Tuesday, July 14, 2009
And why he isn't going to the US Open
I've never had to rely on a real job to pay the bills. I've worked as a waiter at Seaview Inn (the original Haleiwa Joe's). I've worked on a roof, sat in a lifeguard tower, and done yardwork for a lot of people. But for a long time, surfing was how I made money. That changed around 2000. I got exposed to Baywatch Hawaii, and Hollywood stuntman money. Being a stuntman was another way to get paid and not have a real job.
In 2000, my sponsor at the time was going broke, I was 33 and not getting younger. It would have been easy to find another sponsor, but I decided to go after stunt work. The truth was I had almost died a few times surfing, and in order for me to keep on surfing for a living, I would have to put my life on the line. Back then, when I was "in the zone" surfing, I was crazy. Stunt work was safer.Working as a stuntman is weird. You never know what, or when, your next job is going to be. When you work, you make a lot of money. When you don't work, you don't get paid (except for residuals). Sometimes I have to travel to the mainland to look for work. It's always good to stay in touch with people, but I'm not very good at that. When I'm not working, I get to go surfing. Life is good. A couple of years ago something really cool happened. Hurley decided to pay me some money every month. It's not enough to live off, but with the money they pay me, when I don't work in the stunt world for a few months, I'm all good. The last time I worked, I jumped out of a burning jeep going around 25mph, before it exploded. I made a lot more money than Hurley pays me in a month. That was about 3 months ago. Haven't done anything since. I got antsy and decided to give Pat O a call. Maybe he'd send me to Bali. No Bali, but he gave me an invite to webcast at the U.S. Open. Sounded good. The next day, I got a call to stunt coordinate a small movie here in Hawaii. I haven't told Pat, or Hurley I'm not going to the U.S. Open, and I feel like shit. I guess I'm writing this blog as a apology. As a guy who works in the movies, the minute you make plans to do something, movie work comes along.
Make no plans, get no work. I will probably write more about stunt stuff in another blog, but right now I want to end this one by saying SORRY PAT..... Brock
In 2000, my sponsor at the time was going broke, I was 33 and not getting younger. It would have been easy to find another sponsor, but I decided to go after stunt work. The truth was I had almost died a few times surfing, and in order for me to keep on surfing for a living, I would have to put my life on the line. Back then, when I was "in the zone" surfing, I was crazy. Stunt work was safer.Working as a stuntman is weird. You never know what, or when, your next job is going to be. When you work, you make a lot of money. When you don't work, you don't get paid (except for residuals). Sometimes I have to travel to the mainland to look for work. It's always good to stay in touch with people, but I'm not very good at that. When I'm not working, I get to go surfing. Life is good. A couple of years ago something really cool happened. Hurley decided to pay me some money every month. It's not enough to live off, but with the money they pay me, when I don't work in the stunt world for a few months, I'm all good. The last time I worked, I jumped out of a burning jeep going around 25mph, before it exploded. I made a lot more money than Hurley pays me in a month. That was about 3 months ago. Haven't done anything since. I got antsy and decided to give Pat O a call. Maybe he'd send me to Bali. No Bali, but he gave me an invite to webcast at the U.S. Open. Sounded good. The next day, I got a call to stunt coordinate a small movie here in Hawaii. I haven't told Pat, or Hurley I'm not going to the U.S. Open, and I feel like shit. I guess I'm writing this blog as a apology. As a guy who works in the movies, the minute you make plans to do something, movie work comes along.
Make no plans, get no work. I will probably write more about stunt stuff in another blog, but right now I want to end this one by saying SORRY PAT..... Brock
