Dick Hoole is a dream weaver. In the late 70s and early 80s a generation of surfers were inspired to chase their surfing fantasies because of Dick’s handiwork behind the camera. ‘Hooligan’, as he’s affectionately known, arrived in Bali in 1973 alongside Wayne Lynch. They’d seen ‘Morning of the Earth’ and wanted a piece of those shimmering emerald-green left-handers. Using his little Nikonos camera, Dick snapped a famous water-shot of Lynch negotiating a marbled tube at Uluwatu. The shot graced the cover of the October 1973 issue of Tracks and Dicky’s career as a lensman was off and running.
Despite being an accomplished stills photographer it was with his work as a filmer, in collaboration with Jack McCoy, that Dick really made his mark. The duo teamed up for ‘Tubular Swells’ (1976) and later ‘Storm Riders’ (1982). Both became era-defining films that surfers flocked to see on the big screen. The movies introduced waves like Padang Padang, Grajagan and Nias into the popular surfing conscious and made surfers wonder about what other wave treasures were yet to be discovered in the Indo’ archipelago.
Dick also moonlighted as a magazine publisher with ‘Backdoor’ magazine and has one of the best surf archives of photos, film and surf paraphernalia in the world. Dicky is a living surfing treasure with a story for every place he’s been and every surfer he’s met.
Click the link above to hear some of his tales.
