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Tom Boyle
Pro Interview

Above: Tom with legendary photo editor Larry 'Flame' Moore

I turned professional in '83. JP Patterson and I were the two team riders for Scott Hawaii Bodyboards. Soon, Jack Lindholm joined the team. We lobbied Steve Scott and started getting paid $50 a month to offset petrol to get to the beach every day. It may not sound like much, but it was a monthly paycheck to be a pro bodyboarder. That was unheard of. A year after turning pro, I won the Makapuu Classic in 8-10 foot (Hawaiian) surf, beating Pat Caldwell, Jack Lindholm, and de-throning the three-time defending champion JP Patterson.

1984 was the 20th anniversary of Surfing magazine, so they had 'special issues' or themes for each month. They had spent a lot of time strategically planning for the year. The issue that sold the most? The one with a Morey poster of Ben Severson at Sandy Beach (my shot). Surfing decided to run two special issues of Bodyboarding magazine for the summer of '85 as an experiment, to see if it would catch on.
At the time, there was just Surfer and Surfing, and they hated each other. Mortal enemies, I kid you not, always trying to scoop each other. I had had photos printed in both mags (Tommy Alford in Surfer '78 and Jack Lindholm in Surfing in '79), and Flame at Surfing had been the first photo editor to send me film and put me on the staff masthead around '82. But I was shooting for Jeff Divine at Surfer in December '84 when Bill Sharp from Surfing approached me to be the main photographer/contributing editor for Bodyboarding.
I had just finished fourth at the Pipeline World Championships behind Mike, Pat and Jack -- beating JP and Ben. Anyway, I called Paul Holmes, the editor of Surfer, and told him I wanted to stay a staff photographer at Surfer, and asked his permission to shoot and write for Bodyboarding mag. Paul said, "Go ahead. Lots of people play frisbee at the beach each weekend, but how many would buy Frisbee magazine?'

Once Bodyboarding Magazine was a success, I was told I would have to drop my sponsors in order to avoid conflict of interest claims by advertisers. I always wanted to have a signature model board, so I missed out on a lot of experiences as a pro rider in order to promote our sport through the media. Yet I think that was my optimum way to contribute to the advancement of high-performance bodyboarding. I took third in January of '87 at Pipe behind Mike and Ben but my focus was on the release of Shock Waves.

Shock Waves was released in '87. Two full segments on bodyboarding, plus a segment where Mike Stewart went head to head with Occy. It was a proud moment, and validation for a lot of hard work. Bodyboarding Magazine went bi-monthly. Things seemed to be going in the right direction.

In '88, I formed my own production company, Eye Spy Productions, and made the first edition of Bodyboarders video magazine, the Tribal Trials. Jay Reale said I wasn't the first to make a bodyboarding video, but I was the first to do it right.

What was your inspiration for shooting those early bodyboarding videos?

I had been shooting Super 8 film of Jack 'The Ripper' Lindholm since '78, my junior year of high school. I shot photos primarily, but tons of film as well. When I approached the Condon brothers in 1983 (they were surf filmmakers), they allowed me to shoot a roll at Sandy Beach with their Miliken high speed movie camera. It was a heavy rig, with a bulky battery pack that went on my back with a car's seat-belt. Almost every ride on my first two rolls came out pretty good -- and it wasn't the best of conditions -- so they were pleased. But I had Ben Severson, JP Patterson, Mike Stewart and Jack Lindholm as subjects -- so, I had the top performers and by then we had worked together in the water before.

Anyway, in the spring of '84, I dropped out of college to work full-time with the Condons as a member Hot Shots production team. Windsurfing was blowing up and they wanted to concentrate on that -- as well as the surf movie which would become Shockwaves. I kept telling them about Mike Stewart and bodyboarding, and Bob Condon said to me, 'There'll be 25 Mike Stewarts at Ho'okipa tomorrow,' referring to the windsurfers.

I kept shooting bodyboarders when I could, and I wanted to put out a bodyboarding video similar to the Bones Brigade skate videos by Stacy Peralta. Ron Condon told me that we couldn't make a video because the audience won't pay to see something in the theatre if they've already seen some of the same footage. This was back in the day when filmmakers spent years shooting a film. Shockwaves was three and a half years in the making. So, I was frothing at the mouth to make a video…

One day, across the street from Pipe, Pat Caldwell tells me that Brad Dorfman (I believe), the owner of Vision Streetwear -- who'd been very successful with his skate videos -- was making a video on bodyboarding's hottest manoeuvres or bodyboarding with the pro's. He had Pat, JP, Mike and Jack for his crew. I told Pat, 'But I've been shooting all this time, and I've been planning to do a video.' Pat looked at me and he was so excited, he just laughed as he said 'They're doing it!'

