The Performers and Kongs Island - the catalyst




 
 
 

Sourced from The Board Collector.

The first time I recall feeling genuine stoke about surfing was when I saw the Quiksilver/Jack McCoy Film; The Performers, including the legendary 'Kongs Island'.  I had been skating for a while, and had recently got in to surfing, but this film was the catalyst that made everything come together and make sense, and has remained so ever since!  I cannot quite put my finger on why this was such a source of inspiration, but I think it is a number of factors are responsible for it being so utterly influential in my surfing life.

Of course, the surfing is outstanding, filmed on the North Shore during the '83/84 Winter season, the year that saw a boycott by the ASP, so no professional contests were held.  This is apparent in the film, for it is all free surfing and pretty amazing it is too.  From start to finish it is full on power surfing featuring the afore mentioned trio, along with Richard Cram, Wes Lane the late Marvin Foster to name but a few.  A lot of the allure comes from the fact that it is filmed solely on the North Shore, a place that appealed to me on so many levels, the waves were seemingly perfect, the back drop beautiful, not to mention the sunshine and warm water!  The whole thing is shot beautifully and set to the most incredible soundtrack I have ever known.  From the opening credits, Pink Floyd's The Wall sets the scene - this still gives me goose bumps today, and from then on it features Talking Heads, INXS, Simple Minds and John Cougar Melon Head!

As mentioned, there was also a short film that preceded the main feature, Kong's Island.  This slightly psychedelic short film featured Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew, Gary 'Kong' Elkerton and James 'Chappy' Jennings, all of whom rode for Quiksilver on Hot Stuff boards, and rode them they did, this was the type of surfing that I liked the best, and still do, hard turns, lots of spray and done with a real sense of style.  Although I do have one complaint, that is, for years I waited for the sequel, Son of Kong that was promised at the end of the film, but it never happened!

After seeing this film, I changed, as did the way in which I viewed the world.  For I already displayed 'Walter Mitty' type characteristics and had a tendency to loose myself in day dreams.  This gave my daydreaming a real focus and gave me the sense that I had connected with something tangible, that was so much more fulfilling than anything I had experienced before.  This film arguably laid the foundations for who I was to become, certainly in a surfing sense.  I became obsessed with surfing in the Summer of 1986, and got hold of a used Hot Stuff Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew model and sought out anything that featured a Quiksilver logo!  For the first time I experienced what it was to be a part of something which was truly my own, in fact I went to great lengths to make it mine and created an image that was 100% that of a 'surfer'.  At this time not many people wore surf clothing, and those who did tended to surf too, so wearing Quiksilver etc instantly made me identifiable as being a part of the 'club'.

All in all, this film is responsible for a lot, and I say that in a wholly positive context, for I love surfing and have done for many, many years.  For me it wasn't and still isn't just the act of riding waves that is holds the excitement, it is the entire package, including the boards, the imagery and of course the clothes too. But it was the feeling of having been granted access to a new world, one that I was wholly suited to, this was the biggest thing that was unlocked for me.
 
 
 


The late Marvin Foster

 
 

Richard Cram

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