Kevin Grondin is my oldest, closest, living friend. We have known each other since the early 70's. *In fact, we met when we were both in opposite youngster gangs. It's true. We used to get in apple war fights with the kids from our neighboring town. What is an apple war? We would gather the crab apples on the ground and throw them at each other. Yes they hurt. They stung in certain areas of your body. Try to imagine some 50 kids throwing apples at each other. Kevin threw the apple, that ended those wars. He hit my then best friend in the eye with an apple. We captured him and basically terrorized him before releasing him back to his horde.

Somehow we were all mature enough to realize that apples can mess you up.

We met each other as surfers in the early 70's. We've been friends ever since. It would be easy to say that we sort of grew up in our surf world together. I knew of Kevin's talent right away. The kid (and he was a kid to me) could surf. I was at the time good friends with a mutual friend. Joe Somogyi. Joe and I had served in Vietnam at the same time. Kevin was a few years behind us. So the war ended before he was eligible.

Kevin was at first annoying to me, but only because of his age and lack of what Joe and I had experienced. But he was such a good surfer, he would not be denied into our small but loyal club. Kevin was a competitor surfer. He could surf his butt off and he used everything in his arsenal to beat everyone that challenged him. He was smart in those early days. I mean the kid had talent and theory. And he carried that talent for many many years. Joe and i were the complete opposites. We never liked, or entered any contests. It didn't bother us that Kevin did them, it just wasn't for us.

All we cared about was Kevin our young friend and hot surfer. He was the subject of many of my surf movies. From the early 70's (above) to the current day. After he got word of his Induction, we went south to shoot and surf IRMA.
I shot and Kevin surfed, and I have to tell you, that young grom back in the 70's can still surf his ass off. It's amazing to watch him surf at his age.

Through the many years Kevin won every freaking title that was out there. From the ESA to the current Legends Contest in PR. You did not want to draw Kevin in your heet. His accurate ability to know exactly when the sets would come was mind boggling. And Kevin didn't just compete, he was and still is a Coach. He has coached some of the most talented surfers out there. His knowledge and talent was enough for any young up and coming surfer to listen to. The man is a legend. He has more trophies that he's thrown away than most people have in their lives. It's ridiculous. He knows how to win.

The kids he has coached always acknowledge him wherever they go.

Kevin being inducted into the East Coast Hall Of fame is long overdue. He did it all the hard way. He did it the right way. And most importantly, he earned it.
He has surfed small waves and Big waves and he's surfed them all like the pro that he is. This is Kevin below during Hurricane Gabrielle in 1989.
Take a look at that wave. That my friends, is the real deal.



When we would travel to Hawaii his longtime friend Lenny Nichols would show him the ropes and the places and people that he would need to know. I on the other hand was the guy with the camera. I can tell you first hand how many times the surf would be pounding on the North Shore and I would basically insist that he paddle out. We laughed about it back then, and we still chuckle at it. Kevin always thought that I was trying to get him killed. Not true. I knew he had the talent and the courage to tackle those big waves.



I have movies from this day (above). The thing about Kevin was that he always seemed to get the biggest and best waves. And I'm telling you, my movies would not be worth watching without his surfing. And, that's true today. I just shot him surfing some big beautiful waves down south that are from Hurricane IRMA. Wait til you see them.



Our friend Joe passed away in 1978. And from that day forward, Kevin and I became closer. His then girlfriend Kim Dreyer was also part of our group. Kim and Kevin were married in 1989. I was Kevin's best man. My wife Cory was there too. We all became close friends and raised our families together. And through it all, Kevin kept his surfing at a higher level than most surfers half his age. His coaching the US team won him all kinds of accolades.



This pic above is from last year. Something about this photo. His confidence and his love of god, family, and friends seem evident to me in this image.

I don't want this blog to come off as some kind of Eulogy, because I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will out live all of us. So congratulations Kevin. You earned this.

The graphic below is why we (Post 35 in Hampton) still acknowledge September 11th. Tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of that day. And these 67 men below have their names engraved in our Global War On Terrorism Monument. If you are around at 6PM tomorrow night. You should stop by. It's always a moving ceremony. Click on the image to see a larger version.



"Surfing Hall of Fame and Remembering these Heroes Heals All Wounds"

(Above) Kody Grondin floating the long board. Labor Day Monday
September 4th, 2017 Photos by Cory Fatello
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

Today- Martha Lardent's take on Thursday August 31st, 2017
Photos by Martha Lardent

(Above) Up up and away. Michael Kirby joins the ranks of the local aerialists.
Thursday August 31st, 2017 Photos by Martha Lardent
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery