Darrick Doerner is a big-wave surfer, tow-surfing pioneer, Hollywood stuntman, and former North Shore lifeguard. He grew up surfing in the LA area in the 1960s and ’70s, moved to Hawaii his senior year of high school, and discovered himself joyous and at peace in heavy water. Hungry for waves too big to catch manually, Doerner and his pals Laird Hamilton and Buzzy Kerbox started experimenting with personal watercraft assists in the early 1990s. Not long after, they began towing into Peahi, aka Jaws. In Hollywood, Doerner stunt-doubled for Bodhi, Patrick Swayze’s character, in 1991’s Point Break, and appeared as a stunt surfer in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day. In this episode of Soundings, Doerner and Jamie Brisick talk about the allure of Sunset Beach, his memorable ride at Waimea on Super Bowl Sunday in 1988, friendship, the importance of being attuned to your environment, drawing lines on giant waves, and working with Eddie Aikau.
Produced by Jonathan Shifflett.
Music by PazKa (Aska Matsumiya & Paz Lenchantin).
Feature image by Brian Bielmann.
