Bend Magazine's The Circling Podcast with Adam Short
Hear from a variety of guests ranging from professional athletes, local business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, nonprofits, industry leaders, and more on Bend Magazine's The Circling Podcast.
Join Adam Short as he has conversations and shares the stories of those in our community who make up the soul of Central Oregon. Those who are helping shape the growth of our region, ensure opportunity for more and maintain what we all love about where we live; the beauty, the adventure, the way of life.
Though most of our content and guests are local, the insight, perspective and value learned of each episode can be applied in your own community, no matter where you call home.
Bend Magazine's The Circling Podcast with Adam Short
The Soul Of Central Oregon Award With The Mayor of the River Wave Gerry Lopez
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On this episode of Bend Magazine's The Circling Podcast, I'm joined by Bend Magazine founders Heather and Ross Johnson and our friend and neighbor Gerry Lopez, the recipient of the third annual Bend Magazine Soul of Central Oregon Award, to talk about the kind of influence you can’t measure with job titles or headlines.
We dig into the origin story of Bend Magazine, then Gerry shares what brought him from Maui to Bend more than 30 years ago, the Oregon kindness that surprised him on day one, and what he hopes never changes even as the region grows. Along the way, we hear heartfelt stories from people who know Gerry best, including Bob Madden and Dave Chun, who describe him as the neighbor who teaches, listens, and quietly sets the tone for everyone else.
We also also hear the story of how Bend’s unique river surfing culture began with olympic nordic skier Ben Husby, as he shares about: the early “ditch” days, the evolution of boards and technique, and what it took to build the Bend river wave. The big takeaway from this episode is almost disarmingly simple: “Be nice.” If you live here, want to move here, or just care about what makes a community worth calling home, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Central Oregon, and leave a review with the name of someone in your town who embodies the spirit.
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Speaker 9There was there was a period and there were he we went over to the coast and he he kind of showed me how to surf out in the ocean. I mean that was super generous of him to do that. And you know, he took all of us, all the Nordic ski kids that were part of my crew. He took us, he took us under his wing, and he showed us, he showed us like what to do, what not to do, how to pick waves, how to paddle out, all that stuff. He he really
Surf Mentorship And Constant Progress
Speaker 9loves the aloha of the whole thing and he loves seeing people learn. And he, of course, is always has been always on the front end of the latest things, whether it's stand-up or it's foiling or it's e-foiling or it's wave discovery and all and or it's river surfing or whatever it is. Like he he loves learning and being on the front on the front end of stuff. It was fun to watch someone who was so accomplished really study and try to figure out how to maximize every little bit on that canal. How to stand, how to, you know, like how far could you push it on the wave? What was the right board for it? Like we went through three or four generations of boards and they just kept getting better and better and better. You know, usually when you you're around legends, they they sort of they may they may get stuck in the greatest period of where they are, but I mean Gerry has the guy has evolved. Like he's constantly changing. He is he is he's he totally evolves. And I watched that happen through that through that canal wave, and I I I've gotta assume he's still doing it.
SpeakerOn this episode of Bend Magazine's Circling Podcast, I'm joined by Bend Magazine founders Heather and Ross Johnson, as well as our friend, neighbor, and the recipient of the third annual Bend Magazine Soul of Central Oregon Award, Mr. Gerry Lopez. Heather and Ross are about their relationship with Central Oregon, the origin story of Bend Magazine, and the inspiration behind the Soul of Central Oregon Award. Presented annually to recognize local community members
Meet The Hosts And The Award
Speakerwhose influences extend far beyond professional successes, the Soul of Central Oregon Award celebrates individuals in our community that have helped shape the culture, identity, and future of Central Oregon through their character, leadership, and enduring commitment to community. Later in the episode, Gerry shares why he has called Central Oregon home for over 30 years, and we hear from some of Gerry's oldest friends in the community who share personal stories making it very clear why Gerry was nominated and help remind us all what makes Central Oregon such a special place to call home. But what I loved was that people and what the purpose of today's conversation is, you know, kind of Gerry Lopez, the community member, the neighbor, the guy who's developed relationships in Central Oregon over 30 years that have kind of contributed what I would say to like the vibe of this community, you know. Um, so yeah, thanks for being here. I was super hyped that when when Heather and Ross told me that they were nominated you. And then I I I was really excited when you two wanted to be involved in this because you guys are 11 years into Oregon Media and Bend Magazine. I've been privileged to work with you for the last three years when I came to you with this crazy idea of kind of starting up a community podcast that parallels the magazine to share stories. Um and yeah, I mean, you're you're continuing to kind of define and set the standard for publications highlighting kind of like high desert and mountain culture. Um, you're winning awards not just regionally but nationally. So I was excited to get you two in here for the audience of this show, which is our community primarily, to get to know you guys as well.
Speaker 2So thanks for doing this, Adam and Gerry. Thanks again for being here. So fun to have you here. And yeah, we I can't believe we started Bend Magazine about 11 years ago. But as you can see, um, well, those of you who can't see, we've got a poster up on the wall that um from a previous magazine that we started back in 2009. So we've been doing this for a while, but we had started the first magazine we started with called 1859, which was a statewide magazine for Oregon. And Gerry graciously um participated with us and was um on our cover of the summer 2010 issue. So we're having fun looking at that and and thinking back to those days, him and our good buddy Karen Wrenn, who was an amazing is an amazing paddler as well.
SpeakerYeah. It was really fun for me um connecting with some of Gerry's friends in
Why Bend Magazine Focuses Local
Speakertown. And um, you know, a lot of those relationships go back from the very beginning when you moved here, Matt, and and me having lived here the majority of my life and and you know, having a family as well, obviously younger than you, but starting to kind of these shared life experiences like what the Oregon Coast and Pacific City offers, you know, like Oregon is so legit outside of Bend, you know. I mean, I've always said that, but um, you know, that we're just we're really lucky to live where we do. I think we all know that, but it is easy to take things for granted.
Speaker 2It is, it really is. And, you know, Ross and I both were born and raised in Portland and have lived in Oregon all of our lives. And it was you know, starting 1859 was was great because we got to shine a light on all of the amazing places in Oregon. But what we realized was, you know, this is our community now. We've been in Bend now for over almost 30 years ourselves. And we got to the point where it was like, gosh, we can't really just get into the roots of our own community when we're spread so thin. So that was kind of one of the reasons that we decided to sell our share in 1859, just so we could focus here locally and really make as much of an impact as we could on our community and shine a light on these amazing stories and people that are here. So we feel really honored to get to do that, and it's a huge responsibility for that we that we take. It's a privilege. It it really is.
