Brad Gerlach Personal Blog

I love the blues

2012-02-10T00:02:00.001-08:00

I asked this old dude to play me some howling wolf and he went into "going back to Kansas city." I'm guessing there was a girl there. Can't see many other reasons other than family. He had two little amps one for the mike and one for the strat. Old strat too. He seemed happy to oblige. I love to throw a little money to the street musicians. They make life so random, beautiful, and sweet.

Small Wave Humblings: very good for you...

2012-01-17T15:25:00.000-08:00

Here is my first little video blog post. I've decided to do this because I have a ton of friends and fans that want to know what kind of board a man rides in different conditions. All you ever hear about is what kids ride: My goal in this 2 part series is to: learn, experiment with different boards and fin set ups, and ultimately find a small wave quiver. The waves usually suck around here, however, small, crappy waves are extremely challenging, keep you tuned and reflexes sharp. I feel like I'm surfing ok in this footage but there is nothing to humble one more than to watch oneself surf... sheesh.

Also, for anyone who knows me, I love to imitate different voices and accents hence the Japanese English title...

take care and feel free to comment as I'm interested in what works for others in different conditions. BG

Small Wave Humblings from bradgerr on Vimeo.

Doozy

2012-01-16T11:17:00.001-08:00

Here's a doozy of a board. 6'3 x 18 3/4 x 2 5/16 kustom order for the kid. Feels like a double concave but I need to talk with Chris to define the bottom correctly.
Fins are a Timmy Patterson template made of G-10 material. The trailing fin is a touch smaller then the leading fins.
The fins are concaved and I've rode the same fins for 3 years in all sizes of waves in several boards. LOVE THESE BAD BOYS! They are very stiff with a slight flex at the tip, drivey and responsive. G-10: i believe is a hundred layers of glass pressed and cooked. Some military shit. The glass on thes puppy's is at a 45 degree angle. Meaning flex and no twist.
Rode this last week on that second swell at an overhead
right and just loved the drive and carry it had. The Rp shape allows it to turn tight in the pocket too. This board is simply magic. I've ridden her in Bali on lefts and she's just as responsive.
Joy is the only word that works here. Thanks again Chris. I really appreciateit bud.

Experimenting is fun

2012-01-03T08:48:00.001-08:00

I love to mix things up but usually don't get out of the water to change things up during a session...Today I rode some 2-3 ft fun little right point waves. I changed my board twice and fin set up 5 times. Here's my quick feedback: 1. Black rail board is called the Ocean Avenger model: double bump swallow 5'8" x 19 1/2 x 2 5/16 Quad with 5 boxes. Front fins: EA tech flex, back fins: just say 375 on them, and i tried the regular size knubster, ( 5th fin, don't know measurements of it yet) Felt ok but a little limiting in the lack of size and power. Rode 3-4 waves.
2. Same board without knubster: felt freed up and faster with less drag. I'm
Stoked on the speed but still not totally comfortable off the top on the quad set up. Rode 6-7 waves.
3. Change board: hand shape 5'8 x19 3/4 x 2 3/16 wide tail swallow. Front fins: EA standard, back fins, random tow fins, and small knubster as 5th fin. Same kind thing as above, felt ok but a little slow with the wave size. Like 5th fin wasn't necessary.
4. Same board as above without knubster. Much faster and free feeling. Weird off the top though which seems to be the case, at least with me... Maybe it's just too wide in the tail for tight radius turning or I need to brute force it a bit? I don't know yet. Rode 4-5 waves
5. Same board as above change rear fins to 375's. Board felt a little better and held a touch more. Rode 5-6 waves.
Boards are made by Chris Christenson and all of the fins except one are Futures. One of the knubsters is an fcs.

Tried this today

2011-12-29T16:10:00.001-08:00

Been riding a few different quads lately but this is the first time I threw the knubster in. Surf was 3-4 glassy bowls.
It seemed to hold better and was still fast. I'm def intrigued

i miss getting barreled, and randoms

2010-12-16T00:42:00.000-08:00

Ah my favorite place to surf. wow, I miss tube riding. how good is the sign? this is my stylish friend George Gorrow, and a sexy pose by kate moss. I thought I would throw some random stuff up because my mind is random. William Burroughs believes creativity is totally random.

here's to random abandon. good name for a band or clothing label.

i love the road

2010-12-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

This is Chris Christenson's logo that I love. I changed the colors myself.

