The Bull

Photo: STEPHAN VANFLETEREN

Just don’t lose sight of that feeling man. When you go out in the water and you take off on a wave and you reach out and that thing is breakin in your hand and you’re just barely squeezin through a tube and you’re gettin a thump and you go in and you lay down in the hot Summer day and take a big scoop of sand, pull it up to your chest…..fuck man what feels better than that.

This morning Greg Noll passed away.

When I first heard the news something sank. Somewhere between your chest and your gut. But for me, it didn’t linger long. Made a couple calls, sent a couple texts and that was it. The melancholy malaise that hangs on long after hearing such news lifted far quicker than normal. Kind of interesting. The larger than life, gregarious, South Bay native who became a global phenomena by pioneering big wave riding and single handedly built the surf board building industry is now gone. And yet, that’s ok. But shouldn’t the sadness hit a little harder? I almost feel guilty. Yes, of course it is hard to swallow the reality that the Bull is gone, but there is also a lightness to it. How come?

My one fear in life is to look back with 20/20 vision and come to the conclusion that you didn’t go all in. You missed where life was waiting for you the entire time. You decided to play things safe. You froze at the plate, refused to swing the bat and got a called strike 3. THAT….is my biggest fear.

There was nothing safe about Greg Noll. A safe existence set by some conservative social standard would only be received with a smile from Greg and a nice plump, sweaty middle finger. Because playing it safe may get you many things, but it won’t get you the stories. It won’t get you the laughter. It won’t get you the relationships. It won’t get you everything that every human deeply longs for in life and it certainly won’t allow you to look back on life in total satisfaction knowing you gave it everything you had.

Greg gave life everything.

So yeah….we’re gonna miss the Bull. But, I will sleep well tonight knowing there was someone out there that went all in with their life. Who threw the bird to conventional wisdom and squeezed every ounce of life out of this very small amount of time we are here.

You won big guy. Well done. You have left a massive void. But you’ve also shown us what is possible.

Rest in Peace

Greg Noll, 1937 - 2021