DJ Struntz saving a life.
DJ Struntz saving a life.

Meet: Photog stud DJ Struntz!

Surf photog leaves all for blood and guts! (WARNING: very long!)

Surf photography has changed drastically over the last 10 years. As the world has shifted to digital photography, social media platforms centered on photography, and print magazines closing left and right, surf photographers have successfully transitioned to stay relevant so they can keep providing photo evidence of the world’s best surfers traveling to far off places to fans, brands, and brightening up a lackluster feed. The lifestyle can be profitable, creatively challenging and dreamy to anyone talented enough behind the lens.

Most would never consider quitting such a profession.

DJ Struntz did.

Around a year ago he announced that his work with the surf industry would not be his primary focus. DJ has worked with just about every brand in surf, as well as a staff photographer for Surfing Magazine for many years. Some of his most notable work has been with Globe, Hurley and Patagonia. DJ shot the entire “Strange Rumblings in Shangri-La” film along side Joe G and the Globe team. I wanted to know what DJ is up to now, his reasoning for departing from the surf world, and his involvement with the Special Forces community. DJ presides in North Carolina with his wife and two kids.

Getting DJ on the phone for this interview took some time, but when we did finally speak, the conversation was enlightening beyond what I had expected.

ME: Hey DJ! How’s life?

DJ: “Hey dude! A little crazy at the moment! I have eight different bosses so my life is a bit hectic.”

ME: Wow eight bosses? Most can barely handle one boss let alone eight!
So as far as your involvement with surf industry goes do you still work with Joe G and Globe?

DJ: “Yeah, although we haven’t done anything in a while. We’re still planning on something soon but it’s been nerve racking. Joe G and Globe are family to me.”

ME: That’s great to hear! Your work on “Strange Rumblings” is in my opinion some of the best editorial work ever done for a big budget surf film.

ME: So have you viewed Mick’s newest “Search” video?

DJ: “Yeah I have. It looks a lot like Mozambique. Dion had posted about the cyclone that hit Tofo. I don’t if the wave was farther up the coast but there are headlands up the coast you can see on Google Maps. If I put money on somewhere, it’d be Mozambique. The film came out right after that cyclone.”

Me: I just viewed Dion’s video about the need to help the people of Tofo. (The day we recorded this, the video had only been talked about on Instagram and no features had come out on any other publication).

DJ: “They got pretty crushed. It’s crazy that you don’t really see coverage on mainstream media online or anything else. They’ll show Mick’s wave sure! That’s why I did my posted about it yesterday on IG. It’s easy for surfers to enjoy the milk and honey, and ignore the dirt. You’re on the beach and your back is to the land when you’re surfing anywhere. The only time you face land is on the wave itself. It’s easy to be disconnected, especially if you are insulated by your travel scenario. You might be insulated from the reality of the daily life of people who live there. I was really proud of Dion for putting the focus on the people. Dion’s always been that guy. He’s a very caring, sensitive soul. When he’s traveling around, you couldn’t ask for a better ambassador for the sport. Everyone’s got their own projects and helps in their own way. You don’t have to show your hand to be doing great stuff, but come on guys! We all relish that wave so it’s interesting. Hurricane Matthew was only a year ago but you don’t see any coverage about the recovery process or the damage that still hasn’t been taken care of yet.”

 

ME: So DJ, how did you bridge your editorial work in the surf industry with your work with North American Rescue and the Special Operations community?

DJ: “It all started in Yemen.”

ME: Chas told me to ask you about Yemen!

