In January 2014 Benton Inscoe and I had the chance to go out and film with Kadin and Brogie Panesi on Oahu's North Shore. It was an epic time, to say the least. The waves were absolutely pumping. We shot more people getting blown out of perfect pipeline tubes than we could have ever hoped for.
Upon arrival, we got tossed straight into the scene at Jimbo's, aka "Hail Yeah's," compound. Jimbo is one of the North Shore's unsung heroes. Originally from Texas, he abandoned a promising baseball career to become a surfer, and has been on the North Shore ever since. The scene at Jimbo's is so classic. It's basically an underground surf hostel, hosting big wave addicts from all over the globe.
Jimbo's spot, AKA "Tha Dog Pound" has probably about 60 surf boards inside of it, most of which were shaped by him. Today, Jimbo is the only person in the world still shaping hollow boards out of solid Koa wood. These boards are beautiful pieces of art and we were fortunate to witness a small part of the process. The finished products are purchased for up to $20,000 by surfing enthusiasts (or wannabe enthusiasts) from all over the world (including the Prince of Morocco). We filmed a few clips of Jimbo working on his boards and included them in the edit.
It was a pretty surreal experience to finally experience the North Shore after so many years of it only being an abstract idea in our heads. We were blown away by the hospitality of Jimbo and the other guys we met at the Dog Pound. This was our first trip to Hawaii and definitely won't be our last. We made some great friends, found new inspiration, and made some great connections that will hopefully lead to some more fun projects.
