Born in 1953, raised in Hawaii, Keone Downing started surfing at age five at Waikiki. He's won many surf contests, but his crowning achievement, undoubtedly, is winning the 1990 Eddie, on a board shaped by his father, the late George Downing, one of the founders of modern surfing, a big-wave pioneer, a design innovator, and a Waikiki beach boy.

Keone inherited his father's waterman ethos. A devoted outrigger canoe paddler, he and his team won five Molokai to Oahu races in the 1980s, and Keone was the 1988 World Canoe Surfing Champion.

Today, Keone and his sister, Kaiulu, run Downing Hawaii, the shop their father launched in 1968. Keone shapes, surfs, fathers, grandfathers. He's attuned to the ocean and conscious of surfing's roots, history, and spiritual leanings in a way that's palpable.

In this episode of Soundings, Keone talks with Jamie Brisick about his father, the birth of modern surfboard design and the influence of wartime innovations in aerodynamics, the values of teamwork, and surfing Waimea Bay.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett

Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin)

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Born in Florida and raised in Puerto Rico, Dylan Graves is widely known as the creator and host of Weird Waves, a web series in which he chases all manner of freak waves, among them the Severn Bore in England, the Eisbach River in Germany, and the Bono Seven Ghosts in Indonesia, where he got a five-minute ride and did something like 46 turns.

It wasn't always like this. Graves started out doing contests and dreaming of a more conventional kind of pro surfing. But he followed his bliss and took his career into his own hands.

A couple years back, Graves launched his own YouTube channel. His episodes are personal, diaristic, offering a strong sense of who Graves is and from where he came via traveling to locales and waves that most surfers would bypass altogether. Graves does the writing and the editing. The episodes are along the lines of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, but instead of pork dumplings and pastrami sandwiches, we get waves kicked up by ship wakes and calving icebergs.

Travel is at the heart. And traveling brought Graves to the Gold Coast of Australia, where he now lives with his wife and their son.

In this episode of Soundings, Graves sits down with host Jamie Brisick to talk about the joys of being an outsider, chasing rarity in the water, grief, the editing process, and preparing for the unknown.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett

Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin) Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Born in 1950, raised on the west side of LA, Craig R. Stecyk III is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans film, fine art, commercial design, writing, and photography.

He's widely known for the "Dogtown Chronicles," which featured in Skateboarder magazine in the 1970s. In fact, Stecyk co-founded Zephyr, which spawned the hugely influential Z-Boys. During that time, in addition to documenting the scene through his writing and photography, he applied his singular graphic design sensibility to create the Rat Bones and the Dogtown Cross. Later, he co-wrote the award-winning 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys with Stacy Peralta, which further chronicled the Dog Town scene and its characters.

Since the 1970s Stecyk's written many pieces about surfing, most notably "The Curse of the Chumash," which appeared in Surfer in 1976. Focused on Malibu, it blended local history, surf-skate mythology, and a heap of counterculture irony. His art installations include Road Rash, in which he scraped up roadkill, bronzed it, and returned it to the exact spot where he'd found it. In 1989 he made Papa Moana, featuring Hawaiian objects and artifacts. He helped curate Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing, a 2002 exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum. He's written essays for several surf-related books, among them 1936-1942: San Onofre to Point Dume. A surfboard shaped and painted by Stecyk resides in the permanent archive of the Smithsonian.

As filmmaker and artist Thomas Campbell puts it, "Craig's our patron saint of outsiderness, of being creative without bounds. His influence is so omnipresent you don't even see it."

In this episode of Soundings, Stecyk sits down with host Jamie Brisick to talk about growing up in coastal Los Angeles, the Dogtown era, the strange artifacts that find their way into an artist's life, the challenge of making something that withstands time, and getting checked out of school by Miki Dora to go surf.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett

Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin)

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Dion Agius burst on to surfing's global stage with a spectacular Gorkin Flip in the 2009 surf flick Secret Machine. He fell in with filmmakers Joe G, Taylor Steele, and Kai Neville, appearing in a slew of films, among them Castles in the Sky, Stranger Than Fiction, Modern Collective, Lost Atlas, Dear Suburbia, Cluster, Year Zero, and Strange Rumblings in Shangri-La. Agius' parts punch—he surfs with a powderkeg intensity. Every hack, every blowtail, every fanging air is done as if his life depends upon it.

A man of style in and out of the water, Dion co-founded Epokhe Eyewear, The Octopus is Real, Standard Procedure. He's the creative director at Ritual Vision. He's collaborated on shoe and clothing collections with Globe and Former, and surfboard models with Hayden Cox.

