No. 7 Yasushi Yoshida Mr.Style Master ~ Prologer’s next chapter
Born and raised in Kugenuma, Shonan, Yoshida Yasushi, also known as CHABO, followed in the footsteps of his classmates who had become professional longboarders earlier than him. He then studied under Kevin Connelly, known for his magic feet, honing his classic longboarding style. He went on to win the first JPSA special tournament, STYLE MASTERS, and has since achieved success in both contests and the scene.
At the same time, he worked as a buyer for one of Japan's leading sports chains, and later as a manager at a world-famous select shop, but a serious injury a few years ago led him to reevaluate his lifestyle. This year, he used his experience to start his own surfing school, and we take a closer look at the next chapter of this pro logger's journey.
(Photo: Chihiro Hashimoto 2023.)
What have you been up to lately?
Until then I had been leading a busy life as a store manager in an apparel store, but about two years ago I got injured and my life took a 180-degree turn. At the time I was taking time off work with a severe hernia, but just as I was getting better and ready to go back to work, I accidentally fell from a great height, breaking both my heels and cracking my pelvis. At first, the doctors told me a lot of negative things, like I'd never be able to walk again and that I'd suffer from after-effects.
I worked hard at rehabilitation, even thinking that I might never be able to surf again, and spent about a year and a half as a housewife... While looking after the children and helping out at my wife's curry restaurant, I thought about what I should do next, and finally decided to open a surfing dojo.
Professional longboarders generally have a long life. But now that I've reached the limit of my physical growth, I thought it would be a good idea to make it my job to help the next generation make use of what I've done up until now and what I wasn't able to achieve, and to pass on that to people who enjoy surfing now. I explored many options, such as how far I should go as a professional athlete, and that as a working adult I need to work hard to make a living, but my injury ruined all my plans, and it felt like I was just focusing on surfing.
I love surfing after all, so even when I was injured and rehabilitating, I started to think that I could enjoy it by changing my equipment and changing my perspective, and my body started to move more easily than I expected.
When and how did you become a professional surfer?
I won the JPSA Rookie of the Year award in 2007, when I was 24, so I actually turned pro late. My childhood friends and classmates, Seitaro Nakamura and Rio Ueda, went pro before me, so I always followed in their footsteps. I was the worst among them, but I started to win as an amateur, so I decided to turn pro.
Back then, there were a lot of senior surfers with strong personalities, and the younger surfers followed suit. JPSA competitions were more like local contests, with surfers from all over the country coming together to compete. Each surfer had their own signature moves, and it was interesting to see surfers like Kekoa Uemura and Motoki Kino competing from Hawaii. There were also ASP (now WSL) competitions, and it was a time when many more longboarders came to Japan from overseas than there are now. There were also many opportunities to travel abroad, and I think there were many chances to experience the culture up close. If I'd stayed in Shonan, I would have had many such opportunities, but recently, with the coronavirus, they've become a little less frequent.
Speaking of overseas, tell us about your relationship with Kevin Connelly, who is also Chavo's mentor.
It all started when I was 19, through a connection with Seitaro, and rode a shaped board ordered from Kevin. With on-fins, it became my magic board, and longboarding became even more fun. In the ADRIFT movie, Joel Tudor's part was of course intense, but Kevin Connelly's part was also intense.
At the time, he frequently came to Japan for ASP contests and shaping, and I was always there to accompany him whenever he went surfing in Japan, so I ended up becoming like Kevin's personal assistant (laughs). He was very kind to me and gave me a lot of different experiences. He would give me advice on how to win when we traveled to contests, and he was someone I could look up to, so even though we were in different countries, he was like an older brother to me. Now he's moved to Arizona with his family and I don't surf at all anymore, which makes me sad.
(with mentor, Kevin Connely. California Photo: Yasuma Miura)
You were also involved in the production of Kevin's book, "HOW TO NOSERIDE," which he fully supervised. And you had to painstakingly check every word of the translation... I think you even went to Noosa Heads, Australia, where Kevin lived, about 20 years ago. That was before you became a professional.
I visited Kevin, who had moved from California to Noosa, and stayed there for about a month. Noosa was really amazing, with Julian Wilson, Harrison Roach, and everyone surfing there with all kinds of boards and styles. Even when I was in San Diego, California, I would visit Kevin and Seitaro during my university holidays, and we would go there many times, sometimes for a month at a time. We often surfed around Encinitas.
What has been the highlight of your professional career so far?
I won the JPSA Special STYLE MASTERS twice, the JPSA Shizunami once, and was runner-up once. At that time, participating in competitions had a huge impact on me in many ways. There was a time when I rode a longboard with side fins, but when the first JPSA Special STYLE MASTERS was held in Tsujido and I won using the time and style of noseriding, it made me realize that this was the way for me after all.
