a typewriter in the ocean

#epilepsyawarenessmonth - the first neurologist I met told me I couldn’t surf any more, this weekend I surfed Maverick’s, yet again. epilepsy is a silent disease. it is hard on you, hard on your family, hard to talk about, hard to understand. but it is not impossible, in fact it is empowering. i love the opportunities it has afforded me: my lifestyle, my friends, my passion, my endless time in the ocean. ~ i will paddle, walk, surf and talk for/about #epilepsy until they find a cure. and i know because of the great work by @endepilepsy, the @epilepsyfdn and neurologists at UCLA, a cure WILL be found. ~ so this post goes out as a tribute to my fellow #epilepsywarriors, my loving supporters, the foundations, the researchers and even myself. as i await brain surgery, i know i am handling this road with courage, bravery and just enough humility. i had an #epilepticopportunity to paddle for awareness, which in turn afforded me the opportunity to go to UCLA and ultimately become a candidate for surgery. ~ thank you everyone for your kind words, questions and pats-on-the-back. it all means so much.~ pc: @jrmankoff

I am paddling tomorrow morning for #epilepsyawareness, for my fellow #epilepsywarrior friends and because of my #epilepticopportunity to do so. please join me, my brother and @_timdavis_ as we paddle 8 miles on the livestream right here on Instagram. and if you can, please click the link in my profile to donate to the @endepilepsy foundation. together, we will find a cure. also, scan through to see some amazing humans who have never let their epilepsy take them down, instead they only grow stronger.

from one set of barrels to another - every day is an #epilepticopportunity. started the morning getting barrels with @epmuscat and @lukewilliamsvta, finished it getting shacked at UCLA Neurology Research Center with a pretty fun MRI that brings me one step closer to the surgery for Type 1 Focal Cortical Dysplasia. each day is an adventure right now: emotions of strength and fear, incredible support, time in the ocean, reading, writing and lots of thinking. I can’t wait to finish, but right now I also just appreciate this thorough process, my incredible support and all the learning. thank you everyone: wife, brother, parents, doctors, technicians, friends, this social community, @endepilepsy and the @epilepsyfdn - I wouldn’t be able to do it without you. pc: @lukewilliamsvta (at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center)

that hair though... pc: @lukewilliamsvta

I try to remember, every time I get that view, it came from thousands upon thousands of miles away. so even if I don’t make it out, it’s worth a smile. 🙏 mother ocean. (but when I do make it, the smile is definitely wider) pc: @lukewilliamsvta

been surfing with my best friend a lot lately. making the man to whom we owe everything chase us around. the love, support and strength these two provide as I prepare for surgery is an #epilepticopportunity in itself. the best father and brother ever.

this summer's crew is from six groms down to two. @evanmuscat is no longer at the cottage, slowly driving up the coast to his final year at Udub. but he left prose on the walls of the cottage and smiles shining from its porch. as well as a crew of @patagonia coworkers eager for his return. even after sticking a fin through his foot, he was the energy that kept us all laughing and playing dumb card games late into the night. then yelling at us to go surf in the morning, even though he couldn't and was in heaps of pain. he actually left on Saturday, but I was too sad about his departure to make this post until today. thank you my brother for a summer that will be remembered forever, lessons which will direct life and your relentless passion for wisdom and peace. @layne_bell69, @jessamuse and I will do our best to honor your spot at the cottage until you return...for good. pc: Jess (missing cottage crew: @honzek_, @henry__haber and @nickliotta) (at Carpinteria, California)

log storage 101

back when both knees worked. pc: @nickliotta (at bend at the knees!)

a quick break from the photography for this political announcement

been getting plenty of tip time on my new log from the surfprospect. 

pc: Nick Liotta

old film photo by the legend known as Nick Liotta