So I got hold of an old friend, named Walter ‘6 Fins’ Chokastone, when I got home. He’s the current World Body Surfing Champion, currently on a short holiday. One of the Eastern Cape’s lesser known celebs, 6 Fins prefers to maintain his anonymity when he’s off the tour. I was disappointed to learn he’s developed an accent like Charlize Theron, but I suppose that can’t always be helped when you’ve been gone so long.
Here’s a quick Bio:
Born and then abandoned near the wild chicory fields of Alexandria, young 6 Fins hitchhiked towards the coast when he was 5 days old. It was on a wild and empty beach, somewhere close to Cannon Rocks and Kenton on Sea, that 6 Fins was adopted by a family of otters and rescued from obscurity. Initially a weak swimmer and shy toddler, it was the Chief Otter of the clan, Cramerstarch Blackclaws, who saw the potential Walter 6 Fins possessed.
Blackclaws took Walter under his wing and taught him the Otter Ways of Survival (a five step program developed by Blackclaws, which is taught to all sea mammals). It wasn’t long before Walter could source food, speak and sing in fluent otter, perform the mating ritual and (MOST importantly) ride waves like an animal born of the sea. He even developed an otter-like appearance as he got older, although he is still technically a man.
During a deep sea fishing trip, a group of American businessman saw 6 Fins doing back flips off a sperm wale, some 40 nautical miles offshore. He was caught and taken back to America straight away, where he began work at Sea World. Baby Shamu and 6 Fins got a routine going, where they choreographed Vanilla Ice’s dance moves from ‘Ice Ice Baby’ in the pool and became an instant hit. They were set for stardom. Kids came from all over the world to see Walter and Shamu’s dynamic act.
When neither Shamu nor Walter 6 Fins got the leading part in Free Willy, tempers flew off the handles. “What is this ghastly life supposed to mean!” Shamu was reported to have said in her native orca tongue, during shows after the rejection. Kids couldn’t relate to such somber material. Ratings dropped quickly.
On the other hand, Walter 6 Fins took the ordeal in his stride. He knew a great spot in California, called The Wedge, where body surfing flourished. He missed the wild. ‘Showbiz was great,’ said 6 Fins, scoffing a fresh sardine, ‘but I was getting comfortable, you know? I wanted to be a wild otter/man again… there’s something very juvenile about doing backflips for your paycheck.” With his earnings from Seaworld, 6 Fins moved to Cali and started competing in body surfing tour events. It wasn’t long before ‘Walter 6 Fins Chokastone’ became a household name in body surfing circles.
He won his first event on the WBST (World Body Surfing Tour) at 22 years old and won his first world title a year later. Today he is sponsored by numerous multinational companies that pay him a doosh load of money to wear their gear and endorse their products, whilst competing on tour. ‘Am I happy with success…’ says 6 Fins, smiling, ‘sure. Why not?’
As I was saying earlier, 6 Fins took some time out from his ruthless schedule to chat to me and illustrate the different body surfing techniques to. He sent me this picture via e-mail, as well as a description of the big wave riding technique he uses in waves of consequence.
‘The Bullet Technique’ as told by Walter 6 Fins Chokastone:
“’The tricky thing about the bullet,’ says 6 Fins, ‘is that you’ve got to keep your back arched and stiff. It’s a bumpy ride, but you’ll be golden if you can keep your body taught. I eat a strict diet of fish, seaweed and seagull droppings to give me the sort of muscle tone it takes to ride waves this big. With other styles, like The Handcuffs and The Superman Arms’ (6 Fins holds his paws out, illustrating the two styles), ‘you can guide yourself nicely in small waves, but when you’re at a spot like Dungeons (see picture), you run the risk of catching a rail with your palms. So The Bullet, although not as precise as all other methods, is the most affective when riding big waves.’
On behalf on Rail to Rail, I’d like to thank 6 Fins for speaking to me and giving me permission to run this photo. For anyone who is interested, the Walter 6 Fins Chokastone biography, ‘Fish Out Of Water’, will be coming out early next year. You can preorder it via Kalahari.com
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It’s the usual in PE today. It’s windy and the waves are small. If you were an otter, it’d be cranking. But sadly we’re not otters, so the waves are no good.
The Beach Project in St Francis Bay has finally gotten into gear. You can check out the St Francis Bay website http://www.sfbresidents.org:80/Beach-Project.htm to see how the dilapidated St Francis Bay beaches will be restored soon (hopefully in time for the holiday season). The website also has info on the Nuclear power station that will possibly be built near Oyster Bay.
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