The Man Who Thought He Was a Fish

Images and text by Thomas Ekman

Bodysurfing-lajolla-cove

La Jolla Cove has grown from 10 feet to 16 feet in the last hour, and Mark Drewelow is sprinting to get outside. Between a pocket beach and two ugly rocky outcrops is a very bad excuse for a “channel” – a small gap in the explosive swells that opens for a few moments, and then is swept by ugly sets that explode into the cliff. I’ve never seen anyone swim so fast.  

bodysurfing-lajolla-cove

“I’m just gonna go say hi to the guys outside,” he tells me and filmographer JacuzziSurfer before jumping into the 56 degree water. He’s referring to 5 guys sitting way, way outside on guns. None of them has tried to surf a wave yet – it’s simply too sketchy.

bodysurfing-lajolla-cove-mark-drewelow

Mark gets smaller and smaller, and then I can’t tell if I’m looking at Mark, or a seagull bobbing in 16 foot swells. Of course, Mark has no board – he’s a bodysurfer. The only thing you can see is his head in a black hood. Once in awhile I catch a glimpse of pink -- presumably his face. And I’ll be damned if Mark isn’t now sitting in the pack, a bowling ball in the water next to guys sitting high on 10 foot guns.

 

Mark is the real deal. And he’s part of a global conspiracy to change bodysurfing as we know it.

 

More to follow...




Thomas Ekman, J.D., M.Ed.
Thomas Ekman, J.D., M.Ed.

Author



Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Sole Body Surfing Handplanes