I first saw this video while on-contract in Saudi Arabia 2012 and as it was 130F/40+ C everyday and where seemingly everybody "Lived indoors" ALL the time! Here I found hope and Life as- Pablo Cruise was in vogue for my back in Cal. 1976 while I was still in Uni. Also I had spend some winter months in Hawaii and the North shore was always a Most exciting and Kool place to hang out at!!!!!!!!!! Thanks- I needed this!
The feeing excitement when seeing this in period whilst herbily refreshed along with 100 surfers at a village hall screening has been the best moment of my life.
Saw FreeRide in 77 at the old KaimukiTheatre with my SurfBuddies, feeling good feeling high what a great time in my life, carefree and pain free living in Hawaii. We’d surf the next day at KaiserBowl and eat at RainbowDriveIn, ah MixPlate CheeseBurgerDeluxe and one large coke please all under $5 dollars in those days. Worked a year delivering NewsPapers to order a custom DickBrewerSurfboard for $175 dollars a 6/9 double wing swallow, perfect for the South and North shores on Oahu, a lot of great rides with that board I still have it, how can I let it go. Much Aloha to everybody and to my SurfBuddies in the days...
I always loved the look of the double wing swallows! I was a kid back then and surfed a homemade board forever, back when most of us had no idea what a 'quiver' was. Pulled back single fin, winged pintail, deep v bottom. You surfed it until you knew how to ride it, didn't trade it out after a couple of misfires. :0)
Love this movie this song. I surfed the north shore with these guys ate it stood up in some massive tubes you know that. I broke 8 boards in one season no lie. Seen a Shark get snapped on half a tug boat capsized. One wave snapped a 40ft Navigation Buoy chain and the Seagulls nesting in it were attacking me! Only God saved me on that one!
We're remastering it but we have get all these guys who poach our footage and put it up on YOU TUBE like they made it...Delaney and Merkel made surf history using hi speed Milliken Camera at 200 frames a second , and these guys and other just come along and pull the shit off a VHS and and make it look like shit....and Merkel was Merkel, he had some attitude but was actually a good guy - Not a lot of guys swimming with a 30 pound housing back then. Plus the guy won an Emmy for ABC's ' American Sportsman Series. He shot coverage of Amateur champion Rick Rasmussen whom would late in life be killed during a heroin deal gone bad in Harlem , New York
I recall that Shaun Thomsen bottom turn at the very end of the video was a cover shot for Surfer magazine. I was fifteen years old when this movie came out, and along with Five Summer Stories, the two movies pretty much ruined me for anything else but wanting to surf. I can tell you, it was a whole different experience growing up and surfing in Newport in the 70's and 80's. Great times.
DITTO,I SURFED LAGUNA BEACH, THALIA STREET & SALT CREEK 70,S -90,S YA GOT DOWN TO THE WEDGE FOR THAT AWESOME 1975 SWELL,DANNY KWOCK WAS THE MAN.RON ROMANOWSKI RIPPED IT APART. FUN FACT,IN 1977 HONK WAS PLAYING A VENUE IN MAMMOTH MTN CALIF.THEIR GUITARIST GOT REALLY WASTED.ERIC CLAPTON WAS IN THE AUDIENCE & GOT UP ON STAGE TO FILL IN FOR THEIR 2nd SET.HE HAD HEARD THE ALBUM ONCE.PLAYED PIPELINE SEQUENCE,WITH SOME ADD ONS. HOWS THAT FOR A JAM SESSION.?
I began surfing in 1979 and when I saw this movie I thought it was great, but already outdated. We were riding much smaller twin fins and single fins, maneuvers were faster, tighter, more radical. And just 2 or 3 years had passed! Now things seeem to change much more slowly in surfing. I saw Momentum just the other day and its still quite modern, 25 years after it was released!
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium! This opening was an imperial stokerama! I was a little grom screaming my head off! Where are these movies? Five Summer Stories, Pacific Vibrations, etc. Why can't I find these on DVD?
Amazing how much better surfers are today. That image of MR w/ the wounded gull off the top at 3:54 is burned into my memory but I had forgot that he pearled up to his hips on re-entry.
@3:46 Mark Richards, Full :Soaring Sea-Bird: (aka "gliding" or "Wounded" gull") and quasi-homosexual stiff left arm with limp/bent wrist, is something I've never tired of, even after all these years.
🎺🎺🎷🎷🎹🎹🎻🎻🎼🎼🎶🎶🎵🎵🎤🎤🎧🎧📼📼🎸🎸great time growing up my childhood 70" s pablo Cruz great band good music classic tune great time to be alive simple beautiful good old days🎺🎺🎷🎷🎹🎹🎻🎻🎼🎼🎶🎶🎵🎵🎤🎤🎧🎧📼📼🎸🎸
Shit, in 1980. Dan Merckel came to Maui and although I'd heard of him I didn't think he'd get so damm close to me Surfing a Classic Day and I slammed into him and he dropped his gear he started yelling at me and I gave him my "What!"/and started chasing him even with the waves pounding and then yelled What u fing haole get out of my fing way, before I pound u out! Everyone started telling me hey he's cool,pet him picture u and may be u can get a picture. I was a runaway then and I knew if the cops saw me in Surfer Magazine then I I'd get lbusted and have to go back to seminary school
hip huggers,,night blooming jasmine,,dawn patrols,,keg parties,,date shakes(anyone remember?),,trips up the coast,,trips down the coast,,Cal Worthington,,surf leashes!,,good weed,,slower lifestyle,,phone at home,,some surfers get paid..what?
Where can one get the 1980 "final" or third edition? I saw it in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in LA, CA around 1983/4. Totally blew me away - the Ho brothers and everyone else featured on the full screen.
I am looking for the same Final Edition. I have a copy of a copy of a copy from a Betamax now on DVD. Did you ever find anyone that had the Final Edition version. Please let me know if you anyone know where I can buy: Free Ride, Final Edition. It has the Thruster era in it with Simon Anderson, Joey Buran, etc., as well as the single fin camera. My email is: erikpetroni@hotmail.com I have been looking for it for 20 years. Thank you for any help. I am desperate to get a copy of the Final Edition