SpeakerYeah. I've uh Ross, I've seen I I've I've observed over the past few years how serious you guys take this and and the integrity uh and the standard that you strive for behind kind of everything, not just you know, the cover, but every story or piece of editorial in the mag. So, you know, in 2026, soon to be 27, having a successful print publication, you know, like the the one of my favorite I used to live and die by Trans World Snowboard magazine. I miss it more than anything, you know. So like there's there's an experience in life when you get to have a tactile in interaction with something that you're learning from that um digital just can't reproduce, in my opinion.
Speaker 2And you know, fortunately, you know, we've we have not seen, you know, the the excitement for what we do go down. In fact, it's gone up. You know, sometimes you hear that print is dead kind of thing. And that's really more around newsprint. But what we're finding is, you know, people are looking for authenticity and they're looking for who can I trust? And print is actually in this world of AI becoming that much more important because people trust it.
SpeakerUm the pendulum shifts, right? Everything's cyclical.
Speaker 2So while we do do a lot digitally as well, of course, print is our core. Yeah. And and we'll never lose that.
SpeakerSo this is the third year on Wednesday. You guys are are having your Bend Magazine Anniversary Party, which is a ton of fun and I'm looking forward to. And two years ago, you started um honoring and recognizing someone in the community whose influence has kind of helped shape the culture, identity, future of Central Oregon um through kind of their character, their contribution, their leadership, their commitment to the community in a lot of different ways. I think the first year you honored Mike Hollern from Brooks Resources, and last year was was Trish Smith and you know, learn about those people if you don't know about them and the contribution they've had to the development and evolution and growth of Central Oregon over the years. I kind of view and was thinking about them as kind of having the the vision and the values. And like I said, I was kind of looking at Gerry compared to them, and I'm like, man, Gerry's like
Defining The Soul Of Central Oregon
Speakerno. No, it's it's it's it's uh it's the vibe. The vibe, man. Yeah. Everything is dependent on vision, values, vibes, you know, the three V's. And then you bring some goodness in there.
Speaker 8Let me throw this out is um, yeah, again, uh Gerry, thank you for being here. Adam, thank you. Um, one of the the coolest things is that this has happened and that we have created this award, but it is and we'll get into the details and all that, but if you really look at the last three, Gerry being the third, um, is is Mike with Brooks Resources, he really helped shape our community. Trish with her life and everything that she did, she really helped nurture the community, right? And Gerry, he has embodied the spirit of the community.
Speaker 2Totally really well.
Speaker 8So I mean, there's three very solid um you know, recipients that we couldn't be more proud to be uh associated with.
Speaker 2Well, and this this award makes sense. Totally. And this award is not about, you know, um it we have it kind of all documented, right? Like we have it all, I'm not gonna read through what it all means, but at the end of the day, it's like it's about somebody who gives selflessly to our community and who leaves something lasting, you know, um, that's gonna be here when they're gone. You know, it's not about somebody who just donated a ton of money or who made a ton of money, who came into this town and and changed it in a certain way. Because what we really want is, you know, we've we've all come from somewhere and we came here for a reason. We came here because we loved this place, we love the people. And I think with, you know, Bend Magazine, what we try to do is we try not to not talk down to people in any way, but trying to share what does it mean to be a Central Oregonian and why did you pick this place? And then let's remind you of that and remind you, you know, please come and bring your great ideas, but remember when you bring those great ideas to um do it in the character and in the spirit of what's already here. Um, so that's really we want this award to be something that people can aspire to. Can, you know, you're you're such a great role model, Gerry. The the impact that you've had just alone with just the big wave challenge and just the the wave that we have here in town would not be here without you. You know, so that's gonna be a lasting impact.
SpeakerUm yeah, that's well said, Hedge. I think also, you know, like I've been thinking about this idea a lot with all and it and I started thinking about it when I started this podcast in a way that you know I was trying to kind of practice what I preach, but um, and I tell my kids this a lot lately, which is you know, like start asking the questions of, you know, stay curious and find what you're passionate about, and then figure out how to blend that passion into some way to contribute to wherever you you your community is, whether it's at work or or where you live, and and you know, I it's obviously it goes without saying that you're you're passionate about being in water. Um uh I I think that you're someone who's incredibly curious, but the thing that sticks out to me the most and and why like like just watching you over the years get down and help people who have never stood on a riverboard, they half of them don't even know who you are. But just the humility to to kind of just set the standard for everybody in that line that is watching you and does know who you are, it's just leading by an example. Ross, you just said something about you embody the spirit of I think a big part of that is because Gerry's his his activity, you know, like you've been an active person your entire life, and we live in a very active community, and that's that's uh it's rare. So well man, we're 15 minutes into this, and I don't think I've I've heard anything from Gerry, but so you know um they don't want to hear us, they want to hear Gerry. I guess like so. When you hear all of this, you know, um the the kind of the criteria for this award, how how does that make you feel to be nominated by the peers in this community that you've lived in for so long?
Speaker 3Well, to begin with, I was actually shocked when you would even consider me, you know, in the same light that you talk about Mike and and Trish. I mean, you know, to me, I look up to them for
Gerry Reacts To The Honor
Speaker 3everything they've done in this town. And you know, when we first came here, it was a it seemed like a really small town, and that was the the beauty of it. And even though it's grown considerably since then, that was it first came in uh August of 1992, um it still has that small town feel.
Speaker 7Totally.
Speaker 3You know, and you know, in those days where you're trying to get somewhere at like 3 30 or 4 o'clock and you run into traffic, you know. And you think about this is isn't really traffic. Um if you want to think about what traffic is, go down to Southern California any time of day. So yeah, the the thing about Bend is it's and you know, Grubby Clark and I he's we still laugh about it that's a beautiful Bend. It still is, it's still a beautiful place. And I don't think that will ever change and and it's reassuring when new people come and move here and think the same thing, you know, even though it has changed quite a bit in the last well five, 34 years that they still think the same things I thought when I first got here, and I still think the same things today.
SpeakerYeah. Where were you living before you moved to Bend? Maui. Maui. Yeah. So you went straight from Maui to to the mainland and straight and straight here.
Speaker 3Yeah.
SpeakerYeah.
Speaker 3To America.
SpeakerYeah.
Speaker 3And you know, people would ask, how could you leave Maui? And I go, I guess you've never been to Bend.
SpeakerYeah, yeah. That's it's so funny. I was my family and I were in Maui just a few weeks ago, and I'd never been there, and we we explored
Leaving Maui For Bend
Speakerthe whole island, and you know, there were certain small communities where, you know, it it felt like a an island version. I felt familiar with it. This there was a similar vibe, you know, and and uh I met a bunch of people over there and for for a relatively small town in on the mainland, like a lot of people knew where Bend was, man.
Speaker 2So it was an amazing um Bend Hawaii connection. Yeah. Seems like there's just a lot of, or I guess it's more Oregon Hawaii. Oregon, yeah. Or Oregon, Hawaii, yeah.
