OWEN MOORE AKA SOULMAN!

The more I get to know Owen Moore, the more there is to know.

And the more that I talk to him, and learn from him, the more he makes me think.

I've always kind of thought of surfing as the great "equalizer."

We agree that in the line-up, no-one cares if you're a bus-boy, a plastic surgeon, a "tree" surgeon, or the valet parking guy.

I know a surfing garbage man with a Ph.D..

Most of us don't care whether you're a man, woman, or child.

WE'RE ALL JUST SURFERS!

There is no divine order, and the oceans, molecular liquid, flow and surge across all borders and boundaries.

Not long ago a kid walked in to the Classic Shop wearing an

"Al Queada Don't Surf"

tee shirt.

I just thought that was the coolest thing I ever saw, and I also thought, it's just about got to be true.

If we were all sitting out there enjoying our oceans, our world, the way the majority of surfers do,

then it would all be peace and harmony, wouldn't it?

In my mind I know better.

There's still surf rage.

And there are the isolated instances of territorialism, yet even those ugly skirmishes aren't based on race or religion... it's not as if some neo-nazi surfers are banning all the Jewish surfers from the water, or the Southern Californian's say "No Asian Surfers!"

No, even the "Locals Only" rules allow a broad range of diversity, within their own skewered limits.

So, how does someone like Owen fit in?

He just does... just like the rest of us.

Let's follow Owen's journey into our line-up: