Bob Kithcart

Life in the South Bay is interesting. Despite living directly west of one of the busiest metropolis' in the world (Los Angeles), the South Bay still kinda has a small town vibe. Within the last ten years however, there has been a big influx of people from non-coastal places, who tend to come off as disrespectful yuppies. Although it is getting more crowded and congested, there are few places in southern California I'd rather live. Riding waves in Manhattan Beach has also been interesting. It is one of two or three spots in the area with a highly concentrated amount of bodyboarders. As a kid, I practically lived in my aunt/uncle's house about four blocks away from the pier, and have been spending time in Manhattan as long as I have been alive. it was here that my love for bodyboarding grew, watching guys like mike lee, phil meuler, izzo, joe sabras, and many other bodyboarders rip. there are also many other good bodyboarders from the south bay that ride other spots...guys like trevor ellis, sean english, jon diaz, sonny and robert from redondo have continued to surf well in shitty waves for years. the waves here would be considered by most to be really shitty, but I dont care, it is home, and I have more fun at MB than most places.

The south bay still has somewhat of a bad drug scene, especially in Manhattan Beach. Meth seemed to be the drug of choice amongst the generations previous. Ecstasy seems to be the "in" drug at the moment, due in part that its relatively cheap and readily available. Drugs are popular here because children who grow up in well-to-do upper-middle class families are given anything they ask for and are given lots of money, and are allowed to run wild without receiving consequences for their actions. There are two or three really talented bodyboarders (perhaps the best I've ever seen, anywhere) who have fallen victim to hardcore drug abuse, as well as many other people who don't surf that got caught up in that crap. I choose not to simply because I'm all about feeling good, and based on what I've seen, drugs create more discomfort and pain than good.

Well, I love death metal. it is by far my favorite genre. My favorite bands include Deprecated, Disgorge, Immolation, Death, Nile... I could go on forever. There are a couple underground bands in L.A., but the death metal scenes in San Diego and Santa Cruz are the strongest. Condemned from San Diego is really sick, and Mario (the bassist) sponges! As far as hardcore, I listen more to old-school style hardcore. bands like Discharge, Toxic Narcotic, Nausea, Fleas And Lice....more crust punk bands. I'm sure there is a strong hardcore scene in LA, but I wouldn't know, because I think most "hardcore" bands nowadays aren't really hardcore. Back in the day though, LA, particularly Hermosa Beach, was home to some of the most influential punks bands of our times. Wasted Youth, X, FEAR, Smut Peddlers, Pennywise, The Circle Jerks, Black Flag, The Zeros, The Germs, TSOL, the Bags, and many more were from LA. KROQ in it's earlier days was influential in the success of many of these bands (Black Flag, Circle Jerks), so that's cool I guess. Like I said, I'm into harder punk, borderline metal stuff.

The most difficult transition has been mental. Having the mental edge in competition is probably the most important aspect of competing in any sport (aside from physical conditioning). When competing against some of Cali's best competitors in the BIA, and guys like the Hubbards, The Romeros, Skipp, etc. in the USBA, it takes a significant amount of confidence and being assertive in the water to do well. Eliminating negative thoughts before a heat and clearing the mind is really important, because the smallest doubts can really hold a person back from giving it their all. I am still learning to do this.

It's hard to balance the two equally. Many times, I will go through an all dropknee phase, or an all prone phase, but ultimately, I incorporate both riding styles into my bodyboarding. I try to ride waves in the jackstance that may not be the most conducive to dropkneeing, and do the same with prone. Learning to dropknee in racy close-outs has also allowed me to dropknee in all types of waves, as well as learning to grovel in one foot slop on my belly. At the end of the day, I do both because they are challenging and really fun, and it allows me to ride all types of waves.

Hard question, but I'd have to say prone. Prone is a little more functional in the types of waves around here, but I still love DK!

Well the waves were really small and crappy, so that definitely helped. Jeff Hubbard and Brian Stoehr were also in the heat, so I knew it would come down to wave selection. I waited patiently for lefts off the pier, and managed to get the only set wave in the heat. Everyone else struggled with wave selection and Jeff and myself ended up advancing. Dave is ridiculously good. It was so difficult not to get distracted in that heat because he is soooo fun to watch. Dave is probably the best DK-er in the world. he has the ability to throw as much tail in one foot mushy waves as he does at ten foot pipe. He has freakish abilities on the bodyboard, can't wait to see what else he has in store for the bodyboarding world.

The people who have had the most significant/personal impact on my bodyboarding were many old-school MB pier locals. My dropknee style has been heavily influenced by guys like Joe Olaya, Izzo, and Joe Sobras. I was basically the only kid my age who rode a bodyboard in the area, so my access to bodyboarding material was limited, and relied heavily on watching the guys I surfed with rip. Barrel-riding is probably my favorite thing about bodyboarding. studying how guys like Ben Severson, Dan Taylor, Barba, and many others set their rails and get barreled has helped me get a better idea of how to ride barrels and waves of consequence.

He has taught me to use my entire body to my advantage when bodyboarding; using my outer leg to stall for the barrel, arching my back or getting low on the critical sections of the wave, and when to hip the lip. Watching Jacob surf is amazing. I can say with little doubt that he is probably one of the best American bodyboarders ever. He has freakish acrobatic abilities and makes the worst waves look insanely fun.

I want to push my limits in big waves and put myself in uncomfortable situations. There aren't too many waves where I live that break with as much as power as most spots on the North Shore. I went as a sixteen year-old and learned a lot. I plan on being much more aggressive this time around and try to get the best waves I can possibly get, while showing respect to the locals of course.

CustomX is awesome. They have an extremely professional staff and have helped me out tremendously since I started riding for them a couple years ago. PMA takes his duties as head-shaper very seriously. This shows in the demented shapes he has turned out. I have worked with him for the past year and really think I have found that "perfect" shape. An old-school Barba/T-10 shape with transitional rails is the way to go. It does well in all wave conditions and draws crazy lines.

Ron Paul. I don't want to ramble, but if people began turning off their televisions and re-read the constitution that was written by our founding fathers, the masses would begin to realize how perverse our monetary and foreign policies have become, and how our leaders see the constitution as subordinate to international law. www.infowars.com

It is definitely tight knit. Many of the older guys at Manhattan have either started to stand up surf, or work constantly and have little time to surf. There are definitely some very talented up and coming riders coming out of the South Bay though. My younger brother John is killing it, as well as Johnny and Eddie, Christian, Kyle, Little Nick, Max, Sam, Chase, Rory, Alex, Jon Diaz, and Nico. There are many guys from the generation before who kill it, but Sean English is probably the stand out, as well as the most talented wave-rider I've seen in the area. The riders in the area are generally pretty mellow, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth ten years ago. When I first started bodyboarding the pier, I knew my place in the line-up and never sat with the elder locals. Like I said earlier, the waves are really crappy here, but it is all we have, and many people are passionate about where they are from.