Speaker 3Well, that goes back a long way. You know, when I was graduating from high school, boy, almost a century ago, um Oregon and the University of Hawaii, the schools in Oregon already had the reciprocal residency tuition exchange. Okay. And a lot of Hawaiians came to school here and went, wow, this place is pretty cool. Yeah. And ended up staying here. So there's really a lot of people from Hawaii here. Yeah, there are. Yeah.
Speaker 8You know, Gerry, I want to bring up something that I had heard in an earlier podcast um was back right before you moved here. And were were you with Tony when you were on the Harleys? Oh yeah. And and you guys were were coming up um out of Northern California or wherever and and uh ended up in Lakeview to fill up for gas or whatever it was. And um and the gentleman, the the guy filling, you know, at the service station, I'll let you talk, but um kind of exemplified some some crazy things.
Speaker 3You know, just one of those moments where here we
The Oregon Friendliness Moment
Speaker 3are getting gas at a gas station that I'd never been to before. And the guy goes, How you doing? And looked me right in the eye, and and I went, Do I know this guy? And I realized, I mean, it just came to me so suddenly, I went, my god, this is just genuine friendship, yeah, friendliness. And I went, holy cow. And we've continued to encounter that still to this day, but so much in this state that I went, wow.
Speaker 8Did you know that you were moving to Bend uh before that? Oh no. No, okay.
Speaker 3This was our first time for all of us coming to Oregon. And um That's so cool. And it was, you know, our first encounter in Oregon. We had just crossed over from um well, we had come up through Reno and then um Is that like Lakeview?
SpeakerAl Tourist. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3And then we crossed over into um Al Touris. Lakeview, and and we needed gas. You know, we stopped there.
Speaker 2Not many spots to get gas. Yeah.
Speaker 8Well, I just love the story, you know, and how you and you you you know continued to to feel that vibe. And it's uh I'm just I was thinking that that must have had you know some impact on on how you ended up settling here.
Speaker 3Well, it just you know, there was no plan, like you guys said with the magazine. Yeah. Like what we're doing right now. It just yeah. That was, I guess, how it was meant to be, you know, because it just it happened so smoothly and effortlessly, and before we knew it. I mean, we had planned another trip after we came through Bend because we heard the snowboarding was really good. So we came back right after Christmas and um it was 92, 93 winter, big winter here in town, you know, snow. I mean, there were ten feet of snow downtown on the roads, and um you know, we thought, oh my god, it's like this all the time here. You know, we didn't know. But we were here three days and the the other couple, you know, the the wives found a house to buy on the third day. And with Grubby Clark, yeah, who's also uh here, you know, has been here since then. He's up in in Jesse Imagers at the Hakry Grant. And Um also uh he never left either, you know. It took a while for us to get here, but we both just you know found something here that we we needed to be here, I guess. Love it. And here we are still.
SpeakerHere we are still. What what was going on? I'm just cu this is my own curiosity. Like what describe what was going on in your surfing career like at that time. So early 90s, you've been obviously like a like a a a famous, you know, big wave surfer for over 20 years when you moved to Bend. You'd been, you know, explored and pioneered a lot of different breaks all over the world. And what was your relationship with surfing one that where you were you were starting to get drawn to you know other ways of standing sideways on a board and going like snowboarding, or were you still traveling a lot and going on surf trips when you lived here?
Speaker 3Honestly, I never even thought about it, but I've always been drawn to different ways of surfing, you know. I mean, we started on the early foam boards in the late 50s throughout the early 60s, and then you know, as the surfboards got shorter, then that changed the way surfing happened, and then windsurfing came along. I mean, well, actually, skateboarding came along as part of it too, but you know, that was when you fell down that hurt.
Speaker 6Yeah.
Speaker 3But then windsurfing came along.
A Life Of New Ways To Surf
Speaker 3That was in the I guess around 1980 or so, and we were in Maui, and that was one of the um great places, you know, for windsurfing. And that was another way to ride waves, a really interesting way. And so I think you know, the pattern in my life has always been to try these different ways of surfing.
SpeakerYeah.
Speaker 3You know, there was um all the ones that came after that too, the towing surfing, the the stand-up paddle surfing, the um kite surfing, foiling now, wing foiling, you know, all that stuff. And snowboarding was just a part of that uh process, I guess, you know, the my life process. And um it was something that you know I immediately uh fell in love with and and and it was something that as a family we could all do together. And that was really appealing. And then Bend was such a great place you know at that time that we just went, okay, let's stay here for a while. And as far as surfing went, honest to God, I never thought about it. You know, I just went, well, it's always there. And the only time I thought about it was when I went back, and you know, I'd been here for six weeks or so snowboarding, and I went to paddle my surfboard and went, whoa, what happened to my arms?
SpeakerNo doubt. Yeah. Uh I've told you I prone paddle, that's exactly why. So you can stay in shape, man. So here's my thought. Um, I thought, as I told you guys beforehand, I have some audio. This first audio sample uh is from Bob Madden, um, who's in case you don't know who Bob Madden is, um, for our listeners, Bob he's retired now, but he was the Bend Fire uh Operations Fire Chief for the BIN um fire department, I think for like 33 years. So he he retired a few years ago. Um, I know you guys have a really cool uh friendship and history together raising kids. So I got Bob on the phone, and uh here's what he had to say. A pillar of our community. Absolutely.
Speaker 5You know, so you know, they moved here from Hawaii. And um when they moved here, you know, I wasn't a surfer, I really didn't know him uh or know of him, you know, his iconic status. Um, he was just a dad. Uh his his son Alex was the same age as our oldest son, Joe, and they started in uh, you know, in in first grade together at Kingston School. And they grew up being close
Bob Madden On Gerry As Neighbor
Speaker 5friends, and we became friends with Toni and Gerry um through, you know, so I know Gerry as a as a as a dad and a friend, you know, not as an icon. Yeah, I didn't grow up surfing or anything. And you know, I remember guys at work saying, hey man, Gerry Lopez, he's a famous surfer. I go, really? And then I I did some looking and I realized, well, you know what, when I was a kid, the only surfing that was ever on TV was on Wide World of Sports. You know, that was a a weekly sports show. And you know, we didn't have cable or anything then. That was about it. And every year the um the pipeline classic was on the wide world of sports, and we had watched that. And that was in the 70s when when Gerry, you know, pretty much defined it and won it. And I and I go, oh my gosh, that was the same guy we were watching. So so you know, I never knew him as a as a surfer, but but but as a dad and um and and and a friend, and our our kids grew up together, you know, and they played t-ball together and all of that fun stuff. And um, as the kids got older, we all had RVs and we liked going to the coast, and Gerry kind of took it upon himself to teach all of the kids how to surf. And um, and then you know, I I was working in fires and I was gone a lot in the summer on on fire, so I missed a lot of those trips. But eventually he taught me to surf too. And of course, we were all hooked, or both of my boys now are adults and they're really, really good surfers. I'm a I'm an okay surfer, but I don't have the grace that uh Gerry or the the boys do. But um, you know, he he took it upon himself to to teach all the kids in the neighborhood how to surf and it was really cool. It just you know, he he just gave the shirt off his back for everybody. You know, he he made made all the kids surfboards at reduced cost, and uh, you know, it's it's just just really cool. He he he's such a giving and humble person that you know you didn't you didn't really know him as a celebrity. We just knew him as a as a good family friend, you know. He you know, uh and and it was just family. This whole whole group of us. We called we called ourselves the Bend Surf Club. What's memorable is just the his uh his willingness to to to give to everybody, you know, and to to teach the aloha spirit. And you know, he's he he's just a he's a gentle soul, and you know, with with his background in in yoga and meditation, he just um I don't know, he's just a sooth, you know, when when we have things discuss things in, he's a great historian, both of Hawaiian culture and and and surfing. And it's so fun to listen to him tell those uh tell those stories. Uh it's it's really cool. Gerry, this is this is Bob Madden, and uh, you know, I treasure our friendship. Uh, you know, we I I didn't know you as an icon, I knew you as a dad and a friend, and uh and you're you're so giving to all of us and taught us all to surf and uh and and treasure the ocean and and appreciate uh the the things that nature gives us. And uh just want to thank you and and thank you for sharing that aloha spirit with everybody you touch.
