BOOK REVIEW: Dogwild & Board

Dogwild & Board by Cyrus Saatsaz

For the surfer who searches out quality writing to keep informed and entertained—the kind of person who believes that The Surfer’s Journal was designed specifically with him/her in mind—there’s a good chance that Cyrus Saatsaz has passed across your radar. His name pops up in a lot of places, from ASP tour reporting for The Huffington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle, to addressing America on his nationally syndicated radio show. He’s also the guy smiling from behind the counter of the San Francisco Surf Company, his shop.

Dude is busy.

But putting your creative self constantly out there is a bit like squatting beneath a giant magnifying glass on the sidewalk on a scorching summer day: inevitably you’ll end up in the hot seat.

Dogwild & Board is Saatsaz’s debut book. The reason more people don’t have their own book comes down to two things: talent and time. So it’s rad that he ushered this project to publication.

He bills it as a collection of stories, interviews and musings that offer rare insights into the world of surfing, and with access to big names in both surfing and Hollywood and a pre-established reputation as a journalist, it’s a more than adequate recipe for Dogwild & Board to pique surfers’ interest.

There are several things that the book does well, most notably exclusive dialogue with industry insiders. It includes a never-before-published interview with Andy and Bruce Irons, and some fireside-worthy tales from the ever-articulate Greg Noll, who offers a rare glimpse into that famous day at Makaha.

Saatsaz also provides a to-the-point, personal journal style narrative about the places he visits that’s surprisingly engaging, although he does tend to rant and you may not agree with his final judgment of the locations he visits. (His assessment of his reception in “white Tofino” on Vancouver Island, for example, came across as vitriolic.)

Unfortunately, spelling and formatting errors are distracting and make you feel like you’re reading a semi-final draft. Sometimes Saatsaz’s admiration for his subjects results in his inability to effectively edit their words into a tighter interview. A couple of chapters rooted in the snow and skate cultures feel like hiccups, and Saatsaz’s travel letters don’t have the effect we deduce they may if we knew him personally. It goes without saying that the images in the book would have a ten-fold impact if they were in colour. So despite that the subject matter (read: surfing) is of great interest, these blips add up. As readers we begin to drift away from the pages.

You can’t help but wonder what inspired Saatsaz to publish Dogwild & Board right now. As a collection, it has no sense of urgency. It lacks the depth and polish of a truly compelling yarn. It isn’t a make-you-think book. It’s not telling a cautionary or particularly inspirational tale. It doesn’t blatantly seek to remind you of your obligation as a waterwoman or waterman to respect our planet, nor does it deliver any other socially responsible messages. Then again, it has never really professed be those things.

It’s the kind of book you expect men to take into the bathroom, and probably really enjoy it there. It’s the kind of book someone can pick up off your coffee table and be happily immersed in for a few minutes. It’s the kind of book written by a guy who brings, to quote Maverick’s surfer and film producer Grant Washburn, pure stoke to his journalism. And that’s ultimately what makes it worth a second glance.

for more information and Where To Buy, visit http://www.dogwildandboard.com/