Two years later I was no longer with the Condons. I was putting together my first contest at Sandy Beach, the Tribal Trials, to enter the Gotcha Pro, which was going to be Hawaii's answer to the OP Pro in Huntington. I hired DB Dunlap, Don King and his then-wife, Liysa, to shoot the contest. It would be the first time riders would square off in man-on-man pro/am competition in Hawaii. I decided to make this the foundation of my first video.

DB Dunlap had shot more video of bodyboarding than anyone at this time, with Ben Severson being his favourite subject. Ben took DB to the best spots at the right time -- then DB would shoot Ben. Don't ever let me hear you say Ben isn't savvy. So, the natural progression was to have a profile on Ben Severson.

Danny Kim's stand-up riding was unique and unbelievable. I wanted him to do the pro tip on how to stand-up tube ride -- because it was spectacular -- and to show everyone that bodyboarding isn't limited to one or two styles or approaches.

The Pipeline preview with Jack Lindholm and Mike Stewart captured the essence of how these two really love what was considered the most dangerous wave in the world at the time. Jack and Mike have changed perceptions through their riding at Pipe, and inspired many around the globe to get into the sport.

I wanted to create a new medium which would be similar to the way we devoured every bodyboarding mag that we could get our hands on. The other guys that made bodyboarding videos before that really didn't know much about the sport, so they made how-to's, in order for it to make sense to them. I had been riding and living this lifestyle for fifteen years at that point I wanted to show the world what the inside of Sandy Beach looked like. Plus, how amazingly funny bodyboarders are…Bodyboarders video magazine was created to be a series that would provide a view people weren't seeing.

Who was your favourite bodyboarder to shoot at that time?

Jack, JP, Ben, Mike, Keith and Pat.

Have you checked out any of the current DVDs and if so what do you think?

The last three I bought were Social Studies, The Joker and Retrospective 3. I liked all three. I'm really looking forward to Boogie Nation by Timmy Hamilton and Dave Hubbard.

What was the date of each of the vids?

Tribal Trials, Dec. 22nd, 1988

Winter on the Rock, Nov. 18th, 1989

The Indonesian Experience, Sept. 28th, 1990

Any funny little tales about shooting/producing those early productions?

Chris Rust and I edited the Tribal Trials and Winter on the Rock. He had access to a studio for a cheaper rate if we worked at night. We spent a lot of nights finishing editing for the night as the sun was coming up, or sometimes as it was already up. I felt like a vampire. Chris is a talented cameraman and editor, plus a great waterman. He's spent many years working as a news videographer/editor, so he helped me find the documentary/action style that is informative and entertaining. Chris associate produced and co-directed the Indonesian Experience.

Great to hear that you are re-releasing the old classics can't wait to check them out again; how can people get hold of them?

The first re-release of Bodyboarders video magazine's first three editions on one collector's dvd
- the tribal trials
- winter on the rock
- the Indonesian experience will be available at ebodyboarding.com for pre-orders (DVDs will be ready to ship sometime in April)
(We'll also be selling these on the Orcashop site.)

What were the main sections of each of the vids? I remember Seamus' how to pull reverse spins in WOTR and the Haleiwa event and Cameron Steele's guide to North Shore living, but any other sections?

Tribal trials
- Ben Severson profile
- Pro tip - Danny Kim's stand-up tube rides
- Classic Pipeline with Jack Lindholm and Mike Stewart
- Man on man pro/am competition at Sandy Beach
Winter on the Rock
- Profile of Pipeline soul surfer Jack 'The Ripper' Lindholm
- North Shore of Oahu documented during the winter of '88 - '89
- Visiting Californian Cameron Steele's candid perspective on the living conditions
- World renowned water photographer Derek Hoffmann gets his start.
- Pro tip - the reverse spin with Seamas Mercado

The Indonesian Experience travelled to the fabled waves of Bali and Java with six of Hawaii's greatest watermen for a sample of Indonesia's liquid jewels. Seamas Mercado, Brian Kalopodes, Kai Santos, Mike Stewart, Kainoa Mcgee and Jack Lindholm.

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