Christian Hosoi was the man, and Christian Hosoi is the man, and both these statements are true but for different reasons. Let’s examine each independently.
In the 1980s, Christian was the man because it was so difficult to get a fuck from him, as generally he didn’t give a fuck. He flew out of half pipes and partied in LA and did radical dangerous stuff like you’d expect from your average young Christian Hosoi.
Today he’s the man because he’s been through some shit and keeps going shot for metaphorical shot with life and has life pretty much under the table, only Christian is born again and sober so that phrasing could probably be improved. Neither here nor there.
If anyone can be called a legend without the caller sounding stupid it’s Christian. We met at a Thai place near his home in California to talk about skating, surfing, the past/present/future, and about Christian Hosoi. He just wrote a memoir about what he’s done and learned in life and which of the things he’s done we could all probably stand to avoid. The book is called HOSOI, just like him.
In closing, Christian is sick.
Thanks to Herbie for the archive footage and for being in production on a new Wave Warriors video, oh goodness gracious.