Enter: Metal Neck (with Andrew Doheny)

How about that Andrew ‘Droid’ Doheny. The Newport regular-footer owns one of Stab‘s favourite frontside jams, a dropped-knee disaster to slide, and executes with raw enthusiasm. Footage of the kid’s been scarce of late, which makes fans sad, but today we discuss something that will make fans happy: Droid’s new film, titled Metal Neck. Expect no chopper footage, red cams, dubstep or, for that matter, glamour. But do expect raw power and energy, and champagne quality on a beer budget. Stab sat down with Droid while he’s doing a stint in Bali, to have a breezy conversation about his new film and its newly-famous star, Metal Jimmy. Droid’s tongue rarely left his cheek, but that’s why we love him.

Rapid fire interview and all dream-inducing imagery by Tom Carey…

What’s the definition of a Metal Neck? I think it’s when you headbang so hard at a damn metal show, your neck hurts. It’s a combination of your neck hurting, and metal. And Metal Jimmy knows what that feels like more than anyone.

How does that pertain to surfing? It doesn’t. But when we met Metal Jimmy, it all made sense.

Who is Metal Jimmy? Metal Jimmy is the funniest man in the world. Words can’t really explain his personality because it’s that out-there and radical.

Is he a surfer? Yes. If you ask him, he might be a highly professional surfer. I like to agree with him.

And is this movie based on him? Yeah.

Who else is in this movie? Me, Ford (Archbold), Creed (McTaggart), Metal (Jimmy), and a couple of my other friends from our hometown.

So, would you say it’s a homegrown film? Yeah, but it’s not, like, a Newport film or anything. Ford and I live in Newport but Creed’s from Australia and Metal’s from, I think, Torrance.

Wildlyfe in the burning blue of remote Indonesia? Yes. Please.

Who helped you guys make this movie? It had been on my mind, and on Matt Tromberg’s mind, to make a surf film. But we didn’t really do anything about it. Then Metal Jimmy started coming around and entertaining the hell out of us. And we actually got him back into surfing. He’d come over and entertain us, then go surfing with us, and that’s when Matt started filming us surfing and hanging around. That’s when it all made sense to start making a movie.

Who came up with the name Metal Neck? I did, but influenced by Metal Jimmy.

Tell me about an average morning in the life of Metal Jimmy. It’s 10am and you’re in a deep sleep. And bang bang bang, Metal Jimmy comes in the door and wakes you up, asking if you wanna go surfing. At first you’re quite surprised. You’re mad. He says sorry a bunch of times. Then once you’re coherent, you laugh. And you forgive him. Then you get breakfast, he eats a bag of ruffles and some chilli cheese fries. And if it’s a bright and sunny day, a fresh beer.

Do you condone his lifestyle? It’s pretty Metal. He’ll tell you that himself. It’s pretty damn Metal.

How old is Metal Jimmy? I think he’s 38. But it don’t matter. ‘Cause he has a very young soul.

Newport Beach is a kinda big town. Does everyone know him, everywhere you go? Yeah. I think he’s just about worldwide famous now.

I heard he had a coupla spreads in some international magazines. Has it gone to his head? Yeah, totally. But for the most part he’s pretty level-headed, ’cause we keep him in check. Once the head gets swollen, we defuse the swelling.

What does he do for work? If you ask him, he’ll says Surfs and Parties. And lives life to the fullest. In his mind.

Ain’t much sweeter than coming across a rare sandbar in Indonesia, especially when it’s described by our photographer as “the best beachbreak you’ve ever surfed.”

So, is it safe to say he’s the star of the movie, and not you? Totally. He is the star of the movie.

What do you think of the state of surf movies right now? I don’t know, I don’t really watch them anymore. I watch some of the old Volcom ones, that’s it.

What do you think about making a surf movie about yourself? It’s not my cup of tea, but whatever. Do what you want.

If you could pick anyone to star in this movie, dead or alive, who would you put in there? I don’t know.

What’s more important when you watch a movie? Humour, surfing, music? Or, what? Maybe a combination, but I think it’s gonna have to be humour in this movie, because I don’t think the surfing’s that spectacular.

So when people comment on the quality of surfing in this movie, is it going to hurt your feelings? No. What are you gonna do? We travelled, we went on trips, we surfed our best, y’know? That’s all you can do. So we’re gonna cover up a lot of the bad surfing with Metal Jimmy’s comedy. But he’s actually ripping in it. He’s the star of it. He’s the star for a reason. He’s blowing us all out of the water.

Do you think it’s just crazy, like, he’s the only person to revive his career at 38 years old? I do. Completely. Maybe after this, you’ll see a lot of 38-year-olds trying to relive their past.

What would you compare Metal Neck to? I just think it’s the world’s greatest surf video that’s ever gonna come out in the history of surf film making. That’s just my honest opinion.

Are you shitting me? Yes.

Another vision from the same Sumatran sandbar, this time with a little more blue, and a firmer grasp of the magic that is the oncoming end section.

So who helped you fund this movie? Well I did, but I guess you can thank Volcom, ’cause they pay me to surf. And if I didn’t have their money, I wouldn’t have any money for Metal Neck. ‘Cause Matt Tromberg’s broke.

Who’s Matt Tromberg? He’s the filmer and editor of the video.

So it’s 100 percent out of your pocket? Completely.

Does that make you happy, to give you all the freedom to do what you want? Yeah, f’sure. We didn’t have to listen to anyone. No one’s telling me what to do ’cause I’m paying for it. It sure is nice.

How much electro-techno music is in your movie? Tons, actually. It’s full of techno.

Name your favourite techno band. Like, Tronic Pineapple.

Do you hope this movie inspires other kids to make their own movie, put in a year and a half of work and put something of their own out there all by themselves? I don’t really know. I don’t know what it’s going to inspire people to do. At all. Maybe it’ll make them wanna surf. Maybe it’ll make them wanna hang out with Metal Jimmy.

Anything you didn’t get to do on this movie, that you would like to have done? Well, the thing with the movie is, we didn’t really know what we were doing. Therefore, there’s no such thing as failure in the process of making it. So I don’t know, whatever comes out is what it’s meant to be, and all we could do.

If I were some fucking Internet hater, right here in your face, and I said, “Dude, this is the worst movie I’ve ever seen,” what would you say to me? What do you say to all the people that say, “Your fucking movie sucks, it’s a bunch of fucking shit, and you guys are a bunch of clowns”? As long as we pleased the weirdos, and piss off the dickheads, that’s fine by us.

We weren’t lying about that dropped knee disaster slide. Indonesia, of course.