1. MY PASSION FOR
SURFING
All about my passion for sports,
surfing, surf & beach culture,
lifestyle, etc.
Jonathan Callister
2. PASSION FOR SPORTS
• When I was in middle school, my dream was to play on a high school Varsity
basketball team. However, my father told me it probably would not be the right
thing because of my lack of experience and after the season tryouts , they only keep
so many people on the team. There are so many young men that try out and they
only keep about 12 on Varsity. I was so heartbroken and disappointed.
• I was then counseled that football would be a better choice. In this sport, they keep
everybody and I was also more built for it. I was not very strong when I first
started playing. Neither was I very fast. My dream was to be able to play Varsity.
The coaches counseled with me when I was a sophomore that I was not big, strong,
and fast enough. They told that those guys hit very hard and they did not want to
put me in positions to where I would get hurt. I also had trouble staying focused
and knowing what my assignment was.
• I also had a dream of playing football in college , but my dad and my grandpa told
me that those guys are so much bigger, stronger, and faster than me and that I
would have to be like the star on my high school team in order to play college
football.
3. HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL DREAMS
COME TRUE!!!!!
• During the first Varsity game of my junior year verses Manhattan, I was
walking up and down the sideline in my uniform. Somehow, I heard my
head coach call me by name. I responded what’s up. He said Jonathan,
you are being put in as center. As I rushed onto the field, our entire side of
our stadium just started screaming my name and cheering me on. As the
center, I made two awesome hikes with the football and kept the defensive
linemen from come through. My time was then up and all my team mates
were giving high fives and our whole entire crowd was just hoopering and
hollering. My dreams of playing in a Varsity football game lighten up by
stadium lights had finally come true.
• That same year, we were the East Kansas Leagues Scholars and the 2006
Undefeated Kansas Class 5A State Champions.
• My senior year during the Homecoming game, I was called in as center and
I made some great hikes with the football. In the last play I was in, after I
hiked the ball, I followed the ball carrier into the end zone and we scored a
touch down.
4. VARSITY FOOTBALL IS SERIOUS!!!
Our head coach would always talk to us about our improvement. He had counseled
with me about how I could become a better player. Nothing is going to happen if you
just stand or wander around in the weight room and not do anything. Football practice
and training is not a time for messing around. Being part of a high school Varsity
football team is a very serious thing. It is not like just throwing a football around in
your backyard with your friends. There are certain set standards that you are expected
to meet. If you are late for practice, you have to get down on your hands and feet with
your knees up and walk all the way down the entire length of the football field. You are
never to address your coaches by their first names. You are expected to keep your
grades up. There are certain times where you are to listen and not talk or make any
noise. I remember during one Varsity game my sophomore year, our defense was not
doing what they were supposed to. At half time, our defensive coordinator was just
chewing them out and yelling his head off. I somehow just laughed out loud because I
could not believe how mad he was. As a result of this, the coaches kicked me out of
the locker room and was talked to by the offensive line coach and by the head coach. I
have had my rear end kicked many times in high school football.
5. A NEW WORLD OF SPORTS
• After I had graduated from high school, my appetites for sports
began to change. I started looking at things like wakeboarding,
surfing, jet skiing, water skiing, cliff jumping, etc.
• Later I became interested in more action sports, such as
skateboarding, longboarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing, motocross,
boogie boarding, flyboarding (water jetpack), paragliding, wing
gliding, bungee jumping, base jumping, etc.
• I have had passions for cruising down 50 mph downhill on
longboards, chasing the biggest and most dangerous waves in the
ocean, getting thrown or pulled 50 feet high in the air while
windsurfing or kitesurfing, or jumping, belly flopping,
backflipping, diving off of 50 foot cliffs, or doing 50 foot jumps in
the air on motor bikes. After all these disappointments of not being
about to play basketball in high school or play football in college, I
have become AN EXTREME SPORTS MANIAC!!!!!!!!
6. THE EXTREME SPORTS
WORLD
• As I am now an extreme sports maniac, I have explored
a whole bunch of extreme sports and different athletes
in these sports. Robert Alexander who I play high
school football with, Jason Polakow, Robby Naish,
Laird Hamilton, Jeff Clark, and Greg Noll are some that
really stand out to me. These dare devils are like a
bunch of hooligans who have brainwashed me from
things like football, basketball, and have removed these
jealous feelings of not being able to play on high school
Varsity basketball team or on a college football team.
These extreme sports maniacs have built an extreme
sports obsession inside my heart.
7. SURFING-A SPORT OF
REFINEMENT
• There is one sport that particularly appeals to me
more than any other and that is surfing. You will
realize that is a lot more than just a sport. It is the
beauty, the grace, and the spirit. It is also about
lifestyle and culture. Associated with it’s culture
would be things like pop and rock music like The
Beach Boys, Jan & Dean and Dick Dale, beach art
including canvas art paintings and paintings on
surfboards, Hawaiian print clothing, hot rods,
woody cars, beach parties, the playing of guitars,
and Hollywood’s surf film Gidget.
