A journey has always
represented the natural following of a never ending dream , and like
the wind , that you can’t touch , it rewards you with emotions ,
warmth and wishful thinking…
It’s with this exact
spirit that I departed this year along with many wishes and a lot of
ideas. Every journey is an adventure that with it’s own caracters
is fueling the motor of that salty taste on your lips.
I know Pete now from six
years and my sight is always mesmerized by his surf.
Being from the beach or
the water, an expert or a newbie his smile is will always shining
through, his unique way of having fun and enjoying every single wave.
I’ve spent hours
watching his moves, his «da Cat» steps, his «Waikiki style», an
elegance that isn’t imitating but rather is interpreting on his
own peculiar way the history of surfing.
Friday evening after
having surfed one of the most memorable swell in California , with
periods long enough to comb the sea and that will be forever on my
mind we agreed with Pete to have a dinner together...
He suggests one of his
favorites post surfing sushi spot and the choice is unique just like
his arise. I know him quite well, but
my friends just heard about him.
He shows up with Sara and
I see my friends eye’s lightining up in complete awe.
He’s dressed up like a
perfect Italian Gangster in the 30’s and she matches with him
perfectly.
The dinner is a continous
growing of emotions, they’re simple persons, sincere and
respectful. Pete tells us about his personal story and his passions,
about his barber shop , his vintage clothing collection that he owns
and about his boards.
Growining up with Terry
Martin friendship and esteem and being deeply marked by the loss, he
makes up his wage by repairing surfboard as if they were true
masterpiece and he made treasures the study of boards history.
I show a grin on my face
when as i question him about more or less famous shapers … but I’ll
keep this part for me …
When I ask him:«why
haven’t you thought about starting a career as a shaper» he looks
at me, with his shining brilliantine hair that almost has me blind,
and laughs about it and says that it would be the most an arrogant
gesture ever … neverthanless I still think he is one the most
talented young man performing such form of art …
As the chat continues he
tells me that if board is a half foot longer than it should be he’d
feel it, I understand that his sensibility goes beyond the proper
term of the word , it’s instead a true feeling that he has.
Between a sashimi and a
sushi burrito that is rather drawing our appetite, the rest of the
evening fastly rolls and we magically find ourselves on our way home.
A slight evening fog wraps
the cars beam lights as we cross them on our way, a sort of sadness,
that kind of «blues» that pervades whenever you feel that the
return trip is slowly approaching.
Few hours and the flight
that will take us to Italy will arise and other dreams will soon
build in our minds.