Speaker 8Wow. Wow.
Speaker 2I'm like crying.
Speaker 8I cry when the sun's comes up, but but but wow, that got me too. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3Well special. Wild men's a giant of a man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's that really touched me too.
SpeakerYeah, good man. And uh, you know, I mean, again, I can um Pacific City has has provided many Central Oregonians with that space to kind of um just gather on the ocean. And you know, I mean that's where both of my all three of my kids, I think, their first exposure with kind of paddling out and getting familiar with just the reality of you know the differences between oceans and lakes, you know, and rivers. It's it's it's amazing. We're lucky to learn that. Because it it a lot of people, man, it's it's amazing how many people in our country have never been to the ocean before. Truly. And we you know, I we were talking about that in Hawaii. So I'm glad that we got Bob in there because uh just like you said, he's he's a massive part of this community.
Speaker 3Oh, great memory. Yeah, I mean, well, the pictures too, because you know, like he said, we called ourselves the Bend Surf Club and and we'd all go out there every year, and the group kept getting bigger every year until pretty soon it was all the firemen too and their families. And you know, it was all about you know, coming from here where there was really no surf back then, um to go to the ocean to go surfing, and that's what we were all into. And and you know, surfing's such a fun way to spend time together. There's you know, I've always said it, there's nothing better than surfing with your friends, no matter what the surf life is surf doesn't have to be good, yeah. You're just out there, you know, being with each other. Exactly. And I mean, you know, surfing will put a smile on your face, but doing it with your friends will put an even bigger smile on your face.
SpeakerYeah. Big time.
Speaker 8Oh, so cool. I mean, it's just about uh again, not going back to um the reason we're here, but it's about adding value and adding value to those kids to teach them how to surf, and that's huge, just right there. That's like that's legacy stuff, you know. That's amazing.
Speaker 2Talk about getting a surfboard from Gerry.
Speaker 8Yeah. So the um Yeah, I wonder if they still have those. But no, that's okay. So speaking of of surfing and then bend and and not having to travel all the way to the coast, um tell us about the irrigation connection. No, no, no, no, no. No, no. I'm I'm vetoing that.
SpeakerOkay. Yeah. We got something coming up coming for that. Okay. You can ask your question after the audio file.
Speaker 1Okay, I do want to know though. I do want to know. Yeah.
SpeakerYeah. Um well, speaking of, you know, just to kind of hear from another one of your buddies, um, Dave Chun, who I know is a good friend of yours, I had the pleasure of meeting several years ago, actually recording a podcast on the story of Kialoa paddles and his life growing up in in Hawaii and and his influence of a uh a sailboat named the Kialoa and just his whole moving to Central Oregon. And I I love kind of the serendipitous relationship you guys have because you guys were both from a similar place and moved to a small town and have developed a really cool relationship. So um now Dave is, I mean, he's such a craftsman, but here's a little audio from uh Mr. Chun.
Speaker 4Um Gerry and I uh met on the river, and that was must have been around 1993. Uh I was in a uh six-man outrigger canoe paddling with our crew, and um, as we went, we were going downriver and coming up river, I could see a paddle border. And I looked at it, I was like, ah, I go, I yelled back at our steersman, hey, do absolutely do not run this person over. Because I was like, That's I knew in my head, that's Gerry Lopez. So later on, we both finished practicing uh training in his case. Uh, we were in the parking lot and uh we saw each other, walked up to each other, and I uh he I said to him,
Dave Chun On Craft And The Lineup
Speaker 4You're the surfer. And he said to me, Hey, you're the paddler, aren't you? And I was just like, Yeah. And from there we just kind of hit it off. Uh, we didn't know each other in Hawaii, but um, we had so much in common, and our ages are close enough that we basically we kind of lived this through the same time frame, and we have become lifelong friends. He's one of my closest friends, if not my closest friend. It's interesting because I always tell people uh I refer to him as a minor celebrity, you know, which is being a minor celebrity is better than being a uh real celebrity. There's a real celebrity, they can't go into a grocery store. At least he has some freedom as a minor celebrity. But we do treat him as a neighbor. Um, I think, and that's a good description for what I see um at the wave. You know, um, it's when people who surf other breaks come and um see what happens at at the river wave, they're kind of blown away because we're we're polite, we're friendly, we're helpful, you know. Um, you know, and I think a lot of it stems from Lopez. You know, he was one of the original surfers down down there. And um things he told me, he says, like, you know, well, because we stand in line, there's there's order the in the lineup in the ocean, there's it's kind of confusing. Whose turn is it next? Um, here it's pretty clear. It's like going to the movies, you're in line, but also I think it is a you know, probably Gerry he, you know, he is he was done with the hostile lineup. And I think seeing him, people seeing him being nice to new people, him getting down on his knees holding the board for a first timer. Um, you it's kind of hard to be territorial when somewhat the mayor of our of our little wave there, he's helping these, you know, people he doesn't know and they're they're just cooked tourists, but Gerry's helping them. So I think it's added a real gentle flavor, and that's really had an impact on how we um treat people who come and visit us and surf on our way. Gerry's like my he's my big brother, and he treats me like a little brother. And he was like, No, it's dangerous. You're gonna get, you know, he knows I'm clumsy. He was like, I know you're gonna get beat up. Well, I'm not taking you. You know, I mean, if I had insisted, he probably would have let me go, but I wouldn't have stopped me. But I mean, but at the same time, I heeded his warning because he's he's always looking out for my best interest. Oh, I was surfing with him once in Baja, and um we a set rolled in on us, and I I I just turtled on with the board. We had these gliders. Um, Gerry Gerry tried to paddle over, board slapped up into his face, broke his nose. Um he had like uh two black eyes, and I paddled up to him, you know, like and I'm like, his nose is bleeding. I'm like, hey, let's go in. And he's like, no. And I'm like, come on, let's you know, go in. And he was like, No, I'm staying out here. And basically, he was staying out there with a broken nose because he wanted to make sure I was okay. So he stayed out there and surfed with me. I don't know, we were out there like four hours or something like that. I mean, I went in when he said when he decided to go in, but it was like we were out there like all day, and he was out there with a broken nose, yeah. You know, carrying about he didn't, he wasn't out there because he, if he was there by himself, he would have gone in and put an ice pack on his nose. But because you know, I was there, he's gotta stay out