8. HARD TIMES
• I have been through so many rough times in my life. I have been to elementary school and
had my rear end kicked. I have been to middle school and had my rear end kicked. I have
been to high school and had my rear end kicked. I have been to college and vocational school
and had my rear end kicked. I have been to church youth and young single adult activities
and had my rear end kicked. I have been through other school programs and had my rear end
kicked. I have been to work and had my rear end kicked. I have been neighbors and other
people’s houses and had my rear end kicked. I have had my rear end kicked so many times in
my life. There were times where I have been told to leave parties or activities. There were
times where I have been told not to talk about certain things. There were times where I have
been told just to keep my mouth shut. There were times where I have people tell me not to
bother them. I’ve been sent to the principal’s office. I’ve been yelled at. Did I always make
it to the treasure chest and get to select a little toy as a reward for good behavior at the end of
every week in elementary school? No. There were times where I have had to serve
detentions in school. I’ve been talked to by teachers, coaches, and even by administrators.
I’ve been kicked out of class. I have also been talked to by church leaders. I’ve been
grounded and talked to by parents and other family members. I was also very sensitive to
being yelled at or scolded. I have also been through so many embarrassing moments. It was
never fun.
9. HARD TIMES CONTINUED
• Did I ever go to an IVY League school like Harvard or Yale? No. Did I ever go to
a school like BYU, UCLA, USC, or any of the military academies? No. Do I have
a college degree? No. Was I a straight A student in school? No. Was I ever a
starter in high school football? No. All of these hard times of embarrassment,
disappointment, times of getting in trouble and being yelled at are what are
empowering me to catch and ride some of the biggest, ugliest swells in surfing.
However there is one thing that is more important than thrill. That is safety. This is
why there is a new sport that I plan to invent someday. It is called fly surfing. It is
where you will have a jetpack attached to you while you are surfing. You will have
foot straps attached to your surfboard. It will permit you to catch bigger and faster
moving waves significantly more easily and safely. Surfing smaller waves out with
your friends and having a good time is one thing. Big wave surfing however, is a
completely different story. If you wipe out on a 30 foot wave, it is like hitting
concrete at the speed of 50 miles an hour and then the whole thing comes over you
like a big 3000 ton slab of concrete crushing you like a bulldozer. It is much, much
worse than being tackled down by 11 football players. The wave then pushes you
down to where it is so deep and so dark that you will be having a hard time making
it back to your surfboard. I guess I can’t let these hard times empower me too
much into extreme sports.
10. THE BEAUTY AND SPIRIT OF
SURFING
• A very prominent part of surfing is the beauty and spirit. As you are riding the
wave while it curls and breaks any you move through the tunnel, it feels like a mist
washing over you. It just feels so good. This does not happen while playing
football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, or even while just swimming laps in a
pool. This is especially true in Hawaii, where there are just the perfect waves and
the water is crystal clear and 80 degrees year round. Unlike in Southern California
where the water is cold, the water in Hawaii is just so warm that when you get out,
you won’t need to worry about drying off. Unlike team sports, surfing is more of a
spirit. It will build your relationships with your family, your friends, your spouse,
children and whoever you love a lot stronger than ever before. God created the
ocean. He did not create the volleyball or basketball courts. You are not going to
see killer whales or dolphins jump out of a football or baseball field. In the ocean,
there is a chance that you might see a beautiful orca or dolphin jump out of the
water while surfing. Another thing is that if you take a look at two teams of
basketball players playing against each other. All you see is the court. If you look
at somebody surfing, you see that beautiful wave they are riding. This is especially
true in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach, Waimea Bay, and Pipeline are some of the greatest
places to see some beautiful waves break. Surfing is a sport that has been known to
change lives.
11. SURF CULTURE
• Surf culture is about the art, the fashion, the music, and much more. You
could take your own surfboard and then do your own designs. For
example, you could do a beach with a surfer in the water with a monster
size killer whale, a woody car with Hawaiian print on the beach with some
cute girls in one-piece bathing suits, swim shorts, and bows in the hair
eating ice cream cones and carrying longboards. There could be around the
car like surfboards with Hawaiian print, American flags, or other designs.
Also, you could paint things like palm trees, flowers, pine apples, tikis,
drums, parrots, a wild boar, beach balls, and many more. On another
painting, you could do something like a party on the beach. You could
have a group of guys and hot chicks dancing in the sand, throwing beach
balls and footballs, Ford Mustang Shelby Cobras with flames and super
heroes painted on them, a racing powerboat or sailboat and a friendly
dragon popping out of the water, surfboards in the sand, guys playing
drums and guitars, and other things. You could have dance parties in the
sand on the beaches where the guys could be wearing Hawaiian print shirts
and cargo shorts and the girls could be wearing beach dresses or super hero
T-shirts and beach skirts with bows or hand bands in their hair.
