Ian Crane waits between tiny sets at the San Clemente Pier. Photo: Nico Campagna//The Inertia
On his latest sojourn through Bali, freesurfer Ian Crane took the time to sit down with me and talk about love, the importance of the final SNAPT movie, Caity Simmer’s cosmic connection and what it means to be a freesurfer in the modern age.
On SNAPT5: “I came to Bali to film for the new SNAPT5 movie and to see all the friends I’ve made over the years here. Surfing on the east side of the island is where I got my best clips. This time of year, that’s where it’s at in Bali. I put a good dent in what I need for a killer section. I’ve been in the last two SNAPT movies. But they haven’t been my best showings. This year I want to show my absolute best. The SNAPT project is really prestigious for me. For everyone I reckon. I think it’s a collection of the best singular waves that have been ridden in the world right now. And Chucky (Logan “Chucky” Dulien, the creator of the SNAPT series) is claiming that this is the last chapter. The last one. So to be a part of it is really important to me. Everybody is really hustling super hard to be in it. It’s like being the world championship of surfing’s greatest hits. To be in SNAPT5 is an achievement. Global Top Gun sh*t. And I’m all in.”
On authenticity: “On a scale of one to 10, I think that the projects and clips I do show the real me at about a scale of seven. That’s pretty good. You gotta balance the real deal with your private life. But the surfing? That’s all me. I love surfing so much and I’m proud of my natural enthusiasm and I think that really shines through.”
On the best part of being a freesurfer: “I don’t know if I can pinpoint it but I love the traveling and seeing places for what they are and experiencing the waves and food and fun and the people and the connections with the universe. A lot of the time you get the waves as good as they get and you really don’t wanna go back, but then you go someplace and its average and then that’s when you meet cool people. And it turns into the best trip on Earth. Something special. Falling in love with a place like Bali, stuff like that. What I love the most about what I do is to get to connect with these places. Adventure or disaster. It’s all the life I chose.”
On the meaning of self promotion: “The hard thing to show in clips are the things you emotionally appreciate the most in life. How do you do that in a movie without boring people with an interview they’re just going to fast forward past or narration that they just turn down and put on some shitty music over. It’s a tough thing to express in today’s world, the meaning of it all. There is no patience for it, no interest in it. And they certainly don’t want to watch some guy making a statement twice. Fast forward for sure. When on the other hand, if you just a have a bunch of bangers and throw in some fast music, they’ll watch it a 100 times. Displaying meaning is almost impossible today. But inspiring people to rip is easy. And you live with that.”
On exploitation: “I really, really don’t want to exploit the places I go. I just wire the clips to more showcase my surfing and fulfill my professional obligations and personal goals. There’s nothing wrong in that. So, blowing a place up? I do my best not to. And I work with like-minded people on that issue. I mean, why ruin it? Go get your own. I just get so cringed out when I see people blogging and blowing out spots and places and people. And not actually connecting with the people and places that they are just raping and pillaging for likes. I don’t want to be that guy. But it’s such a fine line. That’s the work that I’m in, documenting surfing and showing off beautiful places in the world. But I mean ,who wants to be the downfall of anything? It’s almost impossible not to, but I know I try harder than most.”
On Maps to Nowhere: “Maps to Nowhere is the coolest thing you can do in surfing. Just going way out of your way to see if you can find what we dream of. See if it’s real. Try to pin point the day and show up to some secret wave based on a hunch and there’s no one around. It’s as cool a concept as there is in surfing. Those are the trips that you are just ‘oh my god, I can’t believe I’m here and it’s weird because I wouldn’t be here unless I was a pro surfer and this is my job.’ But it feels like writing my own book. Or making a time capsule of the coolest sh*t I’ll ever do in my life”.