there to keep an eye on me. Yeah, he's really kind that way. You know how I I talk about like I try to out the industry, you know. I go, okay, look, I want people, my customers, to know that if you throw the board away or don't take care of it, that thing's gonna be in the landfill for five to ten thousand years. That foam does not break it does not really break down. Um, but one thing I'd say about Gerry, here's the this is the great thing about the surfboards Gerry Lopez makes. Because of his, because of his iconic status, a Lopez board has has value. You know, you you're it's the kind of board that's going to be passed on for generations if people take care of it. Because it says Gerry Lopez, and because Gerry Lopez built it. You know the um it, you know, that's what we really want in brands. We want to have lasting value. Something building something that's not disposable, and that's what Lopez does build. When you watch him, when you watch him work, it is truly craft, handcrafted surfboards. Uh something, you know, that's a that's like it's like Patagonia. We don't throw Patagonia clothing away. You know, we sell it, we pass it on, or we keep it forever because it's timeless. And that's the same thing about like his designs and his surfboards. It's not gimmicky, it's just it's proven design, stuff that he proved with his his own skin at places like you know, Pipeline, you know, and then after what his time was down at Pipeline, still developing things and building things for some of the best surfers in the world. Hey Gerry, this is Dave Chun. Congratulations on your award. I think you know it's nice that you're being recognized for something that I've known for a long time, which is your caring for other people. I just want to thank you for all the experiences. Never has such a mediocre surfer been exposed to such amazing surf. Aloha.
Speaker 6So good.
SpeakerYeah, so good. Yeah, man. From one craftsman to another. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3You know, there's that uh one book is called Many Lives, Many Masters. Talks about how we go through, you know, if you believe in reincarnation, which I do, um these different lives, but it's you encounter the same not people, but the same spirits that you've had in other lifetimes that and that's what Dave and I are, you know, we've we've met in other lifetimes, many other lifetimes. And you know, it's really funny when I first met him, and I went, you call your company Kialoa. And I go, you know, when I was a little kid, even before I was that interested in surfing, I used to sail down in the Yacht Harbor. And so every year in Hawaii um they'd have the Trans Back race, which was a big deal. And I remember the Kialoa boat was uh this it was like a shortboard of boats, you know. It was this innovative, it was called the ultra-lightweight, and it was uh whole new way of building a boat to race. And um the first one was called the Kialoa.
Speaker 8You know, in that same era, my favorite boat was Windward Passage. Oh, that was a big old thank. But still, there was just the same era and it was so cool.
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah, that was always there. That was that was a nice boat too. Yeah, but the Kialoa I remember, you know, being interested in it just because um it was a whole new thing, you know. And then, you know, Dave's company was named that, and I go, huh, hey, I guess we've known each other before. This yeah, so cool.
SpeakerYeah, that's that's amazing. Dave has stories of being a little kid and going into that harbor or wherever that boat would be kind of warned. Yeah, and he he I think he made a model of it once when he was a kid, only to then, you know, decades later name his brand after it. And it's escaping me at the moment, but even though name Kialoa has meaning that's relevant to his Outrigger paddle company, so it's yeah, I'm I I doing that story on Kialoa was one of the first podcasts I recorded where I was like, this is such a cool way to share a brand story because usually a brand is an extension of the founder, right? And and based on that founder's values, I mean, I guess all of us in this room have had some degree of experience with entrepreneurship, you know, and and its ups and downs. But I loved what he said around, you know, the goal of building a brand is one that has such high value in its identity, um, which clearly you've done, and I would say you guys are have also accomplished and kind of the your record speaks for itself, you know. So it's cool. It's really cool. I was thinking back on on your kind of celebrity lifestyle. Yeah. And yeah, you like you know, like I want to hear your because I think the first movie you ever made worked on was Big Wednesday. Is that right? Like Hollywood movie. Yeah. What what are some memory because you've talked about North Shore and you know, like I I want to hear. About Big Wednesday. What do you remember from that like project that filming?
Speaker 3Hollywood.
SpeakerYeah.
Speaker 3It was my introduction to Hollywood, you know, and I think everybody at some point, if they like the movies, dreams, you know, of how they could go to Hollywood and be in a movie or something like that. And you know, that opportunity just really came out of the blue for me. I mean, I the telephone rang one day and I picked it up, and you know, it was John Melius calling telling me he wanted to you know have me be in the movie. And you know, there was a a phase of my life where I got to experience Hollywood. Yeah. And um great time.
SpeakerWas it important to you that they get it as right as possible back then? Like with just the the surfing kind of component of that movie?
Speaker 3Well, I mean, you know, before that, Hollywood's attempts at at surfing movies with Gidget, which, you know, was kind of okay. The story was okay, but uh, you know, the surfing was not, and then all the other ones that came after that were just downhill, you know.
Big Wednesday And Surf Culture Influence
Speaker 3I mean, beach blanket bingo and ride the wild surf and all those. And you know, everybody went, oh no, Hollywood, they don't understand surfing. But Melius did, he was a surfer, and that movie was and still is probably the most authentic movie ever to be made in Hollywood about surfing. And it's really interesting because you know, I I worked for a German company for years, and I met, you know, I traveled all around Europe and um in Holland I met this guy who had just bought the O'Neill brand. And you know, we had dinner together and he was surfing was just taking off in Europe and and you know, as as a marketing vehicle for selling sportswear, it was really starting to like it had here in the US, you know, Quicksilver and Bill Bong Lightning Bolt, you know, really started to take off. And and I go, You've had a lot of success. What's your secret? And he goes, Come here, I'm gonna show you. We went into his house and he put on Big Wednesday, and I went, okay, so what's the deal? And he goes, and he would freeze frame it and he'd look at all the clothes everybody was wearing in the movie and he'd go, That was my design two years ago. This is my design for next year. And I went, Well, that's kind of brilliant. Yeah, and you know, because it was uh very authentic surf stuff, and yeah, you know, Hollywood, I mean the warehouses they have of stuff, you know, to to make their movies be authentic or you know, look the part, yeah, um, is amazing. And and all the stuff, you know, that they had um for the guys to wear was was good stuff.
