Through the Lens with Eli Jules

[00:00:00]

Kwame: Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another episode of the We Serve podcast, brought to you by We Serve Media, and [00:01:00] distributed by the Small Seasons Surf Radio, and we are recording at WTF Media Studios in Manhattan. Um, I am your host, Kwame Labass here, and I am here with my co-host, Nigel Lewis.

Nigel, how you doing?

Nigel: I'm good, Kwame. It's been a while. It's been a while. Happy to be, uh, back in the seat. Nice,

Kwame: nice. I have a joke for you. Okay. You ready? Yeah. Okay. So- I'm gonna

Eli: do it. Okay.

Kwame: A Saint Lucian, a Dominican, and a Bajen walk into a podcast to record. That's about as far as I've gotten so far on this one.

Nigel: It's gonna be a fun time. It's gonna be a fun time. It's gonna be a fun time.

Kwame: I think, I think with this one you will see that Caribbean people don't necessarily need to record a podcast because we are the podcast. Yes. Yeah. But anyway, so the reason why I started it off like that is because of our next guest.

We are here with Eli Jules. Um, I have surfed with Eli... Oh, I've known Eli [00:02:00] for, what, off and... We've surfed off and on, and I've known you for, I would say pre-COVID. Definitely pre-COVID.

Eli: Definitely pre-COVID.

Kwame: So at least seven or eight years, at least bare minimum. Um, and Nigel, how long have you known Eli? Man,

Nigel: um, I think probably since 2013.

2013. And I only know it- Mm-hmm ... because it's probably right when Breakwater had opened up, like- Yeah ... on 67th Street, and that's when, and I kinda- Yeah ... saw you around there, and then in the water and stuff, too, so. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, probably about that

Kwame: long. So Eli is a, um, Rockaway local, and um, I didn't realize this until, you know, at first I saw him in the water, and I was like, "Oh, okay, another brother in the water.

All right, cool. All right, yeah." You know, we're doing each other, you know- ... the head nod, the head nod thing. And then he opened his mouth, I was like, "Yo, that man from the Caribbean." "That man from the Caribbean." So it came again from, "Oh yeah, another brother," to, "Yeah, brethren. Come here, let me talk to you for a second."

And, uh, we've been try- We've been... It's been, um, a bit of a challenge just for all of us to try to get together to get Eli [00:03:00] on this show just 'cause, dude, you are so busy. So before we jump into everything that you're doing, you know, feel free, introduce yourself, um, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Eli: Yeah.

Um, w- well, first of all, thank you guys for having me. Um, I think this is great to, like full circle moment how, you know, we meet and here we are again- Mm-hmm. Yeah ... to kind of just, like, establish where we are in life right now and just reconnect, which I love. You know what I'm saying? Um, great stories, man.

I mean, of course, that's the beauty of just the ocean and, and, and surfing is- Being able to any walks of life or you just never know. It's like who would imagine that in Rockaway- Yep ... you would have- Yeah ... Caribbean brothers, like- Mm-hmm. Yeah ... you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And there's a few of us around.

It's just like- Yeah, of course ... we j- we don't know it until- It just, exactly ... like again, you, so, you see a brother, but you're like- Yeah ... "All right, cool." But then d- again, the brother opens his mouth and like you said, you're like, "All right." Okay. "Yo, where you f- Yeah. And the first thing is for us, it'll be like, "Where you from?"

Where you from? Like- Where you from? Like- Who are your people? Very, very direct. Not just like, "Yo, let me ask you a question." Like, no, just immediately, "Yo, where you from?" From, yeah, yeah. There's, there's, there's no- Yeah ... buffer, nothing at the start, you know? So- Yeah ... [00:04:00] yeah, man, um, thanks for having me. My name is obviously, uh, Eli Jules, uh, born and raised in Saint Lucia.

And then, um, I'm now basically a, a filmmaker and a photographer. Um, that is my field. Um, and that's pretty much it, you know. I moved e- I moved to the US a few years ago. Mm-hmm. And, um, still learning and growing and just kind of just trying to take it all in, um, in a place that is very interesting to live.

Yep. Yes. Um-

Nigel: Y- you know what I was thinking of when you, we started talking about this, I think that the reason why there's so many, uh, Caribbean surfers in Rockaway, 'cause I didn't think about it, but that's true. Like, most of the Black male surfers in Rockaway are probably from the Caribbean. Because we grew up, I, I mean, maybe- Mm-hmm

not you, Kwame, because I know your story is a little bit different. But, like, we grew up around the water. Mm-hmm. We grew up surfing, and for us it's like, well, where's there an ocean that, now given it's not like, you know, not like Barbados or or Saint Lucia. But I, I- Yeah, there's a Latinist, yeah ... I, I [00:05:00] thought about it, 'cause we got Rudel.

We got, um, the other Bajan guy, um ... You have Rudel. Yeah, there, there's a

Eli: few that have come through. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nigel: Yeah. You know? So now I feel like they, um, uh, uh, uh, uh- Doran ... now that I think about it, like, everyone's from the Caribbean. Right. Yeah. Sorry. I just thought about that as we were talking.

Eli: But remember, I wasn't as blessed as you guys, 'cause Saint Lucia doesn't have a surf culture. No. Not yet. Not, not- At the time ... not yet. At, at, at the time. I, again, I'm talking about back then. Yeah. Yeah, right. You know, we had a few people who we knew that surf, but we never really saw them surfing. Right. Right.

For us, surfing is wind surfing- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ... and that kind of stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, you know, for me it's really, my surfing journey started when I moved to the US. Mm. Um, which is what I was telling Nigel. Yeah, yeah. Um, is, you know, just being, you know, I had, I had the opportunity to basically stay in Montauk because of the, the job that I was in then.

And I know staying, summers in Montauk is, is gonna change your life because- Yeah ... for me, Montauk is one of the best places to surf on the East Coast. I mean, don't- Okay. I'm just saying. All right. No, [00:06:00] no. It's Montauk. Um, but this is where my, it, it started and I was like, "Oh, this is interesting." Like, and I obviously have seen surfing and I, now I'm here on the beach every day, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go take a lesson.

Mm. And obviously that changed, that changed everything in terms of how I traveled and looked at life moving forward. Um, then I'm obvious- obviously moving from Rockaway, 'cause summer's done, you go to Rockaway. Mm-hmm. Who else am I gonna bounce, bounce into? Like, everything else is like- Nigey, and there's Breakwater- Mm-hmm

and there's the conversations, and there's the help, and there's, like, the guidance coming from there. So yeah, I don't know where I'm going with this conversation. But I guess it's just, you know. No, we just have conversations.

Kwame: That's the beautiful thing about it, you know- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ... we just have conversations with this.

Yeah. So I mean, you mentioned, like, the, you mentioned, 'cause, like, one thing, I mean, we'll touch on it a little bit later on, but, like, right now in Saint Lucia, it is picking up. Yeah. Yes. And now they have the Saint Lucia Surfing Association- Oh ... which has become part of the ISA. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And they are, I'm, like, really hoping one day to get down there and speak to them.

Yeah. And these guys are, like, I mean, they're traveling the Caribbean, and they were in the ISA Games the [00:07:00] other day. Mm-hmm. So they're, they're definitely doing their thing out there.

Nigel: You know, for, and you know this, Kwame, and you know this too, but, you know, I always, as, as much as I claim Barbados because I, you know, that's just where I grew up, but I was actually born in Saint Lucia.

Yes. So, um, I don't know much about Saint Lucia, but having seen, like, my sister goes down all the time. Like, she just, uh, just did her big birthday down there. Um, but I need to go back, 'cause I've seen, um, some footage. Uh, Rudel was down there. He's, h- he's another Black, uh, Bajan surfer from Rockaway, but he, he found a spot, and the wave looked really fun, so- Yeah

now I'm, I'm curious about going down there. Yeah. Like, I feel like it's good. And it's just good to reconnect with actually, like, the true homeland, you know? Yeah.

Kwame: Yeah. We actually used to live, um, we used to live in Saint Lucia w- growing up. We lived in Saint Lucia at one point. I lived in Vieux Fort.

Nigel: Oh, yeah.

Kwame: And my siblings, my brother and my sister, now live near Rodney Bay in, um, in the, in, well, in the north. Mm-hmm. So for those of you who don't know Saint Lucia, it's in the north. [00:08:00] So now they live out in Rodney Bay. So always going, need to go back and bring a board with me and- Yeah. Yeah ... um, I, I know the Saint Lucia Surfing Association is there.

It's like, I- Yeah ... I'm, I'm gonna be hitting them up for def-

Eli: Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm also very much excited about the whole idea of just of, of course, having some sort of foundation, something, something that we can start off with. Because as we know, it's, it, we, it's not really hard for us to pick up on any spot- Mm-hmm

that we decide we- we're gonna go for. And seeing that, okay, there's, like, this young talent coming from Saint Lucia, it's not surprising. Like I said, you know, Saint Lucia's not, is not, it's not like Barbados, whereby you have the reef, you have that consistency. Yeah. It's very much like, you know, I've gone home, and I've tried to look for little areas where- Mm-hmm

we could surf. You know, um, there's great, there's great little spots, but it's not, they don't work that way. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? It's not like, oh, oh great, we're gonna have a swell. It's gonna be great. You have to really wait for that little window- Yeah ... to surf. But, um, again, I haven't explored the entire island, and obviously there are spots that we maybe haven't tapped into.