DJ: “So that trip I did (with Surfing Magazine in 2006) was where my connections started. I’d always had a love affair with the military. I was a candidate for the Air Force Academy. I got cold feet and didn’t take the plunge. So when the Yemen trip came about, I have friends I surf with here in North Carolina…We came up with the idea to go to Socotra and at the time Chas was working with Black Box, which was a think tank essentially that was looking at extreme Islam. So I knew Chas had been there before. I got a little bit of information from him. Then I reached out to some friend in the area. Camp Lejeune is very close by, which is the main base for the Special Operations element of the Marine Corps. I had friends who had served and gotten out that had a friend who had just gotten out of the Marine Corp. That friend had just rotated back from Yemen doing foreign internal defense, training Yemeni soldiers. The night before I left for Yemen, I drove up and bought the guy dinner. It was his 35th birthday. I took him to a steak dinner at some dive place outside the base. He gave me an entire civil affairs brief on what to expect, customs and what not to do. The next day I flew to Yemen with three surfers. After the trip, he put me in touch with other Special Operations operators saying ‘This is the crazy photographer that went to Yemen without a gun!’ That peaked their interest. There is a similar personality type amongst SO guys. The good ones are very intelligent. They are good at what they do not just because they’re good at pulling the trigger. They all have similar interests so there is easy cross overs. They took me in and began teaching me the tactical medicine and other things, which brought me in contact with the products North American Rescue makes. I was able to get their stuff surplus from the military guys would take them on trips. Eventually, I googled NAR. I had planned a trip to an island off of Chile that we were supposed to be dropped off by the Chilean Navy. The trip fell through unfortunately. So I cold called NAR one day and said, ‘Hey I’m a surf photographer and I have one of your kits’. They were like ‘What is a surf photographer doing with our kit? How did you get it?’ I said ‘I got it from a MARSOC operator.’ So they put me in touch with a VP from the company. I talked myself into a few discussions with them and they sent me a kit to try out. After working with them a few times after about a year and a half I said ‘Are you guys going to start paying me?’” That morphed into doing some consulting with them and testing adventure rescue kits that Mark Healy was involved with. I sealed the deal bringing my action sports photography to one of their photo shoots. Jumping rivers and hanging off rock faces which most “normal” photographers wouldn’t do, but to me is second nature. After that they brought me in do experiment with social media a little bit. That worked well so that’s brought me to where I’m at now. I’m a fulltime, salaried employee with NAR now. I do side projects with friends but NAR is my fulltime job. I’m very careful making sure there are no conflicts of interest with companies and products. They are symbiotic but in different lanes. NAR is an awesome fit for me because I feel a passion for it. My job with NAR involves telling the stories of battlefield medicine or domestic medicine that was learned on the battlefield. Sharing the stories of saving lives and celebrating the lifesavers. It’s very unique. They give me a lot of latitude with it as long as it involves that element. I work a lot with wounded veterans, military medical community. On a daily basis I’m talking to Medics, PJ’s (Airforce Rescue elements) from all over the world. The sense of mission is really cool when you get DM’s on Instagram from someone saying ‘Hey I saw your post and went and bought a tourniquet and our friend got into a motorcycle accident and the tourniquet saved his life so thank you!’ So indirectly, through education, we help save some kids life that would have died otherwise. There’s a real sense of purpose. Our saying at the company is that yes we make products but our goal is to get you home. It’s about getting people home to their families. We can make a direct impact on the world. We play a unique roll in getting that message out to the world. I dig it.”

ME: Most would never want to walk away from doing fulltime surf photography. It sounds like what you do now is much more impactful than just cranking out content for the masses. Finding passion in your work seems more worthwhile than just working for anyone who’ll give you a paycheck. The pay off seems more meaningful.

DJ: “Exactly. It’s crazy but sometimes when I’m cranking out content and eventually I get to step back and look at what I’m cranking out and it’s incredible. We have an education series where I work with medics on case studies on stuff they have done in the past saving lives. You see the response from those series and people are taking the lessons home, applying them in their units or in their EMS agencies. It’s awesome. There’s a sense of satisfaction. I love to shoot surfing. My 9-year-old loves surfing and we go as much as possible. Sharing that experience is great but what I do now, I can give back in a different way.”

ME: It seems you found that balance as well. There is an elevated sense of purpose in what you can do, and not be pompous about it too. You can still get your waves, have fun and do what you need to do. Ultimately that kind of giving back can be motivating.

