‘Channel Man’ tells the story of Red Head’s Col Smith, one of surfing’s most intriguing and perhaps underappreciated figures. Smith was a charismatic titan of Australian surfing in the mid 70s and early 80s. On his first visit to Hawaii, Col redefined the possibilities of backhand surfing when he rode channel bottoms to victory in the1977, Sunset Pro Class Trials. Smith also made a name for himself at Pipe, endearing himself to the Hawaiians with his brazen ability to slay the wave on his radical channel-bottoms and roll with the ‘da boys’ when it was time to party.
The film, which was directed by Nick Cupelli and produced by Terry Campbell, also traverses the evolution of the channel bottom, detailing the role played by Col and contemporaries like Jim Pollard, Phil Myers and Martin Littlewood in bringing the curious design into mainstream surfing consciousness.
In an era when pro surfing can look decidedly vanilla, Col Smith’s tale reminds us of a time when individualism was celebrated in surf culture.