12. MORE ON SURF CULTURE
CONTINUED
• Everybody could wearing flower leis and people could be
throwing beach balls around. It would be a great time to
dance to some One Direction, James Taylor, Johnny Cash,
Owl City, Carly Rae Jepsen, United State of Pop 2012, The
Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Hot Chelle Rae. California is
not only a great place for surfing, but for longboarding and
skateboarding as well. Los Angeles, Venice, Santa Monica,
Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Newport Beach, San Diego, San
Clemente, Oceanside, La Jolla, Huntington Beach, Dana
Point, Long Beach, Malibu, San Onofre, and many other
beach towns along the California coastline are just a
longboarder and skateboarder’s paradise with all the skate
parks, trails, beach boardwalks, palm trees, Ferris Wheels,
and other wonderful and thrilling attractions.
13. THE 50’S AND 60’S CULTURE
• If you take a look at surfing back in it’s 50’s and 60’s, you would have seen guys
sleeping in grass shacks on the beach. These people are called surf bums. They
don’t do anything but just eat, sleep, surf the waves, and mess around on the beach.
These surfers were just like a bunch of ghouls who would do some of the most
outrageous things like climb inside of empty trash barrels at the top of a hill and roll
down into the water, dive off 50 foot cliffs into water, put lighter fluid in their
mouths and then just torch it off, and ride down through storm drains. There was a
time where a group of surfers traveled from California all the way to Hawaii.
When they got there, they were poor. They had no car, no house, no money,
nothing. They had to build their own shacks and huts and get mattresses from the
Salvation Army. In those days, they would go pick fruits off of trees, steal chickens
off of people’s farms, and go free diving and catch fish and lobster. One of those
surfers was Greg Noll a big wave surfing legend. Starting in about 1959, the films
Ride The Wild Surf, Beach Blanket Bingo, Beach Party, Gidget, Frankie & Annette,
and other beach party films came into society. It was all about girls sitting in their
swimsuits in the sand watching their boyfriends surf and having parties on the
beach. Surf bands began to thrive, such as Dick Dale, The Ventures, The Beach
Boys, David Marks & the Marksmen, The Rivieras, Link Wray, Jan & Dean,
Frankie Avalon, The Rip Chords, and many others.
14. MODERN 60’S
• If you don’t think the 60’s can be modernized, you are wrong. Let me explain. Many of the
songs by the surf musicians and other oldies pop groups are about things like surfing,
longboarding, Batman, James Bond, Get Smart, Hawaii Five-O, circuses, cars, burger joints,
romantic love, and many more. Picture a 2015 Shelby Cobra on the beach next to a 2015
Chevrolet Camaro in the parking lot on the beach with flames and dragons airbrushed onto
them and guys and pretty girls standing next to them. They are decked out in Superman,
Batman, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tees and shorts. The guys are wearing Los
Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Rams ball caps and the girls are wearing head bands and
bows in their hair. All throughout the parking lot, there are water balloon fights, nerf wars,
arcade games, and Hot Wheels races. Located in the center of the parking lot, there is old
beat up car being smashed up with a sledge hammer. Some of them are riding longboards and
playing guitars. There is a Baskin Robbins and Dominos Pizza nearby. Surfers are catching
waves and dolphins jumping out. Popping out behind the Dominos Pizza shop, there is a big
ferris wheel on the beach. There are palm trees everywhere. Now, picture another scenario on
the beach with an Astro Jump bounce house and barbecue in the sand. Guys and gals
throwing beach balls around and having super soaker wars. There are surfboards and boogie
boards are leaning against Ferrari with a Hot Wheels scheme. The girls have Captain America
and Spiderman schemes on their swimsuits and swim shorts and the guys have the same on
their swim shirts and American flag patterns and printings of beaches on their board shorts.
15. MODERN 60’S CONTINUED
• Guys are burring their pretty girlfriends in the
sand with only their heads and legs sticking out
and tickling them. Guitars and drums are being
played in the sand. Yachts are cruising in the
water. There is a small Cessna airplane flying
above pulling a banner introducing a new surf
shop that has opened. Another scenario would be
a husband and wife surfing towards the shore.
The guy is wearing a blue Superman swim shirt
with some Hawaiian print board shorts and the
girl is wearing a black Batman swim shirt with
some yellow swim shorts over her swimsuit.
16. TEAM SPORTS ARE NOT
EVERYTHING!!!!!
• They are many advantages that ocean sports offer that
team sports do not. A football or baseball field or
volleyball or basketball court are not going launch you
up into the air like ocean waves could while surfing or
windsurfing. You are not going to see orcas or dolphins
jump out of a football field or basketball court. While
surfing your swim suit could have Hawaiian print or an
American flag pattern and your rash guard (swim shirt)
could have the Superman or Batman logo. If you join a
high school or college football or basketball team, your
jersey is not going to have the superman or batman
logo. Neither are your game pants or shorts going to
have the American flag or Hawaiian Print.
