The other day Betet came in to borrow a wetsuit to go surf in front of the shop. Who is Betet? Betet Merta is a really nice guy from Bali who just happens to be one of the select crew of Indonesian rippers- The Bali Boyz. Betet is super fast, smooth, and determined to pull above the lip gymnastic maneuvers- check the clip below from Surfline. We all end up going to surf the amazing waves in Indonesia, but it makes me really stoked when instead- you have an pro from Indonesia amped to surf our unpredictable, beloved Ocean Beach.
Ocean Beach can go from super crappy, to super epic- punchy, hollow surf, back to crappola in two hours. Have you had enough time out here to see Ocean Beach turn on and get good?
Betet-
"Yes, I surfed a couple of days out in Ocean Beach, the first day was kinda crappy but the second day I got good waves. But too much duck dive for me, I am freezing! Haha!”
What brings you to the Bay Area? How long are you around for?
Betet-
“I came to California for one month, I surfed in LA, Malibu, San Diego, and Santa Cruz. I came to San Francisco to visit my girlfriend she is from Petaluma, and hopefully to score some waves. I am heading home in less than a week but it has been super fun to be up here but it is different than Bali, such a fast life.“
How are Northern California surfers different that the surfers from the rest of the world you meet?
Betet-
“Well I met some locals here when I came to Ocean Beach the first day that were really cool, Charlie, Sam, Ben and Jake, all great local surfers. they were laid back like me, and took me to Mexican Food after we got out of water. We hung out for a couple of days and surfed good waves, and they let me stay with them and hang out. I heard the locals here can be territorial, but so far they have been hospitable.”
photo Steve Robertson
Back home in Bali, you are known as quite a host. Showing everyone your beautiful home and epic waves. Here in SF I love taking visiting friends around to show em why this city is so unique and amazing- but after about four days of playing tour guide, I’m over it and just want to hide out at home. Do you get tired of showing people around your home, and the constant migration of western surfers? Balinese are known for the constant generosity and friendliness, but I’m sure you need to hide out once in awhile. What do you to get away and re-energize?
Betet-
“I don't really ever get tired of showing people good waves in Bali and parties, everywhere in Kuta where I am from is so close. If I get tired of crazy Bali, I just take off to Sumbawa and go surf where it's quiet and relaxing. “
The Bali Boys are doing some of the most futuristic airs I have ever seen, and I think it was Rob Machado who said- “There now is two kinds of surfing- above the lip and below the lip. Do you find you are focusing on aerials- or mixing it up?
Betet-
“Right now I am definitely mixing it up, now surfing is getting crazy, many surfers can do airs. But airs are still my favorite.”
I have a lot of friends from the US that now live in Bali- many of them you know and work with. Are the Ex-Pats and the local Balinese becoming one big family of diverse friends? Or are there divisions and frustration?
Betet-
“A lot of pros and ex-Pats that come to Bali have respect for the locals; they know how to act around locals and treat everyone with kindness. Like Rob Machado, Bruce, Andy, and Taylor Steele, and Benji, they have been coming for a long time and we treat them like family. Not many divisions in the surf community, they know how to respect each other and the Balinese.”
Anything else you would like to mention?
Betet-
“Thanks for the respect from the locals, and I have had a great time in SF and Cali. I hope I see you soon in Bali!”
Something I'm looking forward to this weekend is the 2nd Treasure Island Music Festival- I've got Bryan from Another Planet Entertainment on line-
Bryan, give us a little Background of the Treasure Island Festival- How did it come about?
Bryan- “Another Planet Entertainment and Noise Pop Industries had been
entertaining the idea of expanding Noise Pop into a multi day festival that
appealed to independent artists and had looked around the bay area at a
number of festival locations in late 2006 until we came across Treasure
Island. It was the perfect location and the intimate size we were after.
Plus it had a million $ view.”
Talk about a scenic venue? Last year I was lucky enough to be riding the Ferris wheel during a beautiful sunset, while listening to live music. What a treat- Is this as it seems to me- one of the nicest locations in the US for a music festival?
Bryan- “There's not a better vantage of the city of San Francisco than Treasure Island. Alcatraz is so close you could cast a fishing rod and you have 180 degree views of San Francisco's downtown and the Golden Gate Bridge. I
can't think of a better location in the entire United States for a music
festival. And that's standing on the ground. Once you add a ride on the 60’
ferris wheel the views become even more breath taking. Make sure you
catch the sunset!
Logistically it also seems like one of the hardest to organize. How do you migrate all the fans back and forth to Yerba Buena Island without causing major congestion for the Bay Area.
Bryan- "Due to the limited parking on the island the logistics are very tricky
when hosting an event for 10k people. In order to insure safety and ease
traffic congestion we provide complimentary shuttle service on bio-diesel
buses from Lot A at AT&T Park to Treasure Island and back. These buses run
on a continuous loop throughout the day. We even offer free parking at Lot
A!
