Tony Caramanico

Tony Cara­man­ico is a New York based surfer / artist who has been surf­ing since the ‘60s. In that time, he has com­piled an astound­ing num­ber of jour­nal entries that have become works of art that are exhib­ited in gal­leries and sold as prints. Tony keeps it sim­ple: surf­ing and stay­ing pos­i­tive. We spoke with Tony to find out more.

What was life like grow­ing up?
Life grow­ing up in Ami­tyville, New York was around the sea, and time spent with fam­ily and friends. My teen years were spent surf­ing at Gilgo Beach. I worked in one of the first surf shops on Long Island—Beachcomber Surf Shop—when I was 13. Have been work­ing in or around surf­ing ever since.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a young man?
I looked up to the older surfers in my area and the stars in the surf magazines.

When did you get your first surf­board?
I got my first surf­board in 1963 … that my uncle paid five dol­lars for at a garage sale. It was a home­made board. My first cus­tom board was an 8’7″ Bing.

What was the feel­ing you had when you first stood on a surf­board?
My first ride was at Gilgo Beach on Labor Day in 1963. It changed my life and gave me the direc­tion I’m still following.

Where did your inter­est in art come from?
My inter­est in art came by acci­dent when I started work­ing for Peter Beard in Mon­tauk. I started keep­ing my jour­nals in 1979 and still do it daily. I never con­sid­ered myself an artist nor did I keep jour­nals as art. It was my self-expression and I felt that liv­ing the life of a surfer at that time was of inter­est and not in vogue as it is today. I did it for myself.

What is your process when cre­at­ing your art?
My art is mixed media jour­nals of my trav­els and daily life.

Of all the places you have trav­eled to, what place in par­tic­u­lar stands out? And why?
Indo 1980 … Bali and G-land.

What is it that makes you such a nice per­son? What code do you live by?
I try to keep it level and pos­i­tive in my life.

Who/what inspires you?
Peo­ple who fol­low their dreams. The music of Bob Mar­ley. Doing what you love.

What is the great­est thing you have learned in your life?
Stay positive—don’t lis­ten to the neg­a­tive peo­ple out there. Any­thing is pos­si­ble if you fol­low the path you choose.

Do you have any regrets or wish you had done some­thing dif­fer­ently?
I have few regrets and they’re too small to worry about.

What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my surf­board mod­els that I have had: 1992 to 2002 with Greg Noll, Chan­nin was 2003 to present and the Surftech/Channin TC model in 8′ and 9’1″ was 2008 to present. Also, I’m proud of my surf jour­nals I’ve kept for over 30 years.

What mean­ing does surf­ing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
Surf­ing is my life and has always been my path.

What brings you the most hap­pi­ness in the world?
Trav­el­ing the world and surf­ing with my wife, Charlotte.

Who are some of the peo­ple you feel are shap­ing the path for surf­ing today?
The peo­ple that are chang­ing the path of surf­ing are the ones who are free and soul surfers. It’s not com­pe­ti­tion; it’s not a sport. It’s a lifestyle. It’s an art form.

What is cur­rently your favorite board? Your favorite surfspot?
My favorite board is my 8′ Surftech model of my design. It’s a great mini long­board and great to travel with.

What’s your favorite meal?
My favorite meal is duck, Thai food and Japanese.

What are you cur­rently lis­ten­ing to on your iPod?
I lis­ten to all types of music.

What causes/ projects/organizations do you sup­port?
I try to donate to local causes and things that affect peo­ple I know. Also, Surfrider and Surf­ing Her­itage Foundation.

What are you most grate­ful for?
I am most grate­ful for being able to surf and travel, and have a very good qual­ity of life—my art and my wife Charlotte.

What’s next for Tony Cara­man­ico?
Next for me is to keep print­ing my jour­nals and doing art shows, try to do a book and stay on my path that started on that first wave in 1963. Aloha.

Find out more about Tony Cara­man­ico here. Top photo cour­tesy of pho­tog­ra­pher Joni Stern­bach. All other images pro­vided by Tony Caramanico.