Enjoy A Little Of That Old Tom Curren Magic In Rip Curl’s New Film “Free Scrubber”

< wpparagraph > <p>Tom Currens always been enigmatic For decades hes shown up on foreign shores with seemingly unorthodox boards and with his effortless style and a few mumbles under his breath has gone about his business And last year when the pandemic hit the three time World Champ found himself down in Mainland Mexico on a quick two week surf trip with his longtime buddy and board collector Mark Buggs Arico Waves were ridden boards tinkered with and a film made<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>Staying at Buggs pad near Salina Cruz the borders were promptly shut and they found themselves trapped for four months in pointbreak heaven With them was Aussie cinematographer Andy Potts who did his best to be a fly on the wall and capture Tom simply being Tom<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>From tapping back into the magic of a Merrick twin fin to experimenting with skimboards to impromptu musical interludes on the beach the new Rip Curl film Free Scrubber directed by Vaughn Blakey and Nick Pollet offers the first intimate look at the man and his craft since Sonny Millers monumental Searching For Tom Curren<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>Its Tom in his natural form not scripted or staged Buggs explains on <a href=httpswwwinstagramcompCKiPYB0HmvZ>Instagram<a>httpswwwworldsurfleaguecomsocialembedembedId=EguHmYWXpZ4embedType=youtubeseekTo=10<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>And while some of the craft that Tom is riding may at first appear a little left of center its worth remembering that surfboard design is deeply ingrained in the Curren DNA and his experimentation is endless His dad Pat one of the greatest Hawaiian gun makers of all time built a lot of his early boards And when Al Merrick came into his life he blossomed on single and twin fins at Rincon before thrusters were mainstreamed in the early 80s<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>In a piece for The Surfers Journal Tom noted that watching four time World Champ Mark Richards rips a single fin at Sunset Beach during the winter of 81 was perhaps the best surfing hed ever witnessed<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>The way he was able to go at it vertically that really stands out to me I was about 17 years old and I can still see the transitions he was making from the top to the bottom using all of his rail just pushing it really hard It was probably the last gasp for the single fin because the thruster was right around the corner but maybe it was the best surfing ever on a single fin I dont know maybe explained Tom<img src=httpsd3qf8nvav5av0ucloudfrontnetimage30f88c1a5be7e9569bd903d12c60ff66jpgx=1280y=720icq=74sig=31069534970f5aa7d942718ea32d800c alt=Tom Curren width=1280 height=720><em>Finding inspiration all around him you never know where Currens next revelation is going to come from<em> WSL RIP CURL<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>Then around 90 and 91 Tom expatriated to France for a spell and worked tightly with shaper Maurice Cole Together they perfected the fluke that is the reverse vee design As things go Maurices blanks had been packed incorrectly and as a result they had an extra 34 rocker in the nose and an extra 34 rocker in the tail To make matters worse they werent true They were twisted and warped Undeterred Maurice got to work<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>Ive always been one to shape from my gut I was probably surfing more than I was shaping and figured Id make it work somehow The board ended up totally asymmetrical but it was the start of the reverse vee Cole explained<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>Twist of fate or not the ultimate result was showcased in the famous Curren Cutback shot at Backdoor by Tom Servais With no logos or sponsor stickers on the board the image elevated him to supreme anti establishment hero status<img src=httpsd3qf8nvav5av0ucloudfrontnetimage6e3a48c18346c54129ede718e2ba8ad6jpgx=1280y=720icq=74sig=b20dbc2c32d5180ab2c84ec11a1b5468 alt=Tom Curren Free Scrubber width=1280 height=720><em>Whats Tom Curren riding Thats always a fair and valid question<em> WSL RIP CURL<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>By the mid 90s Tom had grown disenchanted with competitive surfing and followed his heart deeper into surfboard experimentation He walked away from the pro scene went underground and started bouncing around with luminaries and free thinkers such as George Greenough and Derek Hynd in Australia Off the radar and able to follow his imagination Curren sightings became a rare and special occurrence whispered about in beach parking lots around the world<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>Then when Rip Curls Searching For Tom Curren dropped on VHS in 96 his mystique really took off Capturing the surf worlds collective attention riding a Tommy Peterson shaped 57 Fireball Fish at flexing Bawa in Indo all of a sudden the sterile formula of three to the beach became a lot less interesting to surfing purists Tom had once again struck a powerful chord <p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph alignleft > <p class=has text align left><img width=1280 height=720 src=httpsd3qf8nvav5av0ucloudfrontnetimage324122b7980d5b6652db3c1c4a45ce29jpgx=1280y=720icq=74sig=be72376eb4e50db9276cb1911dbf8d5d alt=Tom Curren><em>One of Currens allures to fans and followers is his unique ability to ride waves the way everyone else can only mind surfs<em> WSL RIP CURL<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>Most recently the mans been toying around on skimboards with Brad Domke and the designers of S Wing Fins in France as well as rekindling the fire with Britt Merrick and Channel Islands<p> < wpparagraph > < wpparagraph > <p>So when you settle in to watch Free Scrubber and see what the 56 year old icon is riding today keep in perspective that every board he puts under his feet is part of his lifelong quest for a freer faster more engaging ride He doesnt really want to talk about it he just wants to do it and live it And you can certainly tell from his timeless bottom turns and well placed wraps that the old Tom Curren magic is alive and well<p> < wpparagraph >