On his surfing: “I try to achieve power. How hard I can push everything. How high I can go. F*cking hit sh*t hard and carve stuff and turn as hard as I can. But it all has to flow or it looks too forced. You know, I have surf-trip boards that I stash away for great surf trips only. Mostly high performance shortboards. Super refined. Also, a lot of alternative boards, anything Matt Biolos comes up with. He always has a steady flow of new ideas and models and I’m lucky enough to have been with those …LOST guys forever. And I’m a willing crash-test dummy. It’s a perfect arrangement. And I stay on top of the technology in surfing too. Materials are just as big a part of boards as the shapes are. You have to stay on top of all the latest glassing and ideas. All kinds of gismos and gadgets and glassing that I love. So, I’m lucky to have a giant quiver. But even if I wasn’t a pro, I would make sure having a lot of boards was a priority. That keeps you fresh and creative. And I like to think of myself as a creative human. That really helps when it comes to having fun in the water, that creativity. Because I don’t worry about contests, I’m unconfined. Like being out of jail when it comes to creativity and travel and board selection. The fun is in those extra sensations, and not the same six-foot thruster every time. You need that unpredictability of life. And your boards should be part of that.”
On longboards: “I ride longboards when I feel like it. That’s something I love about a big board, a longboard, it’s a restart. Tiny waves, it’s just so much fun to feel that original slide that tuned you into being a lifelong surfer in the first place. Why so serious all the time? Feel it, man. It’s a break from just trying to rip your face off and surf as hard as possible. Bare minimum of just riding a wave. That downtime fun. Because paddling out on a shortboard doesn’t always make you feel better. Try it some time, you’ll see.”
On sponsor pressure: “The clock is always ticking. How do I get to the next contract that keeps me living this incredible life of freedom and excitement and love? Those are big goals I’ve achieved; now how do I keep them? Freesurfing is content. Content is our currency. If you’re not producing content then there is no exchange of currency with your sponsors. Which is funny. It’s sort of like doing taxes. Add it up at the end of the year and hope you get a rebate. And let’s face it, we are salesman. Like everybody hates to think about being a salesman, but as free as we freesurfers are, we either inspire people to buy our sponsors’ product or we don’t’ get the commission. But being a salesman doesn’t mean you have to be an asshole. I think the key is to stay as authentic as possible. It’s a business and you are the business. Your abilities and your way of getting things done. I mean, let’s face it, it’s a day job. It’s just an incredible day job. Right now, I’m making creative, hard-ripping surf movies. Tomorrow will take care of itself and take care of the sponsors. For now. I don’t want to put a time stamp on it. I’m just going hard as long as I can. I mean…look at Kelly.”
On Caity Simmers: “I first met Caity in Oceanside. Now there is a true surfer. Head to toe. And those Maps to Nowhere sessions she had with Soli Bailey in those barrels was one of those magic times in surf history. It’s just iconic sh*t for women everywhere. The best female surfing ever, and that is going to be forever. I guarantee you that iconic sh*t happens when these waves come from thousands of miles away and they are full of energy and then when a surfer gets on the face of them there’s mutual shared energy that transforms them both. Guaranteed. So, think of this energy exchange when Caity rode those barrels the way she did. I guarantee you that without surfing those waves she would never have become world champion. That most incredible performance ever by a woman, that opportunity that the ocean gave her and that she shared with it…that energy they shared…and she rolls out of that with all that energy and then she puts on the best show ever at Pipeline and wins that, and all this energy is what led to her being a world champion. Once she shared those incredible waves with the ocean, and rode them the way she did and absorbed all that positive, incredible performance energy, a world title was inevitable.”
View this post on Instagram
On being in love: “For most, it takes courage to admit you’re in love, but it’s easy for me. Being in love is fantastic. I’m getting married to my girl. But it’s more than that. I mean, she’s my home. If she was with me right here and now in Bali? I wouldn’t need to go home. She is the base camp for all my adventures. And now that we’re getting married, the adventures are ours. Now that I’m engaged, yah, it’s a big life change. But I don’t think it’s a big surf change. I think it’s even more motivating to surf better and stronger and make my woman proud. The power of love, man, bring it on. I think it makes you a better surfer. But I know it makes you a better human, for sure.”
On the future of freesurfing: “It’s all about how to stay valid and authentic and stay valuable. Like Kai and Mason. That’s really their authentic self. Whatever lane they’re in they made that themselves with themselves. So, ya, authenticity and truth are the best way to go. We can all spot a fake. So, for freesurfers, it’s more about finding yourself, I guess. And being who you are without having to defeat anybody else. That’s the future right there, at least I hope it is. Freesurfing is certainly not an easy career path, but if you can pull it off while remaining true to yourself and put that out there, well then…you’re the man.”
