Yesterday, on Instagram, which I was suddenly looking at, a documentary film of Christian Fletcher's youth was played. There was also a family video, and I looked back on my relationship with them again.
Speaking of Christian Fletcher, it is a famous story that he was the first person to surf and air, and he is the son of Herbie Fletcher. After all, my father is a considerable person, but my mother, Debbie, is from the famous Hoffman family. Originally speaking of the Hoffman family, her father and grandfather of Christians, Walter Hoffman, was the pioneer of the Big Waver called the "Dana Point Mafia" in Dana Point, California. It is a family that has made a name for its fabric in Hawaii and California. Christian is a real surfer and a celebrity with a gorgeous genealogy.
The first time I met him was in a magazine interview, and Harvey and Christian were together. I took pictures of the two of them with a 6×7 camera. It's the era when Polaroid was cut. Because it was on the beach, I didn't take the strobe that I used in the studio, but for the time being, I set up a bamboo stick that had fallen on the beach, set up the background paper, and took pictures of the two of them.
At that time, I wrote "Smoke dope" on the back of the Polaroid that Christian took. That's an amazing guy. I was only 16 years old or so. I still have that Polaroid. ( When I met him the other day, I said, "I still have that pola," and Christian, he accepted it quite a bit.)
It was a few years after I first met Devil Nishioka that he brought Christian to my father's studio. I've become a great adult, but the content hasn't changed. Like a Christian who grew up in a family with a deep knowledge of art, I could clearly see that he respected his father's paintings. I miss taking a picture of my father and Christian. The photo of Christian taken at that time became the cover of the magazine "Cyborg" made by Devil.
In fact, Christian was a close friend over there when Devil was in California, and he respected Devil very much. When the devil lost one leg due to illness, he rushed to visit him and called "Suppon", a stick with a suction cup to use when the toilet was clogged, turned it upside down, and attached it to one of the devil's legs and said, "This is fine!" That. I'm sure he was imagining a pirate captain. You laughed at the Christian-style joke.
Of course, I came first at the funeral. That's why he took the devil's bones all the way to his hometown of Shikoku.
On the surface, he is hardcore, but I really felt that he is a very delicate and kind man on the inside.
Every time I came to Japan, I was allowed to take pictures if I had a chance. One day, I asked him, who was a strong-faced man who gathered Mohicans into one, to hold a flower. But at that moment, he had a very clear expression, and I felt like his inner face had emerged.
"It's the best!" When I asked him to comment on the photo at that time for my book, I got a comment that was completely like him. I thought what a kind guy he was.
Photo book "Saiko Jan" Posted in
In 2016, I visited Herbie's studio during my trip to California. AT THAT TIME, NAKI (MITSUHIDE FUNAKI), WHO LIVED OVER THERE, SHOWED ME AROUND. Even when I was shooting at Harvey's house, he went out of his way to fly a motorcycle and came to see me. With Debbie and the three of us, it's hard to have a chance, so when I said I wanted to take a picture, he let me take a picture, and I thought it was a miracle for me to be able to take a picture of the three of them.
At that time, I was shown Herbie's board collection, and in the shelf full of surfboards, there was a board with a yellow and red yajiri. This is the board of the photo that Art Blur took and became the cover. I saw it, it's the best! When I said that, Harvey was happy to pull it out and show it to me. A long time ago, it was a board that became the cover of the magazine "SURFER", a shot of him in Maalaea, Maui. It is the board that became the highlight when Harvey later opened the vintage board exhibition in Japan.
There is also a psychedelic board drawn with an airbrush that David Nuhia used in the late 60s or 70s, "This is David Nuhia's, isn't it, I've seen it in an old magazine," and I said, "I see , Do you know?" He pulled out the board one after another, and I was happy. Every board has a history that can be passed down, and I think now that I should have recorded everything with photos and recordings.
While such a board discussion was in the middle of blooming, Debbie brought me a bottle of mineral water and was grateful. Later, NAKI said, "I don't usually do that to guests," and I was relieved that he recognized me a little.
In fact, when Debbie greeted me at Harvey's studio, she said, "You took the picture of Harvey sitting in that bamboo, it was good." It's really an honor to be praised by her...
More than 20 years ago, when Takuji Masuda invited Harvey and Clegg Stisick to Japan, he was allowed to take a picture at a temple in Kamakura. It's a picture of her sitting quietly in the bamboo forest, but it left Debbie's impression.
Because such an episode triggered it, I was able to take a family photo in the studio. It was really good to surf and take pictures. This was also a moment called Only Knows The Feeling. I can't help but feel the relationship with this parent and child.
Walter Hoffman https://www.surfnews.jp/feature/column/77912/
The photos used are from "surfers" and "surfers II"
