A few years ago, our own Alex Haro had the opportunity to sit down with actor and surfer John Philbin whose portrayal of Turtle in the cult classic North Shore remains a favorite of the office. The circumstances of how that interview came together were pretty spontaneous.
“In December, I ran into Turtle on the North Shore,” writes Alex. “We were watching Backyards before paddling out when John Philbin walked up the beach and sat down a few yards away. Under his arm was a surfboard with a broken leash, and on his face was a huge grin. There was no one around him; he was simply smiling at his surroundings. I’m not sure that he was even aware that he was doing it. We got to talking, and a few days later ended up in his backyard, sitting beneath a bright blue sky while palms waved happily in a breeze thick with the scent of plumeria.”
We encourage you to check out that interview here – it’s one of our favs to date – but we also mention that story because the way it happened in real life strangely resembles the moment at the 1:30 mark above where Philbin, whose character in the short is unnamed, sweeps in to deliver sage advice and then suddenly vanishes.
Now, this isn’t a surf film the same way North Shore isn’t a surf film. Both are designed around characters and not action. But White Wolves by way of Philbin offers some sage advice to the lone wolves among us. “It can be fun at first… but it can be lonely sometimes,” he says.
Do with that what you will.
