The path to enlightenment begins at the world’s deadliest wave. From award-winning filmmaker Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z Boys) comes Patagonia’s The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez, a film that lifts the veil on one of surfing’s most enigmatic heroes, “Mr Pipeline”.
Gerry Lopez is as radical as he is Zen; he transcends categorisation. He’s one of the most influential surfers and surfboard shapers of all time, an entrepreneur, a family man, a movie star, and a lifelong yogi, who brought surfing to new frontiers. His influence on modern surfing is immeasurable. For the first time, his story is being told in full.
Following sold-out tours in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, Patagonia Films has released The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez online.
“This photo of the Pipeline shows the end of the wave still has a lot of zip left. Photo: Jeff Divine”
“Gerry Lopez is essentially a surfing samurai: a tube-riding and high-performance surfing pioneer, an early adopter of wind surfing, kite surfing, SUP surfing, river surfing and now foil surfing. He’s done it all and he’s done it all so beautifully,” says Stacy Peralta.
Holding historical and cultural relevance to local characters and surfers, the feature documentary has resonated with the surf community, yet there’s universality to the challenges Gerry has faced and the lessons he’s learned – from the tube, to the inner environment of yoga practice, and even Hollywood film sets.
Though “Mr Pipeline” is famously known for his calm demeanour in the tube, he built his career with aggressive surfing that left behind a trail of blood and tears. “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to all the people that I stole waves from,” He announces in the film’s opening scene. “Because, I know that my surfing has been a subject of admiration and the way my surfing got to that level was stealing a lot of waves from other surfers. You see, taking waves from other people is really the same thing as stealing, and if you do it enough – and I did it a lot – you can become pretty good at it. You also stop thinking about what a low thing it is.”
“Everything that I read in my yoga studies, talked about full acceptance, no resistance, yielding, allowing, nourishing, understanding, love. And I guess, I thought my disharmonious behaviour with other surfers was balanced out by my trying to be in complete harmony with the waves. I’ve come to realise that yoga and surfing have been perhaps the most significant yin-yang relationship, yin-yang balancing act, of my entire life.”
Photo credit: Ben Moon | Surf legend, shaper, yogi, and snowboarder Gerry Lopez practicing yoga at Groove Yoga studio in Bend, Oregon
A penchant for film is in the DNA of Patagonia – Yvon Chouinard, the founder of the company, started making films in the 1960s. When The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez director Stacy Peralta asked Patagonia Films to produce the project, they jumped at the chance.
Watch the film at here.
