Interview by: Leo Maxam | Photos by: Herbie Fletcher
Editor’s note: By now you’ve hopefully had a chance to watch our Fairly Normal on Christian Fletcher that we shot in Bali. On the back of his motorbike. Proving ourselves. Nearly dying. But getting the interview. And hopefully you’ve gotten a chance to get a copy of ourĀ What Youth Issue Ā featuring some iconic and never before seen images from Herbie Fletcher’s personal archive, including the cover photo of a three-year-old Christian Fletcher slamming a Coors. And if not, below is a sample of the interview and a little glimpse at what it takes to abide by Christian’s motto: “live fast and die last.” āTravis
Iāve got Christian Fletcher in a death grip and Iām not letting go. Iām on the back of his two-stroke motorbike holding on for my life as we blast down the airport road in Bali, weaving in and out of traffic. His engine lets out a chainsaw wail as we bank into a tight turn and shoot a one-foot gap between a bus and a rusty pickup truck. One drifting car, one dog in the road, one patch of loose Indo gravel, and weāre fucked.
This is the kind of shit you have to expect if you want to interview Christian Fletcher. Itās an assignment thatās had me follow surfingās aerial pioneer into the dark corners of thumping Bali nightclubs, to a sumo wrestling tournament and Metallica concert in Jakarta, and to Christianās impromptu wedding on a cliff above Uluwatu. And I still havenāt managed to record a single word.
Lucky for me, what was originally supposed to be a three-week Bali vacation for Christian and his new wife has turned into a three-month tour of Indo. So I was given a bonus round to try and hunt him down ā 56 days to be exact, and Iāve needed every one.
But Christian flies back to California tomorrow, and this time itās for real. This is my last chance to capture some Fletcher gold. Iāve literally got him in my clutches. We just have to make it back to his hotel alive.
WHAT YOUTH: Letās talk about speed, since you pretty much dusted us here on the motorbike.
I like speed. All kinds. I just refrain from doing some kinds of it now. I like riding waves that are really fast, shallow, hollow reefs. I like riding street bikes. One would think that because of the aerials and everything that I probably wanted to jump on motorbikes, but thatās the last thing I want to do. āCause what goes up must come down, and you come down an inch too short and youāre fucked. Iām friends with all the freestyle dirt bike guys and theyāre always hurt. Road racing, those guys usually walk away from crashes, unless itās a highside. But down here (in Bali) itās a different deal. Youāre ridinā in sandals and shorts, you know, so you crash and youāre fucked.
Yeah, how many tourists do you see these days all covered in bandages?
Yeah. I ride fast and I ride safe ā well, pretty safe. Iām not cautious. When youāre cautious, you end up going over the falls in life in general. Cautious means you hesitate. The way I look at it is, you commit or you donāt ā and I commit.
When was the last time you were scared?
Iām scared on a daily basis. Walking across the street around here scares me. If youāre not scared youāre stupid. That goes for surfing and everything ā if youāre not scared that means youāre dumb. Like, I love the element of danger ā it makes the heart beat, makes you feel alive ā but at the same time you gotta be smart about it. Driving around here is like a video game where your lifeās on the line. Shitās scary. And I definitely donāt ride scooters ācause they scare the livinā shit out of me. No clutch. No power if I need to get out of the way. Plus the way they turn, they weeble wabble ā those tiny little tires and shit. Thatās scary.
Have you been in any motorbike accidents?
Iāve been in a few, when I lived here before. I been in four of āem, but none of āem were really my fault. Iāve been rear ended twice. I donāt like going slow ā that scares me. āCause slow means people are passing you and people are gonna run into you. I had another kinda head-on collision up in Jimbaran ā I flew like 20 feet in the air and landed on my head. But I wear a full-face helmet usually and that saved me. My ankle was a little hurt. Other than that I was good.
This trip?
No, no, no. No crashes. I got precious cargo in the back now (Christianās girlfriend, Chhum). Having a girl on the back, you know, I drive a lot slower and mellower. Still faster than the average person, butā¦
Have you ever been in a high-speed chase?
