Brittany Yearout
News Editor
“Surfing is a physical thrill. You are following along this wave, just being propelled by the water and energy shooting below you … You are controlling this surfboard, and you get this free ride, this nature ride.”
After 49 years of Malibu surfing, Denny Aaberg still gets stoked when he catches a wave. He is a 61-year-old surf rider, guitarist and screenwriter who took 6th place this weekend in the 2008 Malibu Surfing Association Classic.
“You just feel like a kid, like you just want to run out there as fast as you can and do it again,” Aaberg said. “I get the same stoke as when I was a kid. I am lucky; I have surfed so much that my skills are as good as ever — not as fast as ever, but as good as ever.”
Other surfers who tried to conquer the waves at Malibu’s famous Surfrider Beach included senior Sean Oppenheimer, as well as celebrities like singer Jason Mraz and bassist Michael “Flea” Balazary of Red Hot Chili Peppers.
After making it through four heats, Oppenheimer placed 4th in his age group, 19 to 28.
“This event has always seemed to be the biggest and the best long board competition of the year,” Oppenheimer said. “This year it just held up to that standard, and the waves were really good and it was a really good vibe. “
Put on by the Malibu Surfing Association (MSA) since 1963, the two-day competition attracted more than 300 competitors in a number of different divisions, from eight-year-old kids to 70-year-old senior legends.
MSA invited 15 different clubs to the event, mainly from California, and most of the proceeds will be distributed between Heal the Bay, Santa Monica Bay Keeper and Surfrider Foundation’s West Los Angeles Malibu Chapter. These organizations are all dedicated to cleaning up and protecting Malibu beaches.
President of MSA Michael Blum said during the past five years the contest has donated more than $60,000 to organizations that help clean up the beaches. Although Oppenheimer was the only Pepperdine student who surfed in the 2008 MSA Classic, Blum said the contest should still be important to Pepperdine because everyone wants to improve the beaches’ water quality.
“I just want to thank everyone from the city of Malibu,” he said. “This is something we all share, whether you are MSA, Pepperdine or a Malibu resident — the beaches are really special to all of us.”
Even though the University has its own surfing club, it was not invited to the event, because Pepperdine’s surfers compete in intercollegiate competitions, which are done through the National Scholastic Surfing Association.
However, Oppenheimer has been surfing in Malibu since he was eight and has been a part of MSA since he was 12. He said he surfs everyday and even took a year off from school to experience surfing in Indonesia, Costa Rica and South America.
“The reason why I love [surfing] the most is I could be having the worst day ever —just so depressed — but if I just get in the water and catch a couple waves it is guaranteed to make me feel better and brighten my day,” he said. “It just makes me appreciate the life I have been given.”
Growing up in Malibu, Oppenheimer said he knows of all the Malibu legends, including Aaberg. In addition to being a well-known surfer, Aaberg co-wrote “Big Wednesday,” a Warner Brother feature film that was released in 1978. It was dubbed “the endless bummer” by critics.
“It was terrible; I thought I was going to have a big career in Hollywood and stuff,” Aaberg said. “I had an agent and then, all of a sudden, I just had this flop movie and the Warner Brother execs started blaming it on me, partly because I was one of the writers. Your balloon pops, and so it was really hard.”
However, today “Big Wednesday” has become a cult classic in the surfing world.
“It is a revered movie among surfers, because they identify with it,” Aaberg said. “The theme of the movie is when you fall in love with something so special and as unique and wonderful as surfing is, and you fall deeply in love with it at a young age, it can last a lifetime.”
What would Aaberg say to the Warner Brother executives today?
“Where is my money?” he said. “They were supposed to give me a bonus and I never saw it. I do get residuals and they are steady. It has been a stead seller it is in video and now DVDs.”
Oppenheimer said he remembers watching “Big Wednesday” with his friends on Friday nights.
“Big Wednesday’ was really influential to all age groups of surfers,” he said. “It was really amazing to see people surfing huge waves like that.“
Oppenheimer said Aaberg is a humble man and someone he looks up to.
“Just the other day he burned me on a wave, “ Oppenheimer said. “And, at first I was mad and wanted to get him back, and then I thought, ‘Dude he can burn me any time — he deserves the respect.”
In honor of “Big Wednesday’s” 30th anniversary and to celebrate the history of Malibu surfing, MSA is hosting a party at Dukes restaurant on Friday at 7 p.m.
Everyone is invited to the party, which will include three bands, vintage cars, a mini-museum, behind the scene footage from “Big Wednesday,” appearances by surf legends the movie was based on and guests, such as Gary Busey and William Katt. It costs $15 to get into Dukes.
09-11-2008