CONFESSIONS OF A SHOULDER HOPPER
By Michael Lear Hynson
Shoulder Hopper: An overly aggressive surfer who takes off in front of an already riding surfer, compromising or ruining the original surfer’s ride. Shoulder-hopping is a serious breach of etiquette and can result in tension, arguments, even fights. (The Encyclopedia of Surfing, Matt Warshaw)
I ran across an article that Chris Ahrens wrote years ago entitled, “Attitude Isn’t What Matters Out On Water.” In it, Chris talks about the first time he surfed the same break as me at WindanSea.
“I stood up tall on the reef and I spun around, dug in deep and was up and moving with a clear path all the way to the inside “Right Hooker.” But Hynson, who was paddling out, saw that wave too and decided he wanted it. He looked right at me and dropped in, leaving me to suffocate in his wake. It was his spot, though, he was the man, and he got more barreled than I could ever dream of.”
As far back as I can remember shoulder hopping has been a common maneuver in surfing. I’ve seen the worst shoulder hoppers and I’ve seen it done pretty well. But watching Miki Dora was the first time I witnessed someone getting away with it time and time again.
The Malibu Style of shoulder-hopping, was a way of survival for Miki Dora. You either do it right or you do it bad. A lot of surfers thought he was way out of line, but he didn’t do it to be a pain in the ass. If he and I caught the same wave it didn’t seem right to ride it out next to him. It would be years before I earned that privilege. I looked at it as a way to show my respect to a great surfer. Instead, I’d kick out and take off on Johnny Fain, the unofficial mascot of Malibu, a freckle-faced toe-head who always had zinc oxide smeared across his lips. Everyone took advantage of Fain. Dora harassed him constantly. Taking off from behind, he practically stuck his board up Johnny’s ass. Snaking him in front, Dora made him swim in. He cut Fain off so often, sometimes I almost felt sorry for the guy. Well, not really. (Excerpt from Transcendental Memories of a Surf Rebel)
Shoulder Hopping is basically just a position. Catching the wave is what’s important. Then being in the right spot comes next. Let’s face it, there are only so many waves and if there’s enough room for more than one guy, you have to quickly decide who’s going to ride it. Never, I mean, never hesitate.
If you’re going to shoulder hop you immediately have to establish your ranking out in the water. You also want to be careful who you cut off; the local guy, the tough guy, etc. But once you decide, look the person right in the eye then go for it. Sure, it’s rude to a point. But if I have the opportunity I’m going to take it every single time. Even though shoulder-hopping has been known to cause arguments, even fights, I’d much rather take off in front of a person than behind them, especially if there are cameras on the beach.
The professional and courteous way to shoulder hop is to take off from behind. If you want to get in front, you go up and around. That can get unpredictable and dangerous, though, especially when you’re dealing with a kook. The safest way is to take off in front. Plus, who wants to be sitting outside watching some other guy take your wave all the way in to shore. It just ruins your whole day.
Once when Mike Haley and I went to Hawaii we surfed Sunset Beach the very first day. We were both riding yellow boards with a blue stripe down the middle and had already caught quite a few waves when Haley took off in front of Michael Ho. In all the commotion, they both lost their boards, and Ho quickly slid onto Haley’s board to paddle to the beach. Haley swam in after him. Just as Haley came out of the water, Ho took the nose of his retrieved board and gouged a hole into the bottom of Haley’s. With all of Ho’s friends and local boys standing around, Haley went up to his board, put it under his arm, walked back into the water, and paddled out, avoiding a fight altogether.
Years later, Andy Tyler and I were out at La Jolla Shores, six to eight feet, offshore wind. It was right around the time when more girls started surfing. I swear, I don’t remember taking off in front of anybody, but when I came in and was changing out of my wetsuit, I heard two girls, talking, “Fucking Hynson, he took off right in front of me.” In my defense, I hadn’t been surfing in a long time. I wasn’t trying to intimidate anyone I was just trying to catch the wave. But it dawned on me as I quietly crept over to my car to avoid a confrontation, slid into the front seat, and split. I obviously ruined their day.
That was the day I quit shoulder hopping.
Last Saturday Was An Incredible Day!
Trust me, it didn’t start out that way. My nice mellow morning began at a nice pace, then quickly elevated to cars breaking down and worrying if we would make it to our book signing on time. By 11:30AM, the morning flip-flopped completely.
One thing Mike and I have always done since we published our book is to try and keep an even keel. There have been a lot of ups and downs, some book signings are better than others. But I figure, you can’t go by how many books you sell. It’s more about the connections you make at these events. Where will it lead to next?
Getting back to Saturday, despite bumper-to-bumper traffic on the I-5, Mike, Carol, and I actually showed up at the Hobie Store in Dana Point just when things were getting started. Right off the bat, Mark Christy, the owner, and his staff couldn’t have been more accommodating. Excited about the shaping bay that was built adjacent to the store, the Hobie team proudly escorted Mike inside, where a G&S Red Fin that he shaped in the sixties awaited his autograph.
