Whilst sitting out at backline, bobbing up & down in the swell, we often cast our eyes over a classically crowded lineup. Whilst scanning the group of surfers one can notice the array of different individuals who have shown up to do the same thing. Examining some of the usual, unusual and, on occasion, downright terrifying characters that populate this blue savanna we begin to become a custom to the lads and lasses that give the line up its character. At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, just like that weird cousin we all have, these people of the sea are family.
Introducing the 5th character in: THE LINE UP
Words by Glen Drysdale/ Illustrations by Studio Kronk
The Old Guy
Like the local, also available in two options: Mellow or batshit crazy.
Sage, gentle and imbued with a passion for water time far greater than those 30 years his junior, the mellow old guy is a joy to surf with. He stills appreciates every dawnie as much as he did his first, aged 15, wearing a beaver tail and riding a Whitmore wooden single. He surfs at a pace, that deep down, you envy. There’s no ripping, aggro, narcissism or need to go any faster than the wave that carries him.
The mellow old guy is in perfect balance with the elements. His smile tells you that. As he glides past, all wizened features, grace and timing, you realise he’s still connected to the first day that he became a surfer – the day everything changed. And at 75, you want to be just like him.
The bat shit crazy old guy is also connected to the unorthodox appeal of surfing. The moments that changed his life, irrevocably. Like surfing 12-foot Grajagan on acid.
It’s the disconnect from societal norms that surfing affords him, that’s what makes him tick. It’s why, for the last 50 years, he rides his own shapes, despite others telling him it’s holding his surfing back.
He’s drawing fascinating, unpredictable new lines. They’ve never dared to paint outside of them. And even though some senility may be mixed with his salt water, he’s original: Just like surfing.
Check out the slideshow below to see the other characters in THE LINE UP you may have missed:
