Glassy: Photographer Neal Miyake

Ten years ago I got assigned to write about a surf spot. I’m actually still working on the article, but along the way I’ve had the pleasure to connect with a different subculture of waveriders: bodysurfers! They are a “chop suey” mix of personalities, ethnicities, and skillsets, many with styles that reflect the surf spots they frequent, but all without an industry or pro scene mentality.

From a photography perspective, I’ve found that shooting bodysurfers is fricken difficult. Because their bodies are literally slicing through the water, it is hard to get clean shots without spray. I guess it makes the photos you do get that much more precious.

So here’s a look at bodysurfing on Oahu, Hawaii, from my perspective.

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During the Pipe Masters, Mark Cunningham, Pipeline, 12/12/09

At many contests on the North Shore, the Hawaiian Water Patrol crew regularly provides water safety and security with jetski and life-saving support. But during breaks in the action, they sometimes launch into a few (poho bumbay (otherwise waste)). Here’s Mark Cunningham on a sweet insider during the 2009 Pipe Masters.

Watermen Plus One
Watermen Plus One

Mike Stewart, Don King, Mark Cunningham, and Kaimana Stewart, Ehukai, 3/21/14. The term waterman is thrown around too casually nowadays, but these three are true legends of the ocean. Champion bodyboarder, award-winning water photographer, celebrated lifeguard. Oh yeah, and they are all pretty decent bodysurfers too, with 19 Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic titles between them. Mike’s son Kaimana has good pedigree, keeps good company, and is already on his way to being a fine bodysurfer in his own right.

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Contest Mode

Unknown, Sandy Beach Bodysurfing Championship, 5/22/10. Even in contests, it’s all about style. This guy’s got it. Straight down, head first, back to the wave. And look at his hands; delicate, subtle style.

Ripples
Ripples

Mark Cunningham, Pipeline, 1/16/10. Even on the most streamlined, fat-free bodies such as Mark’s, the flowing water creates unusual ripples across the body. Colors got filtered out on this shot so I chose to convert it to black & white.

Pipe Air-360
Pipe Air-360

Rodrigo Bruno, 2006 Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic, 2/1/06. This is not a wipeout. Brazil’s Rodrigo Bruno is purposely throwing a 360 on the takeoff while being lip-launched. He actually made it to the trough of the wave, but lost forward momentum and got overrun. Still, it was a ballsy effort.

Aloha Dougie
Aloha Dougie

Point Panic, 10/12/13. Douglas Palama, an avid bodysurfer and photographer, passed unexpectedly on September 2013. Friends and family got together the following month for a very touching paddleout at Point Panic in his honor. After his ashes were spread into the ocean, Dougie’s fins were given to the sea, and back to Dougie. Also, short paddleout video can be found here.

Gliding at Panics
Gliding at Panics

Sean Enoka, Point Panic, 5/18/13. Sean’s a great guy, already featured in this magazine (Fin Quiver). Here he is at Point Panic, the only surf spot on Oahu dedicated exclusively to bodysurfers and handboarders. Located near the heart of Downtown Honolulu, Panics is a popular summertime destination when the south swells roll in.

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Off the Wall from Below

10/26/13. Here’s a manini’s eye view of us humans at play. The curves are compelling.

High Planing
High Planing

Unknown, Point Panic, 6/27/09. Whether it be a rubber slipper or a custom-shaped board (with attached GoPro camera), handboarding is alive and well.

The Stylemaster
The Stylemaster

Mark Cunningham, 2006 Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic (PBC06), 2/1/06. I actually entered this contest just for fun and bombed terribly. Afterwards, I spent more than four hours straight in the water, shooting some of the most amazing bodysurfing I had ever seen (to date). Had to turn off my point-and-shoot cameras, delete photos, and conserve my physical energy throughout. I captured this classic shot of Mark in the final. In most every performance sports discipline, style can be conveyed by the hands. As you can see Mark oozes style.

Halona Point
Halona Point

Unknown, Sandy Beach, 11/14/09. I had broken my back two weeks prior so was landlocked. I was jonesing to take pictures, especially with a solid east swell on the offer, so I shot Sandy Beach from land. Guys were out there charging as usual. Nice visuals, inspirational, and a good way to recover.

