Another Journey Begins...
May 2007 ......................................................SoCal Pics
In the spirit of the ancient journeymen the last filming expedition began with a lovingly prepared home-cooked meal by Jason's wife, Sonya….Thank You!. The crew was Kevin, Jason & Darrick, three recently united Brothers who share an intense passion for surfing andan equal desire to share the richness of their Black surf culture.
It was early evening when they left their Nor Cal home en route to sunny southern California. Their chariot was a mini van packed with surfboards, wetsuits, some handfuls of clothing, lots of notes & a bounty of camera, lighting & sound gear courtesy of MAGNETIC IMAGING in San Rafael….Thanks! The drive began in heavy rains and ended at 4am in the warm still air of Oceanside under the light of the full moon.
We slept deeply, briefly and woke early with hopes of getting to surf the southern waters. The winds, however, had other plans for us. They had come up and the conditions in the water kept us on the beach where we were able to capture some great footage of the local area. We also had time to fuel up on breakfast for what turned out to be a full day of filming.
We were there to meet Patrick "Quashi" Mitchell who owns QUASHI SURFBOARDS. He welcomed us into his home. He gave us a tour of his personal surfboard shaping room and home office and then gave us free reign to set up for the filming. In the meantime he talked with one of his business partner's about their new music production company, ZION HIGH. Once the plan was formulated and the lighting set we began filming. Before we knew it hours had passed and it was time to move over to his factory and showroom.
Things were much the same at the factory. He gave us a tour and graciously let us do anything we wanted in the space. He also introduced to another business partner, Keita, who among many other things runs their skateboard division, KISHINA SKATEBOARDS. With the sound of boards being made in the background we set up for the shots. Time seemed to stop as we got inundated in the world of Quashi. It was 9:30pm when we packed up our wagon and said goodbye to our fellow surfers. As a final gesture of generosity Quashi sent us off with a few t-shirts….Thanks!
Then we headed straight to the first taqueria we could find to fill our empty stomachs so that they would match our satiated souls.
4th Annual Soul Surfer's Classic
All filled up we were off to Santa Monica where we stayed in a little motel overlooking the giant ferris wheel. This way when we woke up we would be closer to next event, The Soul Surfer's Classic which was the 4th annual surf contest put on by the BLACK SURFING ASSOCIATION(BSA).
The only way to describe that next day was: Epic! We were one of the first to arrive and the last to leave. In between was a mixture of joy, serenity, laughter, enlightenment, love, hope, welcoming and good surfing! We filmed and surfed all day long. We met amazing people. Even though we did horribly in the contest the day was simply…epic!
This time we did partake in the beach barbecue for lunch but our souls were so full that our stomachs still felt like they were starving in comparison so we headed to another taqueria to fill the void. From there we were off to Dogtown to visit Jason's old stomping grounds and stay with one of his crew from back in the day. Along the way Jason shared great tales of their endless adventures.
That night we laid low in Dogtown. Just as we were in maximum chill mode, however, the spirit of the area came into us and three guitars came out, the lighting kit came out, the camera came out and we had an impromptu jam session before completely settling in for another deep sleep.
We woke casually in the morning and took a stroll down to the infamous Dogtown boardwalk. There we were a part of a miraculous spontaneous reunion between Jason and much of his old crew who were now sharing their love of the beach with their families! We also just happened across the prolific person behind the surf blog: THE SURF AND THE FURY.
Next we were off to east L.A. to visit PLANET MAPLE. This is a surf/skate shop owned by former BSA president, Will Lamar. Even though he had to close the shop periodically while we worked he welcomed us into his shop for the afternoon….Thanks! We were also joined by the new BSA president, Dedon Kamathi. As if our souls weren't already bursting with fullness that afternoon's experience put us beyond the point of return!
The only way to give our stomachs a chance of satisfaction was to take Will's advice and eat at this little diner nearby that served legitimate southern Soul Food! And so our journey ended like it began….only we were now different.
As a final soul lifting event Jason noticed some wings on the hat of an old gentleman sitting at the counter. With only his intuition to guide him he approached the man and discovered that he was indeed one of the TUSKEGEE AIRMEN!
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