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OPERATION AMPED
William Morris Agents Take Iraqi Vets Surfing

Shaun signed copies of his book The Surfer’s Code for all the veterans, and then everyone turned their attention to more than a dozen soft surfboards and wetsuits provided by Skylar Peak of Malibu Makos and Sicky Dicky Productions.

Down at the water’s edge, some of the instructors lead stretching exercises and gave the Vets hard-sand lessons on paddling and getting to their feet. Then Randi Woodrow huddled the instructors aside for their own special instructions: “The younger veterans here have traumatic brain injuries. They look normal and they sound normal but they have trouble processing. What I found is: less is more. The best way to instruct them is to show them, not tell them. There is so much going on in their brains that they don’t process. They really have been traumatically injured so give short, simple instructions and lots of positive reinforcing.”

The William Morris guys focused their professional powers of persuasion to get Shaun to paddle out and ride the first wave, then everyone went charging into the water, like a reverse D Day and the surf sessions began.

Each Veteran had at least two surf instructors helping them out into the surfline, pushing them over or under waves, turning them around and then pushing them into breaking whitewater. Some students wanted instructors hanging on the tails of their boards as they rode into shore, some of them went at it alone.

Where the scene on the beach had been quiet and a little somber, out in the surf it was all giggles and smiles. Many of the Veterans admitted they were out of shape and hadn’t had any real exercise since they were injured. Some came to the beach to take a breather, but all of them threw themselves back into the surfline as soon as they felt ready.

The surf lesson went on for a long time, and only a free lunch from Baja Fresh got them out of the water. The somberness was gone and now it was surf stoke all around as the Veterans and the suits bonded.

One of the William Morris agents explained that his agency had just started these public service missions, but they were going well: “This is the only time I am going to be paid to surf,” he cracked. “Other agents are planting trees or going to the Motion Picture Home. I didn’t want to go there because I will be living there soon enough.”

The William Morris guys were there to surf and not to talk about the war of business in Hollywood, and likewise, the Vets weren’t keen on talking about war. One of the Veterans came to the beach and someone asked about his injuries: “I got shot in the head,” Richard said, apologetically, as if it were his fault. He stared out to sea for a few minutes, caught his breath and said, “But this is fun,” and charged back into the water with a board under his arm.

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