THE Pipe Master
THE Pipe Master

Mike Stewart, PBC06, Pipeline, 2/1/06. He is mostly known as an iconic bodyboarder, but Mike may actually be an even better bodysurfer. Still frames really don’t do justice to his dynamic style, flow and technical wizardry.

Neal, Ke Iki, 9/11/13, Anthony Tortoriello Photo
Neal, Ke Iki, 9/11/13, Anthony Tortoriello Photo

About the photographer: Neal Miyake is an electrical engineer turned “suit” for the government. He has been an avid waverider and enthusiast photographer for most of his life, and currently enjoys blending the two through water surf photography. Pipeline is his favorite photo studio. Oh, and he’s a terrible bodysurfer who just tries.

 

Swell Lines Magazine

Proning: Riding the Roots of Bodysurfing

Prone:

  1. likely to or liable to suffer from, do, or experience something, typically something regrettable or unwelcome.
  2. lying flat, especially face downward.
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Bodysurfers circa 1912

The Prone Form of bodysurfing is characterized by the rider leading with the head while aligning both arms parallel to the torso. Riding Prone, the bodysurfer experiences the Ocean nose-to-surface. This raw style puts the human processing center in full exposure to the elements. While riders still drop the wings and prone it from time to time, the prone position is the root of modern-day bodysurfing.

Postcard from Australia Circa 1911
Percy Spence : Surf Bathing – Shooting the Breakers, 1911.

If you were walking the beaches of Waikiki or in the 1900’s you would likely see Proning in action. The Prone position is the classical bodysurfing form. Riders would jump into waves before they had fins and ride straight as long as possible. To show style, a rider could hold up one foot and keep riding. It is unclear who was the first bodysurfer to break from Proning straight ahead to the beach. The break from prone form most likely developed concurrently with riding parallel to the shore with the breaking wave. There are many stories of people who began riding along the shore with one arm out the way surfers rode. Whether it was an early lifeguard on the California shores or native bodysurfing peoples of Polynesia or Hawaii it is clear our roots are in the belly-down, head-up position. As late as the 1960’s (footage below found on The Encyclopedia of Surfing), many bodysurfers around the world prefer the Prone position for wave gliding.

It could be argued that bodysurfing in the Prone position is a more intimate interaction. Bodysurfing on your belly leaves the rider eye to eye with the Ocean. The rider’s head is free from spray and the rest of the body is in full contact with the water as opposed to using a forward hand to plane. When riders use a forward hand to plane they naturally rotate their torso lifting one shoulder and some of the upper torso away from the water. This also causes a chain reaction pulling the head away from the surface of the Ocean. Many riders compensate for natural tendencies and force their face down the line, but in it’s most natural presentation Proning is the bodysurfer’s choice for feel.

The feeling may be multiplied by the vulnerability of the Prone Form. The most serious of injuries occur to a bodysurfer’s head, neck and back. There is no doubt that Proning, as the name implies, leaves the rider vulnerable to injury. Without a lead arm or arms, bodysurfers will make first impact on rock, reef and sand with their head. This is one of the many reasons the evolution of bodysurfing has moved beyond Proning.

Competitor Proning off the foamball
Mark Cunningham taking Prone Form to the beach at the end of his heat at WBC 14

When bodysurfers are in the layout position, leading with one arm, they are able to adjust to the changing steepness of the wave. This is mainly due to the great flexibility of the shoulder joint. If a wave suddenly turns from a mushy-spiller to a round barrel the rider can compensate with the lead hand to maintain planing surface. In the Prone position, bodysurfers are one-dimensional; therefore bodysurfers who ride Prone and ride it well are demonstrating expert ability. The Prone rider must be extremely observant of shifting wave movements, and then position him or herself with precision to ride out critical waves.

There are some riders who just like it. They may turn and Prone into the late barrel knowing there’s no hope of coming out the other side. His friends might even yell, “Canonball!” at the sight of such hopeless debauchery. Other bodysurfers look both ways and know the only way to feel this wave is to lock your arms to your side and launch straight for the sand. When the wave doesn’t give you left or right, you go straight simply because its fun.

