Surf/skate conference highlights culture, craft and community

At San Diego State University, research on surf/skate culture brings communities together.

The Stoke Sessions 2.0 conference (Oct. 9–12 at SDSU) is a labor of love connecting local and international surf and skate scholars and experts with students and the public: it is a comprehensive examination of surfing, skateboarding, and other board sports. 

Free and open to the public, the third biennial conference features 20+ panels, three film screenings, networking events, a paddle out and skate session. 

Keynote speakers Steve Van Doren, Vans Shoes vice president of events and promotions, and Bryce Wettstein, a two-time Olympian skateboarder (Tokyo and Paris) kick off the conference at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 in Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union Theatre. 

Neftalie Williams, director of the Center for Skateboarding, Actions Sports, and Social Change, moderates the conversation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Steve Van Doren and explore the incredible legacy of Vans across skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, music, and virtually every facet of youth culture,” said Williams. “His insights will help students understand how to build and sustain a culturally relevant business across generations. As the perfect complement Bryce Wettstein will share her journey as an Olympian, professional skateboarder, and college student — offering a powerful perspective that will inspire students and highlight the intersection of skateboarding, business, media, and culture.”

Conference panels include: Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition - “Mash-Ups & Mirrors: The story of skateboarding in America, 1960 to Today,” Managing Coastal Erosion at San Onofre State Beach, Surfing and Skating Gendered Norms, Wellbeing in Board Sports, The 'Eyes' and Lines of Board Sports, and The Politics (or Lack Thereof) of Surfers and Skaters.

Special guest Tom Pōhaku Stone, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner, master crafter and educator, will shape a Native Hawaiian surfboard (papahe’enalu) out of an 80-pound slab of redwood for two days during the conference on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11 at Tula Community Center. Visitors are invited to actively engage in the hand-building process, and at the same time learn about Native culture while making an original board that remains at SDSU. 

For cultural accuracy, Stone noted the project is all-inclusive. “In Hawaiian, it’s a kākou thing — it's an all-of-us thing. We very much like to see that perpetuated,” he said. “It's party time — Hawaiian style. It's also really, really satisfying when you figure out how to work the planer.”   

Stone believes when students get excited about something, it's an avenue into more forms of study and research. At SDSU, the Center for Skateboarding Action Sports and Social Change, the Center for Surf Research, and the Surf/Skate Collaborative, provide students with research support.

“In Hawaiian culture, when you make a lei, when you compose a mele, when you make a surfboard — you're putting your intentions into that thing — your mana, your essence,” said Stone’s wife Anne. “When people come and participate in putting their mana into a board, it makes that board more special for us.” Stone and his wife built 12 heʻe hōlua sleds for the “Chief of War” historical drama series on AppleTV+ starring Jason Momoa. These are what Native Hawaiians used to sled down mountains some 2,000 years ago and in the 1990s an effort to revive the sled making began — led by Stone. “The crazy thing is (the series) introduced the world to what we've been doing for 30 years,” Stone said.

Surfboard documentary

Independent filmmaker Robert Helphand (‘96 M.A. telecommunications and film) will show his 2024 documentary, “Shaping the Future: The Story of Lance Collins.”

The film follows the founder of Wave Tools. At age 12, Helphand received a Wave Tools surfboard as a gift from his mother, “and to this day, it's the most amazing gift I've ever been given — because it literally changed the trajectory of my life,” Helphand said.  

Helphand and film partner Tony Gentile, who previously made a short film about vintage surfboard collectors featuring Collins in the opening visual, set out to explore his life journey in greater depth, highlighting his perseverance and masterful board-shaping, beginning with the Newport Beach shop he opened in 1969. One of the most rewarding moments for Helphand was seeing the words “SOLD OUT” on the marquee at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach at the premiere (with Collins in attendance) last October. Helphand said Collins was surprised that people actually remembered him. “He was just blown away at how excited people were. That turnout was just mind-blowing.”

The film screening is at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 at 160 Hardy Tower.

A full conference schedule and additional details can be found online.

SDSU conference sponsors include: the Surf/Skate Collaborative, Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports and Social Change, College of Arts and Letters, Center for Surf Research, Department of Sociology, MALAS, Center for Public and Oral History, Department of History.