drift, perspectives in surfing

Words &

Photos: Ed Fladung

Mid-May, at some out-of-the-way Michoacan cobblestone rivermouth left point, the last few pulses of a winter swell  were rolling in before the summer hurricane season started to notch up the wave heights, currents and temperatures. I was on my first weekend surf trip after a becoming a new dad and after months of adjusting to zero sleep, I was seriously enjoying the head high rollers.

I paddled in from a late-afternoon session just in time to take the camera out for some golden hour photo shooting. As I made my way back to camp, two boards out in front of a palapa roof bungalow caught my eye: a coke-bottle green Fineline swallowtail quad and a banana yellow Gary Hanel /Mollusk  three-fin round pin.

In Mexico, it’s rare to see boards outside of the standard white, wet sanded matte finish thruster or performance longboards. Fishes have definitely made a come back, but even then, mostly just standard plain-jane white.

It turns out that the owner of these two exceptions was Israel Preciado, the resident longboard style master. His nonchalance is unmiskakable as he navigates through the throngs of local shortboard groms, chip-on-shoulder socal rippers, yoga retreaters learning the ropes, and those of us with more mellow aspirations.

After seeing his mini-stash, I caught up with Israel only to learn that this quiet, unassuming figure is in possession of one of the deepest surfboard quivers I have ever seen in and out of Mexico. For Israel, surfing is no longer about style or form or learning how to ride one shape of board particularly well. It’s about the search for new differences, variety and discrepancies—and collecting new boards is an integral part of his research. In Mexico’s sea of potato chips, soft tops and Robert August logs, Israel’s approach is unique.

Ed: When did you start surfing and what are your earliest memories of riding longboards?
Israel: My very first time surfing was at 8 years old, my oldest brother pushed me into a wave, but I started going on my own when I was 15. Two of my friends each found half of the same broken longboard so we put it back together and I kept it. Some of my first memories are of surfing the point in Punta de Mita on a good sized-day and just flying down the line out of control and ending up on dry reef!!

Ed: You competed on the longboarding competition circuit. What was your experience in competitive surfing?.
Israel: I competed in the Mexican longboard circuit and a few other special surf events, but in the end decided it was uninspiring, especially  when  the judges want you to ride your longboard like a shortboard. There really isn’t any money to be made even if you win, so I would rather free surf with my friends.

Ed: Here in Mexico, the shortboard is the dominant shape. Surfers get their style cues predominantly from surf mags and barrel porn videos filmed in Indonesia. What first made you want to learn about different shapes?
Israel: Back when I started, My friend Josue used to lend me his longboards (I didn’t have pesos for my own) He had a bunch of different boards and most of the time I would try to ride the long ones, but if he was riding the longboards I had to take what was available.  And when I was living in Puerto Vallarta, some friends and I found an old board on the beach one day and took turns surfing it. We couldn’t figure out how to get it all the way back home, so we burried it in the sand until the next day.

I guess in the beginning, not having any funds to buy a board forced me to ride whatever was available and opened my eyes to all kinds of boards. Then about three or four years ago I met my friend Obre and he started telling me about all these different shapes and where to get them (living in Mexico it’s hard to get boards, specially alternative shapes) and that’s when my quiver starting growing. Living in a tourist town you get to see lots of different boards from all over the world. Lots of times I will see a board on the beach and then go home and find it online and drool over it. Sometimes it works out where the owner runs out of cash or hits the reef and decides to sell his board cheap!

Ed: In my limited experience you have the most well rounded quiver – in terms of different shapes and shapers – that I have ever seen and you live in a small town in Mexico. What made you so intent on building your collection? Can you list your favorites?
Israel: More than trying to collect boards, I just really enjoy the challenge and beauty of trying new shapes on all kinds of waves and conditions.
- Infinity surfboards 10 square tail: on small waves its 50-50 rails makes it so smooth to turn and it trims down the line so good.
- ATL surfboards 9′6  squash tail: I love this log. It’s super fast on any wave, a really good noserider and it turns super easy (a bit heavy to walk to some places).
- Donald Takayama 9′6  round pin tail: this beauty rides good in all conditions but I like it the best when it gets juicy or on good-sized days. It was shaped for noseriding.
- Pearson Arrow surfboards 9′0 high performance  2 plus 1: small to big waves. I don’t ride it much but it’s the best for progressive longboarding—great noserider (my old competion board).
- Channel Islands Single Fin 6′5 (two of them a green and pinkish one): this is a really fun board, it catches waves super easy, I’ve surfed this board from 3 feet to double over head.
- Gary Hanel/Mollusk 6′4 three fin bonzer round pin: good for juicy waves, really stable when turning.
- Campell Brothers 6′4 bonzer: this is a bit gordita but really fast, good for floaters!
- Rich Pavel winged quad fish 5′10: Wow! this is a really fast board, once you carved on a wave with this board you will never forget that feeling!
- Danny Hess wood skinned 5′7:  this board is a trip. It catches waves quickly, loose when turning but really stable, wood feels so different than foam boards, it just turns and cuts through the water so much easier…esta chidisima.
- ATL surfboards 5′8 biscocho (biscuit): this is the first thruster I have ever ridden. I really enjoy learning from it.

I’m looking forward to get a new longboard from ATL surfboards, I think Marcos is a very talented new Mexican shaper and I will enjoy sharing some of my perspectives on longboarding with him.

I can’t wait to go back to Mollusk, Icons, Thalia—I have been thinking about ordering a 6′0 round pin quad from Mandala custom shapes I would like to try it on the big hurricane swells at some long point breaks in the San Blas area. Gato Heroi are really trippy logs but they work great. I used one for about two years (when it was named Creme ), by far one of the best fastest logs ever. Alaias boards look fun, there is a lot of wood in Mexico I may just try to shape one and see what happens! Lately I had fallen in love with the Danny Hess boards, I may give myself one for xmas.

Ed: Through learning about and surfing so many different board shapes, do you feel more connected to a larger surf culture outside of Mexico?
Israel: I do feel like Mexican surf culture is very limiting—all the same boards and styles and brands of clothing. Since I do ride a lot of foreign shaped boards and most of the longboard videos I watch are of people around the world, I feel connected to the idea of individuality, which seems to be where the surf industry is heading these days. I also love reading The Surfer’s Journal and learning about where surfing started, seeing the old pictures of the first boards and reading those stories definitely connects me to people out there who ride whatever feels right in the moment.