(JPSA Special Contest, Style Masters)
From there, you can explore the single fin style more deeply.
Yes. Even after I turned pro, I was still riding boards made by Kevin. Up until then, I didn't really think about my own equipment; I just wanted to be able to ride boards designed by Kevin and YU. But when I turned 30 and changed jobs, I quit all my sponsorships. After meeting Dane Peterson, I ordered two or three of his boards in Australia and two more in California. But since we lived far apart, it was a little difficult to communicate. Later, through my connection with Dane, I asked TAPPY to carve my boards for me. Because we're both Japanese, we were able to communicate more deeply and develop a relationship where we could bring each other's ideas to life. It felt like I was rebuilding my surfing once again. The boards seemed to suit me well, and I was able to enjoy my surfing life again, relatively smoothly. The first time I won the Style Masters, I felt like I received it from YU and Kevin, but the second time in 2019, I had worked with TAPPY on various things to create the board, and it felt like I won with my own idea, so the value of winning is completely different for me.
How many boards do you usually ride?
Actually, I have quite a lot of them, and I rotate between short fish, twinzers, mid-lengths, and logs. I have about 10 longboards in particular, and about three of them are my starting lineup. They're good, and I have a particular style that suits certain waves, so I haven't let go of them, and I'm currently in the process of making two more. My three latest favorites are from the TRANSISTOR brand, and I'm really looking forward to seeing Yuzuru Shinjo's shapes being finalized soon. The base is between 9'4" and 9'8", and in terms of concept, it's a board that lets you push the nose a lot, a board that you can enjoy turning when you have the size, and a slightly heavier board that lets me go back to basics. They're all single fins, and I'm particular about things like stringers, so I'm having a lot of fun (laughs).
Tell us about your recently launched surfing dojo, CHABORING DOJO.
I want to make this dojo a place where people can learn from me and add a little something extra to their experience. I basically run it like a personal custom gym, tailored to each individual. I've also recently felt a strong desire to nurture future surfers. I wonder what the quickest way to produce kids who can compete on the world stage is. I've learned so much about surfing up until now, so I think it would be best to hand it over to them as quickly as possible and let them grow. I want to be a stepping stone, in a good way! Noseriding is my specialty, so many people have noseriding worries and challenges. I talk about longboarding and look back on old footage to explain it, and the more I do it, the more I feel the appeal of longboarding, which is fun.
(Chaboring Dojo Photo: Chihiro Hashimoto 2023.)
Also, separate from the dojo, I recently had the opportunity to teach surfing to elementary school students at the request of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. With the Olympics and the like, surfing has emerged as one of the many sports on offer. The best part was that I didn't just teach kids who wanted to surf; even kids who weren't interested were forced to do it like a physical education class, and when they actually tried it, they said it was a lot of fun. Seeing the happy smiles of the children in the ocean made me want to do more. It was a really good experience. Of course, teaching adults is great, but I also want to work hard to build a foundation for the children of the future.
(Kids surf lessons for Tokyo pref.)
What does your hometown, Kugenuma, mean to you?
I was injured and couldn't go in the ocean for two or three years, but the ocean is a place that really rejuvenates me when I go in. I think nature teaches us the most honestly, and there are days when it'll break your nose if you get too cocky, but there are also days when it cheers you up. But the waves are different every time, so your choices change and you have to think about them every time. As you get older, you might not get scolded as much, or you might feel like you're lacking a bit of stimulation, but the ocean always teaches you, and I think it's a place that makes you feel all kinds of things.
I think Kugenuma is completely different now than it was then, but the core part, the localism in the ocean, hasn't changed much, and the people who were there back then are still protecting the ocean today. As the population has increased compared to the past, it seems like the presence of local people has faded, but I would like to do what I can to create a good culture and surfers who have style and individuality that everyone will follow!
Yutaka Yoshida was born in 1981. He is originally from and currently resides in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a longboarder representing Shonan and Kugenuma, renowned for his classic style centered around nose riding. He has won the JPSA special STYLE MASTERS twice and the JPSA Shizunami, among other professional contests. In addition to competing, he has worked as a buyer for one of Japan's leading sports chains and later as a manager at a global select shop. From 2023, he will be running a surfing school at the surfing dojo CHABORING DOJO, where he aims to deepen the exploration and understanding of longboarding, and he also serves as a judge for professional contests.
Interview: Kawazoe Mio: Born and currently living in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the University of California, San Diego, surfing club. With a father who was a first-generation Japanese surfer, Kawazoe encountered 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.