And I'm excited to see what's, what's, what's up because-

Kwame: That, that... All I'm hearing you say right now [00:09:00] is surf trip. Yeah. Yeah. No, no. I mean, I mean, that's what I'm trying to- Surf trip. I should be more- That's all I'm hearing. I was like, like you're talking, I'm saying, "Okay, so surf trip."

Eli: Yeah. Da, da, da, da. We- Surf trip

hurricane, hurricane season, go down there, figure it out. Yeah. Long story short. Yeah. It's not like it's that hard to go around the island- Yeah ... and figure it out, so, um- I

Kwame: mean, Dominica is similar to that as well because- Yeah ... um, there's a video out there of just some pumping waves- Mm ... um, in Dominica. But it was- Yes

because of the storm that had swung wide. Mm. But there are surfers on the island, not that many, but there are surfers on the island. But if you can, if you can get there. And also Dominica really doesn't have the infrastructure that, let's say Barbados and St. Lucia has, you know, where, you know, if you're bringing a board down to Dominica, and I, I mean, this is my estimation, this is not official, but my estimation is if it's longer than six feet, you gotta fly into Guadeloupe and then take a boat over.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Otherwise, they won't... It, it's too small. It's too big to bring onto- Yeah. Yeah, yeah ... the planes that they'll be bringing down. Okay. Or that can get there. Okay. So, I mean, they're building a bigger airport, so hopefully that'll [00:10:00] help out a little bit, but, you know, we'll, we'll, we'll work it out. So we spoke a little bit about, about your...

about how you started, what you started, how you started surfing.

Eli: Yeah.

Kwame: What exactly made you say, "Hey, I wanna try this"?

Eli: Me catching my first wave. Mm. I mean, um, not only that, I mean, what makes me, what makes me wanna try surfing, when you s- stand on the beach and you watch- Mm. You watch the beauty of it.

Uh-huh. And you see just... It's, uh, again, it's almost like think of it, uh, as a kid in the playground, right? You see somebody come down the slide. Right. You're gonna go do it because- ... you see the joy that comes with just that action, right? That's a good- I like that. I like that. It's the same thing. That's a good analogy.

You know? So I'm standing on the beach, and that's my playground. Obviously, you love the ocean. Mm-hmm. You swimming and you're having your fun and stuff, and then you're looking at a guy on a wave, and he's dancing or it looks like a dance. Mm-hmm. You're like, "Yo, I wanna... I, you know, I wanna get on the board."

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So for me it was, it was y- it... I didn't waste any time. I go out and sp- speak to the, uh, the school right there. Got a lesson, and I, I kid you not, first wave- ... popped up. Okay. Got it to the beach. I have that [00:11:00] photo. They're just like, you know, you have your little, your little stance like this.

But I rode that wave from the wave all the way to the shore and was- Yeah ... and I just kept on going back. Yeah. And, and you know, I... they were great. It was, uh, Corey's Surf School in Montauk. Mm-hmm. And you know, even if I didn't have a lesson or they were just like, "Yo, just grab a board." Mm. Mm. "Just grab a board, go do your thing."

And they were very, very nice, uh, uh, just allowing me to just... Because I was on the beach a lot. I mean, you- summertime, what else is there to do? Yeah. Yeah. Um, you're either in nature or something or like, you know, for me, I was always gonna go take a sea bath every day. I do the same thing when I'm home.

Mm-hmm. Um, and yeah, it just, I just continued doing it, and it was great. You catch that first wave- Yeah ... and you just feel, oh my God. I, you know, I, I love sports. I love getting into something new. I've tried, you know, I'll do the basketball, I'll do the cricket. I'll do everything, you know, just because why not?

Yeah. You know, I grew up in a very competitive household- You know, um, come from a very large family. Mm. Great athletes that, that I have to compete with all the time. I'm the last. Uh, fun fact, I'm the last of 10 kids on my mom's side. Wow. So I have, [00:12:00] there's legends. I have these brothers that, you know, that would- that's known to, to be great cricketers, great- Mm

footballers. Like, and I have a brother who's a coach. There's a pressure. So for me, it's, it's, it's just like, "Okay, cool." I, I grew up and I'm like, "I have to be good at this, I have to be good at this," and, you know, surfing just came along and I'm like, "I have to be good at this, too." So And that's something that no- nobody in my family has done.

Oh, so- So- Yeah, the first This is

Kwame: yours. This is mine.

Eli: This is yours. Finally, this is mine. Yeah. It's not like I'm, now I'm like, "Okay, I'm, you know, I'm playing football and I have to be the captain because my brother was the captain." Yeah. "So I have to, I have to do it. And I have to, I have to represent Sanusia."

It's like I have, you have all this pressures. Now I'm just like, "No, I have surfing." Nice. Yeah. And then the family considers me to be crazy, because, "What are you doing?" Yep. Yeah, no, man.

Kwame: We hear it all the time. That's not new. We hear it constantly, people saying- Yeah ... "You go in the water again?" Yeah. "You're on the beach again?

Didn't you just come out?" And you're like, "Yeah, leave it alone."

Eli: Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause the, the beach is one thing, but surfing for them is just like- Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's different ... wait, that's, that's, that's [00:13:00] dangerous. Mm. Yeah.

Nigel: Um, you know what's, what's something else that you said that's, that's so true, and I think about it now, and, um, is that the, the one wave.

Like- Yeah ... I think for everyone- Yeah ... you catch a wave when you're learning a lesson or whatever it is, it, you know. And it's just the one that, that, whether it's your first one or the first one you actually ride, after that moment, like, you know. You're either hooked or you're like, "Okay, that was cool. I'm done."

Mm-hmm. But the amount of people that, that, that first wave just got them hooked, it's crazy. Oh, yeah. Uh, and that's definitely a part of, of, I think, just being a surfer. Like, you know it whether you're good or not, like, you know it, that, that, that one wave just kinda locks you in. I mean, it did for me. I'm, you know, so- You may not, you may

Kwame: not remember the first wave, but you definitely remember the feeling.

Yes, yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. Sure. You may not remember exactly what that wave was like, but you definitely remember the feeling, and that's what keeps bringing us back- Yeah ... every single... 'Cause now we're hunting for that feeling- Mm ... over, and [00:14:00] over, and over, and over, and o- And the better you get, I mean, it's, it's, it's a weird cycle.

Because the better you get at it, the more- intense your wave has to be. And I don't mean like, you know- Yeah ... 60, 70 foot waves, but, you know, you still, you can still get your little, you can still get smiles I think from like, you know, a, a one foot dribbler. But at the same time you're like, "Hey, I still, I'm still looking for that same-

Oh my God wave." You know, the first time. It's like I need to go back and hunt it down and find it. It's just a, it's

Eli: just a toxic relationship. Yeah. Yeah, completely. Completely. Like, let's be honest. It's just, it's just a very toxic relationship. It's like, you know, it's like, it's the d- it's the new drug, you know?

Yeah. It, what it releases for, what it does to you is what- It releases dopamine. Yeah, yeah ... you keep, you keep looking for that. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And it's not a bad thing, but it's toxic. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. In a good way.

Kwame: I just remember, I mean, and I'm gonna bring this up, and this is, this doesn't have anything necessarily to do what, with what we're talking about right now, but- Yeah

I just have to bring this up because this is like my one Eli memory that is stuck in my head. I will, I will never ever- Let me hear that. What, what's [00:15:00] that? So we were out on Rockaway, Beach 69 surfing.

Eli: Yeah.

Kwame: Crew out there. He's out there. Eli's out there. A couple other folks out there. I'm looking, I look, I look, I look.

I'm like, all right. I size up the waves, size up the people out there. I'm like, okay, I'm good. I grab my long board, 9'6" long board. Half of it was green, the other half, well, at the time it was brown because us- it was white, but then usage, it was brown. I paddle out, Eli turns and looks at me and goes, "Oh, this guy again."

And I look at him, I smile, and I just keep paddling. And then I got, I went like way, way, way, way out. Mm-hmm. And you yell out to me, and yell, you yell out to me, you're like, "You really gonna do that, right?" "You really gonna sit there on a long board while we're here on short boards- Mm-hmm ... and just take it from us, right?"

I'm like, and I said, "Yep." Yep. And then your response was, "Tss."

Eli: I, I always enjoyed having you in the ocean- No, I mean it was- ... you know, because I [00:16:00] used to give you so much shit. It was just

Kwame: so much shit. I was dying laughing. I was laughing because my thing was- Uh ... you know what? To me that is like what... That was like real Caribbean surfing. Mm-hmm. You know, for me it's like how we give each other, uh, talk, how we give each other buff, how we give each other however you want to talk about it.

You know, when we playing dominoes, when we're playing basketball, when we're playing football, we're just talking to each other and just like throwing talk at each other. Yeah. To me that was that. So that was like the bonding experience in the water. I was just like, "Yeah, I'm home. Okay."

Eli: It

Kwame: felt

Eli: real good.

