Documentary shares the story of local surfer who inspired ‘Endless Summer'

Los Angeles Times

17-07-2025

Classic surf film 'The Endless Summer' boasts one of the most recognizable posters in cinema and even those who aren't familiar with the film can probably identify the 'Theme from the Endless Summer' by the Sandals. The 1966 American surf documentary from filmmaker Bruce Brown helped usher the sport of surfing into mainstream pop culture and is responsible for establishing certain legends, like that of the perfect wave.
Much of what is still associated with the surf lifestyle today can be traced back to the film. While the significance of 'The Endless Summer' is well documented, there is a story behind the iconic movie that is less known and Laguna Beach filmmaker Richard Yelland is dedicated to telling it with his film, 'Birth of The Endless Summer,' currently airing nationally on PBS.
'Birth of The Endless Summer,' directed by Yelland and produced by Curtis Birch, tells the story of surf pioneer Dick Metz, whose global travels from 1958 to 1961 inspired the original film's epic trip to the perfect wave at Cape St. Francis, South Africa.
Metz is the founder of the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente, which is made up largely of his extensive archive collection of surf memorabilia, including early balsa wood surfboards. The Laguna Beach native is credited with connecting Southern California's surf scene with fledgling surf communities around the globe and spearheaded the expansion of the Hobie Sports retail chain to Hawaii.
Yelland's documentary follows Metz at the age of 90 as he retraces his steps of the first trip that led him to Cape St. Francis, thanks to a tip from Cape Town surfer John Whitmore. In Brown's 'The Endless Summer,' co-stars Mike Hynson and Robert August hoof it over a sand dune on the same South African beach to come upon the perfect wave, introducing the world to this secret spot.
'If Dick hadn't met Whitmore… 'The Endless Summer' and the explosion of global surf culture that followed in its wake might never have happened,' said Yelland. 'Dick Metz was a catalyst for the birth of modern surfing, and I wanted to make sure this history wasn't lost.'
Yelland isn't a stranger to documenting history. In 2012, he made '12 Miles North: The Nick Gabaldon Story,' a short film produced by Nike about the first documented African American surfer. Gabaldon, who pushed boundaries at a time when most beaches were segregated, died in a surfing accident near the Malibu Pier in 1951.
'Although it was only a short film, it ended up being a really significant film that fueled the Black surfing movement and documented a piece of history,' Yelland said.
When Yelland was conducting research for '12 Miles North' he found Metz's archives at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center invaluable. He was inspired to capture Metz's oral history while he still could.
'I realized that Dick Metz was an iconic story in surfing, like Nick Gabaldon, and he was still alive. So he could tell it,' said Yelland.
Yelland and Metz got together in Dana Point to discuss the possibility of a documentary over a lunch that stretched into dinner.
'Which is easy to do with Dick, because he will tell stories for hours,' Yelland said.
The resulting documentary feature, 'Birth of The Endless Summer,' tracks Metz's 'train-jumping, steamship-hopping tour' that begins at the Sandpiper, a Laguna Beach bar that's still in business. Produced in association with Bruce Brown Films, the documentary also includes never-seen-before photos and footage from Brown's archives and historic surfing imagery from the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center.
The film is making waves, too. A five-time film festival winner, the documentary was named a 'Top 10 Film of the Year' by the IndieFest Film Awards and honored with the Los Angeles Press Club's 2025 'Sports Film of the Year' award. 'Birth of The Endless Summer' is also a 2025 Emmy Awards nominee in the category of independent programming.
In 2021, the documentary was featured at the Coast Film Festival in Laguna Beach.
In honor of Hynson, who died in January of this year, a commemorative screening of 'Birth of The Endless Summer' is planned for Aug. 1 at Pacific City in Huntington Beach during the U.S. Open of Surfing. Metz is scheduled to make a special appearance.
'Mike Hynson was familiar with Dick's story and he respected him as being that pioneer,' said Yelland. 'Whenever there was an event at the the Surfing Heritage and Dick was involved, Mike would show up.'
Yelland said he wants people to know the film isn't attempting to pull credit from Brown, whose name graces a sign that reads 'Bruce's Beauties' at the coastal South Africa beach with the perfect waves. Rather than planting a metaphorical flag to say Metz was there first, Yelland said he is more focused on preserving the history of Metz's story.
'We are recording the history and in so doing, we are celebrating how amazing it is that those guys came a few years later and documented the perfect wave so everyone could see it,' Yelland said.
He finds it more critical for viewers to be inspired and uplifted by the storytelling and find value in the connections and friendships surfing has afforded people all over the world.
'That's more important than who discovered the perfect wave,' said Yelland.
In terms of the Emmy nomination, Yelland and his team look forward to September when they will find out if they won, but, he said, sharing Metz's story is the real reward. Taking a cue from his his globe-totting subject, Yelland said he sees the journey as the destination.
'Birth of The Endless Summer,' is currently airing nationally on PBS and also available on streaming platforms like Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Fandango, and Vimeo on Demand. For information on screenings follow @birthoftheendlesssummer on Instagram.