Yeah. The second day she got here we were looking for helmets and my ATM card got demagnetized, or they shut it down because I was in Bali and they thought somebody was stealinā it. And I was in Denpasar tryinā to buy her a helmet. Well, they were stoppinā traffic on the way out of Denpasar. The police pulled us over and I started to pull over and then I hit the gas. The cop tried to do a flying punch into her head and we went down Sunset Road the wrong way, horns honking, all the way down to the Double Six stoplight. We hooked a left, a cop on a big bike pulled up, went around him ā had like a fifteen minute chase all the way into Oberoi.
You lost āem?
Yeah. There was a lot of traffic but I got a loud horn ā bam! bam! ā fuckinā in and out of traffic. And Iām going, is he still back there? Sheās trying to look but her hair is flyinā in her face.
Was she freaking out?
No, no, she was all good. But she was kind of pissed, like, āGet me a fuckinā helmet!ā (laughing).
II.
A contract has been drafted by Christianās girlfriend Chhum. She wrote it on a bar napkin from the Balcony restaurant in Kuta, where weāve agreed to meet Christian to film his interview. Among the contractās stated points: āNo hipster shitā and āall aspects of the story will be preapproved by Mr. Fletcher himself.ā Our video guy, Blake, looks deeply confused. Weāre all confused. How did our lunch date interview with Christian turn into a meeting at the negotiating table? And how the hell have we let Christian hardball us like this?
āI live with my parents,ā he says. āI need to get a hotel room if I want to spend the night with my girlfriend. So all I wanna know is what am I gonna get out of this interview?ā Then he demands the cover of the next issue. āYou put my brother on the cover. How about me?ā
After a period of awkward silence, someone in our camp signs the contract and Christian agrees to give us an interview. But not right now. Right now he has to school Noa Deane and photographer Nate Lawrence on the art of Tabasco tequila shots. And he has to show us the footage from his visit to a haunted house in Lombok. And he has to perform his juggling act.
By the time we finish it will be midnight ā and we still wonāt have an interview. But weāll have a damn fun evening to recall. And a very large bar tab. And a future interview thatās growing more epic by the day. It will happen. The napkin says so.
What do you think of rules?
Thereās a time and a place for rules. Down here thereās not many rules, but the ones there are, if you break āem theyāll kill ya. And I kind of like that, ācause itās a way simpler deal. In America thereās so much red tape. Down here itāll just cost ya fifty thousand. In America itās fifty thousand too ā but fifty thousand dollars, instead of fifty thousand rupiah. And here you donāt go to court. You stick the money in a copās hand and bail ā thatās it, lifeās good. I like that way better. People want to stop the corruption and stuff ā I like the corruption, makes it easy. The little guy gets paid and you only pay a little bit.
What do you think of all the talk that the world is gonna end soon?
Fuck, Iāve had my fun. If I die tomorrow Iām fuckinā good. Iāve had more fun than most people have in ten lifetimes. For sure.
Whatās it like being a dad?
Well, the kidās 22 (Greyson Fletcher). Itās like any father / son relationship ā kids donāt listen to parents ā thatās just all there is to it. I could tell him something and he doesnāt give a fuck. Then somebody else will tell him somethingā¦ Kids donāt listen to parents, but theyāll listen to somebody else. You tell āem the exact same thing, but it doesnāt matter. Itās pretty cool though. I mean itās not easy. Try and point him in the right direction. My parents must have had a hell of a time. You havinā one any time soon?
Not that I know of.
Nate: He sure has been practicing a lot though.
Oh, practice makes perfect, right!
Was there any chance your son wasnāt going to end up skating or surfing?
Well, I was doinā wheelies with him down the street when he was three weeks old. The other parents kind of tripped out. But itās like the Crocodile Hunter, he had his kid around the crocodile. And bikes and skating and surfing is what I did. So thatās what I know. Thatās what I know how to teach the kid. Same like the Crocodile Hunter. People think itās crazy but itās not crazy. My dad had me on a surfboard as a tiny baby ā thatās just what he did. If your dadās a mechanic, youāre hanging out in the mechanic shop, you know. Itās just part of the deal. Some people just start their kids younger than others.
Funny, though, sometimes you see kids and they end up the complete opposite of their parents.
Oh yeah, my kidās a skateboarder. But itās evolution. My dad was a longboarder. I brought the skateboarder tricks into surfing. So itās only natural for my kid to be a skateboarder, you know. But heās surfing pretty good now. Heās finally learned how to surf. Stoked. Heās launching some airs and shit. Heās ready for Indo. Ready to come get barreled.
