Vol. 11 "Pero" Hiroyuki Hayashi No Wasted Days - Anti-Mainstream Aesthetics
In the world of classic longboarding, which is distinct from shortboard surfing, which has now become an Olympic sport, there is a solitary genius shaper-surfer named Robin Kegal, who continues the history of the sport that dates back to the 1960s.
Pero, also known as Hiroyuki Hayashi, has been friends with Robin Kegal for many years, and they have traveled together to California, Australia, Hawaii, and even Europe, capturing their adventures behind the camera. He has taken over tens of thousands of photos, most of which are unpublished. We spoke to Pero about the true Robin Kegal from his perspective, and the meaning of continuing to pursue unknown waves together.
(Robin Kegel, Morroco. 2011 )
Speaking of Pero, you've been spending a lot of time with Robin Kegal, who recently visited Japan. In fact, Robin has come up in conversation many times in this series, but how did you become friends with her in the first place?
I think it all started around 2009 , about 15 years ago, when Robin and I went on our first trip together. When I came to Japan, we decided to fly to Tanegashima on short notice because it looked like there might be some waves, but we couldn't take our longboards, so we just took one shorter board. Since it was just the two of us, we were a little nervous at first and felt a bit awkward around each other, but when we got there, the waves were overhead and amazing, and we became really good friends.
It looks like there will be some waves this time too, so Robin, Kai Ellis Flint, Yuriko and others headed to Tanegashima again. By the way, are you planning to publish the photos in some media?
No, nothing has been decided yet (laughs). Apparently, the spot where I got the wave last time has had some tetrapods in it, which has changed the quality of the waves, and since then, the big waves haven't been breaking there. The locals are talking about Alex Knost coming, but I can't tell Robin that (laughs).
Pero is known for having a huge amount of unpublished photos that he has not released to the public, but what will he do with the photos he has taken so far?
Of course I will. First of all, I'm thinking about making a proper photo book. The reason I haven't released my photos until now is because the people I photograph are all quite well-known, so I thought it would be difficult to deal with copyrights and all that. But I think it's fine to just let them sit like vintage wine, so I'm thinking about releasing them when the timing is right. First of all, I'm not sure if I can do it properly with Robin, but I haven't released one yet. I guess the reason is that I want to shoot with bigger waves, and I haven't found anything that I'm satisfied with yet.
(Robin Kegel, Guitaly . 2012 )
How did you discover surfing?
I'd played soccer since middle school, but I wanted to major in photography in university and become a photographer. I wanted to go somewhere like a Native American town or a gold mine in Brazil and make a name for myself as a photographer by taking pictures of a world of selfish, good-looking adults. But to do that, I needed a way to make a living, and that's when I thought about working in a bar. There are bars all over the world, so I thought I could get hired if I had the bartending knowledge. So I started working at a bar in Tsujido, and then I got hooked on surfing. There were a lot of longboarders around me, and I thought their style, which was all about single fins, was cool.
It was at that very bar in Tsujido that I first met Pero (laughs).
That's right. I first started surfing in high school, but I started after college thanks to someone I met at a bar, so I'm a fairly late bloomer. After that, there was a neighbor who I started saying hello to on my way to the beach every day on my bike. It turns out that this person is the president of surf apparel company SPRAWLS , and he asked me, "What do you do? If you're into photography, come and visit us sometime," and my photos of their clothing were used in an advertisement, which was my first job as a photographer. Sano from NALU saw the advertisement and contacted me through a friend, and this time I was asked to take portraits of surfers for NALU . I'll never forget the first one, Jeffrey Yokoyama of MODERN AMUSEMENT . After that I photographed Seitaro Nakamura and Shoroku, among others.
So you started working on set right away before working in a studio.
Yes. About a year after the magazine serialization began, the president of SPRAWLS told me, "There's someone I'd like to meet," so I went to the now-defunct Denny's in Hayama . It was photographer Mitsuyuki Shibata, who happened to see my photos at SPRAWLS and asked if he'd like to help me out. After graduating from university, I worked at a studio in Gaien for about seven months, but I ended up quitting and wasn't ready to go out on my own, so I initially considered letting him see my photos and declining the offer. But he said, "If you keep saying that, it'll never get started. I'll just do it the first time," and I thought he was such a nice guy. At first, I was an assistant shooting Igawa Haruka, who was a campaign girl at the time, on Hachijojima Island. We worked together for several years, sometimes every day and sometimes with a little free time, but I made mistakes too. Even during those times, Shibata never got angry and always supported me, so I can't thank him enough.
(Cody Simpkins, Sano, CA. 2004 )
After that, when I was finally on my own and just starting out as a photographer, I got a decent paycheck and used the money to go to California with two friends. I was surfing at San Onofre and shooting some good surfers in between, when Cody Simpkins saw my film camera and long lens and said to me, "You're a classic." I later found out who it was, and Robin had also made a signature model for him. "We're staying in that van over there, so come hang out later. Your friends are probably there too," they said, so I went over and they didn't say anything while I was pointing my camera at them and taking pictures. We all drank beer together and even had a campfire at the end, which was awesome.
My friend Kentaro was working at Sea Kong at the time, and on his way home he stopped by Robin's house, which was where we first met. The next day we went back to say hello and took some photos of Robin again. Just as he was about to turn this place into a shaping room, he turned the panel into a skate ramp (laughs). Thomas Campbell was also there.
When I got back to Japan, I developed the photos and showed them to Sano-san from NALU , who invited me to go and do some shooting in California. That was my first overseas assignment for work. The portrait of Robin and Alex was used on the cover of NALU .
(Robin Kegel, CA. 2005 )
(Al Knost, Newport Beach, CA. 2005 )
Robin is a surfer who lives in the so-called good old days, and he has an image of sticking to a stance that doesn't pander to those around him.
I feel like Robin has only ever thought about surfing, and I think he's where he is today because he's been so serious about it. He has a hunger for catching a good wave, so no matter how drunk he gets at a party, if there's a wave, he'll get up and go surfing. It's the same with board making; he has a vast amount of knowledge, so he uses that knowledge to create what he thinks is cool. It's like it's his destiny to do that.
I don't start shaping until I'm cornered, but once I get started, It was a really long time with an abnormal level of concentration. I don't speak English and there's nowhere else to go, so I just kept filming, but everyone else eventually got tired and went home. I think the fact that we were able to become friends and not get angry no matter what we were filming was something we built by spending the same time together, rather than becoming friends through conversation.
(Robin Kegel, Dana Point, CA. 2011 )
There have been various stories about him in Japan, such as him causing trouble in a bar or being banned from a hotel, so if you just listen to what he has to say, you might think he's an eccentric person (lol), but from the events he's had in Japan so far, he has given the strong impression of caring about each and every user and fan.
He's one of the main characters in California, so I've heard of him getting into serious fights at parties and breaking teeth, but when I was with him, he was just getting drunk and drinking until the morning, that kind of thing. Oh, I heard a while ago that he broke the door to his hotel room in the morning, and said he'd go and fix it because it would be fine if he just fixed the hinges and reattached it, but he apparently took the door off and put it in his car to take it with him (laughs).
But, as I said before, Robin surfs when there are waves, and when there aren't, he devotes himself to shaping. He left California once, probably because he knew the local waves well and rode them, so it was only natural that he turned his attention to Australia and Europe. He wants to surf in all kinds of interesting spots. He imagines how to attack unknown waves and thinks about boards that will suit them every day. The surfboard revolution happened in the 1960s , didn't it? He said that after the surfboard revolution, boards got shorter, but he wanted to evolve the longboards of that time while keeping them long, in pursuit of new movements.
I think that his time as a rider for Tyler Hazzikian had a big influence on that. The longboard designs that were disappearing after 1967. Tyler's interpretation and Robin's interpretation were completely different, though.
He went to Australia, and then moved to Europe, where rails became thinner and more pinched, and he worked on them every day, thinking about which fins, which rails, and which lengths to use. He lived in the Basque Country and got really into the big waves of Guitarie. But then he said, "Everyone says Morocco is good, but Portugal is probably the best." He actually knows Euriko from Portugal. Everyone around him, including Chris Boreich, who co-founded Cream and Gatoheroi, seems to be gone now. It seems like they parted ways on bad terms, but that could be because they're both Americans, who are very individualistic.
(Forever Chiz, Morroco . 2011 )
You've spent a lot of time with Robin in California, Hawaii, Australia, and Europe. I don't mean this in a weird way, but I'm impressed that you're able to get along with such tough members even though you're not fluent in English (laughs).
For me, I've been able to be with him for a long time because he really embodies the cool aspects of single fin longboarding. I was lucky to be able to see it in full force when I was young and full of energy, and even film it. Of course, there were countless accidents and travel troubles along the way (laughs).
Aside from California and Australia, you've also been to Europe quite a few times, right?
I always went there at the end of the year, and that continued for five years. Sometimes I even went twice a year. First, I'd go to France for a short stay, then drive to Spain with Robin, and then take a ferry from Spain to Morocco. That would last three weeks or a month. Even if I went in conjunction with a magazine, the money wouldn't come in for six months, so it was really tough. But I thought Robin was the real deal, and it was a great opportunity for a photographer, so I was happy to do it. Normally, you wouldn't go all the way to Europe for a shoot without making any money, but I thought I could do it now, and I wouldn't be able to do it when I'm old. Among those experiences, the support from Toshihide Tanaka of Sea Kong is truly indescribable. The gratitude I received from single-fin longboard legend Seiichiro Nakamura for every meal we had in France and Morocco, and the opportunity to learn about adult tastes, are the greatest assets and the foundation of who I am today.
After hearing all this, I'm really looking forward to the day when these unpublished photos will be released! Finally, what does the beach mean to you, Pero?
I wonder. I was lucky enough to be born in this area, so maybe I was able to jump into this flow. Being near the ocean also gave me a job. I was lucky enough to be able to do what I loved in the place where I was born and raised, and before I knew it, I met some amazing surfers who live with the waves, and they've been guiding me!
"Pero" Hayashi Hiroyuki: Born in 1972, he is from and currently lives in Kugenuma, Fujisawa City. With a father who loved cameras , he went on to study photography at Tokyo Polytechnic University's Faculty of Art. He worked as an assistant to filmmaker and photographer Shibata Mitsuyuki, who also lives in Shonan , where he learned the basics of photography and life before going independent. He is passionate about single-fin longboards and continues to photograph stylish surfers from Japan and abroad. He currently works at BIRDIE, a botanical design shop run by stylist Moriyasu , at Edna-ya in Fujisawa Honmachi, and runs his own photography studio with Enomoto Shinsuke of EDNA SURFBOARDS .
Interview / Kawazoe Mio Born and living in Kamakura , Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the surfing club at University of California, San Diego. With a father who was a first- generation Japanese surfer, Kawazoe was exposed to overseas culture from an early age. From the early 1990s , she lived in San Diego and Malibu, California, for 10 years, experiencing the longboard revival. After returning to Japan, she became editor-in-chief of ON THE BOARD and worked on GLIDE and other magazines. Using her unique network, she has introduced real California logs and the alternative surf scene to Japan.