We met up with Gavin Beschen at Sunset Beach. He was checking the surf in his truck and we had just pounded Haupia pies from Ted’s Bakery. We walked up and found him on the boardwalk checking the waves. He told us to follow him up the hill and said he had some boards we could ride since ours were lost in translation on the way here. He has recently moved into a new piece of land on the hill at Pupukea: a beautiful lot full of fruit trees and aloha. We grabbed some boards and headed down to check Log Cabins. It’s rarely crowded and exactly what Gavin was after for the day. A fun surf was followed by a few beers and snacks. Back up on the hill Gavin and his daughter Marley and son Banyan (who is all of 3 years old and more educated on the botany of Hawaii than any adult I know) gave us a tour of the yard. We picked fresh fruit and sampled varieties some of which we’d never heard of before putting together their recently deconstructed mini ramp. Banyan was pretty stoked to have it back.
Then seeing opportunity, Gavin’s daughter Marley, who is 9, coaxed dad into letting her cut his hair. Now if you’ll remember, Gavin has not cut his hair short in probably 25 years. It’s always been long and blonde. And just like that, while we chatted to him about the life he’s built for him and his family on this beautiful piece of land while Marley cut off his signature locks. “If I can hear her laugh like that, she can do whatever she wants to my hair. I love hearing that.”
Gavin is a styler master, a surfing and spiritual legend and it was so sick to spend the day with him filming a new episode of “4 Cities.” Stay tuned for more from The North Shore, check the frame grabs from our day yesterday, and keep an eye out of the premiere of 4 Cities: Gavin Beschen premiering December 7th at WhatYouth.com.—Travis