Where do you think is a better place to raise a kid ā California or Bali?
I told my girlfriend ā she wants to have a kid eventually, you know ā and I said, as long as we donāt have him in America, Iām down for it. I wouldnāt want to raise a kid in America. Itās no fun. Like when I was eight years old, I could ride my bike to the beach by myself, go surfing at my grandmaās house ā my grandmother lived on the beach at Capo Beach. You canāt do that now. Too many people, and too much traffic, and too many weirdoes. Too many fuckinā people touching kids and stealin āem. That shit doesnāt happen down here ā they kill ya. They donāt have the rape problems down here either. You can go pay for sex if you want it that bad, you know what I mean? At home you canāt, you get busted. And down here itās cheap enough too, so everybody can afford it. And they donāt look at sex like such a taboo. In America itās like, oooh you shouldnāt do that, itās bad ā so of course youāre gonna want to do it.
Do you encounter a lot of people who have preconceived notions about you based on all your tattoos and how you look?
Oh, lots of people have preconceived ideas about me, for sure. I talk to people and theyāre like, wow, youāre not a dick. And Iām like, excuse me? What, you read something in a magazine? They trip out because Iām polite, I have manners, I have common courtesy. āCause at the end of the day if you donāt have that stuff, then you really aināt got much ā no matter how good you ride a surfboard, or fuckinā fly a kite, or drive a car or whatever. Some common courtesy, some manners, and some respect. And thatās the thing my kid does have too. Heāll walk up, heāll look you in the eye, heāll shake your hand and say: hello, my name is Greyson. Thatās very important, I think.
Yeah.
America went to shit when they made it illegal to beat your kid. I donāt think kids need to be beat, but I know I needed to be smacked on a regular basis. Thatās how you learn. The kids have no respect nowadays. I had a kid snake me twice at the pier. I did an air behind him and landed in front of him and he bottom turned and crashed into me. He came up from under water and heās yelling, fuck you! Go down the beach! I said, what? Fuck you! And I started paddling up to the kid and heās like, Iām only fourteen! Kids just have no respect now. They think because theyāre under age they can get away with doing whatever they want. Thatās when you pay another little kid to go kick their ass (smiling). I know a lot of bad little kids thatād be more than happy to do it (laughs).
CHRISTIAN WITH HIS SON GREYSON FLETCHER.
III.
We are gathered here today to join Christian and Chhum in holy matrimony. None of us had planned on attending a wedding today ā not even the bride and groom. It just happened.
Weāre on a cliff overlooking Uluwatu at sunset. Mega, one of the islandās top shredders and a Balinese priest in-training, agreed to perform the ceremony. Itās his first wedding and he looks more nervous than the bride and groom. But Mega handles under pressure (he won the Padang Cup yesterday) and keeps it short and sweet. Christian says, āI do.ā Chhum says, āFuck yeah!ā And then they make out like two kids peaking on Ecstasy at senior prom. The Technicolor sun dips into a purple Indian Ocean and the dance party begins.
Christian and Chhum walk out to the edge of the cliff to set a Roman Candle off over the ocean. Rizal brought the fireworks. They were left over from New Yearās Eve 2002, he said. Christian lights one and points it out to sea. Nothing. Maybe theyāre too old? Boom! The thing explodes in Christianās hand and falls to the lawn, spinning out of control and sending blasts of fire back into the crowd and the neighboring villas. Everyone hits the deck screaming until the rogue firework has exhausted itself. Weāre all ok. Laughter all around.
It was a beautiful ceremony. The marriage wonāt be legal back in California, but who cares? The kids are in love ā and the neighborsā living room may be on fire
That was a fun wedding.
Kinda random, right? The wedding was an eclectic group of people. Itās cool though. I like random. Greysonās stepmom is ten months older than him (laughs).
Do they get along?
Uh huh. Theyāre buddies.
Chhum seems pretty easy to get along with.
She got straight As in university ā sheās smart. She majored in fine arts. Sometimes sheād be like, Iām not going to school today. And Iād be on my way to work and Iām like, fuckinā bull-shit. Get your ass out of bed and get the fuck to school; I expect nothing less than an A.
Have you ever made art?
Oh, I got my point across.
Whatās one thing that no one knows about you?