Kyle and Kanea eyes up
The rider having the most fun…

There are variations of the Prone ride. In some old footage, you will see bodysurfers using one of their arms as a rudder to stall or change direction. When riding Prone, riders also vary the positioning of their head from down full speed ahead to chin fully extracted from the water and eyes at the sky. In all variations of this bodysurfing throwback, we share the thrilling sensations of wave pioneers long gone. We carry on the oldest wave riding tradition sliding on the surface with the purest joy.

-EJ

 

Sources:

No Lives Lost: The History of Surf Life Saving Club 1908-1958 via Surf Research

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Surf Research

Swell Lines Magazine

Surf Check! Bodysurfing a New Wave

IMG_9355“Surf Check!” My optimistic chant was being met by low, grumpy groans from the backseat. Hours ago the whole car would laugh and peer out the windows for breaking waves, but the novelty had definitely worn off and the teenagers sat in the back wondering when their cells would pick up service. A quick veer off-road into the lightly gravelled pull-off, punctuated by a braking skid left my brother and I strolling for the ledge. Most of the turnouts have some ledge whether they plunge into a steep rocky death-trap or meander down a long low-grade hill. This one was a boring, accessible hill fading into Lake Pacific.

I know there is swell in the water. I know this stretch of coast bends in all directions, not a line in sight. Shrug, sprint, repeat. The realization hit me that we may not find a break. Furthermore, if I keep jerking the chain of my incredibly tolerant family I may face a mutiny. The late morning is slipping into early afternoon. The van rounds a familiar bend. Our panorama is book-ended by rock formations holding a cove. From the distance I can spot heads bobbing in the water and I’m chanting. The backseat reminds me to keep my eyes on the road.

IMG_8502From the closest turnout the break is obstructed, but we’re in no mood for hesitation. I’m half dancing into my 3:2. My brother, Matt, is pointing at rocks and asking relevant questions. We drag the family down the the beach, get the thumbs up and plunge into the water. I finally get to dance with a new partner, a new wave. There’s a familiarity you grow with your home wave. Like the sweetspot your body grooves into a well-worn couch, at your home break your body just knows where to be. However, there is something heady and challenging and just plain exciting about bodysurfing a new break.

IMG_9031 My first swim out is like boxing, light on my feet, taking small jabs, feeling each other out. I’m eager. The first roller steams my way and I hitch a ride. She’s softer than I expected, but doesn’t fail to pay off at the end. The chill of northern water tingles the nervous system, sharpens the mind. I wade into a handful more. I’ve found the pocket and now we’re dancing. Matt and I trade high-fives and hoots. A couple of surfers ditch boards, strap on fins and tread near. Dirtbags in an Econoline could tell we were having too much fun. We were.

We’ve learned each other. The way she dumps to her right, sharp and sweet. The smooth middle section requiring no stall and no hands. Her sweeping, swinger sets that look bigger than they arrive. Lactic acid crept into the arches of our shoulders. I looked out to sea and turned to the the landscape. When I said goodbye she shined. Perma-smiles settled into our cheekbones and as we changed into dry clothes we basked in the glow of the cool northern air. Always looking to the horizon I’ll keep moving on to the countless coastal nooks waiting on a willing dance partner.

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-EJ

Swell Lines Magazine

Perspectives: The Bodysurf Contest

Bodysurfing contests are unique among the water bound. With no board space for advertising and virtually no equipment to construct franchises around, bodysurfers who compete exist in an emerging space. While bodysurfing contests are not new, the number of expression sessions and bodysurfing competitions is growing by the year. We decided to reach out across the spectrum of torpedo people to get their 2 cents on the value of bodysurfing competitions.

Sean at Point Panic
Photo by Doug Palama

 

Sean Enoka

Location: Oahu

Additional Info: 2011 Point Panic Champion

 

“Bodysurfing Contests are an integral part of Hawaiian bodysurfing. For specific spots, it’s just an excuse to surf an iconic break with a very small number of friends, etc. Take Pipeline, how else are we going to get the lineup to ourselves?

It’s also a chance for us to all come together and compete and push the sport. I just love to sit and watch what everyone is doing and all of the different tricks or styles that are on display.

