Big wave professional surfer Torrey Meister has been making big waves of his own following the premiere of his profile film, “Grit-n-Water,” which highlights the similarities between surfing the biggest waves in the world and getting on the rankest bucking bulls.
Following its mid-October debut, Meister has hosted nine premieres with his film – including his latest premiere at the beginning of January, which caused him to miss opening day at Jaws.
“I was pretty rattled by that,” Meister said. “I didn't think it was going to be that good, so when there ended up being good waves, I was kicking myself because I never miss Jaws swells. That’s my passion; I pretty much drop everything for those when they come around, so it was weird to start off my winter like that.”
Being caught up in the success of his very first personal surf film is a pretty good excuse, though.
“I got a great response from the film,” he said. “It was fun because the premieres were western themed, and that’s how I grew up. My dad is from Texas. That’s a part of me, and when we went to the premieres, there were a lot of people who could relate to that.”
Meister felt the film was refreshing, educating, and connected two worlds that he’s always loved and hoped people would see those overlooked similarities.
“I feel like the film impacted the way I look at things outside of surfing,” he said. “It’s something that I want to do, tying the two together. I want to try to create a niche that maybe younger people would be stoked to have because I love both sports and I’m really just trying to do both for as long as I can.”
You read that right. “Doing both” does mean that he gets on massive, muscular bulls, as seen in the film.
“At some of the premieres, I had people asking who the guy in the film was riding the bulls,” Meister said. “And I had to say, ‘Oh, that’s me.’ ”
The first time Meister ever got on the back of a bucking bull, he broke his finger. For the sake of his safety and his sponsors, he told himself he wouldn’t get on one again.
(Spoiler alert - he did get on one again).
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” he said. “I’d be up in the middle of the night just thinking about how I have to do it again because it was the sickest thing ever. I was tripping on how much power that bull had.”
Sort of like coming down the line and tripping on the power of a 50 foot perfect glassy wave.
“It kind of just opened up this whole parallel world of big wave surfing to me,” he said. “(They’re) those same feelings that you get on a really big swell, but this was even more scary to me because it was so foreign.”
That’s ultimately where the idea for the film came from. As the idea grew and morphed, Meister made it more than just your average surf flick. He made it a one-of-a-kind, never-been-done-before tribute.
“I’ve always loved the sport of bull riding and more than anything the film was a tribute to how gnarly and gritty those guys are,” he said. “They inspire me. They push through the scariest moments and they’re so competitive and crazy in a way, getting on those bulls every weekend and going out there with limbs hanging off and still nodding their head when they get in the chute.”
Now, you have to remember that Meister has seen hundreds of boards snapped, had a front row seat to friends falling off of 20 foot waves, and guys getting hauled out on the back of a jet ski with bones sticking out. Surfing is just as gnarly. But Meister’s two passions showed in the film.
“I think people really appreciated the difference; it wasn't just surf porned out,” Meister said. “People who respect the Western world really appreciated it, and it was cool to have those conversations with people about the first bull they got on or the horses they have. It was something that you’d never expect to talk to people about at a surf premiere. It was really special.”
Between the feedback from Meister’s first personal film and scoring the latest swells, it’s been a good winter for the Big Island native.
In the middle of January when it turned on at Pipe, he spent most of his time on the North Shore scoring clips for the Vans Virtual Triple Crown. Then a sneaky swell rolled into Mavericks.
“Me and one of my South African buddies booked a ticket one hour before the flight,” he said. “It ended up being a really good afternoon. We got almost three hours of really good 15- to 20-foot Mavericks. It was really special because usually those Maverick swells are well forecasted but a lot of people didn't really see it on their radar so we felt like we scored.”
After 12 hours there, they came straight back to Pipe pumping and then made the call for Jaws during the latest big swell.
“It was really windy and tough, but I ended up getting a few,” he said. “It was nice just to get back out to Jaws again because that’s my favorite wave in the world, and then we surfed that day, went straight back to Pipe and surfed the rest of the swell. Now I feel like I’ve been in a small car accident or something; I’m just a mess.”
It sounds a lot like a bull rider getting on a bull for eight seconds, then driving all night across the country to arrive an hour before he gets on the next one – sleepless nights back to back for months. Some might even call it big-wave rodeoing.
“I guess you could say that’s what we’re doing,” Meister said. “We definitely try to capitalize on every swell. We’ve been grinding out as hard as we can for every opportunity.”
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