Iād say my lifeās been kind of an open book. I donāt know, I saw a Frankie Goes to Hollywood concert, the āRelax Tourā when I was 12 with my parents. Also saw Talking Heads, āSpeaking in Tongues.ā That was pretty sick. But how ābout this: that same year, The Pointer Sisters concert was one of the best concerts Iāve ever seen. Thatās something nobody would know or guess.
Who are the Pointer Sisters?
Who are the Pointer Sisters? You donāt know who the Pointer Sisters are? Fuckinā YouTube! The Pointer Sisters were bad. Theyāre three black chicks.
Are they old school, like Motown?
No, no. Itās like fuckinā like in ā82, when Tina Turner was Tina Turner.
Is this before or after Ike?
After Ike. But I used to listen to Ike and Tina.
I think youād do good on Jeopardy.
I know a lot of random facts. My head is filled with random facts. But the facts on Jeopardy are different. Like, my aunt (Joyce Hoffman) was a five-time world champion surfer. My grandfather was ā50 and ā51 tandem champion at Makaha. Got pictures with the Duke handing him the trophy and stuff. But my aunt was married to an architect and her husband designed the Chart House ā the one in Palm Springs ā thereās like 70 of āem or something, the one in Dana Point where theyāre built into the cliffs and all that. Well I remember discussing IQ tests with my family one time. And I said if I had an IQ test that was geared more towards the stuff I know, I think Iād rate just as high as my auntās husband, the architect. And my mom and my grandma are laughing at me. Theyāre like, youāre so full of shit. Iām all, well, you put him on a street corner and you put me on a street corner, whoās gonna come back with a bag of weed? Not him.<
Itās true. All those questions are just whatever questions they want to ask. Same with standardized testing. The questions are geared towards a specific type of knowledge.
Itās all more, like, fuckinā book learning shit.
Yeah.
I went to the University of Life. Quit school when I was 15 and started traveling around the world surfing and getting paid to go surf. Living in Gerry Lopezās house. I had to deal with all the gnarly locals every day ā Dane Kealoha, Johnny Boy, everybody, you know. It was cool. That was my school.
DIBI FLETCHER, CHRISTIAN FLETCHER, NATHAN FLETCHER AND HERBIE FLETCHER.
IV
@ChristianFletcherLivesā Instagram post on August 27th, 2013 shows Christian and Chhum smiling sweetly for the camera, awash in post-wedding bliss. The caption: Sumo wrestling + Metallica + The Stadium in Jakarta = what a honeymoon.
Whatās it like growing up with Herbie Fletcher as your father?
Fuckinā gnarly. My dadās gnarly. āGod dammit, get the fuck out of the water you little pussy!ā Then he drops in on you and runs you over. And he yells at you for it. āWhat are you doinā taking off behind me?ā Itās like, canāt you catch your own waves on that fuckinā longboard you fuckinā asshole? Gotta resort to snaking your own kid? āOh, I wanted that wave!ā Yeah, well so did I! Nah, it was cool though. My dadās tough. And he would not accept a pussy. So that makes it hard for me to deal with lot of people ā a lot of photographers too ā ācause a lot of them are pussies and I wasnāt trained to deal with that.
Do you surf with your brother much?
Sometimes. I surf Salt Creek and stuff and I see him. Heās traveling a lot though. Like, I go to work every day. So he surfs in the hours when Iām usually at work.
Youāre working at the factory?
I work at Astrodeck. I live at home with my mom, my dad and my kid and we all work together at Astrodeck.
Talk about your living situation right now.
I live with my parents. I live at Trestles; can see Cottons from the living room ā pretty cool. Almost 43, canāt even bring a girl home. But I got married now so weāll see what happens. She lives with her parents too.
What do you do at home when you and your wife want some alone time?
We both work during the week and we go stay at hotels on the weekend and go surfing, go to the beach. But Iām in the process of getting a boat from my friend. His boat was getting destroyed and impounded so Iām getting the paperwork straight and stuff. Itās a 32-foot Motorsailer. So I figured itās about time I get a captainās license. I have a history of about 13 or 14 captains in my family. My dadās dad was on the USS Arizona, him and his twin brother. Two weeks before it got blown up they got transferred.
At Pearl Harbor?
Pearl Harbor. I even have a grandmother that was a captain ā all on my dadās side.
You want to live on the boat?
