddling hedonism, capitalism and greed in an authentic way. #nailedit
'It’s been decades since Gerry Lopez was at his surfing peak, cakewalking at Pipeline, pioneering at G-Land, so the question of ‘why now’ had me curious. Why did The Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez come out now?
“I don’t know,” Gerry responded blankly when I asked him'...
No wonder. What a remarkably stupid question.
Pretty cool film. The Grajagan part was great!!
nice film; interesting opening "I apologise for all of the waves I've stolen" very yin/yang - but I've heard he still does it at Ulu's etc - so what is his life's lesson - take what's not yours and then apologise; then repeat???
I thought that bit was max hypocrasy. "It's actually stealing..." (no it's not), so he can sound all virtuous, while still being a pest in the surf.
Popular ethos that one - it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
I'm struggling - I found the mea culpa at the beginning totally unconvincing.
I can't quite shake the feeling Lopez is a slippery con man- now using this unadulterated piece of American hero worship to garnish his legacy.
30 mins in.
Will watch the rest later.
I had similar disturbing thoughts AKA "death of an idol" - exacerbated by Sam George's pretense - "sole of his feet to his soul" metaphor was particularly beguiling. To me SG is the Bono of surfing - not quite sure how he's elevated himself to be the emperor of all historical perspectives.
Yep both Sam and Matt George are always over the top, Seppoitis I guess. I enjoyed the film, especially Gland Indo section, but yeah was only showing best side of him. Reckon bit harsh calling conman, probably just making the most if his situation and living the dream, he does seem to have carved out a very nice life. Not the only pro surfer to make light of drop ins, wasn't Tom Carroll renown for sharing waves?
Does seem to play up the whole yogi mystic thing, but certain Australians could be accused of similar traits with the Morning of Earth thing, cashing in etc.
Could be wrong but that's my 2 cents ...
Yeah, conman is a bit harsh.
Maybe I've just met too many sharp hustlers who cover the hard edges in a spiritual blanket.
Haha yeah me too. Bali is/was full of em....
He hung out with Boyum etc, guessing a lot of stuff going on that he would have been aware of if not involved in some how. Need a sequel to 'Sea of Darkness.' That period is full of interesting characters....
Dime a dozen around here.
Did I ever tell you about the sexual healer/shaman who went by the name of Spinning Coyote? :)
Om.......
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Oming
Totes spiritual brah!
Gotta cleanse yourself with the feather of an eagle first...
It's completely fair for a younger generation of surfers to hang shit on the older generation of surfers cashing in on the surfing experience - I am sure they would have done it themselves if they weren't so lucky to be born when there were so few people doing it. Milking the mystic surfer vibe for all you can while selling your branded soft tops at Costco by the thousands is the height of hypocrisy. There's a small economy of pointless surf paraphernalia trying to turn Gerry's image into a buck to carve out a lifestyle for themselves, and almost all of it will be in the bin within a couple of years, floating around the planet for a few hundred more.
Sam George is the Bono of Surfing is hilariously accurate haha.
Not interested in Lopez, heard and read too many things how his whole act is completely fake.
But! After reading that new g-land book I have a new found admiration for Peter McCabe.
Never really heard of him before the book but sounds like he was the man at very early days g-land.
He’d have some epic stories to tell
Yes to that. Would love to hear from him.
If you get a chance to watch Sea of Darkness, you'd see McCabe schooling Lopez at G-Land. Very good surfing.
https://www.baliwaves.com/2007/01/peter-mccabe/
Thanks udo
The burn at around 1.05 at Gland is a real dog act, really worth looking at and he has lived a life but sounded a little pollyanna-ish for me.
Maybe Sam George is a bit of a go to because he’s knowledgeable and articulate.
45 minutes in, I’ve read his book and will dig out/ rewatch an old DVD called Stylemasters which, from memory, brings to the open Brewer’s influence on his shaping and some quasi “spiritual” practices perhaps left unsaid until I’m more confident about what’s said in the DVD
the trippy soundtrack by Bluebird, a once off CD release from the band
2015 - A top Vicco Shaper said
Lopez was down here a couple of years ago promoting his book...and he dropped by the factory to check out what I was up to.....I made the mistake of asking him ..."did he have a Retro Lightning Bolt Single fin Pipe Board in his catalogue?"
A couple of minutes was spent with me getting a damn good dressing down in that " he was still a contemporary shaper and single fins were so over rated to the point he would not make them !"
- - - - - - - - - - -
https://www.gerrylopezsurfboards.com/surfboards#classic-collectibles
Currently taking Time Out from Shaping - But will Chat if your after a Collectable Single....
Of Course - Because Starting Price is $5000 USD..
Any idea what the rail looks like on those single fins?
Flat deck, super low apex sharpish down rail. Very modest rocker.
Supposedly 100% 70s Replicas - So Downrailer
https://www.nzsurfjournal.com/gerry-lopez-the-hippy-in-the-eye-of-the-s…
Thanks IB and Udo cheers.
if you were cynical in the first 1/3rd, then you'll be riled by the ending.
what works for US audiences might not work for us and they seemed to gloss over the why and who and how the idea for 'shortboards' came about, but this is after all a film about Gerry.
Some positive points
- magic shots of empty line ups
- simple camerawork where the waves speak for themselves which is a refreshing contrast to modern surf vids
- a reminder to do yoga