In 2024, while nursing a broken leg, he created NOID, an art project in which he upcycles old, broken surfboards into sculptures, side tables, lamps, mirrors, and more. Dion currently lives on the southeast coast of Australia.

In this episode of Soundings, Agius sits down with host Jamie Brisick to talk about his favorite surf movies, moving from rural Tasmania to the Gold Coast of Australia as a kid, traveling the globe, his surf heroes, and shaping old foam into artwork.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett

Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin)

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Jack Johnson is a multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter, surfer, and environmentalist.

Before turning to playing music professionally, Johnson had designs on a career as a pro surfer. Having grown up on the North Shore of Oahu, and, in particular, having made his way toward the center of the peak at Pipe, he was well on his way by his early twenties. However, he headbutted the reef out there, got more than 100 stitches in his forehead, and lost teeth.

Johnson subsequently went to UCSB to study film. He and his friend Chris Malloy cooked up the idea for what would become the seminal surf flick Thicker Than Water. A couple years later, they followed up with The September Sessions.

Johnson had been playing guitar and writing songs since childhood, and on one of the trips for his movies, he wrote a song called "Rodeo Clowns," which related to a trick his buddy Kelly Slater was working on. Johnson recorded the song with his friend G. Love of G. Love & Special Sauce. "Rodeo Clowns" became a hit.

His music career took off. One day he was a shy kid playing to a small crowd at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. The next he was on every radio station. Nine records, many hits, and a laundry list of awards followed.

In 2008, he and his wife, Kim, created the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, a non-profit public charity supporting environmental, art, and music education worldwide. They have three kids and live on the North Shore. Johnson still surfs regularly. In fact, his life is not terribly dissimilar to the one he knew growing up—though he's now a household name, sells out major venues, and sometimes hears his own music playing in the supermarket.

In this episode of Soundings, Johnson sits down with host Jamie Brisick to talk about growing up in Hawaii, his early dreams of pro surfing, the art of the soundtrack, connecting with nature, the making of Thicker Than Water and The September Sessions, penning lyrics, and the accident that changed the course of his life.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett

Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin)

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Jared Mell is a surfer and shaper who grew up in Orange County, California, surfing Blackies and riding alt equipment—primarily longboards, but also eggs, fishes, alaias, etc. Mell's competed in many events, and landed many decent results, but they seem almost incidental to what he brings to the surf buffet.

"Jared will be walking the nose backside and at the last second he'll turn switch," says Alex Knost, "and as I'm watching and celebrating that sort of maneuvering, he'll take an extra step with one foot over, do a head dip and whip his hair back, and dramatically recover into a matador-like soul arch with his eyes wide as can be and just staring into my soul, and then he'll burst into laughter as he rides past."

"I used to call Jared the one-man party," says filmmaker Jack Coleman. "Any function or hang was always full of mischief and laughs, hence the nickname, 'J-Rad.' He surfs radical and lives radical, always pushing the limits on land and in the water. Jared's a performance artist. Spontaneous. Unpredictable. From his reverse tube riding to his sultry transitions, Jared makes you watch."

Mell has appeared in many surf films, among them Polyester, Groove Move, Free Jazz, Forbidden Trim, and Yi-Wo. His waves stand out. He surfs with an ease and grace and looseness that seems less the product of a serious training regimen than not trying too hard—like someone who perhaps adds a few beers to that "not trying too hard." And maybe a couple of cigarettes, too.

"Jared Mell is the personification of the modern transitional surfer spanning the front-footed universe, into the back-footed and beyond," says Thomas Campbell. "He's the king of fun. He's a professional professional at having fun."

Today, Mell is based in Bali, where he moved around 2009. He lives and shapes in the Canggu area.

In this episode of Soundings, Mell talks with Jamie Brisick about growing up in Newport Beach, maintaining perspective, staying loose, scoring waves at unexpected moments, and ditching contests to see Chaka Khan perform live in concert.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett. Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin). Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Paige Alms was born in British Columbia, moved to Maui when she was nine, found surfing, found surf contests, and, around the age of 15, found big waves. They would become her forte, specifically Jaws, located not far from her home in Haiku.

She spent a lot of time out there, riding waves of course, but also learning the lineup. It paid off. In 2015, she knifed her way into a bomb, angled high, and got terrifically barreled. That year she won the Women's Best Overall Performance at the WSL Big Wave Awards. In 2016 and 2017 she was named big-wave world champion. Alms is a three-time winner of the Peahi Challenge—in 2016, 2017, and 2019. She's the subject of The Wave I Ride, a feature-length documentary about her surfing life. In 2023, she became one of the first women to compete in The Eddie.

