On May 28, the surfing world — and the world in general — lost an incredible person. Dick Brewer passed on, surrounded by family and friends at his home in Hawaii. Brewer’s mark on surfing can’t be overstated. His contributions to surfboard design and surfing culture in general are varied and crucial. His ideas were from the future, and thankfully he had the talent, brains, and imagination to pull them into his present.
Back in 2007, Tim Bonython was making a documentary called What Is Surfing. It soon became apparent, however, that it was a bit of a big chunk to chew. “I decided that the whole story of surfing was way too big and went on to create a movie called IMMERSION,” he wrote.
But in the process of making that documentary, he conducted a whole bunch of interviews with people who left indelible marks on surfing. Dick Brewer’s mark will never be erased. Here’s that interview. It’s wide-ranging and off-the-cuff; covering subjects like the tow-board evolution, his influence on the big wave surfing movement in Hawaii, the influence of people like Bob McTavish, George Greenough, Laird Hamilton, and more. It’s a look into the mind of a legend.
