Waves of Change

The international film festival success of the documentary "Out in the Lineup" has generated attention for a little-known subculture: gay and lesbian surfers who remain in the closet while Michael Sam, Jason Collins, Gareth Thomas, Ian Thorpe and others come out and break stereotypes in football, basketball, rugby, Olympic swimming and other sports.

To put the film in context, many Americans either don't know that gay and lesbian surfers exist ("Is that a thing?" is a common response) or are surprised by the macho posturing and surfer girl stereotyping that goes into selling professional surfing and the surf lifestyle.

"Surfing developed as a counterculture, but what's changed over the last 30 years is that the image of sport is driven based on stereotypical marketing: the ripped alpha male and bikini-clad surfer girl," says the film's director, Australian Ian W. Thomson.

"I think that's had a real influence on surf culture. The younger surfers are not hippies. It's very commercial and dog eat dog."

Out in the Lineup was the brainchild of Thomson and his friend Thomas Castets, a French-born Australian surfer and designer who created the website GaySurfers.net, a social media site that's brought together more than 5,000 wave riders from six continents, including Africa. Connecting with like-minded professional and amateur athletes on the site not only has created a cyber-surfing global village, but also has served as a catalyst for closeted surfers coming out to the people in their lives.

Case in point is David Wakefield, a soft-spoken, religious Australian surfer from a small town. OITL follows Wakefield and Castets as they interview gay and lesbian surfers in Australia, Europe, China, the United States, Mexico and other locations. It also integrates David's process of coming out on a big stage, as he's interviewed for Australian TV while marching with other gay and lesbian surfers in Sydney's Mardi Gras Parade.

OITL's back story is reminiscent of many from the film, with the main players finding one another through the Internet, including one in which Castets recalls the genesis of his website. "I was happy with my life a student. Then my [straight] friends started to get married and had less time for surfing," he says.

"Every couple of months I'd go on the Internet and look for those two words: gay surfing," Castets says. "All I found was really bad porn."

So he used his design skills to create GaySurfers.net, which led to friendships, international connections and, eventually, a friendship with Thomson and their film.

"I came out fairly late in life, my mid 30s, and started surfing around that time, too," recalls Thomson. "Soon after, I was up at Byron Bay [a surf town 480 miles north of Sydney] and met David Wakefield, who invited me to his local pub and introduced me to Thomas Castets. When I learned about the website, I was fascinated from my own personal point of view.

"Thomas and I agreed that the stories of these people who visited his site needed to be given a voice," he says. "They felt stranded between gay culture and surf culture. Some didn't identify with the aspects of gay culture. They felt largely invisible."

Powerful Voices From the Lineup

Thomson, producer Castets and their crew interviewed more than 45 people for the film, which features a mix of professional and amateur surfers from many cultures, including Hawaiian pro and actress Keala Kennelly (winner of the first women's Big Wave contest) and Southern Californian amateurs Susie Hernandez and artist/surfer Miguel Libares. Also featured is older footage of the heavily tatted punk surfer Matt Branson, who came out after leaving the professional tour in the 1990s.

Surf photographer Jim Ready, the husband of former Rep. Barney Frank, recalls coping with homophobia by punching a young surfer who called him "faggot," sending the kid to the emergency room for stitches.

Ecuadorian Franco Vargas, 22, represents surfers from more repressed cultures. "I've never met a gay surfer who was out in Ecuador," says Vargas, who recalls competing in the World Junior Surfing championship. "I kept to myself. A friend said 'If you're not sure about your sexuality, you shouldn't be here.' " There's also the sad story of a young flight attendant and weekend surfer who committed suicide, and an inspiring one about a deeply closeted national amateur champion who comes out late in the film.

Conspicuously absent are representatives from surfing's governing bodies - the ISP and ASP - and large sponsors, who refused to be interviewed for "OITL" despite exhaustive games of Roger and Me-style phone tag.

Crowd Pleaser/Conversation Starter

Thomson (who also helmed a documentary on Talking Heads front man and solo artist David Byrne) is pleased with the audience and critical response to his film, which has won awards including best documentary and best surf film at film festivals (gay and straight) from Australia to San Diego to Spain.

While critical response has been positive, some of the homophobic blowback on message boards has been distressing. However, Thomson views almost all conversations on the topic as positive. "The film is a conversation starter, and that's what is going to create. I think it's better to speak openly about homophobia [than not discuss it]."

The Sydney-based director is hopeful about raising both the profile and acceptance of gays and lesbians in surfing. "Right now, middle-aged white men in Australia and America still control the surf industry," Thomson says. "But younger surfers don't seem to have such an issue with it [sexuality]. So you'll see a change in culture as younger people become involved with running it."

