Tom Carroll and Hector Santamaria On A Typhoon Chase Through Japan

A twelve-minute film from Eye Symmetry, which you can see in Tokyo tonight!

cinema // Apr 30, 2018

Words by stab

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Max Stewart from Eye Symmetry is a left-field thinker, designer, and absolutely obsessive master board builder, his subtly radical shapes enjoy some of the most interesting and precisely detailed glass work.

While many of his boards are borderline hangable art, it should be no surprise to see Max’s board under the feet of the world-class company he keeps, traveling between Europe, Australia, and the US, building boards for everyone from Kepa Acero and Aritz Aranburu, to Tom Carroll and Hector Santamaria, who might seem the odd couple for this adventure with Max through Japan, but make for a delightful pairing in the twelve-minute film above.

Max, Hector, and Tom will be in Tokyo tonight, with a case of Eye Symmetry gems to fondle. But we wanted to hear more about the trip, and Max was quick to give us deets on the mission.

Tom Carroll, Japan.

Photography

Eye Symmetry

Stab: Cool to see two such seemingly disparate characters—Tom and Hector—get on so well, though from our time with both of them it’s hard to imagine either not getting on with anyone. How’d this trip come about?

I had been traveling quite consistently to Japan for a few years prior to this trip and it definitely caught my fascination. I heard a lot of stories about the surf here and how perfect and special it can get during typhoon season, so I had always wanted to do a surf trip in Japan, during that season.

When I started Eye Symmetry, and started getting into filming, I thought it would be an awesome place to shoot a surf film, come October 2015 everything fell into place and I organized Hector and Tom and a small crew of filmers and photographers to meet in Japan, and we scored big time.

Had TC and Hector met before the trip? How’d they get on?

They hadn’t met before the trip, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Tom’s super open and relaxed so it wasn’t an issue, I think it’s pretty important to stay calm when you’re on the road, trying to create something – especially when there are a lot of personalities involved. Hector can be pretty wild at times, too, but he was also respectful of Tom, and they get along really well.

Sharing is caring, Tom Carroll watching Hector Santamaria from a comfortable distance.

Photography

Eye Symmetry

So, where’d you guys fly into, and what was the route?

We basically flew into Tokyo and from there headed west by road to two main locations, one was relatively close to Tokyo and the other is quite a mission. The surf scene in Japan, to me, feels like a reflection of their ancient culture where there are highly respected leaders who rule many regions across the country. We had to ask permission to surf and film on this trip and for this reason we cannot share any more information in order not to upset the Kakou (river mouth) locals. Although we had good experiences I heard it can get pretty heavy quickly and we we’re very careful not to upset the locals.

Had TC been to Japan before?

Yeah, Tom has been going to Japan since 1979, competing on what was then called the IPS tour. Apparently, he had really good results there, he was only 17 years old.

He told me back in 2006, he got called up to surf a mega Typhoon with Ross Clarke Jones in a remote western prefecture. They flew in last-minute from Hossegor, France. There ended up being a bit of a crew, with Ian Walsh and Doug Silva amongst them and Red Bull backing it all. Apparently, the local Big Wave crew were pretty suss on the whole thing, especially the jet skis and definitely no helicopters… Tom said that Doug had some connections to the Yakuza in Tokyo and they ended up getting a chopper down there for the boys to shoot from.

“Tom has been going to Japan since 1979, competing on what was then called the IPS tour, apparently he had really good results there, he was 17 years old.”

Photography

Eye Symmetry

What boards were those guys riding? Were they shaped specifically for that trip?

I shaped a few new boards for the guys for the trip. At the time, I was in California with Hector and I made him a couple of small wave weapons, Raptures made in Magic Fibre MFG (stringer-less EPS).

Although we were hoping for some good waves, the surf in Japan is predominately very small and weak, wind-swell style conditions, and those boards really allow him to free up and express himself when the waves are small.

I also made Hector two relatively standard shortboards, Lucid Eyes at 5’9″ and 5’11” … he ended up on the 5’9″ Octo-rail (hard-edged rail instead of a usual curved surface) almost the entire trip. The perfect, glassy conditions really paired well with the high-performance nature of the ‘octo-rail’ and allowed him to engage and let loose. That was the first trip we we’re really able to test the new rail design in good waves and he was frothing!

I also made Tom a couple new boards, one was The Cali Quad 5’5″ x 19 1/8″ x 2 1/4″, a favorite of his. I added the new ‘octo-rail’ design for him to test and he rode it a lot towards the end of the film, he felt it really helped him engage in fast, hollow waves and provide extra drive to make it out of the barrel.

Another board I made Tom for the trip was a 6’3″ x 18″ x 2 3/8″ round-pin, really clean outline designed for a bit of juice… Tom connected really well with that board and rode it a lot at the start of the film (white board with red sash).

How can people get their hands on your boards?

We still provide quite a personalized service, but its always best to go straight to our website to find out all the information about where to buy and how to order boards.These days, Instagram is super easy, too—you can contact us directly there as well.

Scroll south for a few more postcards from TC and Hector’s Japanese jaunt: