Christopher Peterson
Chris “Crash” is a Hawaii-born surfer who grew up on the North Shore of Oahu. After leaving the islands, he learned that the ocean is not the only place to surf and discovered the river waves of the American West.
The tattoo on his breast “The Ocean is My Home” reveals that for Chris, surfing is not just a sport, but a real way of life. When his grandmother from Idaho called for help, his surfer lifestyle was suddenly at risk. Leaving the islands and the waves would mean leaving surfing behind. Even so, he decided to make the change and take on family responsibilities.
The Fire
Living in Idaho, far from the nearest shore, was not the worst thing that would happen to Chris. One night he awoke to thick smoke and found his house ablaze. While he was able to escape the flames, his grandmother perished in the fire. At that time he felt as if he had lost everything.
Hitting the rivers of the American West was like a rebirth for Chris. Facing personal adversity, he found himself again in riding waves in rivers.
Life After Tragedy
Even though Chris felt an immediate urge to return to Hawaii, he first went down to the river to hit the water. He claims that the moment he discovered river surfing was like a rebirth that helped him cure his soul and overcome the tragedy. His story was since made into a film by Forge Motion Pictures, called “The Warrior”.
Redefining “Home”
Chris’ home is still the ocean, but the definition of his “The Ocean is My Home” has widened a little. For him, the ocean and rivers are inevitably connected: at the end of the day rivers are the origin of the ocean.
More of Chris
Browse through our photos, videos and stories to see more of Chris’ surfing: Chris on Riverbreak
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PhilB Phil is a passionate riversurfer based in the capital of urban hydro power, Graz / Austria. He graduated from the International University for Riversurfing (IUR) in 2008 before he got married (to PhilK) in 2009. Instead of children, they gave birth to the probably most awesome riversurfing magazine on the planet: Riverbreak.
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