Shane Ackerman, sending to the moon in Astronaut in the Ocean. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
When Shane Ackerman was young, he was called a few things: Landy, for one. Sand-dancer, for another. He was called those things because he didn’t like the ocean. “You couldn’t get him in the water, especially when it was over knee-high” his father says in Keith Malloy’s latest film for Yeti, Astronaut in the Ocean. “It’s because he was always small for his age.”
To known Ackerman now, though, is to know a different person. Ackerman’s no longer afraid of the sea. Far from it. He thrives in conditions that most humans run from. He’s got something in him; a glint in his eye that twinkles a little harder when things are hairy. That’s par for the course for a lot of bodyboarders, who often get a bad rap.
“There is an entire contingent of lunatics on bodyboards getting almost zero credit and consistently doing shit that no one standing up would do,” we wrote in a piece called “F*cking Spongers” a few years ago. “For years, they’ve been the unsung heroes of slabs – most of them were first discovered and ridden by bodyboarders. I like to think of them as a paving crew of sorts, paving the way for surfers on surfboards, showing them that yes, this wave can be ridden. A paving crew full of some of the most insane people on any kind of board.”
Astronaut in the Ocean, directed by Keith Malloy, points the lens at Ackerman and his life as a bodyboarder. It’s a different one than a pro surfer, but Ackerman wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Doormat. Dick dragger. Myna bird of the sea. Call bodyboarders what you want — Shane Ackerman doesn’t care,” the film’s description reads. “Despite his low brow status as a bodyboarder, he feels right at home in an ocean full of surfers. Equipped with just a foam board and a pair of flippers, he charges the intimidating waves others shy away from. But unlike surfing, bodyboarding has few fans and even fewer sponsors. So to support himself, Shane works the mines (as a crane operator in Australia). And while every dollar earned is spent on his next adventure, it’s a cost Shane happily pays to do what makes him feel most free.”