SpeakerYeah, that's crazy. That's a cool story. Marketing through Hollywood.
Speaker 3Yeah.
SpeakerYeah, that's that's it's like gorilla marketing at its genesis. I love it. Yeah.
Speaker 3But surfing has always had that that influence outside of itself, you know, that the people that don't surf well, because I guess it is cool, uh thought it was really cool. You know, and then it they wanted to dress like a surfer, you know. Pretend they were a surfer.
SpeakerComfortable clothing. Yeah, much more comfortable than like a pair of slacks and a button-up shirt, in my opinion. You guys got any questions or any thoughts? I have a question for Gerry.
Speaker 2Um, you know, you've been here for now 30 plus years, 34, 34 years. Um, you know, yeah, you were talking about how much Bend has changed in the last that amount of time, and we've experienced that as well. And um, you know, there's been most I would say mostly good. I mean, of course, with more people, you do have some challenges, and you hear some people kind of, you know, like you were talking about the traffic, you know. I mean, it's so minor, right? But um, you know, they're talking about Ben growing a lot more in the next 30 years. Um what would be your hope for how you see us doing this as a community and what we look like 30 years from now?
Speaker 3Well, I think we're doing a pretty good job as it is. Yeah. And you know, it's just when I don't know what exactly it is that makes a place beautiful, you know. It's I mean, a great deal of it is the place. And you know this is a great place. I mean, the forests, you know, the mountains, the river, everything. But it's the people too. And I think that this you know, the foundation here in Bend is the core of people are good people. And you know, it goes back to that genuine friendliness that we encountered the first time we crossed over into Oregon. That that's still here, you know, it's still alive and well. Um I'm sure, you know, every once in a while frustration for one reason or another kind of suppresses that in some people, but I think if it's there, it's always there. And you know, it just it just needs some kind of stimulation to make it come out, you know, and and so I think I think we got a pretty good chance here. I do too. And we got a lot of space around us, and that was the one thing that right away I noticed that
Hoping Bend Grows Without Losing Heart
Speaker 3there was a lot more space here. I mean, you know, in Hawaii you know, it's small islands, you know. People kept talking about island fever. I never understood what they were talking about. But when I came here to Oregon and you know, I started talking to people, they'd stand like six or eight feet away, you know. And it wasn't like they were being standoffish, but it was just that giving space, you know, that that's how when you have space to give, it's a nice thing to give. Absolutely.
Speaker 8You know, um, as you've mentioned, and we've we've all talked about how important the people are, and there is the the rivers and the mountains and the trails and uh you know everything we have. But so a question for you is what advice would you give someone new to Central Oregon uh that wants to become a part of the community and um instead of just simply just living here? Be nice. Boom. I love that. It's so true. Yeah, and it's simple.
Speaker 2It's so easy. It's like you know, it doesn't have to be so hard. Yeah, yeah, truly.
SpeakerRad. Well, uh this last piece of audio is a little longer, but um it's produced a little differently. So I'm I'm hoping uh Ben Husaby is a phenomenal storyteller. Uh I've known Ben for a long time. I ha I don't know him really well. Um, but for listeners, Ben's a he's kind of a he's been in Centurion a long, long time. He's a previous Olympic Nordic skier and coach and has influenced and impacted a ton of lives in in this town. Um and he tells a really cool story about around the beginning of the ditch, his first time meeting you, and kind of because of that community you guys developed out there, the influence it had on our wave in town, which has become very popular, not just in our community and region, but again, people in in Maui had heard of the Bend River wave, you know, and so um this is good audio.
Speaker 9A lot of people will will agree that had it not been for that wave, we we may we may have struggled, or maybe having a town wave probably would have taken longer to get. You know, uh there are quite a few canals that come off of the Deschutes River, but the largest one is is called the North Unit Maine. I used to be a whitewater kayaker, and I used to I used to kayak down that canal, which of course was frowned upon, but there were a few of us that did it.
Ben Husaby And The Ditch Origin Story
Speaker 9So, anyway, there's a wave out by Boonesborough that I knew about from kayaking, and I had always wanted to learn to surf. And so on the first year, it was somewhere kind of like late in the season, maybe late July, early August. I bought a surfboard and I put on a helmet and boots and all the stuff that you wear took my wetsuit. I might have even had a life preserver because I had no idea what to expect. And I was completely by myself. Anyway, lo and behold, I I went out to this wave, I suited it up, I took this board, and I I dumped it into the wave and laid on my belly, and I'd never surfed before in my life. And after after some time, um I learned to pop up and stand up on this wave. And if I did it right with the wrong board, but if I did it right, I could actually stay in place and go back and forth on it. And I had never surfed before in my life, and I was out there trying to figure it out on my own. And to be honest, it was really exhilarating, but it was I didn't have anybody to share it with. I was by myself. And then I know this is not relevant to Gerry, but this is kind of how the story starts. Someone I knew at the time said, Hey, this guy, Gerry Lopez, is in town and he's a really big surfer, and you should go talk to him. I didn't know who he was. There was there was no social media, no internet. Um, I mean, I had no idea. I just knew that there was this Hawaiian guy that lived in town that had a surf shop that knew something about surfing. Like that was my introduction. So I drove over to his surf shop. This is the part that I'll never forget. I drove over to his surf shop, and it was called GL Manufacturing. I knocked on the door and he had a mask on because he was shaping a board, and he gave me that full-on Hawaiian kind of I like that I know you face, you know, like all I could see was his eyes, and it was just a total like, I know you, like, like what the hell are you doing here? I don't, I don't know who you are. And at the time, I just I said I stumbled through a bunch of words. I said, My name is so and so. Do you have 30 minutes? I have something I believe you really would like to see. And he goes, he kind of like, you know, Gerry's a very curious person, and it's like kind of cocked, you know, he's got those eye, his eyes are so telling, you know, of his interest or not. And he's very warm and he's very, you know, he's very humble, and he's always he's a very good listener. And I just stumbled through, like, hey, I know someone that knows your wife, and I have something, I don't even know. I was I was probably stuttering on my tongue, but I said, Hey, I have something I I think you might want to see. And we walked out to my, I had a beat up old Chevy pickup, three-quarter ton pickup truck at that time, and in the back of it was this board that I had. And I said, I said, I found a wave, and you probably I think you might want to see it. And he like peered over, you know, he's not that tall. He peered over the back of my truck and he looked in there and he kind of like he kind of once again kind of cocked his head. So we got in this this beat up old truck and we drove out to Boonesborough and we went out Murphy Road and we we drove up over the top of the levee, and his first words were no shit. So I grabbed the board and walked down to the edge, jumped in, laid on my belly, popped to my feet, and sort of, you know, I mean, I was I was a total kook, right? I was on my feet and I was just basically lazily going back and forth across the way. And I look over and he has this mile-wide smile. And I come out and he goes, Hey, can I, you know, he goes, Hey, can I try that? And I'm