Newest Production Crew Member



Cameron (far right) waiting as Cory Patterson sets up for the interview of Bob 'The Greek' Bolen in his Huntington Beach Shop

Cameron is a sound guy. He’s been working clubs and studios in the Sacramento region since completing his internship at 98 Rock. When you first meet Cameron, you might think he is a little bit quirky. He does not say much. But, what I discovered, was he does not need to chatter away like the rest of us. When he has something to say, it always seems to be spot on. Kind of stops everyone in their tracks for a beat or two with a ‘hmmmm, yeah, you’re right. I never thought about it quite like that’. I think it’s because, being a sound guy, he is always listening. He has that look on his face like he is hearing things the rest of us just don’t hear. You know, like Universal Truths or something. Well, that might be going a little too far.  I’m not exactly sure what channel he’s tuned into, but what I can tell you is that the sound quality of his recordings are crystal. 50 YoS is happy to have Cameron on board.

 

The Family Begins

Patty and Cory at Padres Game

Patty Whitlock – Family Matriarch

There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the driving force in any family is the mom, the matriarch, the head or ruler of a family. Patty Whitlock leaves no doubt that she is, indeed, the driving force in this family. Divorced for many years, Patty and Rusty have two very distinct roles in the dynamics of the family personality and the family business.

It is this writer’s impression that Patty has been the glue that has held the family together through some difficult times. Not unlike many families, the Whitlock’s have had their difficulties. Trying to build a board shaping business in the late 60’s and early 70’s on Oahu was challenging. Rusty and the kids may have been living in paradise, but Patty was tasked with keeping the whole thing together. While Rusty was surfing, competing and building a board shaping business, Patty was having and raising kids and managing the money. Those are all stories we will explore as we get to know this family. But, first, there was a love story.

 

Surfer Girl Meets Surfer Boy

Her eyes take on a soft, faraway luminescence as the memories move her back through time. Her face is transformed, time and stress slipping away. The beauty and youthfulness of a young girl hums around her as she tells us ‘I was 17 when I first saw him. He was walking out of the ocean after a competition.’ She smiles at the memory and said, ‘I knew at that moment he was mine. We did not talk until later that evening. When we did, we were never apart again. ‘

I don’t know about you, but that story took my breath away. The look in Patty’s eyes told me, without a doubt, the truth of that moment in time, about 45 years ago.

The Story

Those first moments were magical, sparking the beginnings of a family that would span 3 generations in the surf world.  The story will broaden, covering this family’s joys and tragedies, woven through the world of surfing from the days when the brands and competitions we all know today were just forming. Their family story closely linked to the transformation of a simple surfing lifestyle into the high powered, fierce, competitive world of professional surfing, as we know it today. This family was there, at the beginning. This family is there today, even now shaping the way we surf.

50 Years of Shaping Interviews Begin

                                                                                 Beginnings

Rusty Whitlock

 Cory Patterson, Keith Halterman and the BW crew were in Carlsbad, CA last week to begin interviews for the documentary, 50 Years of Shaping, The Journey of a Surf Family. In true Aloha spirit, the Whitlock family opened their homes, their shop, RW Surf, but most of all, their hearts, to us. 
                                                   

Pic of the back of the shop

Cory Patterson, the project’s Director, has spent hours over the past year filming – work in the shop, board shaping, surf lessons, and, of course, lot’s of surfing. But this trip was about the story. Rusty, the centerpiece of the story, was not feeling well, but he came up to Carlsbad from Mexico, anyway. I’ve spent hours with Rusty on the phone, but this was my first face to face. And, yeah, I was a bit awed. It’s not every day I get to hang out with surf royalty.

 

 

 

 

Interviews and More Interviews

 We spent most of the first day with Rusty, piecing together his story, taking him back in time with hours of questions. We heard stories about a time when the surf industry was in its infancy. The pioneers of the 50’s had opened the doors for young adventurers like Rusty and his friends. He grins
a little as he tells us ‘we just wanted to surf’.

 

They were just a bunch of young surfers who went on to become surf legends that we all know today…names like David Nuuhiwa, Herbie Fletcher, Jackie Baxter and Randy Lewis, to name a handful. One of my favorite stories Rusty shared that first day, was about ‘stealing our boards back from Camp Pendleton’ after they had been confiscated by the Military for getting a little too close to the beach. Seems like the Marines kept a chicken coop full of boards they were confiscating from the local boys. You’ll have to watch the documentary to hear that one! And, we heard some great stories about Bob ‘The Greek’ Bolan, Rusty’s first sponsor. It was a brand new Greek board that Rusty had to ‘repatriate’ from the chicken coop! Bob and Rusty are friends to this day.

Rusty’s story is set during a time when the industry we know today was growing. The innovators of the sport and the growth of competition were evolving. Rusty was an intimate part of that growth. We look forward to sharing these amazing stories with you.   

 

Selection of RW Boards