A dozen new stories about some of the world's most iconic surfers is set to be released in the form of a novel next week.
Claudia Lebenthal's "Surfer Stories," a collection of 12 untold stories about some of the sport's most iconic figures, is set for a March 18 release.
The collection of stories focuses on one surfer at a time. Lebenthal assembled a group of authors, journalists, musicians, and even fellow surfers for the project:
Shaun Tomson on Kelly Slater
Sam George on Laird Hamilton
Holly Peterson on Robert “Wingnut” Weaver
Gerry Lopez on Garrett McNamara
Chris Carter on Shaun Tomson
Liza Monroy on Keala Kennelly
Chris Shiflett on Tom Curren
Jamie Brisick on Derek Hynd
Brett Crozier on Bethany Hamilton
Jim Kempton on Gerry Lopez
Karen Rinaldi on Rell Sunn
Selema Masekela on Michael February
"Surfing, for me, is just so visual, it's so cultural," Lebenthal told Aloha State Daily in a recent interview. "Besides the sport itself, it just opens itself to a lot of visual material. These are stories. They are not bios. They're all completely different. They're all written so that whether you surf or not, they're just great human stories."
Surfing's symbiotic relationship with Hawai‘i is featured prominently in the book, with stories mentioning the iconic Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore.
Four of the surfers featured are from Hawai‘i, highlighted by Gerry Lopez, also known in the surfing world as "Mr. Pipeline," who appears in the collection as both a writer and featured surfer.
"I think (the beauty of Hawai‘i) shines through in so many ways," Lebenthal said. "You have that aloha spirit, the spirit of Hawai'i. And then you've got the waves, the the iconic, incredible waves and breaks that Hawai‘i is known for. Pipeline's in many of the stories, Makaha comes up in many of them. As I say, Hawai‘i is such an integral part of surfing. It's the Mecca. It's an inescapable part of surf history that it's kind of impossible for it not to be a part of every story."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
