Early snowboarders designed and rode boards that emulated surfing. As the sport evolved it was influenced and shaped by popular culture. Gymnastics, Skateboarding, Alpine Skiing and Ski Schools all played a roll in shaping the culture.
Many modern snowboarders have never ridden a wave on a surfboard. Those of us that still like to surf the snow can now ride and compete on purpose built boards that pay tribute to the original snowboard surfers!
The Journey to Gerry chronicles the love and pursuit of surfing on Oceans, Rivers, Lakes and Snow. The story crosses generations of pure stoke: Jade Vamos in his 40s, Bryan Murray in his 50s and Stephen Yount in his 60s on a journey to visit 70 year old Hawaii Surfing Pioneer, Gerry Lopez at the 2019 Big Wave Challenge at Mt. Bachelor.
Before the X Games ever existed snowboarding evolved from its early surfing roots.
Follow the journey of three surfers rediscovering that pure joy of surfing the snow.
This story crosses generations of pure stoke: Jade Vamos in his 40s, Bryan Murray in his 50s and Stephen Yount in his 60s reaching out to 70 year old Hawaii Surfing Pioneer, Gerry Lopez.
The stoke and aloha that Gerry Lopez inspired into generations of surfers now takes root in the most unusual places. That vibe and energy will leave you gripping your seat and also inspired to join in the fun. Bryan, Jade, and Steve chase waves everywhere. Meet this new breed of surfer dedicated to the chase.
“We surf the rivers and we surf the lakes and we surf the snow and we surf at the ocean. But it’s all the same thing.”
–STEVE YOUNT, BEAVER PA
“Always wanted to surf growing up …when I was 24 started snowboarding, tried surfing when I was 28. Been surfing ever since love em both. “Pure Stoke, it’s a feeling, just can’t describe it, you gotta live it – Beautiful.”
–JADE VAMOS, PITTSBURGH PA
“I grew up chasing waves all over
North Carolina. When I moved to West Virginia I surfed the snow and started finding waves everywhere.”
–BRYAN MURRAY, WHEELING WV
“What the Big Wave Challenge brings together is snowboarding with surfing, the sport it spawned from. Surfers brought surfing to the snow, and since the late 1970s, snowboarding has become a popular sport with performance levels and equipment improvements continually evolving.” –GERRY LOPEZ, BEND OREGON
Surfing’s World Tour made an East Coast Stop in Wrightsville Beach NC. This clip features rare footage of Mark Richards and other surfers from his era. The complete documentary includes skateboarding pioneer’s Steve Caballero and Reggie Barnes from an early Bones Brigade visit to Raleigh NC in 1985.
The complete Documentary now on Amazon Prime
Released in 1991, Hatteras Surf Feast is still the definitive Outer Banks Surf Video.
The complete documentary is now available on Amazon Prime
Snowshoe Crew ’92
Snowboarding was brand new and gear hard to come by. The hard-cores at Snowshoe WV were on it early and learned the hard way. Guys like Bernie Wheeler, Gil Willis and my OBX Surf Tribe were loving it.
This project was funded by the proceeds of my previous film, East Coast Motions Volume II, Hatteras Surf Feast. A difficult
production as access was limited by the resort and I literally had to smuggle my gear in and out of remote locations.
Back then it was a two piece 3/4″ Set Up with exposed wires, plugs etc. As you can imagine it was a nightmare to keep the gear dry and in working order.
Snowshoe was so remote that I had to use the payphone in nearby Slatyfork to conduct business. I would pull my van up to the window access phone and sleep while I waited for return calls from by various video clients and distributors.
To make matters worse, I broke my leg and got laid up for a while at the end of the season. My production company folded up at this time and I had to do the edits on overnights at various production facilities.
The entire documentary now on Amazon Prime
Lots of funny stories from that winter. The vehicle of choice was an old 3/4″ ton work van with a load of firewood in the back for weight and some snow tires for traction. I drove to Timberline for one of the segments with a snowboard friend from France that didn’t speak much english. On the way back my 
transmission went out during a raging blizzard. Reverse was the only gear that worked and I had to drive up backwards on the mountain between Buckannon and Elkins. Michel kept muttering “Mon Dieux Mon Dieux”. I had the door cracked and just followed the edge of the road up. We turned around at the top and coasted down the other side to the relative safety of a service station. I had to call the OBX to score a local Elkins contact to come get us. I ended up selling the broken down Van to a farmer that wanted the firewood and needed a dry place to store it.
If you want a DVD or personal copy just hit me up, bmur@surfdogmedia.com
Here is an excerpt from the Beach TV DVD, Romancing The Storms
This documentary is a great example of the quality programming that Beach TV brought to the Outer Banks. It was my personal goal to bring network quality documentaries to our viewers.
There are abundant historic stories to be told and I hope you have thirty minutes to watch this one. It is entertaining in a folksy way that true Outer Bankers will appreciate.
These are the true Aviation Pioneers of our lifetime. The First Flight Society recognizes Aviation Greats every year on Orville Wrights Birthday. I took the time to meet them and share their stories.
Pictured below are honoree’s Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan at the Man Will Never Fly Banquet.
The 1985 Record Bar Pro-Am in Wrightsville Beach NC brought in the world’s best surfers to the East Coast. A nearby tropical storm brought in some great surf and the locals turned out in large number to cheer them on!
This was my senior project at UNC-Chapel Hill. Many thanks to everyone that helped, including Reggie Barnes for letting my TV Production Class run him through some free-style moves at Swain Hall.We coined the phrase “Street-Style” during this production and
scored some great footage of the World’s Top Professional Surfers in some East Coast Hurricane Surf. The Wrightsville Beach locals were great help especially the late Ed Mannuel.
Back then there were not too many video camera’s around. I borrowed an industrial grade 1/2″ machine and then dubbed the footage to 3/4″ to edit on the schools old top loaders.
It was cool to meet and hang out with all the surf pros. We got to spend a lot of time with Cheyne Horan, Brad Gerlach and Mark Occhilupo. The soundtrack is original to some musician friends that actually jammed to the footage.
If you would like to order a copy feel free to contact me. bmur@surfdogmedia.com