Yeah, thatās what I plan on doing. Thatās the only way I could afford to get my own place, because business is slow. And when you work in a family business and business is slow, you donāt get paid. But Iāve had a roof over my head. Iāve had gas money ā nothing to complain about. Nobody likes a complainer anyways.
V.
Christian is carrying his green Timmy Patterson up a crowded beach after surfing in the Expression Session of the Padang Cup. He just did āThe Zombieā (front-facing, straight-legged barrel stance ā his signature daredevil move) through some deep low-tide pits out at Padang. A guy with a microphone stops Christian to interview him on the live webcast. The interviewer asks him the same tired questions: waves, conditions, prize money. Then he lobs one of several hundred clichĆ©s that will fill the dayās broadcast: āBut itās not really about the money, is it Christian?ā Christian sniffs in the pungent aroma of bullshit and pounces on the poor bastard like a jungle cat. āOf course itās about the money! I got a family back home. What, are you new around here?ā And with that, Christian Fletcher claims the āOnly Original Interview Of The Dayā award.
Some guys come to Bali and they barely even surf. They just party or get lost in other stuff. You seem to be really psyched on surfing this trip.
The last couple years Iāve just been surfing every day. Iāve been getting back to the basics, like when I was a kid. I go to the beach, hang out, smoke joints and surf all day on the weekends and every day after work. Itās been a lot of fun. Iāve been stoked on surfing again.
Were you ever over surfing?
It goes through phases. You get burned out. I turned professional in ā85, surfed the Pipe Masters in ā85. So you get burned out on it after a while, especially the way my dad is. My dad was gnarly. Heās dropped in on me and ran over me my whole life. Still does it to this day. If he doesnāt run me over on the wave, heāll run me over when Iām paddlinā out. But he made it so I could surf in any crowd and he took me to really good surf spots. And if I got out of line heād smack me in the head and tell me, get the fuck out of the water you little pussy! And I thank him for that. Thatās the best thing he ever could have done for me.
Is there anybody who you watch surfing right now who gets you psyched on surfing?
Eddie Blackwell. The Predator. Gnarliest fuckinā backside surfer Iāve ever seen. Nobody compares. Not Kelly, none of āem. At a big gnarly left heāll smoke all of āem. You know who Iām talking about?
That guy with the dreads andā¦
And no front teeth, yeah. Guy has no front teeth.
If you could turn back the clock to any era in surfing history, what era would you want to go back to. Or would you stay in the present?
Lifeās good now. I donāt know if I could live through being young again. That was a rough one. Iām stoked where Iām at right now. I think I surf better than I ever have. I ride the tube better. I do as big of airs as fuckinā anybody. I hate spinning ā I think thatās weak ā itās easier. Thatās why all the guys do it, ācause they donāt know how to do a proper air most of āem. āCause if you do a proper air you have to be accountable for your fins when youāre landing in the water. If you land sideways or backwards, you donāt. And you donāt have to be over the top your board. You let the wave push you back up on top of your board. Thatās why everybody lands sideways and backwards.
What about grabs?
Grabs are sick ā as long as theyāre not double grabs. Like, I donāt want to see my buddy riding down the street with training wheels on his bicycle, you know ā kind of embarrassing. Thatās how I feel when I see my buddies do double grabs ā unless itās a specific maneuver that calls for a double grab, which there aināt many.
If you could create a wave, what would your perfect wave look like?
The Wedge was created. It aināt exactly perfect, but itās perfectly gnarly. Itās the only place I can go around my house where itās guaranteed youāre gonna get the shit kicked outta ya. They just need to drop the blackball. Or at least give the surfers and the bodyboarders a couple days a week where they can surf. You know what I mean? Trade off. Itās blackball from 10 oāclock to 5 oāclock, no flotation devices allowed. From around March till Halloween.
Why is that?
āCause of some rich bodysurfers and their fuckinā lawyers and shit. The Balboa Group. They grew up in Balboa (Island). Their parents are politicians, know what I mean?
Yeah.
I had a bodysurfer screaming at me one day, āThis is body surfing break, this isnāt a surfing break!ā I said, thatās funny, I come out of the tube. You donāt. As far as Iām concerned itās a surfing break. Bodyboarders are sick though. Iām friends with all the bodyboarders. Bodyboarders get the biggest, heaviest waves that come through. And the fuckinā Wedge crew are fuckinā sick. Theyāre like Aquaman.