Alms lives in Maui with her longtime partner/shaper, Sean Ordonez. She continues to push the boundaries of the riding giant surf while also helping to teach ocean safety through Big Wave Risk Assessment Group courses.

In this episode of Soundings, Alms sits down with host Jamie Brisick to talk about paddling out to Jaws for the first time, training, the evolution of big-wave surfing, ocean safety, and competing in The Eddie. Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett. Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin).

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island, Sid Abruzzi came to surfing and skateboarding in the early 1960s. In 1969, 18-year-old Abbruzzi drove down to New Jersey to buy a few Rick single-fins, as surfboards were hard to come by in Rhode Island back then. He swiftly sold the boards, then sold another batch, and found a liking for this buying and selling business.

In 1971, Abbruzzi opened Water Brothers Surf and Skate, which became the hub of surf-skate culture in Rhode Island. And in the spirit of "If you build it, they will come," the various quarterpipes, halfpipes, and full-scale skateparks that Abbruzzi spearheaded attracted the world's greatest skateboarders.

Hailed as the "Godfather of New England surfing," Abbruzzi is a regular at Ruggles, the fabled reef break along the scenic Newport Cliff Walk. When it became endangered, he stepped up as the spot's most vocal advocate, fighting the good fight—and winning.

Abbruzzi is a punk rocker. In 1981, he, his brother, and some friends started the band Big World. Abbruzzi was the lead singer. He threw body and blood into the shows. Big World opened for Iggy Pop, The Tubes, and Johnny Thunders, among others.

Abbruzzi is the subject of Water Brother: The Sid Abbruzzi Story, a 2024 feature documentary.

Now 74, Abbruzzi lives with his wife Danielle not far from the break where he first rode his first waves some 60-plus years ago.

In this episode of Soundings, Abbruzzi talks with Jamie Brisick about the founding of Water Brothers, the commitment of cold water surfing, building his legendary skatepark, playing music, and shaping New England's surf and skate scene for over half a century. Presented by Rainbow® Sandals

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett. Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin).

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Hailing from Noosa, Australia, Harry Bryant is a frothing, underground charger who'll drive halfway across Australia to hunt for remote slabs. He's also a bonafide surf star—his blond bowl-cutted head recognizable in lineups worldwide.

One window into his full throttle operation and persona is 2024's Motel Hell, a full-length surf feature that he made with director Dave Fox. It contains a storyline, scenes shot in Outback pubs, a mysterious psychedelic milk, and a glut of meaty tubes.

Bryant experiments with all manner of surfboard design, takes a healthy interest in surf history, and throws himself into his travels, which is to say he goes slow, gets down with the locals, and often rides boards from area shapers.

His most recent offering is Roasted, also directed by Fox. The title describes what happens to the skin after a marathon session in warm climes. There are, of course, many barrels and many rail carves and vicious hacks.

In this episode of Soundings, Bryant talks with Jamie Brisick about road tripping through Australia, finding balance, the chaotic making of Motel Hell, his introduction to Hawaii, and his fascination with surf craft.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals.

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett.

Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin).

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com

Australian-born, California-raised Rob Machado is known for many things, but perhaps most of all he's known for making it look easy.

After an accomplished amateur career, Machado, a member of the New School generation, joined the world tour in 1993. He rose to second overall in 1995, the year he famously high-fived Kelly Slater in the semifinals of the Pipe Masters with the title on the line. He finished in the top 16 in following years, including number three in 2000, the same year he won the Pipe Masters.

But a broken wrist caused him to drop to 46th in 2001. He hoped to get the injury wild card into the 2002 season. But he didn't. At the time, after almost a decade on the world tour and numerous event wins, it felt like a slight. Now it looks like divine intervention.

Machado set off on the path that he's been on for the last 20-plus years. Free surfing. Board exploration. Far-flung travel. One of the world's best surfers unshackled from the constraints of competition and let loose.

Machado's been featured in many surf films, including Momentum in 1992, What's Next? in 1996, Thicker Than Water in 1999, Shelter in 2001, and The Drifter in 2009. He founded the Rob Machado Surf Classic in 1997. He's thrown the first pitch at more than one Padres game. He's jammed onstage with Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson. The list goes on and on.

In this episode of Soundings, Machado talks with Jamie Brisick about stepping away from competition, unlocking states of bliss in the water, the peak moments of his career, desire, creativity in surfing, and his high-five with Kelly Slater in the channel at Pipe.

Presented by Rainbow® Sandals.

Produced by Jonathan Shifflett.

Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin).

Become a TSJ member at surfersjournal.com.