DAVE RASTOVICH //// Minds In The Water – Documentary

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Trace

Rasta in India, with an audience of goats (top)
Rasta – Indian Markets (above)

Who is Dave Rastovich?

Rasta used to be married to a mermaid. His signature boardshorts are made out of recycled plastics. He’s ‘saving the whales’.

More on Rasta☟

In 2006, Rasta, along with fellow activist and Sea Shepherd crewmember, Howie Cooke, co-founded the group “Surfers for Cetaceans” (www.s4cglobal.org).

In Chile, he lead a crew of 30 surfers, artists, activists and media-ists in a month-long awareness campaign to serve as part of his movie Minds In The Water.

In India, one of the purest, most expressive solo sessions witnessed, he took on a new wave for Taylor Steele’s Castles in the Sky.

Rasta owns and is known for his incredible ability to ride many different boards. On any day of the week you could find him skipping along on his guts on a blow up surf mat, spinning 360s (nude!) on an aleia, gouging huge cutbacks on a conventional quad or thruster, heading up the coast somewhere on a 17ft paddle board or not riding anything at all (bodysurfing).

Rasta – photo via Billabong Bio

Whatever’s he doing, Rasta is for real.
The protests in Japan. The campaigns in Chile. Adventures with the Sea Shepherd crew.
A sailing trip down the coast of Australia.

Minds in the Water – based on a five-year adventure is an award winning documentary following the quest of professional surfer Dave Rastovich and his friends to protect dolphins, whales and the oceans they all share. Spanning the globe from Australia to the Galapagos, Tonga, California, Alaska and Japan – it was released in November 2012 – We see one surfer’s quest to activate his community to help protect the ocean and its inhabitants.

Minds in the Water is available on DVD here

Q&A || Rasta || Billabong Bio

Sponsors

Billabong, sanuk, electric sunglasses, formula energy surfboards, sticky bumps.

Hometown

Seven Mile Beach

Residence

Byron Bay, NSW, Australia.

Stance

Natural

Date of birth

31st December, 1980.

Perfect day

Riding an unsurfed wave with friends far from cities filled with vacuous technological lours.

Major accomplishments

Long distance paddle and sail ecological campaigns, riding unchartered waves and surfing the way i feel to.

Coolest place you’ve ever been

Alaska and Tasmania

Favorite food

Anything without a face or a mother feels the best to me-

Kind of car

Standard stinky, polluting ute. you can’t polish a turd and every petrol/diesel car is a turd in my book.

Living person you most admire

My lovely lady Lauren Lindsey Hill Coke Herman Cole Davis

Never leave home without

Leaving something behind.

When not surfing, I’m

Dry.

When I was little I wanted to be

Surfing all day everyday

Years surfing

24

If I were an animal, I would be

Pelifin, it is a perfect mix of half dolphin and half pelican. they exist in isolated regions of the world where old Greg the man who lives at the bottom of black lake where he keeps the ball of funk to himself for safe keeping.

Favorite book

Eternal seas, oceanic poetry from yesteryear.

Perfect happiness

The name of a friends dog. A lot of pressure on the dog to not get pissed off but is seems to live up to it’s name.

Guilty pleasure

Sorbet gelato after surfing

Word or phrase you overuse

Probably my middle name….mate.

Most treasured possession

A pelifin feather.

My secret talent is

Puns, and wordsmithery

Could live anywhere, where?

Sirius A, in spirit form that would be rad.

Secret obsession

Puns and wordsmithery

My worst habit is

Puns, and wordsmithery.

Songs on repeat right now

Gayatri mantra

Value most in life

Nowness-

Favorite occupation

Helping others

My motto is

Be sincere not serious

Greatest extravagance

Having lots of time in my days.

Favorite band(s)

Matson two, fleet foxes, hendrix, anugama

Favorite way to pass time on long flights

Sleeping-writing-sleeping

First thing you pack for a trip

Passport- finding most everything else isn’t too hard with a bit of imagination.

Favorite board at the moment

A venturi effect concave running through my 5’9 twin fin with a little stablisier fin on the tail.. bodysurfing is pretty high on the list right now too

Come back in as your next life

Sweet, i never knew reincarnation was so widely accepted— pelifin.

Favorite movies

Contact

Best night out outfit

Boardshorts

Superhero 

White buffalo woman

Favorite surf spot

Anywhere clean, uncrowded and hollow will be a treat

Inspiration

Light and sound, love and fear, laughter and tears, cheeseball answers to questions like this answer is.

Best advice ever been given

Smooth seas never made a skilfull sailor

Astrological sign…

I was born in capricornian times

Interview excerpts via Surfing Magazine
by Nathan Myers (see full interview here) and
Billabong Bio
Photos via Surfing Magazine & Billabong Bio