Gerry in the hood

Last Monday we were kindly invited to the Gerry Lopez book signing in Currumbin at the iconic Surf World Musuem.Running side by side with the BLEACH festival promised the night a good turnout from the crowd and Gerry sure was not let down. With more legends in one room already full of nostalgia, the vibe was pumping.

Legend filmmaker and lifetime friend of Gerry’s Jack McCoy introduced the night and gave the audience a visual sneak peak to his new film A Deeper Shade of Blue. Next up Wayne Lynch’s dry humor flowed as free as the organic beers but in true Wayne style he seriously spoke of his admiration for Gerry and gave a perfect welcome to the man of the night.

With the likes of Bob McTavish, Baddy Treloar, Rusty Miller, Cheyne Horan, Dick Van Straalen, Mal Sutherland and many more taking up the front rows eagerly awaiting their hero and good friend.

Gerry took to the stage speaking with heart and inspiring the intimate crowd. His stand out message wrapped up the evening, a quote from the Dalai Lama:

“The Dalai Lama was asked what suprised him most…

Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”

Thank you Gerry for reminding us of something so simple, yet so important.

Thanks to Patagonia for the invite, it was an unforgettable night.

Read more on my post at http://xwaters.com/blogs/topic/the-gerry-night

and more on the Australian tour from Patagonia Australia’s blog at http://www.patagonia.com.au/journal/2012/live-with-aoha-gerry-lopez-surf-is-where-you-find-it-tour/