And there were good waves that day too. I remember, I remember- ... I remember that. That was some good waves. Like, I remember. I remember. But you got some really good bombs too, because- You know? ... y- I was like, "Wow, wow, wow." 'Cause I, I knew, 'cause there was some that were peeling up from the back of you, you had... You needed more board obviously, you know?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That time we were, we were more trying to get on our short boards- Mm-hmm ... which is re- not really the best idea sometimes in Rockaway And he's pulling up with the right board. I'm like, "Fuck." Yeah. Happy for him, but I'm gonna sit there. I'm like, "Yeah, he's gonna get the best ones- I know

because for sure." When they start rolling in from [00:17:00] there, then they are fats, you can't get that. Yeah. Happy, but like, damn it.

Nigel: Yeah. I don't think I surfed- Yeah ... with you as much. I think like when I was around 67th area, like maybe I see you in the water more, but once I opened Station, it was like, uh, you guys would roll through sometimes when 90th was good.

But most of the times you were-

Eli: Yeah, we were... Nah, we were 60s boys for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. Um, I, I did, I did, I did some sessions with you. Again, it was not much. You were always- Yeah, yeah ... you were always the busy one, Nigey. Yeah. Trying to get a session with you is just like, oh my God. Yeah. But I, I think in all the time in Rockaway, I maybe had three sessions with you.

Nigel: Yeah, probably. I mean, if I had more- Two in the 60s, and there was

Eli: one in the 90s- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ... that I with you for sure. And I was happy about that 'cause I'm like, "In order to get Nigey- To, to sync, to get Nig- in the same time with Nigey is always- Yeah,

Kwame: yeah ... just gonna be..." No, no, no, no, no. I mean, honestly-

and I say this- Yeah ... I've never surfed with you in the, in the ocean.

Nigel: Yeah. Ever. You're probably right. Yeah. Only time I've ever surf- Yeah ...

Kwame: surfed with you at the wave pool

Nigel: once. Yes, yes, yes.

Kwame: But I've never surfed with [00:18:00] you in the ocean. Yeah. Ever.

Nigel: Yeah. I, I mean, I've seen you in the water, but- All right

sometimes it's just like a in and out for me. Yeah. Um, yeah. And he's very quick,

Eli: uh, in and out. Yeah. Yeah. He, he'll come. He'll catch his wave. By the way, I would- Pop a fab ...

Kwame: I would swing by- And then- I would swing by Station and then like- ... "Where's Nigel?" Oh, he just ran out to go get a cafe, and then he came running back with his wetsuit on.

Yeah. Very in and out.

Eli: Now, mind, mind you, he already get 220 waves in- Yeah. But he's in and he's out. I just need, I

Nigel: just need a few.

Kwame: Yeah, I know. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about, um... So you mentioned that you are a filmmaker. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about that. How'd you get involved with that specifically?

Eli: Uh, funny enough, being, being in Rockaway was like a lot of door openers, right? We- I found myself getting... I modeled a lot in like different campaigns with Osprey and so forth, just because of the surf culture that we had. Mm. You know, people who are around there, they are photographers. Mm. They're in that field.

Um, so they would say, "Hey, Eli, we need you. Uh, like, like let's shoot something." Um, I found myself, for example, shooting B cam for a [00:19:00] Red Bull thing that was happening. This time Red Bull had a, uh, a... They're helicopters doing like the stunt over New York City. Mm. And, um, my, my friend then, Kyle, you know, he was basically shooting and he just like, "Hey, I'm gonna give you this camera.

Um, just do you." He, he's like, "You're the B cam. Get some B roll. Do this." And, um, he just gave me that, that liberty, and we would just ran around, throw the cameras in backpacks, bike across because we had certain times that to be around the city- Mm ... where the helicopter would be passing the certain places.

We, we beg the reception to go into a hotel so we can get into the rooftop to get a shot. All of those things, they were just like... And I was all... I wasn't even, you know, full-time into that stuff. Mm. It's just that I got the opportunities to do that. Um, like I said, modeling, um, photo assisting, you know, B cam stuff.

It's just that these things just came around, but I never... Again, I'm not really taking it that serious in the sense of like, "Okay, I'm gonna do this full-time." I'm just enjoying the process. Because, you know, you're there for your surf brothers. Like, Naji saying to you, "Hey, come shoot this." I'm like, "Yeah, for sure.

I got you." "Hey, I need you to model for this." "Hey, you know, you can get a great paycheck for this." "Great. Cool. [00:20:00] Let's go." So that is- that was how it all started. Honestly, surfing was really much the door, um, just that connector with everybody in that sort of, like, realm. I found myself doing so many cool things.

You know, the snowboarding came around, the modeling, the this, the acting, the dancing. It's like, you know, for example, like, I performed at BAM in Two Seouls Dance Studios as a dancer. What the hell am I doing? Yes, I'm a Caribbean boy. I can move. You know what I'm saying? But yeah, you know, I'm, I'm performing at BAM.

We- Like, what? We need the footage of that. Okay. We need to- I have the photo of that. I, I, we, I- we can get the footage of that because- ... the, um, the production company is still around. They're in the UK.

Kwame: Okay.

Eli: And, um, it was called, um, Debussy: A Sensory Quartet. So basically, as a dancer, you would have folks come in and, again, lined up in chairs, and you would blindfold them, and then you would perform these dances and stuff, but it's all the senses.

Mm. And oh, man, this was just intense. Two weeks of, um, [00:21:00] training, and I'm just like, "How did I get here again?" It's just like someone just randomly said like, you know, "We need- we're missing a dancer" and like, "Oh, yeah, Eli." I was like, "Yeah, sure, I'm, I'm, I'm in." And that was like Yeah, why

Kwame: not? It's, it's, if Surfline says it's flat, why not?

Let's go. It's, uh,

Eli: there are no waves. I mean, and then again, you know, you know, you know, you can, you could, um, you could basically practice at night. And like I said, it just, there were so many doors that were just opening because, again, through surfing, the, the, the mutual connections, the vibe in the water was just great.

Rockaway has been a great- Mm ... spot for me, I can say, in terms of just, like, introducing me to so much good shit.

Kwame: Nice.

Eli: Um, so yeah, so I've been thinking about, you know, I remember doing some campaigns and we, uh, we, we- the Osprey one came about, and I'm doing a back-to-school campaign for Osprey.

Back-to-school campaign. I had my dreadlocks then. Mm-hmm. Okay, I cut my dreads in 2020. You know, I'm on Osprey's website and stuff with my backpack on like a school kid and stuff like that. Just like, you know. So, uh, I said, "You know what? I wanna, I wanna [00:22:00] do this," because I love how it feels to be on set.

Mm-hmm. I love the, the, the freedom that it gives. It's also very scary because it's not a guaranteed paycheck. Mm-hmm. It's like you really then have to be in another hustle. Um, so I contemplated that for a while, and then what happened in 2018, I believe. Let me make sure I get this right. Uh, my dates might be a little off.

Mm-hmm. I remember tearing my ACL and meniscus. Um, and I did, uh, knee surgery. That was depressing for four months, not being able to do much and- Mm ... having then to go to physical therapy after. But during that time, the only thing I did was, um, I did my photo courses. I did some photography courses, which was great.

Um, that kinda kept me because I'm like, "Okay, well, I'm down. I never really have the time to really study photography." I'm tired of asking my, my friends, like, "What F-stop should I be using? Isn't that, you know, a lens?" You know, you know, it's just like, you, you... Those questions. So now let me just educate myself.

I have time, I'm on the couch. 'Cause I'm, I've never stopped moving. Right, right. I'm very active. I'm skating, I'm [00:23:00] biking. I'm trying to always do something, right? Um, and I remember coming from... When I was able to finally, like, you know, I wasn't actually cleared to walk or anything yet, but I, I had my crutches, I went on the beach.

And I shot my friend surfing down in the 60s. And somehow Patagonia had something going on, um, where they were basically featuring some photographers on the East Coast. And they, then they were gonna basically put that on the, uh, the shop in Patagonia in the Lower East Side. Um, but I remember a buddy, but I can't remember his name, but it's Buddy.

He, he's still in Patagonia, but now he does, uh, wetsu- repairs. He was the, one of the managers for that shop. They reached out to me, they said, "Hey, we saw your photos, and can we, can we use you- Nice ... as, you know, one of the photographers and stuff?" And I'm like, "Sure. Cool." And, you know, it was, it was great. Um, Patagonia took it.

Me and a few other photographers put the photos up on the, on, in the shop. Had this great opening night. Mm. Food. Tracy, who had the bakery in Ro- [00:24:00] Rockaway. Mm-hmm. I, I think she maybe still has it in another shop. Yeah, yeah. Yep, still there. Tracy was the one with some of the goodies, and they had other vendors there, live music and stuff.

I'm like, "Wow, this is in- this is great." So that was, like, my first, like, okay, maybe this is the time for me to- Mm-hmm ... you know, get into photography more. 'Cause I just did my course. Coming from injury, I'm in Patagonia's wall. You know, we're not getting paid for that, but again, it's just like the recognition is there.

Right, right. I'm like, "This is beautiful." So, um, yeah, again, you know, 2019, I'm still contemplating whether I should do it or not. And I'm like, "I should just go full time." Because I started shooting, I started working more as a, you know, photo assistant and so forth. And, um, um, yeah, just kind of contemplating whether I should go full time, long story short.

