How unprecedented? Mike the forecaster from Surfline doesn’t think given the location that he has ever before put a good-epic rating on the forecast and he’s calling for it to be upwards of 15 feet. After a quick stop at Mollusk Surf Shop in Brooklyn to drop some money down on a new board we jump in the trusty van and follow Jake on his surf mission. Oh and I did I mention we shot this in winter.

“I am really excited to have Alex Knost in our first episode because you could watch Al tie his f**king shoe and it would be entertaining. He just has that sort of energy, and at the same time a lot of people really hate him. The first trip I went on with Al was to this super industrial, West Oakland-feeling port town in southern Mexico. He was so stoked that we were all going to stay in one 12′x12′ cinder block cell of a room full of hulls, camera gear, fins, spray paint, beer cans, ants, and everything else. He was just pacing around the room, laughing out loud. He slept on the hard tile floor with no blanket or anything every night and brought everything for the trip in a dirty old pillowcase. It was his kind of surf trip, and we’ve been good friends ever since.”

Mike Black explains the the day he had a revelation while teaching quadratic equations to students in this second episode of Hi-Shredability.  Honestly, he lost me when he started talking equations and letters times different letters equals more letters and shapes and squares and so on.  But it’s inspiring to see someone in a completely different field of work use another totally unrelated hobby, or profession as a tool to be inspired for again something completely not related.  This time, it was for the inspiration for his film “Invasion From Planet C” something that looks straight out of Ed Wood’s film archive.  But his passion was there and he accomplished the film with great sacrifice so there is definitely a lot of respect for doing just that. 

Check out this first episode and see clips from his genius film. 

And if you want to see more on Archy, a recent documentary on his life was released and premiered in Newport Beach.  You can see the trailer for it here. 

Do you remember when you were young and there was an idol that you put so high onto a pedestal and you regarded them as Godlike or unworldly? I’m sure you have and so has every young person growing up. For me that person was Slater from “Saved By The Bell”. Not only did have the slickest jerry curl and mullet, but he also had the right threads and the coolest dance moves. He bullied his way through high school and that was the kind of inspiration I needed in my life. He was everything I wanted to be as an eight your old kid growing up on the tough streets of Diamond Bar. That was until I met him on the lot for his hit TV show, “Name Your Adventure”. As soon as I saw him, his bright neon green shirt intimidated me. I thought he wanted to beat everyone in site. And then all of a sudden, he gave me a smile and signed my Slater poster. On that landmark day I learned an important lesson: don’t judge people based on the toughness of their dimples.

I’m sure that is how many people felt watching this first episode of Hi Shredability starring Matt Archy Archbold. This series will give you fans the chance to see the real Archy under his tough exterior, which is still pretty tough. But it’s great to see people for who they really are. Check it.