DJ: “Exactly. Doing trips with Hurley for Waves2Water, I got to see Conner Coffin light up when giving clean water filters to impoverished people in Nicaragua. In a young surfers life that is a life altering experience. It’s an important experience to because most often, surf trips comprise of just eating, sleeping, playing guitar and then surfing. You throw a couple of clean water filters in your bag and suddenly the mission of the trip changes completely. What you walk away with is ‘Wow I just gave clean water to a village that will have it for 10 years.’ People are people so obviously it’s not going to appeal to everyone. Some don’t care at all and just want to be on vacation and surf. I’m not passing judgment on those people. For me, it got to a point where I asked myself ‘What am I doing?’. I was traveling so much it was impacting my home life and I had to stop and ask myself why I was dropping everything to chase another swell. The film Evan Vetter did covers that at length. They documented my work over the last year or so and the tension of the transition I had to do. I’m excited for it to come out because it covers the Special Forces community and surf community. With everything I’ve been through, Faith has been an important part of my walk through life. It has always been my foundation, I was raised with it, so it’s been pivotal in my transition and career. Having kids brought about the transition as well. I thought what legacy am I leaving behind? Will it be ‘Oh dad’s the best surf photographer in the world! There’s a bunch of photos of surfers no one cares about anymore.’ or ‘Dad lived what he believed in and instead of talking he walked and made a difference in people’s lives.’ That started really pinging in my mind. It took me a while to wean myself off the wheel. How do you go from point A to point B when you’re really good at point A? My wife said, ‘You’ve got a masters degree in Biology, you can do whatever you want!’ And I said, ‘Look at what I’m doing right now. I’m arguably one of the best surf photographers in the world, based on just all the publications I’ve done, and here I am blessed with incredible opportunities, how do I walk away from all that? The idea of going to an office everyday didn’t sound right. A lot of prayer went into that whole transition. I never thought I’d be doing what I do now. If you watch the History Channel thing I was a part of, I got to play the guy I was supposed to be! I showed up to the shoot not thinking I was going to act in the show, I was just there to provide the medic gear and be a consultant. They were like ‘no you’re playing the medic!’ So now my kids get to watch me on TV, only a few minutes because the rest of the episode is very violent. But they got to see Dad living out his dream in a way.”

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Ross Williams (center) will never have to do this again!
Ross Williams (center) will never have to do this again!

Rumor: Ross Williams quits WSL!

Quits the WSL commentary team to allegedly coach John John Florence!

But who is your favorite on air surf commentator? Is it Rawn “Dawg” Blakey and his rolling Australian baritone? And the way he looks twice as smart as everyone around him by having a barely below average IQ? Or is it his frenemy Joe “Sizzurp” Turpel with his little jams? What about Pottz? Do you love South African raw? And by “South African raw” I mean… you know what I mean. Or Ross Williams? The best thing to happen to the booth since little jams!

But hold the phone! Wait just one moment (cocaine)! A rumor has just floated into my ears, and your ears if you happen to listen to the best surf podcast around (Surf Splendor) that Ross Williams is leaving the booth!

He is allegedly packing his knapsack to…..

….drum roll…

…….. roll…………

drum…………….

……………………………roll….

..THEORETICALLY COACH JOHN JOHN FLORENCE!

Now why does John John Florence need a coach you might ask. And I would answer why does Donald J. Trump need Michael Flynn and Jeff Sessions.

UNDUE INFLUENCE!

In truth, I’m sure that Ross Williams has a wonderful relationship with all the judges having traveled, lived, dined, slept with them for the last two years. Oh don’t be so daft. He didn’t SLEEP with them but, you know, shared accommodations with them and knows them very well and could tell them to bump John John’s score just a touch…

…but why would he need to do that? John John Florence is the defending world champ without Ross Williams. He is the best surfer in the entire world all by hisself.

With Ross Williams he will be an unstoppable force. Are you ready to fall Ke11y?

And what do you think? Do you think that John Ross will be the greatest coupling since…

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WSL (pictured middle) with Facebook (right) and web/app (left)
WSL (pictured middle) with Facebook (right) and web/app (left)

Breaking: WSL is polyamorous!

Don't worry! You'll get your love too!

There has been so much stress lately about where, exactly, our World Surf League will be broadcasting the upcoming season. Will it be on the website? Facebook only since the two just “signed” a “deal” (wink wink)? And the people claw at their faces, nervously, “But what if I don’t have Facebook for, like, moral reasons? Will I not be able to watch professional surfing?”

Well don’t worry! The WSL is a slut and will be traipsing around whichever bar you want her to be traipsing around!

I asked our World Surf League’s marketing director Dave Prodan just moments ago, “Will the events be web/app or Facebook only?”

He responded minutes later, “Both.”

That naughty minx! That dirty gal!

But don’t you love her? Don’t you just love her to pieces?

Again.

Cocaine!

I mean, the WSL will be broadcast on BOTH net/app AND Facebook.

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World Surf League unveils new ads!

Are they good or are they great? Come find out!

Our World Surf League unveiled its new campaign yesterday and I am sorry for my slow response here. Cocaine etc. But let’s talk about it now!

The four spots are up tempo, colorful with bold text filling the screen. Each fall under the year’s new tagline It Takes a Tour to Make a Title and highlight a different component of professional surfing. Let’s watch then grade! (Just click play here and they’ll roll one after the other!)