I have to give Hobie’s credit. Building a shaping bay with windows to both inside and outside of the store was a stroke of genius. They’re going to attract a lot of attention this way. I don’t know if it was because Mike was shaping or if they’d get this kind of reaction from all shapers, but they watched him the entire time. And what a beauty, in approximately two hours he carved out the sweetest 9’4” Round Tail Nose Rider with a wedge stringer. We would’ve all been happy if our day ended at that point.
THEN Greg and Laura Noll arrived, very nice couple. We sat around while Mike and Greg talked over old times. That’s always fun hearing about the golden days of surfing and all their shenanigans. They exchanged books and Greg invited us to his son, Jed Noll’s surfboard shop in San Clemente later that night.
Mike, Carol, my husband Lance, and I showed up around 7:30 or so. As we walked through the shop and into the gallery, Mike was directed to a covered display case with two Accurate Planers sitting on top. While Mike admired the brand new shaping tools, one of the staff answered questions. Mike just had to try one out. This is where it got crazy.
All Greg did was lead Mike into Jed’s shaping room. But I swear, you would’ve thought Paris Hilton was inside. At least 20 people converged around the single door to the bay and started snapping pictures and shooting video. Cameras and cell phones flashed like mad! Even after Greg left the room, people kept taking photos of Mike trying out the new planer. He’d stop and take a break, the crowd would dissipate, then he’d go back inside, and they’d hover around again just to get a glimpse. Afterwards, they must have done two or three professional-type photo shoots set up next to the shaping room with Mike, Greg and important VIPs. It was very surreal.
All in all, it was amazing. Mike got to do something he loves, people reacted favorably to it, a couple of deals were set up, we made new connections, and visited with old friends and family. Can’t ask for more than that. Like I said, last Saturday was one incredible day.
40th Anniversary of Rainbow Bridge - Jimi Hendrix Remembered
Yesterday, July 30, 2010 was the 40th anniversary of the Jimi Hendrix Rainbow Bridge Concert, which took place during the filming of the movie of the same name. Directed by the late Chuck Wein, a stage was constructed at the base of the Haleakala Volcano near Rainbow Ridge on the Island of Maui, where 300 locals were lured up the mountain by the “coconut wireless” to watch what would become a historical event, one of Jimi’s last performances.
Brainchild of Mike Hynson, the idea first formed when he wanted Hendrix to score the music for a surf demo he was making for shaper, Bill Bahne. The story, alone, of Hynson following Hendrix around from concert to concert is funny enough, and how it resulted in the legend performing in the movie is unimaginable. But Hynson wanted Hendrix for one reason; Jimi’s music jived perfectly with the freedom you experience on a surfboard.
“Jimi was really anxious to try surfing only for the pure pleasure of the feeling,” remembers Hynson. “He loved the uncontrollable nature of its expression. When Jimi and his entourage came through the door at Seabury Hall, Les Potts was so excited he invited Jimi to go surfing with us. But we all knew it was impossible. His manager would never allow it. Too much risk involved. I did take him out paddling around in the ocean, though.
The best thing about hanging out with Jimi was that I got to know him as a person,” adds Hynson, “not just as an idol. He’d sit in his room for hours and practice his guitar. When Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell arrived, they set their equipment up and rehearsed some of their new songs. “We'll go through that three times,” Jimi would always say afterwards.”
Director, Chuck Wein was a protégé of Andy Warhol and had already made a dozen films back in New York. He also worked with Otto Preminger who praised him for writing the best dialogue he ever read. But Chuck decided to go off the cuff with Rainbow Bridge. Hence, he was basically responsible for the honesty and importance of the infamous attic scene where Hendrix started talking incessantly with him and Pat Hartley. No lines, this was the real thing. “You could say Jimi was depressed when he arrived at Seabury,” said Chuck, “but after being in the Islands a few days he began to rejuvenate.”
Watching the dailies one day in the school chapel, Jimi and Melinda Merryweather sat in the front pew. “He fiddled with his guitar,” she recalled, “then said when he returned to New York he was going to run the surfing footage and let the surfers write the music by the way they rode the waves. When they took off, he’d take off, when they carved down the face, he’d carve down the strings of the guitar, and when they flew off the lip, he’d fly off the lip. He envisioned the surfers scaling down a musical staff as if they were the notes.”
On August 1st Jimi left to play the Honolulu International Center. This was his last American concert, then he returned to Maui for two more weeks. Playing music for hours on end at his vacation rental by the airport, he reenergized himself for his European dates. When Jimi left for good on August 13th, Melinda and Michael Jeffrey, Jimi’s manager, took him to the airport. Watching him jet off to New York in his private plane, he pointed up to a rainbow in the sky.
