Dave Rastovich interview
As part of our special World Oceans Day website takeover, HUCK talks to the surf activist about the impact surfers can have on the planet, collective responsibility and the spiritual side of the sea.
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World-class surfer Dave 'Rasta' Rastovich ditched the pressure of competitions to establish a more Zen relationship with the sea. Now he's using his high profile as a skilled and progressive surfer to raise awareness about the ecological crisis facing our seas.
From sailing trips and beach clean-ups around his beloved home in Byron Bay, Australia to responsible travel around Indonesia and the U.S., Rasta is a soft, spiritual guy who's hippie mentality doesn't stop him surfing with more style and power than most of his macho counterparts.
HUCK: What you're up to at the moment?
Dave Rastovich: I am presently in Florida, resting an injured ankle from surfing in Indonesia last month. I'm pretty nervous about the huge oil spill in the Gulf here and hope the logical move away from using outdated coal and oil combustion technology will begin asap.
You undertook the TransparentSea Voyage last year, how was that?
It was an effective whistle blowing adventure down the east coast of Australia. Our intention was to clean the supposedly pristine beaches that, like nearly all beaches around the world, are covered in plastic and other human waste. We also wanted to celebrate the recovery of our east coast humpback whale population, once reduced to 300 and now numbering around 14,000. But we wanted to keep public pressure on our government to take Japan to court for illegally whaling in the Southern Ocean Antarctic sanctuary. Australia has just done this, fingers crossed the criminal Japanese whaling fleet will be prevented from going back down there again, and will be charged for their crimes against nature. Our trip also successfully assisted the Surfrider Foundation and Tangaroa Blue's Marine Debris Initiative, which saw people cleaning beaches and cataloging the rubbish to determine where the trash came from and how to stop that from happening again. Oh, and we surfed and sailed and paddled with whales, dolphins and sharks for 36 days of adventure.
What was the most memorable part of the trip?
Being side by side with humpback whales, having them surf swells with us out in the open ocean. Sitting on our 16-foot kayaks with these behemoths under and around us made us feel very privileged.
Do you think your message was heard?
Though we had no formal response from the government, we did manage to speak to Australian people via the large national radio station Triple J, morning TV shows, night news, the Sydney Morning Herald and on the web. It's sometimes hard to quantify how far these types of campaigns travel, but if felt good to know that for one whole month, Australia was reminded repeatedly about the state of our beaches and the plight of the whales.
innate to a true surfer is the unflinching desire to defend our coastlines and the animals with which we share it
What do you think is the biggest threat to the environment right now?
Human’s imbalanced perception of nature and our place within the biosphere. Commercial fishing is an ugly beast that is largely going unchallenged. Please do not support any commercial fishing operation. Catch a fish yourself if you feel you have to eat fish. Actually the best thing we all can do on a personal level is stop eating meat altogether. Go to goveg.com and read about the environmental impact of eating meat. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the run-off from factory farms pollutes our waterways more than all other industrial sources combined. Polluted waterways equals polluted oceans, equals polluted people and planet. Not rocket science.
What environmental campaigning are you currently participating in?
A continued collaboration with Sea Shepherd is exciting and we are planning to do a another voyage down the west coast of America next winter aimed at greater protection of the Californian grey whale and, of course, highlighting coastal issues as we go.
What activist organisations, in your opinion, are having an incredible effect right now?
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. As well as many others I am sure […] To me, it seems the environmental movement has a lack of direct action groups willing to intervene on the front line. Of course diversity is crucial in every area of life so we need lobbyists, guerilla media groups and hardcore activists in order to turn certain issues around.
Do you think surfers are an environmentally-friendly bunch?
Well, that remains to be proven true. Surfers seem to have an intimate relationship with the ocean, but that has still not really spilled over into a lot of activism and coastal stewardship. There are many amazing NGOs started by surfers like the Surfrider Foundation, Surfers Against Sewage and Save The Waves but I feel we haven't really begun to tap into our surfing communities’ true numbers and power. There are many, many surfers on this planet now. I hope those of us who are influential to new surfers would impart the simple notion that innate to a true surfer is the unflinching desire to defend our coastlines and the animals with which we share it. We are perfectly placed to be the stewards of the coasts. Scanning the horizon looking for surf, it doesn't take much to look out for poachers, destructive commercial fishing methods, pollutants and human marine debris too.
What more can surfers do to help protect our oceans/nature?
Surf more, consume less, give back to that which any true surfer can't live without: the sea.
What does surfing meant to you these days. How do you keep your love for it fresh?
I don't surf unless I really feel it. It's similar to the experience of gratitude. Authentic gratitude is an overwhelming burst of celebratory thanks! You feel it so strongly that it just pours out of you […] Surfing is the same for me. If I look at the ocean and am just bursting out of my skin to ride a wave then, bam, I will go surf. If I don't feel it then I won't do it. Being on autopilot and just going surfing in order to get a fix or to escape something on land is not being respectful of the ocean and the surfing experience. We are using it and abusing it if we approach it that way. I love my surfing experience more and more every wave, simply because I am having more and more experiences of it.
What's the best advice you've ever been told?
Smooth seas never made a skillful sailor.
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Dave Rastovich interview (text) by Shelley Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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