This is a short video on the surfer, craftsman, and creator of "TR" surfboards. Filmed and edited by: Declan Bates Featuring: Tim Ryan, Ryder Sturges, and SJ Murphy.

The promise of a day or two living the Southern California lifestyle brings millions of tourists to Santa Monica every year, and to many of them a chance to catch their first wave is high up on the bucket list. In order to provide a safe, reliable experience, the City permits and manages surf camps, schools and individual instructors who teach novices on the beach. However, according to a half dozen interviews conducted by the Santa Monica Daily Press, the system is not always working as well as it should.

“There’s absolutely no enforcement out there on weekends,” Patrick Murphy said looking over the waves crashing on the shore just south of the Pier. Murphy was one of the first instructors to get a permit when the City submitted its first request for proposal fifteen years ago. He’s gone through a thorough vetting process year after year and has paid a hefty fee for the right to teach here: 15 percent of gross receipts. So he is upset when he sees individual instructors – and even surfing schools – operating on the beach without a permit. “It’s really messed up,” Murphy said. “It does become more difficult to operate every year. There’s a lot more competition and these people aren’t paying their permit fees so there’s much less overhead. I doubt they’re paying workers comp … maybe they have insurance.”

This year the City issued permits to three surf camps, one school (Murphy’s Learn to Surf LA) and nine individual instructors. It also lowered the fee to ten percent of gross receipts from fifteen. Santa Monica’s Public Information Officer, Constance Farrell, says the permits help the City maintain a diversity of activities out on the beach, as well as insure safety for locals and visitors. “That’s something we take really seriously because we want to make sure people are coming out and enjoying the beautiful beach and the Pacific and learning to surf but they need to have a safe experience which is the most important thing,” Farrell said.

Since January 2015, the City has issued just three citations to surf instructors operating without a permit and two citations to permitted instructors who didn’t have a business license. But multiple surf instructors told the Daily Press they see violators out in the water every day. “There are people who just bluntly sit there and teach lessons and the City doesn’t do anything about it,” permitted instructor Sergio Penaloza said, acknowledging that it is difficult for code enforcement officers to keep track of surfers who spend the majority of their time out in the ocean. Penaloza says he’s been pleased with the permitting system overall, because it prevents crowding among the waves. “There isn’t much you can do about it unless you can police all the time,” Penaloza said. “I was out there today at six in the morning and there’s no one policing at that hour. There’s no one up at that hour.”

Farrell says the permitting process is a collaboration between the Beach Team which works out of the Annenberg Community Beach House and Code Enforcement. The City publishes a list on its website of permitted instructors. She says the City is aware of the issue and plans to keep an eye on the shore this summer. “As we head into the summer, we know there will be an increase in surf activities and to keep people safe, enforcement details are planned,” Farrell said. “We encourage people to let us know if they have a tip regarding unpermitted surf camps or instructors by calling or emailing.”

Murphy is hoping the City follows through on its promise. As a surf school, he says the lack of enforcement has made it difficult for him to retain good instructors because some realize they can make more money by going it alone on the beach and simply not pay City permit fees. “It’s the environment that’s being created by a lack of enforcement,” Murphy said. “You’ve got pretty much anybody coming out here. The regulators are not bad people, it just doesn’t seem like a high priority for them to really pay attention to it.”



Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press

Miracle In Malibu is a short documentary introducing surf therapy by a non profit organization called "The Mighty Under Dog's". For more information on The Mighty Under Dogs go to mightyunderdogs.org

Ocean Park 26's Kevin Osborne takes an unusual spring break this year. A California Quadfecta. Surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and skiing all in one quick 4-day trip. Starting at his home break in Santa Monica and ending up in the snow covered slopes of nearby Mammoth Mountain. Along for the ride on his trip is his faithful dog, Ava and to get photos of the journey, his buddy Steve Rodriguez of Six12 Media.


Kevin and Ava pose in Santa Monica with equipment for the upcoming California Quadfecta (Surf, Skate, Ski, & Snowboard)

DAY 1 Surfing and Skateboarding
We started our Mammoth odyssey off with a surf at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica. Conditions were pretty good with 2-3" glassy waves rolling into the Bay. After catching a few, we jumped back in the truck and got started up the 405 to the 14, and eventually to the 395 into the Eastern Sierra Mountains.


On the Road: heading up U.S. Route 395 loaded with skis, snowboards, skateboards, photo equipment, and dog, with the Eastern Sierra Nevada in the background.