"It would be great if in 15 years time, this film won't be necessary," he says. "For now, there's still no openly gay professional male surfer."

Activist, Historian, Champion

"Out in the Lineup" highlights include comments from champion Cori Schumacher, who, like Wakefield, was outed in a big way - on the front page of The New York Times Sports section. The Times article read:
But Schumacher, who in 2008 wed her longtime partner, Maria Cerda [featured in "OITL"], has a history of advocacy, especially for women. She has raised awareness for gay rights in surfing, which she described as "massively homophobic." Schumacher also became involved with the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice to oppose the war in Iraq.
"The immediate result of that article was getting contacted through media asking about being a female surfer and gay surfer. I also got to write for The Guardian and other publications," she says. "The biggest change was being open about my emotions around it all. Up to that point I had keep my private life sequestered. Learning to be exposed was difficult."

Shortly after being outed, a friend led her to GaySurfers.net. "I signed up and Thomas [Castets] reached out to me. We started chatting on Skype," she says. "A year later, they said they were going to make a movie."

With three world championships on the long board and two North American titles, among many others, Schumacher stresses that gays and lesbians are great surfers. "One of the fallacies is that gay surfers can't surf, which is patently absurd."

Like Thomson, Schumacher attributes many of the problems with homophobia to the surge in sponsorships in the 1990s. "Companies like [surfboard and clothing manufacturer] Roxy set the standard of what surfer girls were supposed to look like, and you saw the shutdown of women being out in the competitive arena," she says.

Surfing titles don't pay that much, so big-name sponsors like Roxy, Hurley, Quiksilver and others wield tremendous power because pro surfers depend on sponsorship dollars and photo shoots for the majority of their income. This is where surfing differs from sports such as golf and tennis, where out pros like Am�lie Mauresmo can lose sponsors but still earn more than $1 million for winning Wimbledon or the Australian Open.

San Diego: Big Waves, Cold Surf, Wetsuits and a Sense of Peace

One surfing stereotype that's true: Southern California remains America's surfing mecca, especially the beaches around San Diego, home to many GaySurfers.net members.

"I'm sure locals from all over San Diego and Southern California would argue their breaks are the best. Being a 'regular' long boarder, I like right-hand points like Swami's in Encinitas, C-Street in Ventura, or this spot called Baby Rincon," says surf enthusiast Paolo Gatchalian, 30.

A personal banker by day, he began surfing in his late teens. "I first became interested in surfing towards the end of high school, when I was about 18 years old ... from a TV show on MTV called 'Surf Girls,'" says Gatchalian. "The show interested me because of the culture, the competition and I guess the way it was portrayed as a lifestyle," he says.

"I enjoyed the thought of seeing other countries, other cultures, and how appreciative surfers are for nature and the environment."

Is his local scene homophobic? "I'm not really sure if the surf scene is gay friendly or unfriendly, to be honest. I've never really seen it as an issue, other than checking out some cuties and not really being able to flirt openly, but I think that applies in my life still, even outside of the surf scene," he says.

"Today, maybe because I've been out and comfortable for almost 10 years, I guess I'd say the surf scene is more gay friendly. Maybe times are changing, or maybe it's just myself that is more comfortable in not caring."

Warm Days in November - A Gay-Themed Surf Getaway

All surfers love to follow the sun, and gay and lesbian surfers are no exception. Two smart tour planners (and novice surfers) have begun tapping into this market.
In 2013, European expats Aleksandar Bulatovic and Koen Karsbergen founded Gay Surf Week in the small tourist town of Tamarindo, Costa Rica. About 10 people showed up. This year, they're expecting at least 40 at their November event and may have enough interest to add additional weeks.

"Tamarindo is among the best-known towns in Costa Rica for surfing, but it's still a small village with about 500 people year-round," says Karsbergen. "The waves don't get too crowded, and we still have a nice selection of bars and nightlife."

The week features packages for advanced surfers, beginners (with three lessons included) and a "beach bum" package for friends of the wave riders who just want to enjoy the beach, zip-lining, nightlife and other activities. "We have very good instructors. We promise you'll stand up at least once during your first lesson," he adds. For a range of budgets, the travel planners offer accommodations at a comfortable hostel (the standard choice for hard-core surfers) and a four-star hotel.

"Last year we had everybody coming on their own. Either they were single or their partner was unable to come. This year looks like a mix of couples and singles travelers and people coming with a group," Karsbergen says.

To learn more about Gay Surf Week, visit GaySurfWeek.com.