Mm-hmm. Stability in New York is very important- Mm ... 'cause this is New York City. Yep. You know? I have my kid to worry about. I, I'm not trying to... You know what I'm saying? So, um, debate- You said this was, like, 2018 time- 2018, 2019

Kwame: is when- So [00:25:00] you were a new dad at that point.

Eli: Yeah.

Kwame: Um- A relatively new dad at that point, so you really had to-

Eli: I re- I'm just like, "S- I don't, I'm not sure if I want to just give up that."

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So, um, at the end of the day... So and then 2020 came around. 2020 came around, s- everything is shut down. Gonna just do something for myself. 'Cause you know, you just can't, it comes to a point whereby you're not really feeling fulfilled. You're doing this- Yeah ... and you're crushing your job, but it's like, okay, this is not for you.

Yeah. This is for them. Yeah. You know? So I just said to myself, "You know what?" Had a conversation with my wife then, and I said, "What do you think?" She's like, "Go for it." And I'm like, "Okay." Nice. So, um, and at, at that point, stuff with work was not that great, so I'm like, "This is a great time." Mm-hmm. So went for it.

I said, "Okay, cool. I'm just gonna go full time." And then I didn't, I didn't have a job for three months.

So, so, uh, after all of this, you know, I said, "Yeah, I'm doing it. Go. Cool. All right. Resignation letter is in." I'm like, "Let's go for it," and we try to figure [00:26:00] out stuff. No work for three months. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I'm like, "Fuck, what am I doing?" So here we are, and then we're now leaving New York City to move down away from New York, because again, you know, things are changing and so forth.

And the m- the, I, I kid you not, the week before I le- I'm leaving to go to, to move out of New York City, I get a call for a job, and it's with Law & Order as a production assistant.

Nigel: Oh, wow. Nice.

Eli: And like, but it's basically starts the week after I leave. Always works. Universe

Kwame: always

Eli: does that. So I'm like- Yeah, yeah

I'm about to leave. The week that I'm all packed up. You know what I'm saying? The lease is all signed off and everything else. We're about to move, and I get the job for... And I remember I had to go get COVID testing and stuff. I'm like, "All right, I go and get my COVID test." And I said, "You know what? It's fine."

We moved all our stuff away from New York City, and then I came back. I just, I moved all the stuff and I came back to work. Um, and I didn't leave, 'cause I remember it was just like, [00:27:00] I called up some friends of mine and I say, "Hey, man, I need a place to crash." They're like, "Yeah. Mm-hmm. No problem. No problem."

Came back and I worked Law & Order, and then I just ended up in another project and in another project, and then I was just like, "I'm still here." Nice. I'm still here. I remember working just nonstop, and that's, that's the, uh, the TV, the TV world for a while. Um, actually, the fun story was we did Law & Order, and again, my timing in terms of, like, where, which came when b- uh, it's, it's a little off by then, 'cause every- when you do so many projects, you're just like, "What date was that again?"

Mm-hmm. But it was Law & Order first, so I could never forget that. We were in Queens, and it was a stunt day. I'm in the middle of the damn street in Queens and, you know, just making sure we're locking off streets and vehicles are burning through. There's police chases. I'm like, this is Queens I'm just like-

"Yo, what is the universe trying to say to me right now?" You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. 'Cause I have not been working for three months. I finally about to leave New York City, and I get a job, and this is, it is the most intense day- Mm-hmm ... of [00:28:00] shooting. The first day is the most intense day of shooting.

You have chases going on. You got... I'm just like, "Oh my God," the stunts are incredible. I'm just like, "This is beautiful. This is where I wanna be." Nice. And that was it. And it's so funny. It's just like the signs were there because I just end up from one show to the next to another project. I stayed in New York for, I would say, like, a solid almost two, maybe three months.

Mm-hmm. And my wife was just like, "Okay, well, this is great for you and all, but you haven't really enjoyed our-" You haven't really moved ... "our, our new spot." So, um, but I was like, "Hey, I don't know what's happening here, but I'm, I'm keep getting work-" And I remember the other one was, um, we did, um, Fallout for Amazon.

Kwame: Um- I was actually just gonna talk about that. Yeah. I was just gonna talk about, 'cause I didn't realize... I mean, I knew what you did, but I didn't realize just how deep into it you were-

Eli: Yeah ...

Kwame: when, um, Fallout came out, um, season one came out, and I think I, 'cause I'd played the video game, and I made a post about something about Fallout, and then you responded to that post, and you said, "Oh yeah, I worked on [00:29:00] this."

And I'm like, at that point I think I was starstruck. You worked on Fallout? Yes. Yes. So at- Yeah ... that point I was like, oh, he's really, really deep into this.

Eli: Yeah, I just, I, I just kept on falling into those little spaces, um, and I just said, I just kept on saying, "Okay, great. This is..." You know, like I said, it just, it just happened, and y- I didn't question.

I'm just like, okay, well, I'm crashing at a buddy of mine. You know what I'm saying? Um, it is something, you know, I'm, I'm thankful for my friends, 'cause again, it's, you know, having that community and, and that support is always great. Yeah. Um, they're just like, "Hey, man, you need to... Okay, cool, just do what you gotta do."

And then again, they never, you never really, when you're working on set you don't get to see anyone. You're at their house. Yeah, yeah. But it's, maybe in the morning you might see them for some coffee quick, and then you're gone. You're gone for 12, 14 hours a day. You come back, just lay your head and go right back to it, so.

Kwame: And that's why, you know, just having you here was such a, such a big deal because just to, 'cause again, we know you're busy, and not only are you working on these shows, but then you're also [00:30:00] traveling to work on shows- Yeah ... as well. So there's, like, a lot of traveling going on. Like right now it's like when you called me and said, "Hey, I'm in New York for X amount of months."

Yes. So it's either now or- Yeah, yeah ... you know, next year. Make up your mind. I'm like, all right, you know what? We'll make it happen.

Eli: Yeah, no, I'm gonna say, like, you know, it's, it's either, like, you, again, it's still the same process whereby you're home and you're not working- Mm-hmm ... or then you're working.

Yeah. You know? It's, it's the, and I'm j- I'm thankful because, you know, like you said, I've, I've managed to keep myself busy. Mm-hmm. And I look back and I'm like, this is crazy because, you know, I don't, I didn't come from film school or anything to start with. Yeah, right. Yeah. I don't have that background.

Yeah.

Kwame: I- Reminds me a lot of my brother because he is, um, he's a graphic designer, but not trained professionally. Mm. Honor, he just literally, like you, you know, he was injured at one point and said, "Let me start working on this," and then he just picked it up as he went. So I have, like, so much respect for, for people like you, people like him who can say, you know, "I'm picking this up, and then, then I picked it up to a point where [00:31:00] now I'm not just good at it, I'm good enough and great enough that people wanna pay me to do stuff."

'Cause it's one thing to just be good at something. Yeah. "Yeah, okay, yeah, I'm good at it. Okay, cool." But you have it justified,

Eli: you know? The means. And- Yeah. But when people

Kwame: are actually like- ... I wanna give you money to do this. That's something completely, completely different.

Eli: Yep. Yeah, and you know, like I said, it just- Mm-hmm

when you look at the industry and where it's at right now, it's really rough. Mm. Um, there's not work out there right now. Like, a lot of folks in this industry are not working. They're looking for something else. You know, you have conversations with people, they're doing the Ubers, they're doing that- Mm

they're doing, you know, they're picking up odd jobs to kinda make ends meet. And, you know, it is, it is, it's not, it's not easy. It's not, I, I, you know, I'm calling up- When I'm home, I'm always on the phone. I'm speaking to most folks that I've, I've worked with in this industry. I'm calling showrunners, I'm calling producers, I'm calling just to kinda do a checkup.

Mm. How you guys doing? I'm around. What's going on? Whether it be they have something that they're working on which is not paid or whatnot, [00:32:00] I'm always trying to get myself involved- Yeah ... because it's, at the end of the day, that's the beauty of it all, right? It's not always about how can I make money, but how can I help you?

Mm-hmm. Because that also helps me. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I can learn from you. I can, I can, you know, it, it's all, it's all, I, I d- you know, the word I'm trying to look for, it's, is, is evading me, but you, you get it.

Kwame: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's al- And so- It's a symbiotic relationship.

Eli: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Because like even- And that's not the word- That's not the word

but, but good job. It's good.

Kwame: I try, I try, I try. Because, and you know- ... you talk about, like, learning. Cool. Yeah. You talk about learning. I mean, again, Nigel, um, so Ila and I had a, had a conversation, and we were talking about a project that we're working on. We're not talking about the project yet. You guys have to wait.

But we're talking about a project- ... that and we wanted to start, and in five minutes he just started firing questions. "Did you think about this? Did you think about this? Did you think about this? You need this. You need this." Yeah, yeah. "You need this." And I'm like, "Oh, shit. Damn." Mm. "Dude, you wanna come on this project?"

"I may need some help. I may need a little bit more help than I originally-" Yes ... "thought I would." Yeah. But yeah, so it [00:33:00] definitely is, you know, that kind of

Eli: conversation. And I'm always, I'm always down because at the end of the day, the beauty is about creating, not necessarily about, hey, we're gonna- Yeah ... you know, if something comes out of it, it's great.

