Manufacturing Stoke

No other sport is so intrinsically linked to nature. Some call it a spiritual experience; most call it indescribable.

And yet, in becoming the multi-billion dollar industry it is today, a great paradox has risen.

Surfers are indeed directly connected to the earth's pulse, yet most of the materials used are environmentally toxic.

The story begins in the 1960s, the golden era of surfing, a time of innocence and discovery.

Surf culture erupted into the collective consciousness and became the epitome of cool.

Fast forward to December 5, 2005, and the closing of Clark Foam for environmental reasons, the largest surf blanks manufacturer in the world.

Not only was the event a wake-up call for many to shift from petroleum-based products to more eco-friendly materials, but it also reframed the foundation of a stagnant culture.

Enter surfing's renaissance, an era where the new generation is completely changing what it means to be a surfer.

And amid timid efforts from the industry's biggies, a plethora of grassroots up-and-comers is redefining what a surfer is supposed to ride.

From wooden surfboards, handplanes, and alaias to recycled blanks and organic clothing, wave riding takes on a new soul.

"Manufacturing Stoke" is an introspective look into the surfing culture's struggle to be beneficial unto itself, a tapestry of both influential and eclectic members of the surfing community that is constantly striving for positive change.