In 1987 legendary surfer Cheyne Horan, released the film, ” Scream in Blue ” chronicling his worst year on the tour.

Having been runner up to the world title four years in a row, Surfer Poll winner in 79, and an all around surfing super star, he was struggling to keep his seeded position on the tour and his sponsorship in 1986.

Years of riding his unique wide tail single fins and following his own free spirit had soured his relationship with his sponsor ” Gotcha ” whose need to stay trendy had taken top priority to creating new trends as they once had with Cheyne’s help.

Prejudice on the tour towards his non conventional equipment and lifestyle, coupled with a push by younger surfers to take his seeded position in the top sixteen are all portrayed in this movie with painful detail.

Given Cheyne’s legendary status it would have been easier to jump on the boards everyone wanted him to ride and create a film hyping the current trend.  The fact that he chose to tell  the real story with all it’s uncomfortable moments is a testament to his character and courage.

With ” Scream in Blue ” Cheyne was choosing to be a true documentary film maker rather than a hype master to sell something. The fact that this film is one of a very few surf related films of it’s kind makes it all the more worth taking another step back in time and surveying the landscape.

One of the most unique things about this film is the music by Midnight Oil and INXS, two of the most creative bands of the day.  Peter Garrett wailing, ” our Hero is in trouble ”  while Cheyne is surfing his heart out in a heat where he ends up losing to a surfer he would have had no trouble beating just a few short years before makes you wince.   You can literally feel the stress in the scene of a man hanging on to his lifestyle by a thread.   Rarely has music fit a movie so well as the soundtrack to ” Scream in Blue ”

All through the movie there are scenes of the status quo of pro surfers riding pretty much the same design of surfboard and surfing pretty much the same style… then the camera switches to a scene of Cheyne attempting some new move on a new board and falling.  It almost seems during those hard to watch scenes as if Cheyne wanted to show the struggle he was having in trying to remain creative while attempting to surf on a professional circuit which rewarded conformity.

The number of different board shapes he used with his winged keel fin is the movie is amazing.   There had to be at least eight completely different designs from wide tailed Lazor Zap looking boards to wide nosed double ender styled surfboards. Many in today’s retro movement should look back at the real innovator with regards to single fin surfing and see that single fins can be used for progressive surfing. It had to be frustrating to the young pro surfer riding what in his mind, was the state of the art in surfboard technology, losing his heat to Cheyne riding and egg, but such is a testament to Cheyne’s talent and drive.

Some of the beautiful surfing done by Cheyne in the movie on those boards, drawing totally different lines, is inspiring even by today’s standards. The guts it took to walk down the beach during a contest in the close minded era of eighties pro surfing will never been known by today’s pros who have been spoiled with getting paid for free surfing or getting pay checks prior to gaining results in on of the major contest.

The fact that the surfing industry could dismiss, so suddenly, a surfer who arguably had helped build their entire industry ” because of the type of boards he chose to ride” … gives one cause to ponder who, and what you’re dealing with in the so called surf industry.

Cheyne had certainly played a key role in the success of his sponsor Gotcha…a company he signed with while he was on top of the surfing world and being offered a contract by Quiksilver because he felt he wanted to help them get off the ground.

Watching a scene in the movie where Cheyne is reading a letter from Gotcha owner Michael Tompson which states that… Cheyne needed to conform and start showing contest results or face termination… would make anyone familiar with some of Cheyne’s accomplishments want to do some screaming at the blue screen of their own.

The hard nosed, ” no man is worth more than profit ” mentality shown towards Cheyne by a company who sold fun in the sun lifestyle belies the true nature and character of it’s management. When pressed about his past, Cheyne remains non bitter and positive. Happy with how his life has turned out and no regrets. One of the even greater lessons one can take from his story.

As the movie builds towards it’s ending with Cheyne attempting to regain the top 16. The scene is an anti climatic heat with Cheyne scraping his way back into a seeded position by beating California’s Brad Gerlach in sloppy foot high waves. The false impression most have of tour contest hits you like a jaw dropping thud. You get the impression that Cheyne’s time on the tour is coming to an end and being back in the seeded position a hollow victory.

Like the comet streaking across the sky on one of the shirts you see him wearing in the movie….his star, as far as the conventional surfing world had burned bright, but burned it’s own unique path. The future would no longer be large magazine ads or great world tour expectations.

The final scene in the movie is the most telling and the most motivating. Cheyne is seen walking down some local beach, with a 5′2” double ender single fin in hand, he stops to survey the beach as if taking in what it is to be a surfer and then goes out and proceeds to rip the place apart with the style and grace of a dolphin.

The movie ends, with Cheyne staying true to his calling, unchanged, in focus, having made peace with his lot. Cheyne would no longer be the sponsored surf star with bridled talent….Cheyne would be what he had always really been….just a super talented surfer who rode waves because he loved surfing on his own beam of light.

There are other scenes in the movie, beautiful Byron Bay, commune living, a few work out scenes that would make Rocky blush and Cheyne speaking with contest judges about his surfing. The best scenes in the movie to me are those scenes that seem to speak for themselves, the ones with Cheyne surfing.

Epilogue: Just a few short years later in 1989, Cheyne would put on one of the best performances in Surfing’s competitive history by defeating most of the world’s best known surfers at 12 foot Sunset Beach Hawaii to win the Billibong Pro.

Almost ten years later in 1999, Cheyne would win his first world title riding a Neo Lazor Zap called a ” Nugget ” shaped by his old mentor Geoff Mccoy … beating former World title holder Tom Carroll.

The comet has certainly not lost it’s brightness, but the accolade is not with huge company sponsorships, or feeling pressure from company executives.

The feeling at the present is of more important and timeless things like being a husband, father, and friend. Cheyne also owns one of the finest learn to surf schools in the world and is also the new owner of a sushi restaurant.

I think Cheyne’s true gift to the surfing world will be his legacy of striving while not losing himself and Coming out on top in the only areas that really count.

To this writer, ” Scream in Blue ” is but a testimony. Cheyne’s legacy itself is what’s inspiring.