In addition to being efficient with the transportation and parking, we
have created a schedule of bands where there will be no overlapping sets and
music will be running throughout the day without any breaks. All you need to
do is go back and forth from the Bridge Stage to the Tunnel Stage, which are
less than 50 yards apart.”
Last year the festival focused on Electronic music on Saturday and Rock on Sunday-What is the theme for this year's festival?
Bryan- “The theme is similar to last year in that the music is differentiated
between the days. Saturday features electronic music, DJ's, hip-hop, and
more dance oriented acts including Justice, TV on the Radio, Goldfrapp, Hot
Chip, CSS, Anitbalas, Aesop Rock, Amon Tobin, Mike Relm and more. Sunday's
lineup is more geared to indie rock featuring The Raconteurs, Tegan & Sara,
Vampire Weekend, Spiritualized, Okkervil River, The Kills, Dr. Dog, Fleet
Foxes, Tokyo Police Club, The Dodos and more.”
What are the Bay Area bands that are playing that you are really excited about? Give us some details-
Bryan-“ We have a handful of local acts on the festival including Aesop Rock,
Mike Relm, The Dodos, John Vanderslice, Loquat, The Frail, Morning Benders,
Port O'Brien and Or, the Whale. The highlights for me will be Aesop Rock on
Saturday and The Dodos on Sunday. Please root for the home team!”
Where do we go to find out all we need to know?
And da winner of the"Do something nice for Ocean Beach” contest is-
The winner of the the “Do something nice for Ocean Beach Contest is Rich Gillern whom wins a spanking new Matuse 4.3.2 Hoplight Wetsuit.
Rich and his wife have donated their architectural services for the new Sunset Co-op Nursery School building, as well as sat through the tediousness of City Planning getting the plans approved (how many of you have been thru City Planning- you know what I am talking about.)
Rich explains his entry pretty well in his submission letter-
“My name is Rich Gillern and I would like to submit the following in your Ocean Beach love contest. I am a long time Bay Area resident and surfer for over 25yrs whom has resided in San Francisco for the past 14+ yrs. OB and its great community is why I have chosen to live and raise my children here….
…I am a parent of the co-op and a building designer. There are many players in this project and for that manner, any building project. I am not ignoring this fact nor wanting to discredit any of the people whom are involved in this great endeavor, but the simple fact is, my company, in collaboration with my wife’s architectural firm, have donated all our professional architectural services and fees in an effort to continue the much needed educational legacy this school provides to the Ocean Beach community. Education is key in protecting our environmental assets and this new school not only provides a much need community educational service, the building has been designed green and seeks to be a case study in good passive building design principles in an effort to minimize its specific environmental foot print and educate the greater community at large on how eco-friendly building designs can work…
…The bottom line is: I have spearheaded this project because the school is no longer a safe building in the event of an earth quake and rather than just addressing the current structural problems and fixing them, I have looked at it as a opportunity. An opportunity to give something back to the Ocean Beach community and future San Franciscan children whom will ultimately be the care takers of our global environment. In addition, use my profession to be environmentally sensitive and create a building that lessens its environmental impact and will hopefully be viewed as a case study for good passive environmental building design."
Rich goes on to say that a lot of the local community have been working hard to make this happen- so we would like to thank everyone helping out on this project that is giving our grommets a safe inspired place to learn and grow. If you are interested in helping Sunset Co-op you can email Rich at
We applaud Rich and all those who entered this contest- thank you and let’s not forget we all need to do our part in taking care of Ocean Beach and our community. Cheers!
Learn more about Matuse wetsuits HERE.
THE DRIFTER- Exclusive Aqua first look at the new surf film about Rob Machado by Taylor Steele.
I’m not the only one excited about a film highlighting Rob Machado’s surfing prowess, hell, besides people asking me when the new Lost video is going to come out (what happened to Spike and the next Lost saga?)- The most asked surf movie question is- “When are we going to see a bio on Machado?” Customers had heard the rumors of one in the works with filmmaker Cryus Sutton (Riding Waves, Under the Sun) and wanted to know when they could get their hands on it- but then for numerous reasons (I care not to go in detail because I have only heard the rumors) the project seemed to get “shelved”. It seemed a Rob surf flick had drifted away….
Enter THE DRIFTER- My friend Taylor Steele recently mentioned to me after we premiered his latest film Stranger than Fiction that a new flick focused on Rob was well in development. So time to ask some questions-
Taylor you have been friends with Rob since kids, and before Momentum, Loose Change, etc- you had featured him in your movies you had made in High School dubbed to music from The Cult- That was a
long time ago. Why or what brought the elements together to finally make a film about your friend and one of the quickest most fluid surfers in the current line up?
TS- “Rob and I have been friends forever now, so working together on this movie was just a matter of time. Its funny I made Drifting (a movie about Rob) around 98' so I guess every ten years I'll make another Rob film.”
In your opinion what were some of the things that finally made Rob ready to work/focus on a surf movie about himself.