How do you deal with crowds?
My dad was worse than any crowd. Surfing around crowds, that donāt bother me. Iāve surfed Trestles, Iāve surfed Pipeline. The crowd at Uluwatu is kinda gnarly these days ācause thereās a lot of Russian beginners, so itās dangerous. Iām a wave catcher, it donāt matter how crowded it is. Itās easier to catch a wave at Pipeline with 60 guys in the water than it is in a heat at the Pipe Masters with four people.
Howās that?
āCause in a heat thereās interference rules, and fuckinā people paddling over each other, you know what I mean? With 60 people you can drop in on somebody and deal with it afterwards, you know. Itās just easier.
Have you gotten into many scraps over surfing?
Oh yeah. Surfingās a violent sport; a selfish, violent sport. I was bummed out on it for a long time ācause you paddle out and thereās like two people in the water and theyāre still giving you dirty looks. I decided to go skateboarding because thereād be like 50 people on the skateboard ramp and everybodyās still like, whatās up! Stoked to see you and stuff, itās cool. Crowds, I donāt know. I can deal with āem. I donāt really care. I catch waves anyway. If itās fuckinā crowded I just go surfing at night and I can have any wave I want.
VI.
We made it. Christianās banshee bike screeches up to the hotel. I hop off and wipe my sweaty palms on my shorts. Christian does a couple more wheelies out front. A family of Japanese tourists snaps photos of him from across the street. Christian gives them a thumbs up and a smile. They all return it enthusiastically.
We take a seat in the hotel bar and order beers. Christian says heās kinda sad about leaving Bali, but itās his momās birthday in two days and he has to get back to San Clemente. Tomorrow heāll be on a plane bound for America. Back to a different reality.
We order a round of tequila shots with a bottle of Tabasco on the side. āA beautiful girl from Sulawesi taught me how to drink tequila like this,ā he says. We toast to his momās birthday. And to living in the moment. It burns. Good.
Whatās next for you? Like, where do you see yourself in another five years?
Next month I see myself in Japan. Thatās about as far ahead as I can give you. Iām not one of those people that really plans for the future. I live in the moment. In a lot of ways it sucks ācause you donāt think about the future. But what happens if there is no future? And I aināt gonna live in the rear view mirror and dwell in the past. Iām fuckinā here now and gonna have as much fun as possible. Simple. Live it up. Thatās why I got a tattoo on my knuckles that says āLIVE.ā Everyone says, why donāt you get the other knuckles done? And I say, ācause livinā is a hard enough job and Iām busy with that one. I donāt need nothinā else.
You seem to really like living in Bali.
Down here I feel alive. In America I just exist.
Thatās what a lot of people do there. Like when youāre stuck in rush hour traffic and you look at all the peopleā¦
Thereās rush hour traffic here too. But you drive the motorcycle on the sidewalks and you fuckinā ride around it. In America youāre just existing. Thereās too many police. Too many rules. Nothinā seems to work. Down here thereās not many rules, but everything kinda flows.
A lot of shit doesnāt work here too.
Well, yeah, thatās if youāre trying to do business. But if youāre just livinā, itās pretty simple. Itās a pretty easy life. Itās a hard life for a lot of the local people who live here ācause they donāt have nothinā. But the one thing about the people here, even if they donāt have nothinā, they still usually have a smile. You go back home, and they got all kinds of fancy things, but they donāt even got a smile. That just goes to show you, you canāt buy a smile. Sad. Theyāre so worried about everything, you know?
How do you think the world is gonna end?
How do I think the worldās gonna end? Ahh, Iād rather not say. Thereās two things youāre not supposed to talk about at the dinner table: politics and religion. And those are both kinda how I think the worldās gonna end.
Do you have any kind of religious philosophy?
Yeah. Donāt worry, be happy. My mom would consider herself Buddhist if she had to pick a denomination. My dad too ā or Taoist. My wifeās Buddhist. Me, I believe in that philosophy. Itās pretty simple. When people ask me, I tell āem Iām happy. Thatās the religion I am: Iām happy. Iām a happy person. I like to see people smile. I believe in karma, I believe in being a good person. And if there is a God and he canāt accept that, then fuck him, I wouldnāt want to hang out with him anyways.