The following interview with Dave of the Surfing Handbook appeared on the Surfing Handbook website in March, 2011.
visit www.surfinghandbook.com to see the original format.

1. Tell me about the first pieces of surf art. What was the inspiration?

   The first surf shrine (Blue Madonna - low res image attached for reference) came about as a result of my breaking a magical 6' 6" custom thruster. This was back in one of those El Nino years in the nineties (I think 1998) when the swells were cranking all winter. I was out at Turtles in Cardiff and it was big - 10'- 12' faces. I got some great rides, swung around for a set wave, dropped in and gunned it for 50 yards and then got destroyed by the lip as the wave closed out. I popped up and my board was snapped in half. I almost started crying. It was my favorite board EVER.

   When I finally managed to flounder my way into the beach I couldn't bear to just throw the board away. After all we'd been through together, it deserved more than an unceremonious toss in the Cardiff State Beach trash can. I brought it home not knowing what to do with it, but unable to just throw it away. I knew if I got it repaired it would never be the same. As a long-lapsed Catholic I have always admired the art of the church, and one day while painting in my studio (garage) I looked at my broken board halves and realized they had a shape similar to shrines. A light went off, and a few weeks later "Blue Madonna" was on the wall and my ongoing "Surf Sacrifice" series of surf shrines, tiki totems and broken board requiems had begun.

2. Can you tell me a little about the specific boards.  Any board in particular that gave some magical rides and then got reincarnated as soulful art?

   That first board described above that became the "Blue Madonna" was the big one and the catalyst for this ongoing project. It was a truly magical board. I've never had a board that good again. But there have been several favorites over the years that live on as art:

   • A great mini-gun that became "Surf Sacrifice"
   • A killer 6" 2" summer board whose back end became one of my favorite pieces "Big Game"
   • A board I got at a garage sale as a lark that ended up being my go-to for 2 years until an untimely end at Rivermouth on a small but cracking day – "Flow"

   A couple years in, the broken and/or retired boards of friends started showing up at my doorstep, and the scope was expanded from just my personal boards to those of others.

3. How and when did you get into surfing?

   I started surfing when my family moved to California when I was 12. We moved to Rancho Penasquitos, 10 miles inland, so the beach was a bit far, especially pre-HWY 56. The first couple of years I boogie-boarded with my older brother, then switched to surfing. He was attending UCSD, so we would go to Scripps mostly.

   Once I hit 16 it was on. Some of my favorite memories of my high school era were of me and my friends rock-scissor-papering for who was going to drive out to the beach on the old dirt road between PQ and Del Mar. We'd all scrounge gas money and hit it as often as we could. We'd surf all summer, and started ditched school junior and senior year when the surf was good. We surfed mostly 11th street Del Mar, and the Cardiff campgrounds.

4. Where do you like to surf? What do you like to ride?

   I typically surf North County - Del Mar to Leucadia. Favorite spots: Del Mar beach breaks + rivermouth, Rockpile in Solana Beach when its big, D Street in Encinitas and the occasional run up to Grandview depending on the swell. I work and live in Solana Beach, so I keep an eye on Pillbox (Fletcher Cove), as every now and again it turns on.

   I also surf Northern Baja quite a bit – my brother has a beach house at Baja Malibu. And I try and get to mainland Mexico 2-3 times a year for some warm water adventures.

5. Any memorable surf sessions outside California?

   Nomotu Island in Fiji, I caught it last year just before they opened the reef rights, so we had the island breaks to ourselves and it was cranking.

   Kauai, Hawaii, My favorite island for the mellow vibe. I like the north side of the island - Hanale (sp) and have gotten some great sessions at Hanalei Bay, Tunnels and the breaks along there

   Mainland Mexico, All over the place.

   Baja, Baja Malibu – Cabo and lots of places in between :)

6. What are you riding these days?

   Boards I'm currently riding (my 5-board quiver for all occasions):

   • 5"10" fish = summer mush
   • 6'0" swallowtail thruster = summer fun
   • 6"4" squashtail thruster = head high fun
   • 6' 7" squashtail thruster = 8'-10' fun
   • 7'0" rounded pintail = 10'-12' if its any bigger than that, I'm watching from the beach with a beer these days.

   And I don't ride longboards -never could figure out how to move that much  foam around!