{"id":7888,"date":"2011-06-28T09:00:18","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T08:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/driftsurfingmagazine.driftdigital.co.uk\/?p=7888"},"modified":"2011-06-01T16:31:46","modified_gmt":"2011-06-01T15:31:46","slug":"the-northern-collective-5-sepp-bruhwiler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/driftsurfingmagazine.driftdigital.co.uk\/index.php\/archives\/7888","title":{"rendered":"The Northern Collective. #5: Sepp Bruhwiler"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It seems the Bruhwiler family has something special in their blood. Sepp Bruhwiler grew up on Chesterman\u2019s Beach in Tofino, B.C. At the tender age of six, he pulled on a wetsuit and started on the road to becoming one of the top surfers in Canada.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

The younger brother of Raph, Sepp has one of the most powerful backhand hacks in the business, one of the most contagious laughs you\u2019ll ever hear and a passion for surfing that he communicates with every word that comes out of his mouth. In part five of our interview series, \u201cThe Northern Collective,\u201d we got on the horn with Sepp to talk about making it in a small town, Buckwheat Surfboards, and his brush with Hollywood. Photos<\/strong>: Kiel Harvey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So Sepp, how long have you been surfing for?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh shoot. I\u2019m 31 and I think I started when I was about 6. What is that? 25 years?<\/p>\n

Something like that. That\u2019s a long time. I saw a picture of you from ages ago, and it looked like an ad for something called Buckwheat Surfboards. What\u2019s that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty funny. That\u2019s Chris Buckles, one of the local guys. He barely even surfs anymore. He started shaping boards when we were really young. The first board he made me was called \u201cShort Stuff,\u201d so that was pretty funny.<\/p>\n

Was that your first sponsor-ish thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, we paid for those. I didn\u2019t really get sponsored until I was 14 or something.<\/p>\n

Who was the first one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would\u2019ve been Ocean Surf, which is now Storm.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Kiel Harvey<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I guess growing up in Tofino, you\u2019ve probably seen it change quite a bit since you were young. What was it like growing up there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s changed drastically. You know, there used to be 200 people in town and nobody in the water. Every time you checked the waves, there was no one out. It was just a small logging and fishing town back then.<\/p>\n

How did you get into surfing in a town like that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I was into skateboarding first. But we were right on the beach, so it made it pretty easy to go in the water. There were a few older guys, Jack Bauer and Jack Gillie, who were making surfboards. Raph got a board from them, and then next thing you know, I\u2019m following him, and same with my sister. My parents weren\u2019t really into it\u2014my dad\u2019s a logger, and my mom was taking care of us.<\/p>\n

What do they think of it now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, they think it\u2019s cool. They always supported us.<\/p>\n

Is it ever weird with your brother, both of you owning surf shops in the same town?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re buddies, but there\u2019s some weird stuff. Some days, I\u2019ll be super busy and his shop is dead, and the next day it\u2019s the opposite. You\u2019re like \u201cwhat\u2019s going on?!\u201d There\u2019s a little bit of that stuff, but nothing negative or anything.<\/p>\n

What about that old Hummer commercial you were in? How did that happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a really good agent in Vancouver. He got that one for me. The audition I went to was crazy. They made me put my wetsuit on in downtown Vancouver and walk into this huge room in front of 40 people. They were all just sitting there silent, and there was one guy interviewing me.<\/p>\n

Do you do that kind of thing a lot?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done a few things. I was a stunt guy in a Toyota commercial, and I did a couple stunt things for a couple movies. I was in a Gob video surfing back in 2002, as well.<\/p>\n

What about travelling?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not really anymore. I\u2019ve got two kids now, and I\u2019m trying to really focus on my surf school. Back in \u201908, I was gone for the whole winter. The last trip I did, I drove down to California with my truck and my ski. I just hung out there for three months or something. Then I left all my gear in Huntington and flew down to Mexico for two months. I\u2019ve been doing trips around here, too, and we go over to Washington sometimes.<\/p>\n

What about favourite spots around here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a spot up north about an hour and a half boat ride from Tofino. I\u2019m pretty into backhand surfing, because where we grew up at Chesterman\u2019s there\u2019s a lefthand wedge and Rosie Bay is a left as well. I surfed mostly backside growing up.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Kiel Harvey<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

What you think about the Canadian surfers blowing up, like Pete\u2019s Innersection part?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m so stoked for him. I\u2019ve been saving footage for the next one, and just need a couple more things, and then I\u2019m done. I got some sick turns and good airs\u2014I just need a couple good barrels, and then I\u2019ve got a part. It\u2019s at 80% right now. I might wait until round two to submit, but we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

That would be sick. Have you got one guy that you always shoot with, or are there a few?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got my own personal filmer that shoots me all the time. He\u2019s a guy that worked at one of the shops, and he got right into it. It\u2019s cool. When we\u2019re right into it, we\u2019ll be out every day.<\/p>\n

What about inspirations growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, my brother, Raph. And Tom Curren. Some of the older guys in town here had videos. The first video I watched was Wave Warriors. I still remember the day I saw it. I was probably four years old.<\/p>\n

Anything planned for the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A couple of local trips, but I\u2019m going to put my head down and work on my shop. This is the least I\u2019ve surfed in my life, but it\u2019s like going to camp. I\u2019ll be done camp in September, then I can do some big trips.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Malcolm Johnson at SBC Surf<\/a> for his cooperation in reproducing these stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems the Bruhwiler family has something special in their blood. Sepp Bruhwiler grew up on Chesterman\u2019s Beach in Tofino, B.C. At the tender age of six, he pulled on a wetsuit and started on the road to becoming one of the top surfers in Canada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1385],"tags":[1386,1392,1395],"class_list":["post-7888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alexander-haro","tag-alexander-haro-2","tag-sepp-bruhwiler","tag-the-northern-collective"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t