Yeah, yeah. And, um, that's why I, you know, now, you know, we haven't touched that yet, but that's why I am making little films- Mm ... along the way because I'm learning so much in this industry. Yeah. Mm. Um, like I said, I didn't come from film school. Yeah. Like, just everything is happening on the fly. Um, I was, you know, I started as a produ- uh, as a, uh, production assistant.

I've worked grip, um, g- gaffing, um, camera, I've, I've cam op'd, and now I'm basically working a lot as lead AC and a, and a, a, a B roll, sorry, as lead AC and a second camera operator. Um, and I'm just f- I'm, I'm thankful. And all the things I'm picking up and all the, all those little tricks and stuff, I'm just trying to just, I'm trying to use it to tell our stories.

Right. Mm. Because now I'm just like, wait, you know, we never had the exposure for all of that stuff. Yeah. What can I do with it? Yeah. Yeah. And for me, it's always [00:34:00] gonna be, like, home because there are so many beautiful stories at home that I feel like we don't have a way to tell it the way in the, in a, in a cinematic way.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? In a way whereby it's like, not only that, but also organically how we would want it to be represented- So, yeah, yeah ... represented. For sure. You know what I'm saying? So how, so that's, that's where, that's where I'm at right now. I'm like, I'm working. I'm trying to work as much as I can, whatever jobs come my way in this industry.

But in my free time, I wanna do a project every year. Yeah. Every year, the goal is to do one small documentary That centers around the voices of our people.

Nigel: Yeah. Mm-hmm. You know

Eli: what I'm saying? And, um, then that's why my, uh, document, my first documentary came about, which is called, uh, La Mer. Mm-hmm. Mm.

Which as you- So before, yeah, before you, before you get into that- Before we get, we get into that. Oh, yeah. Before you say

Kwame: anything about that. I'm like, before we get ... 'Cause

Nigel: I've, I have a build-up specifically for

Kwame: that. Okay, great. Great, great, great. Now do you wanna- We're going there ... wanna ask him so- wanna ask anything?

Yeah.

Nigel: Um, no, no, I mean, so I actually had no idea that, that you were so [00:35:00] involved in a lot of this stuff. Um, I actually just found out recently about the project that, that you did. Yeah. Um, and I was particularly interested because Kwame knows that my sister is like she's all about sea moss. Like she produces it, she does her thing.

And she goes to St. Lucia to actually ... 'Cause she believes they have the best sea moss. Mm-hmm. And she goes there to get, get sea moss. So I know you'll talk about it some more. Um, um, and I feel like we're going in such a deep conversation, but I just wanna ask you- Yeah. I wanted to ask you, are you still surfing?

When

Eli: was the last time you were in the water? I still surf. Uh, not as much as I, I would love to. Okay. Um, I primarily surf now in California when I'm in California. Okay, okay. Um, only because the ... So I've, I've linked up with a, uh, with a, um, a director. Mm. And he is taking me under his wing. Okay, nice. And he's LA, LA based.

Okay. He's also a, a brother as well. Okay, good. So, um, I ain't gonna say his name. His name is Reggie, Reggie Brumfield.

Nigel: Okay.

Eli: Um, you know, he's taking me under and, you know- ... he's gonna just show me the ropes and open many doors for me. Oh, amazing. Like, you [00:36:00] know, re- you know, s- being able to sit next to him while, you know, we have these big shows going on- Mm-hmm

and calling shots and helping him do all of that stuff is incredible. So, um, thank you to, to, to Reggie. But yeah, I still surf. Uh, just mostly in California because first of all, when I'm here, the East Coast doesn't have much waves, let's just be honest. Yep. Like, I don't know what's going, going on, but honestly, when we were surfing pre-COVID- Yeah

or maybe just a little after COVID too, um, the waves were way, we had way better waves. We did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's be, let's be honest. Of course, of course. We had way better waves- Yeah ... back then. I'm just like, I remember the swells. I'm like, "This was," Kasad, "This was beautiful." We coming through- Yeah ... three, four-foot glass coming through.

I'm just like, "Are we ... This, this feel like you on drugs." And like in a good way. Like you, you was like, "Wow, this is just ..." Yeah. It was just beautiful. Rockaway, people don't understand, like the Rockaway that I was introduced to when I was just started surfing, the consistency that we had- Mm-hmm ... compared to now- Yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm like, "Dude, this is a 180." Yeah. [00:37:00]

Kwame: Yeah. And I know they were better then because I know how many days of work I missed.

Eli: Yeah. To, to go surf.

Kwame: You know

Eli: how much- You know? Yeah ... you were always trying to get a wave. Exactly. I feel like there was always waves. When you had a dress, we had a dress but yes- Yes ... but there were waves, man.

Yeah. And not only that, it's just like, I mean, we could have ... We, we went. There was, there was ... Jersey was firing. You were going to ... You were, you were trying to find Long, Long- Driving to Long Island ... Long Island. I mean, they ... You would leave Rockaway, going to Long Island. I mean, you cannot even do this now. So I'm looking at a report every single time, I'm just like, "I'm not doing

Kwame: this."

Yeah. I'm not. Like it's, it's zero to one. Yeah. What's the point?

Eli: I'm not doing this. The days of trying to rush in and getting like a one-foot, two-foot wave, knowing that... I feel like it also, it also is breaking differently now too. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. A lot, a lot has changed- Yeah ... and

Nigel: I'm not

Eli: sure- I think

Nigel: once they, um, you know, put the jetties in and kinda did a lot of that type of

Kwame: stuff- And they put, they put the jetties in, the dredging- Yeah, yeah

and then adding to the fact that, you know, the storms that have been coming through, as well, like sometimes we get storms a [00:38:00] lot earlier in the season- Mm-hmm ... than we used to get. So the storms coming through, the waves hit, they dig that trough, and by the time it's a point where we're like, "Okay, yeah, beaches are closed for swimmers.

The summer is over, now we can, ugh." Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's all just like flop. So we have to literally sit and wait for a storm- Yeah ... to come close enough to us to actually give us that push, as opposed to... And even the other day, we had that one. Remember the, I forget which storm it was- Yeah ... but the one I was referring to that was like Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao.

When they s- like, they were like, "Oh yeah, it's gonna be, you know, seven f- no, they said it's gonna be two, three, two to three feet." Yeah. We get out there, I'm like, "Unless I shrunk- ... there's no way this is two to three feet." Yeah. "This is board breaking something." Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Just you don't wanna go out in this.

This is literally just like pure hit the sand, break your board, and you come out there going, "Will I survive?" No. Yeah. I wanna say I survived. I wanna say I surfed.

Eli: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so y- to answer that question, Nigie, yes, still surf, not as much as I want to because, um, I'm really trying hard to be, like, to, [00:39:00] you know, just earn my keep in this industry.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, makes sense. And it is, it, it is very taxing because, you know, um, when you are working, I'm gone for four, six weeks at a time. Mm-hmm. Um, and I come back, I'm in no physical condition, 'cause you- Yeah, yeah. Of course, of course ... you lack in sleep. Of course, yeah. Your diet is off. You eat trash.

Yeah. Like, I, I, you know, y- I really try hard to, like, at least, okay, I'm like the first week I'm going to the gym every morning and so forth. By the second week you don't, you wanna sleep in bed until- Yeah. ... half an hour before your call time. Yeah. Like, there is no ... It's a brutal industry.

Nigel: Yeah. Um- Well, I think that that's something too that maybe a lot of people could relate to, is just kind of there's, like, kid surfer you, and then there's, like, adult surfer you, right?

Like, when you have the grind, like a nine-to-five, you have different responsibilities, um, it's not that surfing isn't fun, especially when, you know, I... You know, having had the store, right? Like, you, you're passionate about something that you want to build and grow, and you just start [00:40:00] devoting a lot of time to it- Yeah

because you wanna see it through the... And then more than that too, like, w- this is a, you know, it's a capitalist society. Like, we need money to live and just do the stuff that we need to just do. That part. And as you get older- Boards cost money ... that stuff becomes, you know, it becomes expensive and, you know, uh, you have kids, I have kids.

You know, like, it's just a thing where you're trying to do this balance, and surfing brings you immense joy- But you also just gotta, like, you, you gotta work to make money. Yeah. Um, or devote yourself to what will allow you to make m- enough money so that you can take those breaks and go on a proper surf trip and, you know.

So, so that's the, the matureness of surfing. And I think that, um, like, I don't know, like, the adulting of surfing, you know? Especially in New York and, um, when you just have responsibilities, you know?

Eli: But I would say, though, now granted, I agree with you on that, but I would say it also depends on where you live, though, too, in a sense.

Okay, yeah. Like, for example, [00:41:00] and it was one of the reasons why I say to myself, like, "I need to be on the West Coast." Yeah. Welcome to the club. Be- be- because it's, it's, you know, certain factors make you stay on the East Coast a lot. Yeah. Um, whether it be family and, you know, the, like you said, the kids and so forth- Yeah

and whatnot, but the lifestyle, like, if I lived in California, I'd be surfing way often. Of course, of course. Because there's always a window to go surf. Mm-hmm. If I actually still lived in New York City-

Nigel: Yeah ...