The first is King Queen and features those who actually have a shot at the title and a jazzy soundtrack. Bold text reading “King Queen” fills the screen over John John Florence’s face and maybe slightly rude to call the boy “King Queen” but I like the playful absurdism! Grade: A

The second is The Obsessed and set to a very moody song plus lots of slow motion. Much pensive. Many emotion. It stirs the heart but there is a moment that lifts The Obsessed into the realm of high art and that is Jordy Smith’s dead serious Are You Entertained? claim. Any clip featuring that or Cryin’ Jordy wins! Grade: A+

The third is New Dream and revolves around all the hot new rookies on tour this year. Soundtrack is very youth. The text details freshness. New school, job, car. First date, day. And then everything swells while the text gets bigger, bolder, filling the screen, demanding, “DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND?” Oh it had me standing and cheering! It is like they asked the youngest person at the World Surf League’s Santa Monica office what the kids are saying these days. The youngest person is Dave Prodan (39) and he responded, “Do you even understand?” As in, “You don’t know what us kids are thinking. You don’t know what’s in our young heads. Get lost. GET LOST I TELLS YA!” Dave’s rebel snarl is tasty! Grade: A

The fourth is Ready to Strike and is about Kanoa Igarashi, Jack Freestone and Conner Coffin and Italo are set to win it all. Strange, yes, but I like the magical realism! Grade: A

And will you look at that! The World Surf League graduates with honors! Now back to cocaine.

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Obituary: A younger brother remembers!

Michael Kocher's younger brother lays a wreath....

If you have been here, to BeachGrit, more than five times then you will certainly remember the swinging prose of Michael Kocher. He blasted onto our little universe with stories about being a Marine and surfing and giving up surfing for drugs and getting spinal cancer. Turned out the spinal cancer bit was a scam but funny. Right? Or interesting at the very least. Sure he wrote bad junkie prose from time to time but overall Kocher was a fun part of our DNA. An interesting part. Last week he was gunned down by police in Denver for taking people hostage. Here his younger brother writes an obituary. 

He was a very intelligent young boy, able to breeze through most academic challenges the schools could throw at him, excelling in math, language arts, history, and social studies, eventually earning his degree in political science while attending UAA. As a teenager he became interested in computer programming.

He was also a voracious reader, reading anything that piqued his interest, fiction or not. When he was younger (in middle and high school) he enjoyed reading Star Wars novels, something he passed on to me, but more than anything he loved the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, having read The Lord of the Rings trilogy dozens of times as well as every other work published by the man and also posthumous releases.

If you had a question about Middle Earth or the Star Wars Universe, he could talk at length about it or nearly anything else, as he had a memory like a steel trap. He had a boisterous personality from the very beginning and though he wasn’t always quick to agree, people usually found something about him that they liked or had in common and he made countless friends and acquaintances throughout his years and travels.

He was in JROTC in high school and always showed a great deal of respect for military service of which my family has contributed a fair amount. His greatest influence was probably his maternal grandfather, who served in World War II as a United States Marine. He joined the USMC and in 2006 at age 23 and made it through boot-camp despite a bout of pneumonia; He pushed through it, something for which he carried a great deal of pride.

Unfortunately, he was not prepared to handle some of what he witnessed in Syria and Iraq, and though his time there was mostly spent fixing radios and aiding the locals, the experience changed him. As the article in the Eagle River star reported, he reached out to friends and family for donations of soccer balls for the local children.  He succeeded in gathering over 50 soccer balls and a Hand Pump.  It was the most humanitarian/charitable thing he ever did.

He continued college after returning, but, despite earning his degree and being a Veteran, his search for gainful employment was met with one disappointment after another leaving him feeling downtrodden and hopeless at times. Much of his difficulty in life after that was tied to a recurring addiction various substances including alcohol and opiates, the toll of which seems to have ultimately lead to his demise.

During this time he did some things he regretted and had intended to rectify in his life. His family, friends, and those that worked and served with him will remember him as intelligent and passionate with a personality that could fill a room. He loved surfing, having surfed Yakutat, Alaska and the California coast and revered the works of Allan C. Weisbecker who wrote In Search of Captain Zero was his and my mom’s favorite book. Jack Kerouac was also a favorite author of  Michael’s who always had a romantic and poetic outlook on life. He wasn’t one to let obstacles dictate his path and usually found a way to achieve what he wanted in life.

His greatest downfall, perhaps, was expecting too much from himself and the world…

Scott Kocher, brother of Michael

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