TS- “Rob and I were talking about his stalled movie project and how to revive it. Then Dustin Humphrey had an idea of putting Rob in Indonesia. That’s when things really clicked. The images of him
exploring and surfing the best waves of his life seemed timeless. Sort of like Gerry Lopez of the 70's.”
I know your remember Hodges from Seaside, he was one of the fastest surfers we had ever seen, and had a big influence on all of us- yet it seems Rob was one of the only ones to pick up on the secrets to Hodge’s “lights-speed abilities”. I’m having a hard time putting this question to words- but if you are actually surfing with Rob it is absolutely amazing how fast he surfs down the line. On video his surfing is sooo smooth it almost seems he is going really slowly- how do you convey in film how fast and explosive Rob is?
TS- “Yeah Rob was the only ones to pick up on Hodges speed demon skills. Yet Rob also picked up on Tom Curren and Gerry Lopez style to go with
it. Quite a combo really, when you think about it. With video or film it’s hard to capture it and do him justice. Let me just quote Dane Reynolds (who came to hang out with Rob on this project) he said Rob understand waves and has a connection with the waves unlike anyone he's ever seen.”
I’ve heard you are using that new futuristic Red One camera on this project- how is that working and contributing to the project?
TS- The RED one is the best camera I have ever used. It is like our Arriflex super 16mm but you can watch the footage that day. We shot equal to
400,000 ft of film with the RED for this movie. We could have never afforded to shoot that if we actually used film. Instead it went straight to the hard drive. Crazy!”
The title of the film is of course THE DRIFTER- my assumption at the meaning of the title is that Rob is at a point in his life where he needs to go a little off the map in order to reflect on certain
challenges and happenings in his life. Infusion of different cultures, a different path to everyday life, inspiration and adrenalin from epic waves seems to be needed to help reflect and digest the things going on in Rob’s life. Am I just full off shit? How does the title have significance to you and this project?
TS- “You are 100% correct. Hopefully it all comes across in the film. He is on a journey. I rather you watch it than talk about it.”
Where was The Drifter primarily shot?
TS- “Only in Indonesia but all over the map. Then we burned the information to not give away to others where we were.”
What has been your main responsibility on this project, and who else has been working on this project?
TS- “I was originally producer but it became apparent that I should direct it. The crew is the same as Sipping Jetstreams (Todd Heater DP & Dustin Humphrey as producer). Plus Nathan Myers writing it or making sense of what was going on around us.
Everyone did everything though it was quite collaborative movie.”
When can we get our hands on a copy of THE DRIFTER?
TS- “April 09! Talk to later Aleks. Thanks for everything. Aqua rocks!”
I was walking by the Red Vic this morning to get a cup of coffee to get my mind in GO WORK mode (been so hard, with the weather so nice) and on the marquee of the Vic they had just finished putting up AQUAHOLICS. That got my mind thinking that maybe it is time to get a quick interview with Curt Myers about his new film.
How long have you been at this- making/filming and editing surf films?
Curt- “ Since 1988, 20 years now- originally I worked with Eric Nelson (the other partner in Powerlines productions) on a local TV show called Powerlines, which featured local heroes. Eric saw I had potential and drive so he eventually gave me my own show. Eric and I started working together on our surf films in 96. It had been all big wave stuff, and while I was out filming I happened to log a lot of smaller wave ripping that we never used in our big wave titles. So basically Aquaholics is all those few and far between epic days, maybe more than 10 years of em put together- I mean we have a lot of fun surf- but the epic days are kind of few and far between, so this footage is the choice days and choice surfers.”
I surf with you- and you are a ripper!- So how hard is it to sit on the beach with a video camera when the waves are finally firing?
Curt- “When you watch Aquaholics- imagine me sitting on the beach filming, going a little mental. When I’m out on a boat filming Mavericks it is easier to focus, film the guys that are out there charging. But when the surf is really fun, you know overhead and hollow, in the end I try to stick to the shot, because that is when you capture the best action. Once in awhile of course I have to get out there, and that is another reason this film has taken awhile to put together.”
This film seems to be entirely focused on SF and San Mateo, are there any other locations featured in the film?
Curt- “Nope, it is all in the general area of SF down to SC.”
Is there anything else you would like people to know about the premier this Friday night?
Curt- “Yesterday I screened it at the Red Vic- they got a brand new projector and I’m very stoked how it looks- it looks good!”
So come on to the premier this Friday night at 7 and 9:15. The Red Vic is right across the street from our shop on Haight Street. After the movie come celebrate with a few beers at John Murio’s Trophy Room.
Another clip from the movie to get you amped to come out to the premier this Friday night at the Red Vic Movie House on Haight Street. Showtimes for the Friday Night Premier are- 7:15 and 9:15 Tickets are $8.50
Aquaholics runs thru the 8th at the Vic. Mon thru Fri- 7:15 and 9:15, Sat and Sun: 2:00, 4:00, 7:15, 9:15 Check the http://www.redvicmoviehouse.com for more info.