The bottom shot is Cali in the fall on a road trip up the coast. It's my girlfriend and our close lovely friend Alana. We love the road and all that it brings.

more japan

2010-12-09T13:44:00.000-08:00

a couple more pics. Leks and I making a wish at a temple in Kamakura. Leks my fearless travel partner and love.

Japan

2010-12-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Went to Japan last year and hooked up with the boys at Axxe Classic for custom suits. These guys are passionate about making incredible wetsuits and have been for 35 years. cool dudes too.

We caught a few waves together in Kamakura with Daniel Thompson who is a part of the Axxe Classic crew. Then out for an incredible dinner complete with lots of laughs, japanese beer, and Sake. oh man do we love Sake!

2010-12-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

This was in San Fran in Sept for Vice Spain. it was an interview and they asked me about coaching and what it takes to make surfing a professional career. My girlfriend and I really liked the Spanish Vice crew! side note: I'm so stoked that I get to wear my own clothes these days!

lagging

2010-12-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

I have been very slack with my blog. I'm constantly traveling and seeing things that inspire me. however, it seems I hate to sit and download shit into my computer. I take a zillion photos and read a ton online but when it comes to this blog i'm a bum. I'm in Australia for the first time in 5 years and I'm beyond excited to see my friends, catch up on life down under, party, laugh, surf with my lady, listen to new music, shop in boutiques, dance, and enjoy. I will do my best to upload photos and get on a rhythm with this bloggin thing...

Drifter surf shop in Bali

2010-07-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

this is my friend Jake Mackenzie's surf shop in Bali. it is one of my favorite shops in the world. Check it out if you are there.

Jake Mackenzie

DRIFTER SURF

Drifting along day by day surfing our lives away.....

50 Jalan Oberoi,

Seminyak,Bali,

Indonesia.

+62 81337405233 (Cell)

+62 361 8475958 (SHOP)

jake@driftersurf.com

www.driftersurf.com

2010-06-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

a few more pics.

2010-06-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

I love where I live. Yesterday I went surfing at the break wall and paddled down to Venice Pier and back with an old friend Jamie Brisick. When we got out I chatted with an old black guy about the water temp and the Laker game, did some pull ups, saw a rad little lion dog, enjoyed watching the ethnically diverse crowd walk around all the stands, and listened to a big black guy carrying a radio in a bucket on wheels sing at the top of his lungs a really cool soulful song. Here are some images from around town, a few friends and our joint. enjoy :)

surfing with Nathan

2010-06-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Last month I was lucky enough to take Nathan surfing at Malibu. Thanks to my bud Scott Caan we paddled out at first point with Nathan and got him some bombs. It was really rad to ride behind him and watch him read the waves. He would turn the board by leaning his head. I was hooting at the top of my lungs. He said he had a great time. I think we can get him on a better board for next time. But dude, looked how stoked he was. That is priceless! Yea Nate!

2010-06-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

We just crowned our 5th National High School Cup Champion with NSL's game format. We did it this year with no sponsors. The kids took it very seriously and the best team won. Huntington Beach Oilers. They totally ripped. We love giving the kids a platform for them to rip. We will try to get the lowers permit again. This will be the first time in our 5 year history that we will have the time to make proper presentations to the world of sponsors what a gem we have. Hopefully we can include Hawaii next year. Thanks to all who helped out and see ya next year!

Parker wins

2010-06-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I spent a few days down at Lowers coaching 3 groms. Jesse Guglielmana from Kaui, Colton Sarlo from Malibu, and Parker Coffin from Santa Barbara.
These kids are fun to watch and have something special about their surfing that no one can teach. It's just a gift. I'm helping them understand their strengths, giving them a few technical tips, jogging their imagination, and reminding them that they surf their best when they are having fun. Which means no thinking or talking to yourself while surfing. Their intuition is good enough to know which waves are best and their bodies know what to do on the waves. Thinking only gets in the way. I was so happy to get a call from Parker yesterday saying he won. It's such a buzz. I have a feeling I'm supposed to get used to it. :)

first blog

2010-06-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blog:

This will be fun to post stuff that interests and inspires me. A place for humor and introspection... From time to time I'm going to leave some surfing tips on here , everything from how to generate speed to fixing a knee or back problem without going under the knife. I will give my humble opinion to critique and praise things and people. Highlight art, photography, fashion, anti-fashion, music, restaurants, hotels, and other inspirational stuff. I'd like to hear what you have to say about it, good or bad. I will also post some of my workouts and occasionally throw up some current footage of me surfing.

Enjoy

brad