‘Channel Man’ tells the story of Red Head’s Col Smith, one of surfing’s most intriguing and perhaps underappreciated figures. Smith was a charismatic titan of Australian surfing in the mid 70s and early 80s. On his first visit to Hawaii, Col redefined the possibilities of backhand surfing when he rode channel bottoms to victory in the1977, Sunset Pro Class Trials. Smith also made a name for himself at Pipe, endearing himself to the Hawaiians with his brazen ability to slay the wave on his radical channel-bottoms and roll with the ‘da boys’ when it was time to party.
The film, which was directed by Nick Cupelli and produced by Terry Campbell, traverses the evolution of the channel bottom, detailing the role played by Col and contemporaries like Jim Pollard, Phil Myers and Martin Littlewood in bringing the curious design into mainstream surfing consciousness.
Cupelli, who grew up outside of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and found surfing through skateboarding before moving to Australia six years ago, said he first discovered the legend of Col Smith after hearing about Terry’s failed efforts to get col induced into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.
“After realizing how little info was in the public domain about Col it became evident how important it was to get something out there. His contributions and story are so important to Aussie Surf History and surfboard design history. So, after a surf I pitched a video project to Terry and he asked, ‘Who’s gonna do that?’ And I said, ‘Me.'”
The film features interviews from Mark Richards, Rabbit Bartholomew, Tom Caroll, Michael Ho and Derek Hynd who offer candid reflections on Smith’s highly original approach to life and design.
“No matter who we spoke with one thing rang true in every interview. That Col’s personality and individuality was like no other. And that he never hid who he was or compromised his spirit. That seemed to ring true with the Hawaiian heavies, especially Michael Ho, Bryan Surrat, and Rory Russell. It also helped that he could drink and smoke them under the table…and then go out and put on a show in the water,” said Nick.
In an era when pro surfing can look decidedly vanilla, Col Smith’s tale reminds us of a time when individualism was celebrated in surf culture.
“When we started we hoped the documentary might be a tipping point in getting Col in the surf HOF. That ship seemed to sail ages ago, and now we just hope people see it and actually learn something and realize how important his contributions were. And if no one sees it atleast we did our part and put in the effort to get it out there and contributed a tiny bit to this subculture we love.”
If you don’t know, get to know. Go show some love and check out ‘Channel Man – Col’s story’ by clicking the link above.
