Send us Fan Mail

Sixty-one year-old filmmaker and photographer Tony Roberts is a true original, a trailblazer who never felt content to follow the crowd. He's dedicated his entire life to chasing those fleeting moments we all wish we could preserve forever...the hum of surfboard fins tracking through a vicious carve, the sight of a tropical rainbow arcing over a vibrant jungle, the haunting chorus of a soulful reggae tune, or the click of a high speed shutter as it captures a surfer burying their rail on an overhead screamer.

Tony grew up in Capitola, California, a stones throw from the water in the iconic Venetian Court. He was part of a surf/skate crew who came of age in the 1970's, ruling the waves at First Jetty and owning the cement at spots such as Skatepark Soquel. It wasn't long before the talented teen got his hands on a camera in which he began snapping shots of his friends disturbing the peace.

It wasn't long before this hobby morphed into an obsession, and from there into a way of life. Even at the height of his own surfing and skating career, Tony made the decision to devote his to producing films and images of his talented friends, starting with the Santa Cruz classic, "Surf/Skate". In the early 90's, as his work garnered acclaim, he spent more time working the "SC Rat Pack," an upcoming crew of young local surfers such as Peter Mel, Nate Acker, Darryl "Flea" Virostko, Josh Loya, Jason "Ratboy" Collins, and Shawn "Barney" Barron.

Tony and his crew would set the surf industry on fire with their skate-influced fisheye water shots, bringing tons of media exposure and lucrative contracts to the sleepy surf town. Despite the momentum, in the mid 90's, Tony made a shocking decision--to pack everything up and move to Central America.

It was here, in Costa Rica that Tony fell back in love with surfing, discovering breaks, experimenting with boards, and refining his technique--a lifestyle that he'd sampled during his world travels, yet found lacking in Santa Cruz.

Thirty years later, he's still living the dream, only now based out of the Dominican Republic. I was super stoked to have Tony, a longtime friend, on the podcast, where we talked at length about the early days in Capitola, his early rise as a surf/skate prodigy, Pleasure Point in the 80's, his love for Punk, Reggae, and Ska, working in the O'Neill Art Department, scouring the coast for surf, politics in the mags, and his rationale for bailing SC for Central America.

We also chatted at length about what it takes to surf at a high level going into one's golden years, including Tony's dedication to fitness, yoga, meditation, and diet.

TR is the man, so this is an episode you should definitely watch in full!

Send us Fan Mail

Growing up in the shadow of one of surfing’s all time greats must be a daunting task. Not only are there a great deal of expectations to live up to, but theres also a paradoxical assumption that one must blaze their own trail, lest they appear reliant on the fame of their forbearers in their quest to make a name for themselves. For John Mel, son of big wave legend Peter Mel and heir to the Freeline Surf Shop dynasty, there’s no pressure involved.

“It’s funny, a lot of people ask me, ‘do you feel like you have big shoes to fill?’ I’ve never felt that way, he’s never put pressure on me, he wouldn’t even care if I wasn’t ever gonna be a surfer, he was just always wanting to be a dad to me.”

While this may be true, it’s also clear that both Pete and John are thrilled to share an infatuation with riding surf, from two foot to seventy foot. While Pete aided young John in his stellar amateur surfing career, one that saw him clinch five national titles, John now aids his old man in whipping into bone-crunching slabs at Mavericks.

While most surf prodigies run the risk of burning out upon adulthood, twenty-six year old John is still plugging away at his competitive dreams, and having a hell of a time doing it. And at the heart of his pro surfing longevity— the support and friendship of the man who brought him into this world.

“It’s also rad, because I have one of the best teachers in the world, he’s always done it in a way with love—giving me the guidance but never pushing me in any kind of way, and I think that’s what’s kept me in this for so long.”

In this episode of the Split Peak Soup Podcast, come learn more about this touching father-son relationship and what makes young John a unique individual worth getting to know.

Send us Fan Mail

Like most young surfers growing up in Santa Cruz, California, Kyle Buthman had his eyes set on becoming a professional surfer. Not only did he have perfect waves in his backyard and tons of talented peers to push his performance, he had access to a variety of action packed surf films to study before and after his sessions. The 1990’s were a peak era in terms of surf media production, and while guys like Kelly Slater and Rob Machado were showing the world what was possible in films produced by Taylor Steele, we had a fair share of videographers bringing the goods locally, as well.

Tony Roberts, Chris Klopf, Josh Pomer, and Graham Nash all put out a number of iconic surf films during Buthman’s rise as an amateur surfer, and he studied them endlessly. What was so impactful for the young surfer was the fact that not only could he watch someone like Peter Mel rip waves at Steamer Lane, he could go out there and join him afterwards

As fate would have it, after an injury to his Achilles Tendon at age 14, Buthman found himself behind the lens. To kill the boredom during his recovery, and to keep himself close to the action he was missing out on, the talented regular footer grabbed the family handycam and posted up at the waters edge, capturing the explosive surfing taking place in and around Pleasure Point. He put all the footage together in a short edit, entitled, “Trix are 4 Kids,” and never looked back.

While he never made it big as a pro surfer, Buthman was able to enjoy sponsorships enabled him to travel the world, and he always brought his camera along with him. He leveraged his relationship with Quiksilver to get access to their fabled accommodations on Oahu’s North Shore, where he produced edits featuring their team riders. Before long, his talent behind the lens established him as an elite storyteller, eventuating in his “Get Rad” trilogy, and other notable productions, such as “Tattle Tales”, and his “Brain Works” series.

In this podcast, Buthman and I chatted about how his surf-centric work evolved into a career that veered into unfamiliar territory, such as the UFC and professional competitive gaming, also known as Esports. We also touched on his love life, affinity for Mainland Mexico and alternative surfboards, the challenge and rewards of shooting from the water, and how he deals with missing out on epic sessions when traveling for paid shoots.

Buthman and I go way back, and it was a pleasure getting to shoot the shit with one of the most heavily barreled surf videographers on Earth.

Dig in!