The ‘Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez’ is the most highly anticipated surf doco to hit the big screens in years. As the Australian tour gets set to get underway, check out the story behind Stacy Peralta, the film’s director. As a skating wunderkind, surfer, skate industry revolutionary and award winning documentary maker, Peralta has become a major source of inspiration for the modern creative with a rebellious streak. Find out why he still stares out plane windows in search of empty swimming pools.
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“My luggage didn’t arrive!” Stacy is quick to tell me with a wry grin. His flight touched down early into Lisbon sans suitcases and he had been navigating a challenging path of jet-lag and extended media commitments ever since. To add further insult, the town of Ericeira, which is hosting the European premiere of his latest film (documenting the life of surfing titan Gerry Lopez), is suffering from an extended summer heatwave.
Smoke from a distant wildfire marbled uneasily into the afternoon heat haze as we huddled closely under a patch of shade cast by a small parasol. The free-flowing conversation that followed was characterised by Stacy’s openness to discuss life and the myriad of different ways to approach it.
On the surface, Stacy is full of that bright, Californian boosterism that can be hard to scratch beneath. Despite the ebullient veneer, I found a man who wasn’t afraid to espouse his surprisingly stoic opinions on life and his approach to it. Whether that related to being sat in formal trousers in 40c heat or finding novel ways to embrace his inner kook.
Pete Geall (PG): I overheard you at lunch saying the first thing you do when flying into a new place is you look down and see whether there are any skateable pools.
Stacy Peralta (SP): Yeah man, whenever I’m in a plane or looking out of a window. I love doing it. I’m so curious how the pools look in every city I come into.
Did you see any good ones coming into Lisbon?
Oh, I always do. It’s very unusual to find the same shapes you find in Los Angeles. In L.A.,the best pools are based on the swimming pools of the movie stars of the 40s/50s with the big voluptuous shapes. It’s just a fun hobby.
You are here to promote your latest film, what initially attracted you to telling Gerry Lopez’s Story?
You know the film ends with Gerry riding a one-foot river wave in Bend, Oregon. I don’t know if there is anyone from his generation that would dare take their time to ride a one-foot river wave. I don’t know if there is anyone from his generation putting themselves out there to learn new forms of surfing.
Lopez’s story has an unusual narrative arc, in which he constantly reimagines his approach and drivers in life. I wondered whether that was relevant to a skateboard-ing mindset where you are trying to reimagine pools or urban environments? Lopez was deftly able to shift gears between surfing, yoga and the mountains -letting things go along the way.
Here is what I’ve noticed being an athlete myself, working with great athletes and also now making films about great athletes. So many of them are not interested in learning anything beyond what they already know. They aren’t interested in leaving the quote, un-quote ‘Greatness’ that made them. They are afraid to. For me, the ultimate sign of health of anyone is an ability to say, ‘that section of my life is complete, it’s over and I don’t need to repeat it’. That is whatI find interesting about Gerry. He is constantly reinventing his life. He is also willing to start new things. There aren’t many people who are happy to put themselves in the beginner mode.
You once said the greatest decision you made in your career was leaving skate-boarding when you sold your interest in[iconic skate brand] Powell-Peralta – a company and industry you helped create. I wondered whether that was a commonality you share with Lopez? That clear point of disruptive change within your career. It’s scary you know; you have a lot of sunk costs both materially and also your personality ‘this is who I am – I’m a skateboarder’ – yet you were able to go on and direct [films]
Yes, there is a similarity in that I was able to leave something that was my complete identity and I was leaving without any guarantees.In fact, the next seven years were tough, I wasn’t doing the type of film work I wanted to do. There were a couple of times where I questioned, ‘God did I make a huge mistake?’But every time I thought about going back –I realised I couldn’t. It was done. I had a complete experience in skateboarding. I look back on that as the most important decision I’ve ever made in life.
