The history of modern surfing is rich with colorful characters and intrinsic connections to other forms of interacting with the ocean – from fishing to sailing. While some simply “pick up” surfing one way or another, others get introduced to the sport (lifestyle?) by their parents, who may have also learned to surf from their parents. The celebration of that lineage is what makes surfing so unique – links can be traced to pioneers in big wave surfing, surfboard design, and other facets of the surf subculture that contribute to what it is today.
Surfer’s Blood, a new film by Patrick Trefz, seeks to follow a handful of threads in the surfing’s great patchwork cloth to show how connections to the sea span generations.
In the trailer’s Vimeo description, Jonah Reimers explains, “Surfers’ Blood tells the universal story of true individuals that share deep bloodlines connected to the sea. From the old world fishing history of the rugged Basque Coast via oar and surfboard shaper Patxi Oliden, to the modern metropolis of San Francisco and the eccentric computer shapes of Apple fame designer Thomas Meyerhoffer. A Sonoma Valley Art Museum that exhibits hydrodynamic surfboards via avant-garde curator Richard Kenvin, to 3 time Mavericks big wave champ Darryl ‘Flea’ Virostko’s struggle to overcome an almost fatal meth addiction and the bittersweet loss that came with it.”
