Our Team
Contriburor
Sam Ballam
Sam Ballam began surfing on the east coast as a teenager during the 1960s and has been a passionate surfer ever since. During the 1970s, he lived and surfed in Hawaii.
From his current home in suburban Philadelphia, he regularly surfs in Ocean City, New Jersey from spring through fall, but has made annual, winter surf trips to destinations such as Maui, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Southern California, the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere.
In addition to being a dedicated surfer for the past 50 years, he has been a life-long, avid collector. In his home, he is surrounded by his collection of over 600 surfing books, as well as numerous, mint condition, signed longboards from each major 1960's shaper.
Sam's professional life includes an MBA degree and CPA, plus a 40 year career as a Chief Financial Officer in the healthcare industry and an investment professional managing large pension and endowment funds. Sam now enjoys sharing his surfing stoke with his young grandchildren.
Interviewer
Jean Pierre Banville
"A surfing bio of myself? That is embarrassing. I am laughable, like the worst surfer of my huge country Canada. The last time I tried standing on my longboard, three seagulls drowned because they could not stop laughing. I am an old man trying a new jig. Even some sharks have pity!, Well, Thank you, Joe Tabler! You are great . And, merci Jeremy Lemarie."
Jean Pierre is passionate about surfing and he does not hesitate to drive 5 hours to reach the closest ocean beach, the often flat Maine coast.
From his current home in suburban Philadelphia, he regularly surfs in Ocean City, New Jersey from spring through fall, but has made annual, winter surf trips to destinations such as Maui, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Southern California, the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere.
Twice president of the National Climbing Federation, director of a ski school when much younger, he woke up a born-again surfer within a week of trying to stand up.
He got a new car, a board, a wetsuit and an how-to book. Jean Pierre even went out of his usual way and instead of writing another climbing mystery, he wrote a burlesque surfing adventure : ‘’ Des Rails et Dérives ‘’, published in France .
Jean Pierre lives in Québec City, has a regular job, a son, a cat, 10 surfboards, 30 pairs of skis, a few kilometers of climbing rope, 3000 books and the goal to be as good as Dora before he turns 80.
Interviewer
Scott Bass
Scott Bass grew up surfing at San Diego's North County breaks. Bass holds a B.A. in Literature & Writing from Cal State San Marcos. He surfed competitively in high school and college and had a brief career on the professional longboard circuit in the mid-to-late '90s.
Bass worked at SURFER Magazine from 1997-2007; first as an intern, and then, as the Online Editorial Director, he oversaw SURFER's online department during the dot com boom. At SURFER Bass produced and hosted the first internet radio show focused on surfing called In The Lineup. That show evolved into a terrestrial surf radio show called Down The Line which is now in its 11th year of podcast distribution via iTunes.
In 2007 Bass produced the first Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Show and has since produced 15 surfboard shows in various locations including San Diego, Del Mar, Ventura, Santa Cruz, Costa Mesa, and Orlando, Florida. Bass is also the executive director of the California Gold Vintage Surf Auction. Bass is the surf reporter for NPR's San Diego affiliate KPBS as well as 91X.
He spent seven years as a Board Member on the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center's BoD and currently advises SHACC's executive committee. In 2005 Bass and partners Ty Ponder and Troy Page produced a documentary film on surfing and the Vietnam War titled Between The Lines. Bass has written a children's book called Girl vs. Wave.