Unfortunately there are some negative vibes during events when someone feels slightly by not receiving a particular score or when not placing at the top of the scores. I think that a definite area of improvement on contests is to upgrade the scoring/judging process, but typically these events and judges are basically volunteering their time, etc.

For me personally, I am trying to be the best bodysurfer that I can be, so when I compete it’s with passion and purpose to improve and do well at what i love to do. And I just love to “battle”, but sometimes there are others who take the competition in a different direction to “win at all costs”. I’ve seen people jockey for position, swim through people water polo style which can lead to arguments, etc. But for me, the competitions about what you can do ON THE WAVE, and not how you can out position someone else and so on.”

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Photo by unknown

Henrique Pistilli

Location: Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

Additional Info: Creator of courses in self-development through bodysurfing

 

 

“I think the future of bodysurfing is not on contest basis. Contests are good, and I like it a lot. But I feel that bodysurfing is more powerful as a “dynamic meditation”, as a process for self-development in interaction with nature…. So the future… I feel it is all about big celebration meetings, exhibition sessions, courses for adults and teens, videos, pictures, art, poetry!”

JT Perspectives
Photo by John Minar

J.T. Nickelson

Location: Irvine, California

Additional Info: Wedge Crew Member, Pipeline Bodysurfing Contest Finalist

 

“I have mixed feelings regarding bodysurfing contests. On one hand, I think they are fantastic. A collection of talent all in one place to showcase their style of riding and being judged by their peers, who should be accomplished bodysurfers themselves. The downside is this, they aren’t usually judged properly. A rider should be penalized for not using their hands, they should not be rewarded for flailing and ruining a wave, they should not be rewarded for blowing a ‘makeable’ barrel. They should not be rewarded for being slow, and just getting length of ride by going straight. The purpose of contests is to bring everyone to another level.

I think a great example of current bodysurfing contests is in the movie Dog Town Zboyz (the drama, not the documentary). they go down to SD and their style isn’t judged on their progressiveness. I think contest judges need to have meetings on what ISN’T going to be scored high. Like long rides where the rider cannot maintain control, their hands constantly pearl, etc. I’m adamant on this as if we are to progress as riders, we need to up the game – globally.”

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Photo by Mike Sidebottom

Pierce Michael Kavanagh

Location: La Jolla, California

Additional Info: Director/Cinematographer for the upcoming film What the Sea Gives Me, Spreader of Stoke

 “I think competing is cool in good waves for others but I would rather cruise.”

 

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Photo by Andy Quinn

Thomas Van Melum

Location: Newport Beach

Additional Info: Pipeline Bodysurfing Contest Finalist, Member of Team Blacksheep, Wompton Runner-Up

 

 

“Competitions are important to showcase prowess and expertise. You know why people don’t like competitions? They don’t want to stand up and be vulnerable, be measured, be exposed for what they really are. And besides, how else are we going to be able to prove that Team Blacksheep and The Wedge Crew are at the top of the bodysurfing game?!?

Lastly, good competitions give students of the sport an opportunity to see the best going head to head. Shit, they might do something they’ve never done before, and we could all learn from it. Ok one more thing, how else are you going to meet Marc Cunningham and eat lunch with him?”

 

Photo by Nicolas Risch
Photo by Nicolas Risch

Fred David

Location: Hossegor, France

Additional Info: World Bodysurfing Championships Champion, Pipeline Bodysurf Classic Runner-Up, Waimea Slam ’11 and ’12 Champion

 “I think on one hand, contests are good because they bring a lot of bodysurfers together at the same time. It s a good place to learn, to see what the other are able to do. It also bring medias around our sport. It’ s pushhing the sport. On the other hand, I feel like I am never really happy after a contest.

In France there is always something witch sucks. One day the waves will be really bad, the other day the judges won’t even know how to judge bodysurf, another day the guy in charge of bodysurfing will do his own things and personal choices and forget about everybody else. Contests are good if you do it for fun and don’t expect anything at the end of the day… I have no problem with losing when the other are better, or when you haven been good. But I really hate it when it is not fair! I would love to see one day a real World Bodysurfing Tour. 2 or 3 contests held on real world class bodysurfing waves, with good judges, and the best bodysurfers in the water!”

 

Swell Lines Magazine