Eli: I would still be surfing a lot more often because when you're back, but I've moved out of New York City- Mm

right? And, you know, where I am, I'm pretty landlocked. Mm-hmm. So I don't, I don't have, say, say if I have a couple hours in the morning, I could r- I could run out and go surf. I think I, that would, I would be doing that more often. Yeah. But like I said to you, but also, you know, the pockets of time that I have, sometimes when I'm on a project, I'm on a project.

Yeah. But then again, and then I'm not on a project. Like, I haven't worked for about five weeks now. So here I am, and I'm like, "Well, if I wasn't landlocked," but then also I could make, I could make the tr- I could make the trip to New York and, uh, different places to go surf. [00:42:00] But then also New York has no waves.

There's always So, so you're always fi- there's al- there's always something. Yeah. There's just always somethings. Um, but yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But you are right. You know, the older you get, yes, you wanna prioritize certain things, but I think sometimes, you know, w- take, just being able to be like, "You know what?

This is something that brings me so much"- Yeah, happiness. Yeah, yeah ... that you, we have to work s- we have to work a way to kinda, I, I just finding that- Include it, yeah ... because, you know, uh, uh, it's so funny, I posted something earlier this week, and I, uh, let me see if I can say it right. It said, "You cannot add years to your life-

Nigel: Right.

Yeah ... but you can add life- I saw that ...

Eli: to your years." Your life to your years. And I was just like, "Fuck yes."

Nigel: Yeah, no, I, I- Reminder ... I agree with you, man, you know? But sometimes it's just tough. And, and also, too, the reason why I'm, I'm like your West Coast kinda like- ... I get it-

Eli: Yeah ...

Nigel: is there's, and maybe it's just being from the Caribbean, there's something different about, like, I would love to surf this whole month, but [00:43:00] it's effing cold, and there's- I'm just not motivated to go out there.

And it's not that I hate surfing, I just don't like the cold that much anymore anyway. You're talking about, you're talking about California or you talking about the East Coast- No, no, no, no, no, no ... hair, hair ... East Coast. Okay. So that's why I've been on the West Coast. I feel like if I lived on the West Coast, their cold is what, a 4/3 wetsuit?

Maybe- Maybe ... I put booties on, maybe I'm not. Right. You know. So I can go for a quick hour and get a, my soul, like, uplifted again. Yeah. And it- And then go- It's not,

Kwame: it's not cold if you can, if you can still feel your toes- Yeah, yeah ... you're not cold. Yeah, it's fine.

Nigel: It's not cold. Same thing with back home. So, you know, you can jump in.

I feel like, um, maybe it's just a New York thing. New York, people like to be like, "Oh, yeah, you're tough. It builds resist-" It's cool, but after a while, it's like, no, like, I don't want that kind of argument anymore. Like, I just wanna, I just wanna go. I wanna go in. Yeah. Catch some wa- I don't care if it's a foot.

It's just the, the task of doing it. Yeah. And when you're younger, I feel like you can just muscle through that. And then as you get older, it, it's a deliberate decision to go. And when you're deciding that between that and, like, okay, I gotta get to work early and get a couple things done that I know [00:44:00] will benefit me down the road or...

I don't know. It,

Kwame: it's a- I

Nigel: mean, I still- It's a tough one.

Kwame: I mean, if it's- It is ... if the waves are good enough for me to say, "Hey, I'm gonna go surf," I will go. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, the temperature, I'm not gonna say it doesn't bother me, because it does, but I know what I'm giving up. Like- Right ... and I j- and I know what I need.

I need that saltwater in my veins. Yeah. I need, I need to smell the ocean. I need to put my hands on the sand to be like, "Okay, at least it's cold." I need to just get it, otherwise, to go another three, four, five weeks without surfing, and I ha- and without any, you know, surf trips or vacations in sight- Yeah

no. No. I'll, I will take the one hour of, if I'm lucky, 20 degree weather- ... just to come out of it and say, "Okay. Ah, I'm good. I can survive. Yes, I can walk into work and say, and not snap at people just for, like, another four weeks and, and, and live [00:45:00] that way." Yeah. So. It- I mean, it's, it's a give, it's a give and take.

You know, my recent thing has been, "I need to go on vacation. I need to go on vacation." Mm. I've been saying that for the longest while, "I need to go on vacation," because I really do. I haven't been on, like, a vacation since August of last year. And yeah. So I know I need to, like, jump on a plane, grab my board, and go just for my mental- Yeah, yeah, yeah

reset. Because like you said, you know, we will get a l- a bump come through, but they're so far and few. Yeah. And then it's such, it's so short.

Eli: It is. That it just- It's, it's getting really, like I said, it, it, you, if you really pa- like, you know, I've been paying attention to it. I'm like, this is not... You know, the East Coast is the East Coast, yes, but East Coast was good.

Kwame: Yep.

Eli: You know, it was good.

Kwame: I mean, we haven't had, like, a really strong run of swell this winter- Mm-hmm ... at all. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's been like a, it's been like a day here, maybe like- The stormy days were okay ... like six days there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nothing, six hours there. Yeah, yeah. But nothing that has me like, [00:46:00] "Hmm, let me ca- let me call in a work."

My surface flow is acting up. I can't come into work today. Yeah. So, but- Yeah ... I do want us to get onto- Yeah ... your documentaries. I wanna make sure we leave some time- Okay ... for that, for the work that you've been doing. Cool. So, Gasa. Like I

Eli: always start every with the Gasa. Gasa.

Kwame: Gasa. Gasa. Yeah. I, I, I, I check in.

I was on, I was on YouTube the other day, and I see nothing there on YouTube I give in. It's gonna be- So, so for those of you- I... So those of you who need the translation- Yeah ... um, uh, Eli has been working on, like he said, you know, some short documentaries, and there's one out that, that's right now on YouTube, and I highly encourage everybody to go watch it because it actually is, it's...

Well, not it actually, it's really good. And it talks about something that I think a lot of people now in the US are just starting- Yeah. ... to catch on and say, "Oh my God, this is, this is like the new, the new thing." Yeah. I'm like, no, it's [00:47:00] not that new. In the Caribbean, we knew about this- Forever ... for God knows how long.

So Eli, please tell us about

Eli: it. Yeah. Well, um, thank you. Um, the, it's, it's a documentary, um, called La Mer. Uh, it's sea moss, a way through COVID. Um, and I know, yes, it's, it's, it- Sea moss is pretty much the main character here, but it touches a lot on the ocean. It touches a lot on community. Um, also what the sea moss does for everybody in terms of not just the nutritional, uh, benefits, but it kinda has a way of kind of healing everything that was going on.

Um, let me just rephrase that again. So I made a documentary called La Mer, um, and it basically touches on sea moss, sea moss farming, which is a cultural heritage for us in St. Lucia, which, you know, to, to, to phrase it properly, it is an ocean-rooted heritage in, uh, St. Lucia. We've been doing this for Lord knows how long.

Um, but what happens is that it, it, it's, it's telling you a story about [00:48:00] community, about the people, and, um, it's basically taking you through what they were doing through COVID to help them kind of just cope with what was happening in the world, but also find a way to sustain each other. Uh, whether it be, um, you'll see that there's, of course there's the, um, economical benefits, but also you see that it also helps them in terms of just, you know, just family and just getting through the day-to-day life.

Um, yeah. I think I explained

Kwame: that. Yeah. You know when you,

Eli: you know when you put, you put someone on the spot, and then you're trying to- Yeah ... really just talk about your stuff, and then there's all those thoughts going through your head. But yes, my documentary, La Mer, it's on, it's on YouTube. Um, I, it was basically shot in 2023 I, it went through the film festival circuit in 2024 and did a fil- a few film festivals, thank God.

I'm very happy about that. And now it's, um, out in the wild. It's on YouTube, so go watch it.

Kwame: Yep, definitely check it out. Um, and what, just, so give us the full name of it because there is [00:49:00] a Lanme on YouTube, but yours is Lanme with, and what was the, what was the

Eli: piece again? Yeah. So it basically is, uh, it's Lanme Sea Moss: A Way Through COVID.

Okay. And Lanme is L-A-N-M-E, uh, which means, of course, the ocean. The ocean. Yeah, yeah. The beach. Yeah. Yeah. So,

Kwame: yeah. So and, um, and, and it's funny because in Dominica, when, the, the surfers that they have in Dominica, when they, they don't refer to surfing as surfing. Mm-hmm. When they say they're going to surf, they're gonna say, "Oh, we're going to take a lanme."

That's how they refer to it. Oh, really? Yeah. So it's, it's, actually, so when I saw that, when I saw the documentary, I was like, "Oh, okay."

Eli: It made sense. It, it,

Kwame: it

Eli: made-

Kwame: It

Eli: made sense ... perfect sense. Yeah. 'Cause in St. Lucia we say, "Nou kale ban lanme." Lanme. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it means that we're going by the beach- Yeah

we're going to the ocean, that sort of stuff. So I feel like it would just fit in because that's what you always would, I would always hear my brother say. Mm-hmm. Um, but yeah, I mean, that's, that's be- Like, yeah, so I made the documentary. Uh, it's, it really started in 2021, uh, post-COVID, first trip back home.[00:50:00]

I remember going home and, you know, you wanna go see family and stuff, you know, that's the first time we can go home for COVID and stuff. Mm-hmm. And, you know, my brother is saying to me, you know, he's going by the beach. Mm-hmm. I'm like, "What are you going to do by the beach?" Like, you know. He's like, "I'm going to the sea moss."

I'm like, "I'm still not picking up on what you're trying to say." Yeah, yeah. 'Cause I figured he's just gonna be, pick up some sea moss and something. Yeah, yeah. Come back and make some sea moss. He's like, "I'm going to the farm." So I say, "You have a sea moss farm?" I'm like, "When did you start a sea moss farm?"

Yeah. He's like, "In q- in 2020." I'm like, "Of course." It, it didn't surprise me that he had something else going on. Yeah. My brother is very much... My family did not, they, we can't stay still. We always have- Yeah ... to find something to do. You know, my brother loves his farming. He has two farms, small farms that, you know, he, citrus and stuff and, you know, all the other stuff.

But then now he has a sea moss farm, and I'm just like, "Jesus Christ." You know, I'm just like, his name is Bishop. I'm like, "Bishop, when are you gonna, like-" "... find some time for yourself?" But he loves it. That's, you know. Um, but not o- only him. It's him and his wife and my brother-in-law and, and his wife as well too.

They, um, they're the ones who [00:51:00] started to, started the farm, uh, started, uh, you know, doing sea moss farming in 2020. Mm-hmm. 'Cause again, as you know, everything was kind of slow. Yep. They have time. These people need to find something to do. Yep. And they went into sea moss and started doing this and, you know, it's, it's been great for them.

Great. So.

Kwame: And, um, well, I know one thing with, with sea moss as well is that, you know, there you have Ir- I mean, you have the Irish sea moss, you have sea moss from St. Lucia. One thing which I learned very quickly is that not all sea moss is the same. Because then you also have companies and places that they sell them and then they bleach them- Mm-hmm

and then they sell, then they package them, and then they sell. As opposed to actually the raw, unfiltered- Yeah ... one. So, you know, and again, this is, I know now in America a lot of people are, like, discovering sea moss- Mm ... and it's, it's pretty much becoming, like ... It's actually interesting to me. I ca- I remember when everybody was on coconut water.

Coconut water is this, this, the new thing. It's the new thing. I'm like, "Really? You know how much ti- What? [00:52:00] Seriously?" Yeah. And now it's sea moss. Like, "Oh, it's sea moss." So sea moss is nothing new fo- for us. It's nothing new in the Caribbean. Coconut water- Yeah ... is nothing new for us. You know, it's all ... Shoot, the other day, you know, our, our, our sponsors- Mm

that are in Barbados right now, I'm, I'm, I'm not making fun of them, but it just never clicked with me that this was the first time- Yeah ... that the majority of them tried breadfruit. Oh, really? And they were so shocked by this, that they tried it, that they tried roast breadfruit. And I'm like- What's going on?

"What? What?" Because, you know, so many of these things that people, they just lose connection and I, I think that we growing up just kind of took for granted- Yeah, yeah ... as, as, as, as it was. So, yeah.

Nigel: Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's, uh ... Yeah, being from the Caribbean is, is something special. I think that it's just- You see life differently, first of all- Yeah

just, just from how you were raised, and then also just what you eat and what you're, you're okay eating. And I was just going to, like, a, a Stop & Shop or something to get groceries, whatever, and then [00:53:00] I, you know, went and saw my mom real quick and then, um, said, "Oh, yeah, there's a good grocery store I like to go to," primarily 'cause they have this little coconut bread that I like, so I go there and get that.

But I'm in there and I'm going, "Oh, my goodness, they have dasheen, green plantain, they have eddoes." They have all these vegetables that you grew up eating and food that you grew up eating that, that you don't find in, like, a traditional supermarket. And yes, my mom cooks all that stuff, but, but I'm like, "Why am I not coming here to shop?"

Like, the prices are, are better, and everything is, it just is fresher. There's breadfruit. There's, like, coconut. There's starfruit. And I'm like, man, like, you know. So I'm not sure exactly where it's coming from, but- Yam,

Kwame: fig- Everything ... gogo, dasheen, tango Everything.

Nigel: Saltfish just raw out, right? Like- Well, you are, you're on your own on

Kwame: the saltfish.

Yeah,

Nigel: yeah, I know. I understand, but- I,

Kwame: I, I, uh, no, I don't eat

Nigel: that, too. You know, but yeah. Um, but the sea moss thing, yeah, my, my sister's been on it for a while and, and she ... You know, I don't know as much about it outside of we would drink sea moss around Christmastime, you know, like with eggnog or whatever.

Um, [00:54:00] but- ... but, um, now it's definitely a big thing i- in the US and, um, I started incorporating it in just, like, my little- Yeah ... smoothie morning things, too, so no, that's good. I have to ... I haven't seen the, the whole documentary, but I'm gonna take a look and- Okay ... and- And we will put a link,

Kwame: um, in the show notes.

Absolutely. So don't worry about it if, if you, um, if you ... As you're listening to it, you're like, "Oh, I need to..." And just go back to the episode. The link will be in the show notes for it, and we're definitely gonna, um, make sure that, um, it is front and center for you, Eli.

Eli: I appreciate that. Um, you know, like, like one thing I wa- I do wanna emphasize of when it comes to this documentary, it's I, even if sea moss is, again, the character here- Mm-hmm

I wanted to make sure that I didn't basically focus too much on- Yes ... the medicinal purposes or- ... the benefits of sea moss- Yeah ... in that way, that you could basically Google and figure out- Yeah. Yeah, yeah ... right? You know, we know about all the minerals and stuff- Yeah, yeah ... and everything else. The way that I looked at it is, is it's, it was, you know, it was [00:55:00] really about resilience and everything else, because you have a plant, an ocean-rooted tradition, and then you have family, and then you have community.

There's, it was everything that it, that, for me, that it represented. Mm-hmm. And I wanted to show that through the documentary. And that's why I was just like, I could say La Mer, yes, but then that's why I said Sea Moss: A Way Through COVID. Through COVID. Yeah. Because, you know, again, we're surfing now. Mm-hmm.

We have a, we already love the ocean, but now we have a deeper appreciation- Appreciation ... and a deeper connection with the ocean. Yeah. And then you, you, I'm going back home. I'm in the film industry. I'm s- now looking at things a little differently. I'm looking at the fact that it, this, this is bringing them all together, and you will see in the documentary, I don't wanna give you any spoilers, but you will see that it finds a way to basically connect them and have them just find peace and enjoy the fact that they were in the ocean.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. And this is not, this is not a small, this is, sea moss is not easy work. No. And these things that you will [00:56:00] learn about it is like- Mm ... I'm still gonna show you what it takes to actually have sea moss. Mm. And w- you know, what the farmers have to go through to get sea moss. But even through all of that, there is this joy that it brings them.

Right. That through all this hard work, the most important thing for them is that they're with family and they're- Yeah, yeah ... they're getting to spend time- Yeah ... with family. And I was just like, "Jesus Christ." 'Cause, you know, you know, like I showed this in two Saturdays. This, this documentary was like- Really?

Yeah, two Saturdays. Whoa. Uh, I went, one Saturday we went through, and, you know, it's, uh, it, it's mostly one man. My wife was there with me. She was helping produce and so forth. But it's like, you know, the camera work, the audio, the drone. And I did have another buddy of mine come as well and help me on, on the second Saturday because it's like I can't have the, I can't have the boat go and come back- Mm

too many times- Sure ... 'cause that's gonna burn too much gas. So I'm like, I need another person to help me with the drone while I, I'm on the boat. It's like I can't be too many places at the same time, but, um, two Saturdays. And, [00:57:00] and just looking at the footage, I'm like, you know, you, you, you, you, you know, you're piecing it all together and you're like, "Wow, this is really beautiful," as to what I'm seeing unravel here.

Mm-hmm. 'Cause I feel, in my mind I'm just like, "Oh, I, I wanna tell my people's story." And I don't have a shot that ... I, I, basically it's almost like reverse engineering. Like you're, I'm shooting it first and then I'm trying to figure it out after. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? Because I'm like, this is, my brother said to me about this, I'm like, "This is a great opportunity for me to go and tell people about sea moss."

And then while I was there shooting, I'm seeing something else happening and I'm like, "Okay, this is where I'm gonna go." Yeah. You know? So, you know, go watch it and then you'll understand why, again, it's, it's really about community- The love, the resilience. Um, again, you see the tradition, but you... I, I, again, I don't want to say too much about it, but it's just like I really want you to go- Yeah

look at it and then tell me what, how, how you feel about it. Yeah. Because you see some folks re- working really hard, and then they're just freaking happy. And that's how we are. Yeah. We've our hands burning. Yeah, yeah. We, we, we know we're supposed to get out, we start to cramp already, but it's like one more wave.

One more wave. Yeah. [00:58:00] And you... It's kinda like that same feeling- Remember ... that you had when you were surfing, when you like you don't wanna get out of the water. Yeah. Yeah. And you see some people busting their ass, you know, working really hard- Mm ... pulling the rope and trying to put sticks in the middle of the ocean to plant sea moss.

