The New Smyrna Crew
Shea Lopez, Gorkin, Geiselman Light Up USA's Shark Capital
by Zach Weisberg
Online Editor

The sun wasn’t up yet. But we were. And Shea Lopez was too. And he was waiting for us on the boardwalk atop the dunes at the shark attack capital of America - New Smyrna Inlet.

Aaron Cormican, Eric and Evan Geiselman, and Marcus Heilman all showed up within the hour, and executed what Gorkin called, "a classic New Smyrna session," in chest high surf.

“This is the most consistent wave in Florida,” Eichstadt told me between camera clicks. As green lines marched to shore I thought about that.

Considering every wave we’ve seen thus far has at some point been referred to as “the best wave in Florida,” I’ve grown weary of spot-claims. but after assessing the conditions along the East Coast this morning, New Smyrna certainly seemed the most promising, and I was starting to believe it.

Which is why a lot of the local crew never wants to leave.

"Guys will call us up and be like let's go shoot or surf down south, and we're like, 'i think we'll just stay up here,'" said Eric Geiselman. "I don't want to say this is the best spot in Florida, but it's definitely consistent and it's always good to be here."

New Smyrna plays home to one of the most progressive surf communities on the East Coast, and these guys are as authentic of a “surf crew” as they come. Or at least as the idea is supposed to be in ...Lost ads. That stuff isn't a fabricated marketing scheme - it's New Smyrna.

Eichstadt couldn’t believe Gorkin woke up before noon. Gorkin couldn’t believe he got off MySpace last night. No one could believe Eric Geiselman stomped a huge frontside air despite having pins in his knee. And I couldn't believe how commonplace this all seemed to them.

"We all push each other to go bigger and surf better, and I think that's why everyone has gotten to where they have," said Geiselman. "Today was a classic session with the local crew at New Smyrna, and it's kind of like that everyday. We're out - pushing each other."

Speaking of pushing - we had to push onward. And with good reason. Asher Nolan's 30th Birthday was heating up in Jacksonville, and it was destined to be a great night in Northern Florida. We already had been warned by his buddies, "Bring your cowboy boots..."

So we tipped our hat to New Smyrna and hit the dirt trail.

- Zach Weisberg
Online Editor

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