Artist, Lance Jost was introduced to Michael Jeffrey at Hynson’s house to possibly create the credits for Rainbow Bridge. Once Jeffrey saw Lance’s portfolio, though, he was so blown away he asked him to paint a mural for Hendrix’ new studio instead. While the gang was over in Maui for the summer, Lance was getting ready to take off for New York.
“Imagine me,” recalls Jost, “a 29-year old unknown artist deeply entrenched in 60’s Laguna Beach culture not only getting a commission from Hendrix, but having the opportunity to transform his studio by painting a 100-foot long mural of the interior of a spacecraft for the Electric Lady Recording Studio in the heart of Greenwich Village.
The anticipation of meeting Hendrix at the San Diego Sports Arena on July 25th to show him my portfolio and get his approval was electric enough. Loaded to the teeth with cosmic artwork, I nailed it! Now all I needed to do was pack my bags and take off for New York City.
On Saturday, September 19th I was running one last errand before boarding the plane for New York when I ran into a friend in Laguna. “Hey, Lance, did you hear that Hendrix died?”
As a side note, if you want to see some really fascinating videos of Hendrix at Rainbow Bridge, go to www.youtube.com and enter 'Rainbow Bridge' or 'Last 24 Hours 4' in the search.
One Year Anniversary of Hynson's Autobiography
It's hard to believe, but it's been one year since Mike and I published our first book, "Mike Hynson-Transcendental Memories of a Surf Rebel," To celebrate I decided to start a blog and chronicle our adventures in the world of self-publishing to date and going forward.
First off, probably the most frequent question we get asked at book signings is, "How did writing the book come about?"
To give you a little background, I began writing in 1997 when I published an art marketing guide for artists. Over the course of three years I interviewed around 200 artists and galleries, and wrote articles. One of my goals after its demise was to write a book about the infamous Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a band of hippies and international drug smugglers living in Laguna Canyon. I grew up in South Orange County and although I was too young to be involved, I was always curious. There were frequent rumors in the sixties about famous visitors coming to the canyon; the Beatles, Timothy Leary, etc.
When I met Mike in late 2003 and learned that he was involved with the Brotherhood we talked and decided to write a book together. Eventually, after six months and four taped interview sessions the book evolved into Mike's life story.
Six and a half years later we self-published "Mike Hynson-Transcendental Memories of a Surf Rebel."
The first lesson we learned is that writing the book was easy compared to getting a publisher. We didn't intentionally self-publish. Mike and I both foolishly thought a publishing deal was in the bag. I mean, he is Mike Hynson, after all, surf icon from The Endless Summer fame. Aside from the movie, Hynson is a genius at surfboard design. He's also the guy who first cut out the surfboard fin in the sixties to mirror a dolphin's fin. In other word's he's HUGE in the surfing world. But no dice. We were basically told the only way to get a book published in this economy is if you're either Angelina Jolie or are a commercially established novelist.
But don't worry. Not getting published by a legitimate publisher is not the end of the road. It can still be done. You just have to hunker down and do it yourself.
Now, while Mike and I have definitely worked the promotion game over the last year; we do book signings and had numerous articles written about the book, there's still a lot we don't know. I hope by writing this blog, that we can get tips from other self-publishers out there who are in the same boat as we are, or maybe help others who are struggling. At the very least, we'll have a journal of our trials and tribulations.
Our next book signing is at the ASR Trade Show at the San Diego Convention Center August 13-15 so please come by and say hello.
Donna Klaasen Jost
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Great Story for a Great Movie
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Email: dhall@billhealyfoundation.org
Tashi Deleck Michael,
Wishing you the best! You were always a star. Can't wait to read the book and look back at some of those crazy adventures - Hawaii, Australia, High Street and Tony's motor home. Life continues to be that great adventure - but the reality of "nothing is promised" becomes more clear each day. Enjoy every moment. Forever grateful and striving to be present- we send lots of love & Big Hugs from the Pacific Northwest,
Diane, Summer (Adriana & Will) and (Bodhi too)
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Alright Mike,
About Time. It's gonna make a Great Movie ~ Love The art Work.
Aloha
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Email Address: casagrandepress@aol.com
Home Page: http://www.thesurfbook.com/
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Mike and Donna,
Congrats on the book. I'm happy to have been a really small part of the project. Can't wait to see it.
Paul
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This book is great. It is so funny. I learned things about Michael I never knew. There are few surfers that will ever do what Michael has done.
I remember when I met him at Windansea. He was like no other, slicked back hair, wearing a watch, surfing like a dancer. He was the style master and a rock star. Today, we share an incredible son and 3 fantastic grandchildren.
Michael has done more in one lifetime than most surfers have done in 20. This book is a great read and the history of a generation.
Aloha Michael with Love and Light,
Melinda
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Congratulation to both you guys!
Steve