After a few hours of driving, and passing through the small towns of Lone Pine, Bishop, and Big Pine, we made our first stop at the Volcom Brothers Skatepark in Mammoth Lakes. This awesome skatepark, on Meridian Boulevard, is one of the coolest parks this author has ever ridden, with many free-form bowls, and natural landscape elements built into the park. Riders can hit large natural boulders, skate around giant living pine trees, and cruise through a number of smooth bowls, all with the beautiful snowy mountains in the background, and the clean, fresh air filling your lungs. This is a super fun stop and a great warm up for the slopes.


This shot shows why this is such a cool skatepark. This area of the park was built around an existing pine tree, and actually has part of a boulder sticking through the concrete that Kevin is turning above.


Another reason why this skatepark is so cool is that there are natural boulders all around that have been incorporated into the design of the park.


Kevin popping an ollie out of one of the many bowls.


Dropping into a bowl between two gnarly rocks at the lip.


Next up was dropping off our gear at our cabin and taking Ava the dog out for a romp in the snow and a walk through the town of Mammoth Lakes, before heading over to the Mammoth Main Lodge to pick up our lift tickets. The spring conditions were excellent, with over 50 feet of snow this year, all lodges were open, and all lifts were running. After checking out the Main Lodge and the Village, we picked up a pizza and headed back to the cabin anticipating a great day on the slopes.

DAY 2 Snowboarding

The next morning we had our boards and were on the snow with the first lift and heading to the top of the mountain. The snow coverage on the mountain was the best we have seen in seven years, and the boarding was great. We covered the whole mountain from the Eagle Lodge to the powder fields of the Backside. The crowds were very light and we barely waited in a lift line the whole day. We found a bunch of fun obstacles to hit, including the park areas and the super pipe. We even found some cornices and jumps that still had soft powder landings that we were sending it on.
It's the end of April, and the mountain is still covered deep with snow.


Lofting an air off of an ice cornice situated on top of a soft powder landing field.


Snowboarding. Jibbing off the top of a buried tree.


Another frontside air off of the ice cornice.

After hitting the Yodeler for some traditional cheese fondue and giant Bavarian pretzels, we headed back to cabin to hang with Ava and prepare for the next day's activities.

DAY 3 Skiing

Another clear sunny day greeted us as we started off at the Mill Lodge lift, with me on my skis and Steve boarding again. It was another great day on the mountain with us tackling some of the most difficult runs including Cornice Bowl, Dave's Run, Scotty's, and Monuments--all Black Diamond and Double Black Diamond runs. We again traversed the mountain to cover thousands of vertical feet during the day.


The obligatory shot at the very top of the mountain, but this time, with over 50 feet of snowfall, the sign is almost completely buried.


Heading down through the trees on the backside of the mountain.


Catching a little mid-mountain air.


Close encounter with the camera.


Coming down the steeps from the top of the mountain on Dave’s Run.


An overview of Mammoth Mountain and the Eastern Sierra.

This time at the end of the day we visited The Village area which boasts over ten excellent restaurants and bars. We finally landed at the Kitchen 53 after checking out a number of spots including the Alpenhof, the Smokeyard, and the Whitebark. We sampled some of the local Mammoth Brewery Golden Trout beer as we watched snowboard and ski videos on the 4K big screens, as we munched on poutine and burgers.


We finished off the night with me winning the Goggle Tan Competition in the Kitchen 53 bar, racking up major G.N.A.R. points, which was a very proud moment.

DAY 4 Downhill Skateboarding

On the way out of Mammoth the next day we pulled off the highway to get some dramatic skate shots with the huge Sierra Nevada in the background. You always see guys taking shots like these and we wanted to get our own, which Steve did brilliantly.
Kevin does a backside kickturn to control downhill speed.


A classic shot of Kevin rail grabbing a turn with an impressive mountain backdrop.


With a little four-wheeling on an unmaintained two-track road on the way back to the highway, we completed the California Quadfecta in style!

More info on Mammoth's Spring Season: Spring into Action Sports at Mammoth Mountain!

In every community there's a person that is adored by everyone. In Venice it's Guy Okazaki. Guy moved to Venice in the late 50's and has been here ever since. He's seen all kinds of changes and welcomes all walks of life. A master surfboard shaper and craftsman is what pays his bills but at the end of the day Guy just wants to surf. Please enjoy Foam.

A short film by Mike Pagan and Damien Fahrenfort.

Local (transplant) big wave pro, Alex Grey had 4 of his 5 surfboards destroyed by American Airlines.