like, sure. So he grabs this board, and you know, far be it from me from knowing what type of board was the right type of board. It was it was a mini tank, or it was a becker, it was the wrong thing. Now, you know, it was probably 7-4 or whatever. Anyway, he grabs the board, he he he kicks his flip-flops off, he jumped out on there, popped right up to his feet. Like it had taken me half a year to figure out how to do that. He popped right up to his feet on this on this board, and he made a couple cutbacks on the wave. And he didn't, I mean, you could stay on the wave for 10 minutes if you were in the right spot. Like it's yeah, it does, it it was a it was a very forgiving wave, and it was a great wave. And he pops off, runs down, grabs the board, he crawls out on the steep shot creek, uh, you know, getting climbing out of the canal, and he runs up and he goes, Come on, we gotta go back to the shop. I mean, I've known him for probably a total of an hour now. We go back to the shop, and he looks at me, he goes, Call me tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. He gives me his cell phone number, and he's and and you know, he's like I said, he's a private person. He goes, Please don't hand this out to anybody, but call me at 10. And I'm like, Oh, okay. So I call the next morning, Toni answers the phone. She said, Gerry's sleeping. She's like, he's like, hello, I'm Toni, I'm Ben, blah, blah, blah. She goes, Hey, what did like you're like, um, what did you do? I'm like, what do you mean? He goes, She didn't he didn't come home last night. He's he shaped all night, right? Like he basically shaped and glassed two boards overnight. All of a sudden, now I had a proper board and a partner. So we called it the ditch. Um, you know, and as time went on, more and more people heard about it. Gerry went through a couple of iterations of boards. I know that for me personally, he had made, I think he made three different iterations, and each one of them got better and better and better. Um, and it just it sort of became kind of like a bend surfing meeting place. You know, it was quiet in the mornings, really busy in the afternoons. Um it was a lot of the kids that I was coaching, and you know, every day there would just be one new face, every day, one more new face. And um by the the third summer, you know, it was, you know, it just you knew you knew you knew that the end was coming. It was getting totally blown out. There was a dude from Eugene that brought the Oregonian over there, and you know, that was kind of yeah, it's the it's just the way things go. But like I remember one memory that was really cool was Ben Moon, who was a Bend guy, he was doing some Patagonia uh photography. And Jack Johnson, this was right at the right at the peak of Jack's um, I mean, this is when Jack was on top of the world, and uh he came to town. We had two summers with Jack coming to town, and whenever you come to town, Gerry would call up and be like, Okay, Jack's here, we got to get down there. And I thought that it was really, really interesting and cool to have someone like Jack Johnson who was a really humble, super famous, really nice guy, and also, you know, a very accomplished surfer. And um it was it was really it was really neat because he was like, Hey, I can't seem to figure this out. Like, get like, can you help me figure this out? And I'm like, okay. It's and that's what really Gerry brought a bunch of pro surfers there over time, and it was always the same thing. Once they could figure out that the energy was stationary rather than moving through the water, then then they once they figured that out, then they would just totally rip. But I just remember Jack, Jack was like, um, you know, he's so humble, he's like, Hey, do you like music? I'm like, Yeah. He goes, Do you want to go to a concert tonight? I'm like, sure. And he goes, Okay, I'll have some tickets there for you. And I'm like, that's great. And then all of a sudden, uh what it someone was someone showed up, or someone was there that was part of his crew, and they're like pointing at their watch. And he was like, an hour late to sound check, he didn't want to leave. And I think that that was really what that wave was about. Like once you got on it, you just never wanted to leave it. And anyway, that was that was kind of my introduction to and uh kind of the start of my friendship with Jerry. And I think it really, from what I saw, it totally energized him to know that he could find something like that in Central Oregon. Hey, Jerry, uh, this is Ben Husaby. Uh anyway, Adam, thank you for this, uh, for this opportunity. And I just want to congratulate you uh for a well-deserved uh honor. And uh Bend is very lucky to have you in our community. Um, you've represented us all very, very well. And I just want to thank you for being there on that day when I knocked on the door of GL manufacturing. Um, and most importantly, that you trusted me enough to jump in my beat up old Chevy to head out to the canal um to see you get so excited by seeing that standing wave. And basically, lo and behold, uh, we turned it into a really, really fun period in in Bend. Um, and even ironically, uh, you know, after even after all these years, I now moonlight at a surf shop working on surfboards. So thanks very much, you know.
Speaker 8That's awesome.
Speaker 2Yeah, that's a great story.
SpeakerI'm just glad that story's on record, you know. Absolutely.
Speaker 2That's so fun.
Speaker 8Yeah, that's cool. Okay, so hence the veto. You can wipe this out too, but I get it now. Yeah, you like the sound effect? Oh, that was cool.
SpeakerHowever, you know, like I I'm I love listening to stories through ever since I was a little kid, through audio, you know, and and when you can, you know, there they're I like it because it leaves space for your imagination, you know, and so yeah, it's uh that was fun. And and you know, Ben's a great storyteller, but you know, that that the popularity of that wave, what you guys learned out there, you know, um everywhere, not just from how to do it, but what to do it on. I mean, that's a whole industry now, man. It is, you know, like we have multiple shapers in town, including yourself that that you know, shape boards for river surfing. Um, there's more and more of these waves popping up, either getting discovered on natural rivers or or being, you know, designed and engineered in rivers, or you know, you have places like Chelan, which it's the same sort of physics, but in a a more controlled environment. And it's it's amazing because it's bringing that, it's bringing the joy of surfing to a, you know, you don't necessarily have to live at the ocean now to to kind of experience an aspect of it that that captures you, man. So it was cool. I was I was hyped to get that story.
Speaker 2That was great. So tell us, Gerry, about how what what it took to get the wave that we have here.
Speaker 3It took a lot. Yeah. It was a long process. Um you know, there was a lot, uh well, not a lot, but a few mistakes made along the way that hadn't we made them, it would have been here sooner. But you know, that's the way things go. And um anytime you're dealing with rapidly moving water, it really makes Makes a lot of difficulties arise that no one ever thought of you know when they're planning to do something like this. And right now the wave has been great. And you know like Ross was saying, we get people that come from all over. Especially from like surf communities too. They go, hey, where's the wave? We want to see the wave. And then they come and they go, Wow. And the thing about a river wave that really frustrates surfers is that it looks like a wave, but it's not, it's a river. And because it looks like a wave and they have that perception in their mind and they know how to surf a wave, they really have difficulty trying to surf a river wave. And on the other hand, people that have no experience surfing find it a lot easier. But Dave and I and quite a few of the others have gotten
Building The Bend River Wave
Speaker 3much better at articulating the dynamics of what needs to be done to have success on the wave. And like yesterday, there was this gal that brought a boogie board down, and she was training. She said her whole life is training for triathlons. And so she had this boogie board, and we were on the lower wave, which you gotta come down and surf with us.
