Tell us about Lauren Hill… What is your background, and what has
life taken you? I am a surfer from a barrier island off the East Coast of Florida. I live in Byron Bay with my partner Dave Rastovich, our son Minoa, and my Bings.
What are some of your favorite creative projects from the past?
It was a great experience to write my book She Surf, The Rise of Female Surfing. It felt good to have a place where women’s surf stories and history could live perpetually. Water people, our podcast is probably my favorite creative project. Waterpeople is a podcast that features waterfolk around the globe talking about their aquatic experiences and how they shape them as people back on land.
Culture of water people We have had the opportunity to talk with people that we respect and admire, including Gerry Lopez. Susan Casey. Paige Alms. John John Florence. Peggy Oki. Jack Johnson. Liz Clark. Albe Falzon. In a few short weeks, we’ll begin our fifth season.
Where did the inspiration for “The Physics of Noseriding” come from?
Since I began surfing at 14, I have been captivated by the subtlety and weight of longboarding. I enjoy the glide of a board that is in good trim. And I love that feeling of falling/flying levitation I get from a high-speed board.
Speed noseride. I was chasing this sensation – I’ve been riding longboards for over 20 years and surfing since then – but didn’t understand how it could be possible. You know, it seems impossible to perch on the longboard’s nose. It’s possible. The Physics of Noseriding is a video I created to show how it’s physically possible.
How do you feel about the surf boom of the past decade? And how has longboard culture played a part in this growth?
Longboards have played a major role in making surfing more popular. It’s a more enjoyable and accessible way to ride waves for most people. In my opinion, the biggest factor in our recent surfing boom is the change in culture, which goes along with the availability of longboards. In the early 2000s when I started surfing, magazines featured a lot of white southern Californian men ripping. When women were featured on the cover, they were more likely to be wearing a G-string and posing on the beach.
Surfing is more than that. The population of core surfers has changed with the addition of more women and people of color. It was also necessary to change the culture.
In the last decade, I believe we have lived in an exciting time in surfing, with female longboarders at the forefront in terms of innovation and performance. Not just in terms of beauty. For this reason, I let the women do the majority of technical surfing in The Physics of Noseriding.
Although most surf line-ups have become more crowded, I believe that the diversification in what being a surfer means or looks like is good for our culture.
Tell me about the people featured in your film, and why you selected them.
I wanted to highlight (some) of the surfers I admire most for their ability (to go steep and deeper with their noseriding, and their surfing in general). These surfers are the ones who explain to me what is critical noseriding and adequate noseriding. They include Belinda Baggs (my main example), Ari Browne, Leah Dawson and Josie Prendergast. They make it seem easy, but it’s not. For Physics, I experimented with different camera angles and ways to shoot to be able to see the subtlenuances.
Sometimes, shifting the weight from the blade to the arch of the foot can make a huge difference. When it comes to advanced logging, board design is very important.
