Articulating your thoughts and feelings about something as objectively simplistic as surfing is always going to feel silly. None of us can fully put into words why and how we become so obsessive, so attached without crossing a line that starts to feel a little…sappy, sentimental, cliché.
That sentimentality really runs deep when we get to talking about the wave we give most of our time and attention to. For Matahi Drollet, that wave just happens to be one of the most dynamic on the planet: Teahupo’o.
“It’s like paradise here,” he says of growing up in Tahiti. “It sounds so cliché but that’s really how it is.”
Drollet’s been a mainstay here for a long time, of course. He’s turned some heads the past couple of years by stepping outside of the standard charger role at Teahupo’o, doing things like getting barreled on a foil, but in Waterman it becomes clear that’s just another piece of the puzzle Matahi puts together. The film looks at his connection to the place whether it’s fishing, diving, and above all else, surfing Teahupo’o on its biggest days.
“I really believe that if you respect the ocean, if you respect Mother Nature, she’s going to send you something really special in return,” he says. “I don’t know how to explain it but it’s a special connection.”
