The edit above comes from the Encyclopedia of Surfing, and perhaps what’s most interesting about it is not the effortless style in Gerry’s completed rides, but how much style he has even when he falls. Check 00:37 when Gerry makes the drop on one, is about to pull in standing tall, and gets clocked in the head by the lip. No flailing, no struggle, he’s relaxed. He seems in tune with something fundamental about surfing, that the incomplete rides, the botched barrels, and the nasty spills are what make the good ones even brighter in the human memory bank. It’s that fundamental wisdom that causes Gerry to take failure with equal style and grace.
