Editor’s Note: This feature is presented by our partners at the ISA.
Unless you were walking the black-sand beaches of Chiba outside of Tokyo, it’s hard to truly understand the monumental effort that went into making surfing an Olympic sport. And this was just the culmination. Covering the Games, I saw the giant structures that had been built for judges and individual teams, the organization of media, and water safety, and some 12,000 volunteers, all the logistical elements for employees, the buses to transfer them. It was all made even more difficult given that this was one year post pandemic. The world was essentially still shut down.
But to know Fernando Aguerre is to know a man who sees all those obstacles and revels in them with a style and grace that is distinctly his. You see, the actual Olympic logistics in Japan were simply the finish line. Fernando and his team at the International Surfing Association had been running the marathon for almost three decades to get surfing its Olympic inclusion. Organizing judges in Japan was simple by comparison.
More than anything, it is the way Fernando has approached the lofty task: by having fun. “I’m just trying to have a good time,” said the Fedora-wearing Argentinian. And that can go a helluva long way in getting things done.
IMPOSSIBLE WAVE tells that story – Fernando Aguerre’s Olympic quest, all the sacrifice, all the work, all while having the best time possible. Because at the root of it all, Fernando is still just a surfer, just like us.
IMPOSSIBLE WAVE is produced and directed by Jay Johnson and Jessica Johnson. Find out more about the film, here.
Fernando, keeping things in perspective.
