Archy: Built for Speed, Born to Ride!

Last night Bill Ballard premiered his new film, Archy: Built for Speed, Born to Ride! at the Lido Theatre in Newport Beach. The film, centered on the life of professional surfer Matt Archbold, promised to be a good one. I was eagerly anticipating it because living in San Clemente coupled with working in the industry, I always hear stories of the mid-80’s when Archy ruled the local waves and they sound absolutely crazy. The place was packed—the line to get into the theatre went down the block. And, as the movie started and the local heroes came onto the screen, the energy was contagious; everyone was hooting and hollering for one another and just stoked to be there, supporting Archy.

Left: Film Producer/Director Bill Ballard with his Superwife, Cara

Left: the man, the myth, the legend, Archy

Archy’s story was really interesting, the film started when he was a tiny grom, followed him to being influenced by Martin Potter, to going pro when he was 15 which started the downward spiral of his life. The movie was really candid about Archy’s unraveling—the parties, the drinking and the drugs. Bill stuck to the facts, and didn’t shy away from Archy’s hard times. It was all very interesting, and made you wonder what would’ve happened if he had stayed home instead of going pro at such a young age.

Left: Archy's boards were on display in the front of the theater

The other half of the film showcased the talent which was produced in San Clemente at the time, as well as how much Archy was responsible for changing the sport to what it is today. The movie opened up by showing old photos from the 1950’s through the 1970’s of surfing in San Clemente, the narrator (who happened to be Henry Rollins) stated that San Clemente was the Godfather of the surfing lifestyle. And, I think that the mid-80’s proved that. Moses Paskowitz stated that you had, “the greatest surfers
on earth living in one tiny town” and you did. It was a melting pot—at any given time you could look out at T-Street and you’d see Andy Fomenko, the McNulty brothers, Jeff Booth, the Beschen brothers, Dino Andino, Mike Parsons and the Fletcher brothers. I can only imagine the spectators on the beach watching the show, mouths wide open in disbelief of the raw talent in the water.

From the Left: Photographer Darren Crawford, Dibi & Herbie Fletcher, Photographer Todd Messick

And then, the surfing was taken to the next level. The competition scene at this time had Shaun Tomson, Tom Carroll and Simon Anderson doing nice, big, fluid turns on waves when Martin Potter (who stayed in San Clemente), Christian Fletcher and Archy threw it back in their face. They exploded, doing airs, taking surfing to the next level—today’s level. The movie states that Simon Anderson said that surfing was supposed to take place on the wave, but these guys just laughed. Potter started it, and Christian and Archy ran with it.
Because of Archy’s radical style, he didn’t do very well in contests—the judges didn’t know how to judge him. So, he was able to convince his sponsors to pay him to go free-surf—something that

1st photo, left to right: Jye Townend, Peter "PT" Townend, Leila Endersby. 2nd photo, legendary surf photographer Jeff Divine with his son, Taylor.

was unheard of at the time. It didn’t stop Archy from getting editorial, and as a result, he paved the way for some of today’s surfers, such as Dave Rastovich, to get paid to go on trips. No need to slog through WQS and WCT contests thanks to Archy.

In the end, the movie was fabulous. Interviews with the likes of Herbie and Dibi Fletcher, Sunny Garcia, Peter "PT" Townend, Chris Mauro, (to name a few) made it even better. One of the things that Bill always excels at in his films is the soundtrack, and this movie was no exception. Songs from David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Social Distortion—the movie just rocked. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you have any ties to San Clemente, it makes you that much prouder to call it your town.

From left to right, 1st photo: Macon Brock/Waterman’s Applied Science; Donaldson Miele/Mutiny Media; Sean Nielsen/Events Director, ASG; Grant Ellis/Surfer Magazine's Photo Editor. 2nd photo: Pro Surfer Kasey Curtis with Bill Ballard. 3rd photo:. . .Lost Marketing Manager Rich Wilson

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