It was just over a year ago now that I met Alex for the first time, he was writing an article about the Sub Zero Skim Jam for the Nexus newspaper (Camosun College’s school newspaper). To this date he has probably been the most professional journalist I have chatted with regarding the sport of skimboarding, you could tell this dude was genuinely into his work.
When I contacted Alex about writing an article about him on SkimBC he seemed shocked, he didn’t know why he warranted an article… Well right off the bat, I went to The Inertia website to take a look for his most recent work and low and behold the first article on the website was his! This has been a common site for me over the past few weeks, it seems like no matter what surfing publication I scout out online I manage to find his name… It’s pretty cool to constantly recognize the name of the author on your two favourite surf websites, The Inertia and SurferMag.com. For a guy passionate about writing surf literature he definitely has taken the right path to pursuing his dreams! I think it’s any true surfer’s dream to have articles published by Surfer Mag… He’s one of the lucky few to have that come true!
Some of his most notable work includes the full covering of the BP Oil Spill for Surfer Mag and his interview series for SBC Surf Magazine ‘The Northern Collective’.
Enough of my rambling about this dope dude, here’s an interview I put together with Alex and his responses!
What’s your name and what do you do?
Alexander Haro, and I’m not exactly sure. I do some freelance writing, mostly about surfing. I’ve been doing wildfire fighting for the last 5 years, with the exclusion of last summer, because I got an internship I couldn’t turn down. Man, was I ever broke.
Where did you go to school?
I’m actually still in school. I’m (hopefully) graduating in a couple of weeks with the vaguest of diplomas: Communications. Even I don’t know what that means, and I’ve been doing it for two years.
How long have you been writing in the surfing industry?
Not that long. About two years, I guess. The internship I was talking about before was with Surfer Magazine in San Clemente, about an hour and a half from the Mexican border. I lived in my truck on the south-bound side of the I-5 for four months. It’s a huge cliché, the burgeoning surf journalist living in a truck thing, but hey, at least I wasn’t in a Volkswagen van. My truck smelled awful, but was one of the best summers of my life. I sort of fluked out with the internship, and it has turned into a couple of other really great opportunities.
Do you get out surfing much?
I just got back. I don’t get out as much as I’d like to, obviously. It’s tough, going to school and finding time to drag my ass out there. When I was in my early 20’s, I travelled around as much as I could. I hate cold water more than anything, so I’d work in the oil patch and hate my life for three or four months, then get on a plane to somewhere with warm water and good waves. Those were the hey-days.
What kind of boards do you have?
I mostly ride a 6’3/18.5/2.5, but that board sucks for around here. It’s got way too much rocker. I’m in the middle of shaping a
little 6’0 disc-y kind of thing. It’s a super flat quad, and if I get it right, it’ll be great for the mushy waves here. It’ll be fun, if I can get the rails right, which I probably can’t. I really got into those big fat foamy learners boards last summer. I was teaching at a surf camp on the side, for burrito money. The kids were taking out those big blue 8 footers with 4 inch rails, you know the ones? I can’t turn for shit on them, but in terms of fun, those are hard to beat. For me at least. A lot of people around here don’t seem to be having any fun when they’re out. I think it’s the cold.
Have you done much skimboarding?
Man, when I was in high school, that’s all I did. I remember coming back to Spanish class all sandy and wet, and my teacher would freak out. That was when Gonzales wasn’t full of a thousand kids writing all over the walls. Back when there wasn’t all those houses on the hill, just dead grass and busted up concrete slabs.
Which of your published articles are you most proud of?
There was one a while back on TheInertia.com that was about surf journalists copping out, saying “they’re not journalists,” and not covering some of the more sensitive aspects of the sport. I gave a better excuse, called the Harm Limitation Principle, which is a pretty big thing in journalism. It basically says that if you uncover something as a journalist, you need to think about who it’s going to affect before you print it. Everyone always rants about “full-disclosure”, but shit, just because people like to hear all the gory details doesn’t mean they need to. It’s a touchy subject though, and it’s pretty subjective. I caught a lot of flak for it, mostly from editors of various surf mags, but they mostly misunderstood it. They thought I was bashing them, when I was just giving them a valid excuse for not covering stuff. Either that one or one I had in Surfer a few months ago. It was an interview with their photo editor on shaping.
If you could be published by any magazine (print or online), which one would it be and why?
The Surfer’s Journal, for sure. They optimize surf mags for me: subscriber supported, well written content, and beautiful photos about cool shit. I pitched something to them a while ago, but I got shot down. I’ll keep trying though.
Where is your dream job?
At my house. I want to wake up, drink coffee, and work in my underwear. Somewhere warm, for sure. I’d like to do more than one thing, so I don’t get bored. I’d love to be an editor, that’s what I’m aiming for. But at the same time, how cool would it be to be a mailman on the Big Island of Hawaii? If I could do those two things, I’d be the happiest man on the planet.
What’s your little dog’s name?
That’s Louie. He’s a Boston Terrier, and he’s the best dog in the world. Anyone who tells you different is a liar.
My girlfriend is jealous of your pup. Would she be able to dog-sit for you one day?
I’d have to check her references and see a full police report, but if that all checked out, then maybe. My girlfriend’s tattoo artist wanted to, but I was weird about it, because I hadn’t met him. Louie’s the best, for real. Dogs are great. When you wake up, they act like it’s the greatest thing in the world, just because you get to hang out with them. When you come home, it’s the same thing. I wish people reacted to me like Lou does.
If I was to break into your fridge what would I find?
Not much. I’m a student and a freelance writer. That’s not conducive to a full belly. But the necessities include maple bacon, full cream milk, and anything my lovely girlfriend puts in front of me. I’m screwed once my metabolism slows down.
What’s your favourite fruit and why?
Elton John’s got some pretty good songs.
If someone was going to write a biography about you, what would the title be?
I’ve actually thought about this. Is that vain? I thought that Diary of a Nobody would be good, but then I found that book a while ago, and it’s way funnier than anything about me would ever be.
If you were a type of food what type would you be?
God, I don’t know. Soup?
Take a look at some of Alex’s Inertia articles here, and his Surfer articles here.
About the author
Brandon has spent much more than the majority of his life skimboarding, born in '86 and skimming since '91 he has dedicated countless hours to progressing the sport for himself at his local beaches. Since 2002 Brandon has been trying to push the sport outside of the beaches by developing SkimBC.com, a labour of love for the sport that has helped shape who he is!
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