SpeakerYeah.
Speaker 3And I go, she you know, was watching us on surfboards. I go, here, try this surfboard. I think you'll have fun. And she spent like I don't know, three or four hours down there. Yeah, man. And she got it at the end, you know. And then I go, she said she liked body surfing too. And I go, Well, that upper wave you can body surf. And she goes, Well, I don't know, it looks kind of dangerous. But I go, come on, let's try it out. So, you know, there's a way you can make it whitewater so it makes it good for body surfing. And she didn't quite get that, but um at one point she goes, Oh, I think I'd I'd really like to try this. And so there's some gal there that had a uh a foamy, you know, a small foamy. I go, hey, think you can let her try? She goes, Yeah. And that's the beauty of that whole wave. It's you know, the the friendliness of everyone down there and the lack of tension and helpfulness, and you know, just wanting people to have some success when they're struggling. And Dave Chun and I watched her and both went, man, for a first time to ever try it, she did really good. And it was it just warmed us, you know, that that someone could have so much fun on something like a river. It's amazing.
SpeakerThat's exactly why you're getting this award, amigo. I mean, honestly, like it it's as simple as that, you know. But um, yeah, I mean, you just said so much in that story, you know, like that one, like there's something when you persevere and you do things that are scary and you learn something new and you commit to it, but then like to see someone experience that is uh especially given your nature. Like, I I can only imagine how much joy you get out of that. Absolutely.
Speaker 2Is there a story behind like how how this even came about? Like, how did the conversation even start for the wave?
Speaker 3Like well, you know, it started with the originally on the bridge on the road that goes across, there was a spillway there that was dangerous. Never thought it was dangerous, you know, but then there was a couple of drownings here that were pretty tragic. And I couldn't really understand how people could find themselves in those positions, you know, and and um the the dynamics of a river are really different than you know, surf in the ocean. And I mean in general, and I've always said it a million times, uh surfing is infinitely safer than skiing or snowboarding. Those are dangerous sports. Yeah. Um but the river is a whole different thing again, and so that spillway, you know, they had a couple of fatalities there and and they knew they needed to do something, and the the kayak community was really the one that kind of pushed the whole thing through, said, Okay, if you're gonna remove that spillway, why don't you create a whitewater park? And that was the beginning of it. And Jason Bowerman was a big influence. Oh yeah, and it was you know an expensive project. And um but Jason, you know, had a surfing background too, besides being a kayaker. Him and Ben were great kayakers together. I bet and um he was the one that said, Hey, we should have a green wave on this river for that you could surf on. And that was how it all began, you know. And Don Horton was running the parks and wreck back then, and they talked him into it, you know, and and he was really
Kids, Community, And Closing Thanks
Speaker 3the the guy that okay and pushed it all through. And you know, like I said, there was you know it was a learning process for everyone involved because um it took a couple of years to get it right, but it's great now.
SpeakerYeah, man, it's paying long-term dividends. I mean, it it it like definitely is a massive contributor back to like the vibe of Bend, you know, especially with young active people. There's a def there's a a unique kind of mountain beach culture thing going on down there. It's it's so unique. I love it. I'm so stoked my kids are getting to grow up and and just I just realize how special it is, you know. A lot of very few communities have that. So, yeah.
Speaker 2We have a great story of our son Fletcher. Ross, do you want to tell it?
Speaker 8Well, I have a couple things really quick along those lines, but yeah, very simple, a very quick story. But uh Fletcher was like fourth or fifth grade, and I picked him up from the wave he had been down there all day and picked him up, and he had his chocolate milk and he was eating a peanut butter sandwich or whatever, and he was sitting in the backseat. And I he he says, Dad, do you know Jack Johnson? I said, Yeah. He goes, You know, he's a he's a really good surfer. And he's just sitting back there eating his sandwich, and I was like, look back there, like, yeah, I know. How do you know? Oh, I was just surfing with him. He used my board, and uh, met his son, and they're just really nice. And I was like, wow, how cool is that? You know, that you know, that that he had that. But Gerry, you were talking about um reincarnation and uh, you know, masters and such. Um, I totally believe in the same thing. Um and for my next life, though, I ruled out grizzly bear and I ruled out bald eagle. And if I can somehow put it all together and come back as a Central Oregon or a Bend kid, I will have won. Yeah, right. I mean, how fortunate. I mean, Adam, your kids are right in the thick of it right now, and it is just so cool. I mean, and to have the Bend Surf Club and have Gerry teaching you how to surf and you know, showing people, I mean it is just the coolest place. It's the coolest place for us, it's the coolest place for kids. Yeah.
Speaker 3Yeah. I mean, even for us, you know, it was really one of those things we look back on and go, man, this was really meant to be because you know, our son pretty much grew up here. We moved well, we were starting to spend a lot of time here when he was three years old already, and and so he grew up with the mountain snowboarding, um no interest in surfing, yeah. And you know, I encouraged it, but never pressured or pushed, and it took a while, but he wasn't I mean, he was I think 22 years old before he started, you know, looking at surfing a little different. Now he lives in Southern California, he's a full-on surfer. He builds surfboards. Oh my gosh. I love that. Love that.
SpeakerYeah, this is so good. Um, this is great, you guys. I mean, I think I think we did it.
Speaker 2I think we did too.
SpeakerThis is uh I'm really excited that this conversation went down. I think it kind of timestamps a lot of really cool stuff and provides a lot of really cool history. And so thank you, Gerry.
Speaker 2Yeah, Gerry, thank you so much.
SpeakerYou're welcome. Yeah, and thank you, Heather, and thank you, Ross. Personally, thank you. You guys have given me a lot and asked for a little, so I really appreciate it. It's been a really fun relationship over the past few years.
Speaker 8Yeah, so right back at you. And thank you for this. This was fantastic. Yeah, this was fun.
SpeakerThank you, Gerry. Yeah, just throw out a thank you to Bob and Dave and Ben and everybody else. Yes, thank you. Those were great stories.
Speaker 2Those were really good. Yeah. Well, thanks.
SpeakerAll righty, guys. Thanks, everybody.
Speaker 2That was just great. So fun.
SpeakerHey, thanks for listening to Bend Magazine's A Circling Podcast. Make sure to visit BendMagazine.com and remember to enter promo code podcast at checkout for your $5 annual subscription. Our theme song was written by Carl Perkins and performed by Aaron Paulbaker and Aaron Zerflu of the Erns. I'd like to say a special thank you to all of those who participated in the making of this episode, as it wouldn't be the same without your contribution, and I appreciate your trust. Lastly, if you know someone who you think would enjoy today's episode, please share it with them today. Hey, thanks for your time, Sutra Oregon. Now go get outside, we'll see you out there. And remember, the health of our community relies on us.