Yeah. And they still are laughing and stuff. It's just that that is, you know... I was like, "Wow, this is just... Okay, I gotta tell this in a different way." And that's why I sh- I, I told it the way that I- Mm ... you know? Well,

Kwame: you're saying that the, um, people, you want people to tell you what they think or how they, how it made them feel.

Yes. So how can they get in... How can they reach you? Where can they f- get in touch with you?

Eli: Um, well, now you can, um, you can reach me on islandlensmediainc at, on, on Instagram, so islandlensmedia. Um, everything is pretty much the same. It's islandlensmedia@gmail, islandlensmediainc at, is the Instagram. Um, the website is also islandlensmedia, so it's pretty much consistent across the board.

Okay. Um, if you look at La Mer documentary, it is on YouTube as the name, or you can also look at islandlensmedia on YouTube as well too. So again, [00:59:00] across the board, islandlensmedia is gonna be your constant, and if you just want to watch the documentary separately, it's just gonna be La Mer documentary on YouTube.

Kwame: Okay.

Eli: So

Kwame: yeah. And again, we'll put all of those in the show notes as well, so you have no excuse saying you cannot find them. We'll put everything in there as well. Yeah. Um, so I think we're coming close to on time. Uh, Nigel, you have any last qu- last second questions, last minute

Nigel: questions? Um, no, man. I, uh, it was just thank you for coming on.

It was good to- Love to. Sit, we can sit down here and just talk and- ... to

Eli: connect I feel like we haven't been here for five minutes yet. Yeah, yeah. But I know looking at the clock, I'm like, "It's look like it's been almost two hours," but- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... it doesn't feel that way. Yeah. And that's, that's always the beauty of like, like you said, you know, uh, a, a Bajan, a Dominican, and a Saint Lucian-

making a podcast, you know? It's gonna, it's not, it's never gonna be enough time. There you go. Yeah.

Nigel: Yeah.

Eli: Exactly.

Nigel: But yeah. I- Yeah ... um, definitely, um- Keep me in mind, keep us in mind. Uh, if you're going back to Saint Lucia, we should try to meet down there. I need to go back home. You know, I haven't been back home since I was, like, three years old.

Wow. [01:00:00] So, um- That's no excuse ... I go back to Barbados all the time, 'cause again- You gotta go home, man ... I, I left when I was around two or three. But I, I was talking about it. My sister goes so often. My aunt has- And it's a street shop ... houses there and everything like that, and- It's a street shop ... so- Three and a half hour flight

I'd definitely be down to, to go out. But I feel like, like, like we need to- No, that's the- I, I know you're busy, but when you're around- That is actually a, um- We need to connect. Thank you, but

Eli: keep- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... striving with the busy stuff- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... because I, I wanna be busy. Yeah, yeah. It's a good thing.

Manifesting that . No,

Kwame: that, that, that is actually a project that... So- Um ... the Saint Lucia piece, that's actually another project that I have put the, I'm putting the, building the foundation on that one. It's kind of based off of what's happening with, with the crew in Barbados right now. Yeah, yeah. So trying to do something similar, and I'm getting some, in touch with some folks down there.

Oh, nice. And so we're trying to, you know, make that one work as well, kind of similar. So, you know, it's- Let's, let's talk about it, 'cause we're on

Eli: the same page.

Kwame: Yeah. Mm. 100%. Although you've already

Eli: s- definitely thrown some tentacles out there. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm still just there trying to-

Kwame: Oh, no. To-

Eli: please

figure out framework here. But- But no, where [01:01:00] you, but no, where you is, I am at this point. Where you is, I am. Yeah. That's fair. But let's, uh, let's definitely talk about it, 'cause that's home. 100%. And it's funny 'cause, you know, seeing that, all of that stuff on the association, I'm like, "Okay, great." Um, 'cause I was just home for a month in, in December.

Oh, yeah? 'Cause that's the beauty of, about this, is like this industry. It's like you're, again, you're working and you're not working. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's not, it's great. It's good and bad. Yeah. But, um, you know, I'm just like, you know what? I ain't got no work for December. Um, actually, I did have one project in December.

It was like maybe three days. But I said to myself, "What is more important?" Like, you know- Yeah ... being here in America, which is great, don't get me wrong, for, for the things that we can get into- Mm-hmm ... or going back home for family? You know, since COVID, I feel like I've had a bigger emphasis on- Yeah.

Definitely ... trying to go home more often. Um, you know, there's, again, there's seeing, I mean, going home and connecting and, you know, and so far, but you know, we, we've lost people. So it's- Mm-hmm ... it's just you, you ... For me, it's, it's just like, okay, great. Work hard here. Try to definitely, you know, crush my goals, but at the same time, when I'm free, man, go- Yeah

just go be with my, [01:02:00] my, my family. Because at the end of the day, I, I can't l- look back and be saying, "Well, shit, I could have gone home- Mm-hmm ... and be with my mom." Yeah. Yeah. You know, you, you could have. No, just do it. Yeah. Might as well just do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So in other words, you know- And- ... if you wanna go home, we're gonna go home.

Yeah. 'Cause why not? Yeah. 'Cause why not? No, and

Kwame: I, and I am actually, and this is not nec- necessarily the best way to end. I don't wanna end the podcast on it, 'cause we could do it another... But just, not just for you guys, but for anyone listening- Yeah ... I'm actually living that right now. Living proof of that right now.

Because I went home, saw my mom, was May 31st. Memorial. Came back. About seven days later, she passed away. Mm. She wasn't sick or anything. And I wasn't even gonna go. I was like, "Eh, you know, I don't wanna c- maybe I shouldn't go." Yeah. "Fine, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go." And I ended up going, and that was the last time.

And I just remember, like, you know, I'll never forget the hug that I gave her when I left- Yeah ... to head to the airport. So you never know, so take the time- Yeah ... with, spend the time with your loved ones. Yeah. 100%. 100%. And I, I'll

Eli: definitely second that [01:03:00] because I, I too- Yes, yes ... have gone home and spent, you know, again, that emphasis on I have to go home.

You have that call and it's like, I'm not, you know, you know, home for anyone could be, again, for you guys listening, home is basically, um, you know, wherever home is for you. Mm-hmm. So I'm sorry, let me just put that again. Sometimes my mind's already rushing off to something else. But you know, home is home.

Whether it be in Saint Lucia or whether it be, you know, down the street, whether it be in, in Utica- Yeah ... Utica, down, down in Brooklyn and so forth. Wherever it is, just make the time to go because it's very important. Um, you know, just to kinda see the, see the, see those, uh, family. Doesn't matter what is going on.

If you guys have some sort of thing, unresolved stuff, go resolve it or just- Yeah. ... or just, just- Yeah ... just show face. You ain't gotta say nothing. Because i- you know, like you said, like, you know, I, I went home, I, I saw my brother, I came back, my brother was gone. Mm-hmm. I was just home in December. Yep. And I came back, my niece is gone.

Gone. Yeah. And these are people that I spent quality time with. Yep. And you know, it's like even if it's [01:04:00] sad and, 'cause I've gone through so much death- Mm-hmm ... since 2020, I think at this point I'm just like, all I can do right now is just like I look back and I look at my phone, I'm like, I got the messages- Mm-hmm

and the effort and the energy that you put in there, and you look at the photos that you took and I'm like, you know what? Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's, it sucks, but there is a, there is, there is a light there that you can take and be like, "You know what? Okay,

Kwame: I can-" What, what was it you said? You may not be able to add years to your life-

Eli: Yeah, but you can add life- Life to your years

to your years. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I think that's- Yep ... that's, I think that's- That's a good one. Yeah ... that's one we wanna end this podcast on. Yeah, yeah,

Kwame: for sure. So Eli- Yeah ... thank you so much for joining us- Yep ... on this podcast. I

Eli: feel like we need a part two. Oh, no, we definitely need a part two. Because I feel like we haven't said anything yet.

We haven't said

Kwame: anything. I'm like, we're just... We just started. But, uh, I wanna thank Eli for- Yeah ... joining us. Nigel, thank you again. Always a pleasure co-hosting- Of course, of course ... with you. Um, WTF Studios, thank you for hosting us. Speak of yourself. Our, um, our engineer, Tumbleton. You know, it's late. Thank you for [01:05:00] staying, brother.

Appreciate it. And, um, to you, our viewers, our listeners, you know, we always wanna thank you guys for helping us along with this and helping us keeping this going. Uh, as you can see, we're, we're moving. We're doing big things. You know, we have the website up. Um, we have, as Nigel says, the merch. The merch is up.

Yep. We have the merch. The merch is up. You know, so if you wanna get, you know, we have stickers, T-shirts, um, hoodies. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, more stuff to come, so- A lot of stuff coming ... go on there and just more and more projects just happening. Yeah. I literally wake up at like 2:00 every morning and write something down.

Sounds

Eli: like I'm getting a goodie bag is what that

Kwame: sounds like. Oh, yeah, you will get a swag. We'll give you a swag bag. We'll hook you up. We'll hook you up. You get a little swag bag. We'll hook you up. You know what I'm saying? We'll hook you up. Has to be in black, though Okay, definitely. We got you. Okay. We got you.

So again, thank you so much, and until next time, we will see you in the water. All right. Have a good one. Yep. See you. You.

Eli: Later. [01:06:00]