"0n April 7th from Honolulu to Los Angeles, American Airlines flight AA 284 broke 4 out of 5 of my surfboards" Alex wroton his Instagram. "When the board bag came off the oversize belt I notice the top and bottom had very large holes in it. From the back hole in plain sight I could see two tails of my boards bent in half sticking out of the bag. I walked over to make a claim. Upon actually opening the bag (the video you're watching above), each board I pulled out had either a tail or nose broken. The final board on the bottom was completely broken in half from the middle of the board. I'm sure many of you at this point of my post are saying: 'this has happened to me before'. That's the saddest part. Time and time again we pay $150 or more for our surfboard bags only to have our boards ruined at the destination. And you know that little signature you give on the bag tag? That's a signature releasing the airlines of any liability to damages that may occur. Hmmmmm... My question on this one is how did they do such a fantastic job of destruction? First thought is the baggage handlers ran it over with some vehicle because the nose and tails are all broken in the same spot. But why is only one broken in half from the middle of the board, while the rest are broken at the nose and tail? Did they open my bag, break that board, and put it back in? I had buckled both straps inside the back which locks the boards down and they were unbuckled. So that makes me believe they went into my bag."

For this week's Throwback Thursday, we got Val-Surf's 1988 Winter Catalog. They sent these out in the mail to customers on their mailing list. Here's some high resolution scans of each page.

“I learned about Jeff Ho probably in the same way many skaters who came up in the 80’s did… I found out that key skate industry players like Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta were skaters on Jeff’s Zephyr team. A decade later some of Jeff’s team riders were flourishing, but as some things happen, the creative upstarts who pioneer a movement are often ahead of the curve and don’t reap the financial benefits or recognition that should come when culture finally catches up to the movement. I was very happy to see a bit of Jeff’s story told in the “Dogtown and Z-Boys” documentary and in Glen E. Friedman and Craig Stecyk’s “DogTown: The Legend of Z-Boys” book. I met Jeff at one of the Dogtown book signings in 2002, and he was nice, but reserved. I was honored to see Jeff at a few of my art shows over the years, but I had a bit of trouble reading him because he’s contemplative, subdued, and even a little intimidating. When Glen E. Friedman asked about doing a print of Jeff Ho, I was concerned that Jeff might not approve of me illustrating him, but Glen can be very persuasive, so I guess he convinced Jeff the collaboration was a good idea. I always enjoy working with Glen because he is very intense and passionate about his beliefs. It is completely fitting that Glen has a book called “The Idealist” because that is what he is. Glen had a few great shots of Jeff Ho from 2011, but there was one that to me captured not just Jeff, but the entire essence of surf/skate style. The photograph of Jeff in profile skateboarding down the sidewalk carrying his surfboard while the light breaks diagonally could be silhouetted to create an instantly recognizable and universal surf/skate icon. However, the fact that the subject is the pioneer Jeff Ho makes the image not merely iconic in an aesthetic, superficial sense, but iconic in a historical and truly authentic sense. In illustrating the image, I tried to amplify the lines, shadows, and textures that give the image its amazing character.

It is an honor to work with Glen and Jeff, two pioneers in the cultures that have made me who I am as a person. Thanks for what you’ve cultivated guys!” – Shepard Fairey



“My first thought about this image is that surfing and skateboarding have always been naturally combined. I love the water and I love rolling around on a skateboard. I built my first skateboard in the ‘50s and my first surfboard in the ‘60s, and I still surf and skate and love it. I enjoy all of the things that I have learned besides just the function of making boards, like creating the art that goes along with it. Surfing and skating have a symbiotic relationship – it’s just a natural thing.

In this photo, I’ve got my Zephyr team surfboard and I’m riding my personal Zephyr skateboard. My brand is Zephyr and the logo is something I’ve been using my whole life. There are some vintage markings on my winged tri-tail surfboard, but this is a modern version of something I made in 1976. I brought it up to current times with the quad thruster design. Going from the traditional longboard to a shorter board changed surfing, and I have always experimented with lighter materials and different board shapes. Making a board shorter makes it easier to whip around because of the smaller turning radius. Surf skate style can be fluid and smooth, but it can also be aggressive when attacking the lip, just like attacking the coping of a pool when you’re skating.




“My first thought about this image is that surfing and skateboarding have always been naturally combined. I love the water and I love rolling around on a skateboard. I built my first skateboard in the ‘50s and my first surfboard in the ‘60s, and I still surf and skate and love it. I enjoy all of the things that I have learned besides just the function of making boards, like creating the art that goes along with it. Surfing and skating have a symbiotic relationship – it’s just a natural thing.

In this photo, I’ve got my Zephyr team surfboard and I’m riding my personal Zephyr skateboard. My brand is Zephyr and the logo is something I’ve been using my whole life. There are some vintage markings on my winged tri-tail surfboard, but this is a modern version of something I made in 1976. I brought it up to current times with the quad thruster design. Going from the traditional longboard to a shorter board changed surfing, and I have always experimented with lighter materials and different board shapes. Making a board shorter makes it easier to whip around because of the smaller turning radius. Surf skate style can be fluid and smooth, but it can also be aggressive when attacking the lip, just like attacking the coping of a pool when you’re skating.

There’s a similarity between surfing a wave and skating a pool and there’s an attitude too. My goal was to be progressive and do things that weren’t the status quo and build equipment that would take you there and allow you to do something that hasn’t been done before. The Zephyr competition team had the attitude and the aggression and the surf skate style was naturally in their DNA. I nurtured that and gave them surfboards and skateboards and then pushed them out into the world. In this photo, I was wearing Levis, Vans and a Zephyr jacket, shirt and hat, which is what I provided to the Z-Boys to give them a sense of identity. This image creatively represents the 50 years that I’ve been skating, surfing and building boards.

Glen E. Friedman, world-renowned photographer and author, took this original photograph, and the image says everything – surf and skate. Glen is a straight up guy and a good friend, so when he called me to ask if he could make a portrait, I was stoked. I grabbed my surfboard and skateboard and met him down at the Venice Skatepark. He felt as though we made a solid portrait with just six photos shot then he said, “Let’s get a skating shot.” We were on Horizon or Market street just off the strand in Venice, and he ran ahead of me on the street and said, “Skate by this wall and I’ll see if I can make a photo i like.” I was skating along and he made the single photo, just one attempt, and said, “I got it.” The whole time he only shot six or seven photos, it was the end of a roll he wanted to finish. Well, it’s film, so nobody knows what’s on there until it gets developed. But as soon as Glen sent me the photos, I loved them, and I was like, “Damn, homie knows how to shoot photos.” There were three really outstanding images and this one was number 37 of 36 frames on that roll of black and white. It was the end cut, full frame. Sometimes a photographer can stretch an extra frame out of a roll, and this was one of those. That’s tight and the shot is beautiful. Glen used it in his book, “My Rules”, and Shepard chose this photo for the poster, which is really cool.

Shepard Fairey is a globally recognized, iconic artist and political activist and I have so much respect for all the art he has given to the world. I’ve always admired Shepard and I have a lot of love for what he’s done for our culture and I am so honored to have been included in his body of work. He’s made so many iconic posters and this one really looks incredible. I’m so impressed with how he used the shadowing and the colors. I don’t know if I’m the first surfer on a Shepard Fairey poster, but I think I’m the first surfboard builder, which is amazing. We had some discussions about the poster because one of Shepard’s favorite colors is red and I said, “Could we do a blue one?” So Shepard made a blue one and there was an option for another color and he made the gold-colored poster. When he showed them to me, they were fuckin’ rad. I love them both and can’t decide which one is my favorite. Working with Shepard has been an awesome experience and I truly appreciate the art that he has created.

This limited edition poster features an iconic photo by Glen E. Friedman, with exceptional art by Shepard Fairey, which has been autographed by all three of us. Thanks to Shepard and thanks to Glen. I’m honored to work with them both. Mahalo. – Jeff Ho


Jeff is worshiped around the world. I’ve seen people bow down to him in the middle of the street when they see him, swearing he is the all-time best surfboard maker (Jeff was inducted into the Surfboard Shapers Hall of Fame just a few years ago). He was a skater before he was a surfer- he is an artisan in the water, on the street, and with the board.

Jeff has more integrity than most anyone I have met. He is a living legend and a real icon. All these are reasons, on top of those you’ve likely seen in the “Dogtown and Z-Boys” film, why I approached Shepard to collaborate on this fine art screen print. We looked at the few portraits I made with Jeff that afternoon, a few years back. Shepard was really drawn to this one (no pun intended), the same one that appears towards the end of my MY RULES book, accompanied by Jeff’s essay. Shepard can explain more on why he picked this one, but I can tell you that I’m stoked to have done it again. I feel Shepard’s graphic representation of some of my photographs, in his icon-creating style, is an honor for the subjects as well as the collaborators, because the man is a craftsman and an intelligent, stand-up guy like few others in his field. Dig it.” – Glen E. Friedman


Jeff Ho Zephyr (Blue). 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on cream Speckle Tone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey, Jeff Ho, and Glen E. Friedman. Edition of 300. $70. Available Thursday, April 6 at 10AM (PDT) on Prints in Store under Prints. Limit 1 per person/household.



Jeff Ho Zephyr (Gold). 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on cream Speckle Tone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey, Jeff Ho, and Glen E. Friedman. Edition of 300. $70. Available Thursday, April 6 at 10AM (PDT) on Prints in Store under Prints. Limit 1 per person/household.