Surfing

Save the Waves Josh Berry talks Surfing and Saving in Chile with DailyStoke.com

We caught up with Joshua Berry, Chile Program Director for Save the Waves and director of Pulp, Poo and Perfection, a surfing documentary that speaks to some of the challenges to surfers and the environment in Chile. Josh has been living in Chile for seven years, where he moved from his native California.

DailyStoke.com: You’ve been living in Chile for seven years now. What prompted the move from California to Chile?
Berry: I befriended a lot of Chileans in California before I ever came to Chile - its language, history, people and ocean all spoke to me before I even came here, and eventually it all coalesced into an exchange program via the University of Chile in Santiago. That was the beginning of the end of my California days. A few Latina loves and environmental opportunities later, and here I am.

DailyStoke.com: Chile seems like it is great untapped surfing destination. Are there surf shops in Chile? Do you want to keep it that way? Are Chileans open to surfing and surfing culture?

Berry: Yep, now more than ever the surf industry is booming in Chile and everyone wants to surf. Chile will naturally maintain itself as a relatively untapped surfing destination: cold water, hellish currents, big waves, lots of rocks and fickle sandbars all make it a hit-or-miss destination for waves. If you can paddle your shortboard at full speed non-stop for over an hour to get into position, you’ll catch a few waves while in Chile. If you want Indonesian perfection and guaranteed barrels, go to Indo. Chileans are very friendly and proud of their coastline, but are also wary of too much publicity and tourism. But it’s a fine line because tourism is a great reason to protect the environment from mega-industry and the locals understand that.

DailyStoke.com: You’re traveling for your movie Pulp, Poop and Perfection. Where have your travels taken you? Get any surfing in while at the film fests?
Berry: I got really great surf in New York during the New York Surf Film Festival and only had to wear a 2mm!
The local surfers in NY were really friendly, also - absolutely no “surfer attitude” which was really refreshing for me being a California expat. Much respect to the NY locals, the guys charge in all water temps! In 2007 I got to surf fun waves in San Sebastian and Biarritz during the Surf Film Festival in San Sebastian. Our film has also brought me home to surf in Northern California, but everyone knows there aren’t any decent waves there. It’s been a real blessing being a surfer and a traveler and I am truly grateful for this opportunity to try and raise awareness for the ocean. My surf travels since I was 16 - not related to Pulp, Poo and Perfection - have taken me to Philippines, India, Morocco, Ireland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, Argentina, France, Spain, Mauritius… And Chile.

DailyStoke.com: What’s your next project?

Berry: Our next project with Save The Waves and Will Henry is called All Points South, or “Punto Sur” in Spanish, and it’s a surfer-activist environmental film investigating the pulp mill pollution reality in Chile from the perspective of local surfers, fishermen, and ocean lovers. It’s an in-depth look at what Pulp, Poo and Perfection started to tell, it promises to be eye-opening and very entertaining with great surfing from Keith Malloy, Timmy Turner and friends. We decided we had to delve deeper into the issue of forestry pollution in Chile because it’s a real problem that gets little press and the industry has managed to greenwash their actions into something it is not. The film’s director, Sachi Cunningham, is a video journalist with the LA Times and a graduate of UC Berkeley Journalism School, so it promises to be a hard-hitting documentary. We are now in post-production and hope to release it at certain film festivals in mid-2009, with a wider release for later in 2009. It’s a 30-40 minute surf environmental film that will stir up some serious emotions and will probably make the Chilean forestry industry hate me even more than they already do!

DailyStoke.com: Many activists are just that - activist. You’re activist with a camera - bringing it to the screen. Por que?

Berry: So many activists out there are preaching to the choir. Bringing it to the general public on the widescreen is really important not only for our environmental cause but also to educate and inspire the public out there who would appreciate what we do if they only had access to it. So, being an activist with a camera gives the masses access to a message that would otherwise be lost. And it has saved my ass in a few instances where the presence of a camera has stopped violence.

DailyStoke.com: Do you have backers that you’d like to mention?

Berry: My director, cameraman and friend Angel Marin; Save The Waves Coalition; Will Henry; Reef Redemption; Yvon Chouinard; Patagonia.

DailyStoke.com: How can regular surfers help with ocean/environmental protection? What’s an easy way for them to get involved?

Berry: Bring it into your personal life and change your mind and your own habits on a daily level. That’s the easiest and cheapest way to protect the ocean and to save the waves - stop buying throw-away plastic and stop throwing away plastic. Choose consumer products that don’t pollute. Consume less paper and buy less… the rest will follow. It all boils down to our individual actions coming together in a shift of awareness to change our world. And that is something you can do right now without excuses. Our daily actions affect everything - it’s all connected and you CAN make a difference right now just by changing your mind.

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