SURFING SOAPBOX: A whale warrior

The last time I saw Peter Heller, author of “Whale Warriors” and “Hell or High Water,” it was in the airport in San Francisco. We had just flown in from Osaka, Japan, after our paddle-out ceremony in the little town of Taji, ripping the lid off a well-kept secret about the thousands of dolphins that are slaughtered there each year.

When we said goodbye, Peter jumped on his connecting flight to Colorado and I on my flight to Orange County. We high-fived and walked in separate directions, grateful that we had not been arrested in Japan. Two weeks later, arrest warrants were issued, and I was one of the few who didn’t have one.

You could say our careers also had gone in different directions. Peter’s book “Whale Warriors” topped the book charts, and I was awarded the John Kelly award for environmentalist of the year in the category of professional surfer in December.

When I was fired by one of my main sponsors, Ocean Minded, in February, the reason given for the firing was that I was “too controversial,” and it was cited that the Japan trip was “over the top.”

Fast forward almost six months later, and we were again in a small town, this time in mainland, Mexico. Peter has begun work on a new book about surfing and had asked me if would like to be one of the main characters in the book, while he was also working on another article for the Men’s Journal.

How could I resist. After all, for the first time in years I would be on a trip that was solely about surfing. No cameras. No film crew. No writing a story for a magazine.

It was plain and simple: We were there to surf, and I would double as his surfing coach. After a week of surfing for the pure enjoyment and freedom that comes with the act of surfing, it was clear to me once again why I care so much for the sport of surfing and our oceans.

Without surfing my life would be nothing, and I will do everything that I can to ensure that the next generation of surfers have the same opportunities in their lives.

Peace.

JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and founder of the Aloha School of Surfing. He can be reached at Jamo@Alohaschoolofsurfing.com.