OC Crew Series: Chapin Page of Huntington Beach

WE SET THE FOUNDATION FOR A 5 PART INTERVIEW SERIES WITH SLYDE HANDBOARDS BODYSURFING CREW STRAIGHT OUT OF ORANGE COUNTY@OC_CREW

Welcome to part 4 of the Oc_Crew series, an all access pass to 15 year old bodysurfing grom Chapin Page from Huntington Beach California.

So tell me a little bit about yourself, where you come from, what you're doing.

I come from Huntington Beach. I surf and bodysurf. For sports at my school, I do cross country and swimming. I have a sister that's a lifeguard, a little brother, and my dad. He surfs a lot and body surfs a lot with me. And my mom.

How did you meet your crew?

I met Dylan through Junior Guards about two years ago. And then through him, he introduced me to his brother and Auggie, Jake, and Joey.

Tell me a little bit more about your passion for water  and watersports?  

I do it because of the stoke. It's just...you get out there and it's just so in the moment and fun. It's just raw playing in Mother Nature. I started boogie boarding when I was, like, eight while my sister did Junior Guards. And I got into bodysurfing, and then from there, I took on surfing.

Who are your biggest supporters? Who are the people that inspire you?

My biggest supporters by far is my crew and my dad. And my inspirations are Jamie O'Brien and Mark Cunningham.

Let's step away from surfing for a little bit. What other passions and hobbies do you have?

I like playing video games, I do that. I like Netflix. I love eating. I occasionally like to mess around building stuff.

What are you building?

I built a treehouse in my backyard. Yeah, It's like a little bungalow, just to hang out in.

Speaking of, where is, what're your favorite food places to hang out, local watering holes?

Local watering holes? HB, around Tower 7. That's my local spot. I like hanging out just around my neighborhood and in the park there. And my favorite food hangout place would be, by far, the doughnut shop by my school.

So with the doughnuts, what's your favorite doughnut?

I like the glazed ones, those are good.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a firefighter.

Wow. What makes you want to do that?

Well, I would have lots of time to go surfing. A lot of my family are firefighters too, and I like the lifestyle that goes along with it.

How does surfing affect other parts of your life? Positive, negative, what have you learned from it?

It's taught me a lot of patience and just to be mellow. Especially in school, that helps a lot for group projects.  And it helps a lot too because whenever I'm having a hard day, I know I can just go surfing and relax and not think about anything else.

Where do you want to travel to and where have you been?

I've been to Hawaii, and that's pretty much it and up in northern California. I want to go to Indonesia. I'm going to New Zealand so I've got that checked off.

Tell me about that more.

Our Junior Lifeguard program, the Huntington City Junior Lifeguards, have this program exchange team where we switch. The New Zealand lifeguards come over here, and we go over there. So we get to do that with them. And we're going to get our Bronze Medallion, which they need for lifeguarding.

When are you doing that?

Next December.

What do you think about where bodysurfing is going? You're kind of a younger generation and you're kind of leading it. What do you want to see come from it? How do you feel about it now?

It's going to be...it's starting to become more mainstream. I know more and more people at my school who are doing it. I want to see it go in the direction where everyone starts evolving their own style. Like, surfing, you have the classic style and then the power surfing. I want to see bodysurfing do that in a way. You get thrown around more and you worry less, but  you definitely got to earn your spot out there though, there's not a lot of respect.

When Was the first time you touched the ocean?

When I was really young. I can't even remember.

Best advice you've ever gotten?

Don't fight the waves, just go with the hold-down.

What's different and special about these group of guys and the crew that you have?

They're really fun to hang around with. They're funny guys, very supportive. And overall just, I don't know how to describe it in words that much. They're just a great group of guys.

Is it like a brotherhood?

Yeah. Definitely.

Parting words?

Stay stoked!

THANKS Chapin FOR YOUR KILLER INSIGHTS!
Check out Chapin's Review of the Wedge Racketeer Here: