My personal style signifiers. They are surfer style garments. I’ve worn them practically since I was 13, back in 1963, and I’ve always worn what’s in fashion. It is comfortable, beachy and very relaxed. Reflects the lifestyle. For the last 25 years I’ve worn Toes on the Nose shorts, sort of a ’60s California vibe. I’ve even had my artwork on some: one of my prints, voodoo salon.
The last thing I bought and loved. It was an old surfboard. I collect them; I have about 100, which I keep in a barn, all stacked up. Last year I bought several. Ray surfboards, the iconic ones from the 70s that emerged from Hawaii. They are very high-end in the collectibles market and come from the longboard era of the 60s; The late 60’s was when boards started to get smaller. So, from nine or ten feet high, by the ’70s they had dropped to six or seven feet. Buying some was exciting.
The place that means a lot to me. It would have to be Montauk. Geographically, it’s a beautiful place: all rocky coves and high cliffs, giving us excellent topography for surfing. I first came here in 1965, when I was a young teenager, and I moved here in 1971, from Amityville, New York, opening a surf shop, then a restaurant, then a motel. But its greatness is that it is seasonal, so it has allowed us to travel and surf out of season.
The best souvenir I have brought home. It is a 200 year old 14 foot canoe made in Sumatra, which I bought in Bali. We filled it with sarongs, shorts, and bikinis, and shipped it back to New York. I had it for a good 30 years; I sold it two years ago because I’m running out of room for all the collectibles I have.
The best book I have read last year. is More excited! by Bob McTavish. He was an Australian pioneer in the early 60s and also introduced shortboards to Hawaii in 1967. It’s a story about his life and influence – how he was a surfer and discovered many surf spots in Australia back then. I just went back and read something because I was taking photos of the surfboard he gave me in 2015; It is a replica of the one on the cover of the book.
An object that I would never part with It is the trophy I received when I was included in the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame, in 2020. It is very dear to me. It represents my 60 years in surfing and I was recognized as a certain legend.
The last music I downloaded. It was Jimmy Buffett’s last album. Equal voltage in all parts. He was a good friend of Jimmy, who passed away last year. I surfed with him a lot here in and around Montauk, and in St Barths on vacation. Jimmy is basically the relaxed Caribbean lifestyle. It is the music of sailors, surfers and islanders. He is one of the most successful musicians of all time, financially.
My style icon it’s ralph lauren. Eternal. The brand sometimes gets a little trendy with patches. And too many badges. But overall, her style is truly classic: beautiful, tailored clothing that works anywhere in the world. He has a house here in Montauk. I’ve seen him here a couple of times.
The first wave I caught I was in Gilgo Beach, the epicenter of surfing in the ’60s. I lived across the bay from the surf zone: I used to go there by boat as a kid and it was the first place I surfed, when I was 13. He changed my life. I knew immediately what I was going to do. I didn’t know how, but that’s how it started.
Best gifts I’ve given recently. Two flags were made with the St Barths Ocean Conservation Charity. Utopia of recycled marine plastic: one with one of my artistic collages and the other with several surfboards. I recently had a solo exhibition in St Barths at the Summum GalleryIt was called Something About the Sea, and while it was on we had a benefit for Utöpia.
The best gift I have ever received It was my wife Charlotte’s: a rose gold. Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner.
The best way to spend $20 It’s at breakfast. Eggs with bacon or pancakes if I’m at home, and almond croissants with coffee with milk or eggs Benedict if we’re in a cafeteria.
The works of art that changed everything for me. are those for Pedro Barba. I lived with Peter for seven years, from ’78, and then he lived with me for a little while. It was a pretty wild time, because he was a very well-connected person. He was working with Cheryl Tiegs, the supermodel, so she was there the whole time. I was very influenced by him. He documented his lifestyle and everything he did: the history of what he did, the people he was with, his travels, artwork and photographs. He told me to keep a journal and my artwork started like that. We would work together on our journals. I still have one.
And the only artist I would collect if I could It’s Andy Warhol. I met Andy many times here because he had a house in Montauk, but I also met him in New York City, through Peter. I would like a can of soup. Or Marilyn Monroe. In fact, I have a signed piece of Andy Warhol; When Chairman Mao died, his photograph appeared on the cover of the New York Post and Andy signed several of them with “Mao is dead! Mao is dead! Andy Warhol.” I bought one through Peter and have it framed in my house.
The last item I added to my wardrobe. It was a pair of New Balance sneakers. I needed a pair for walking. When I’m in the Caribbean, I walk a lot. I used to run marathons, but now I’m just a walker. New balance classic shoes 574, $94
The basic self-care item that I never lack It’s cheap shampoo and conditioner, like VO5. I have great hair. And I use Old Spice basic deodorant. I don’t have a grooming guru, but my barber does. Danny Di Mauro. It has a very high-end clientele (movie stars and people), but we have been surfing friends for 20 years. I just tell him: “Clean it and keep it for a long time.”
In my refrigerator you will always find the basics: eggs, butter, milk, juices, vegetables, fruits. We usually eat chicken, maybe hamburger or steak, and salmon. Häagen-Dazs Vanilla. Nothing out of the ordinary.
The things I couldn’t live without They are the sun and the ocean. I have always been happy to be near the sea or in the sea. And I have to have sun. I am not good on cloudy and rainy days.
my greatest adventure It was in 1980, when I took ABC Sports around the world to make a television show about surfing on the island of Java. It was the best-known surf area in the world; the most exotic at that time. And it was also the first surf camp. My friend Rick Rasmussen was the United States champion and when I saw the footage of him in this exotic location, I pitched the idea to ABC Sports. Six months later, we headed to Indonesia, where we lived in tree houses. Along the way, we stopped in Los Angeles, Hawaii, Australia and Bali; then I went to Borneo to live with orangutans for 10 days and then to Jakarta. Then I flew to Biarritz and then back to New York. It was a wing and a prayer: we were flying the whole time. It was pretty wild. And the segment, Java Surf, ended up winning an Emmy.
Do I believe in life after death? I always feel like “when you’re dead, you’re dead.” But if there is an afterlife, I hope it is peaceful. Maybe he’ll come back as a dolphin and continue riding waves.
A whim I would never give up He is eating sweets, chocolate, cakes and ice cream. I’m pretty active so I burn through all that well.
In another life, I would have been a sailor so I could move around the world and explore places like the South Pacific or Indonesia.
The best advice I have ever received It was “buying real estate.” My father told me that. And I did it. I have had several restaurants, motels and surf shops. I have a couple of houses and cabins, including one in Tobago for 25 years and in the Bahamas. It allows me to travel and pays the bills.
I don’t really listen to podcasts. I spend more time looking at posts, but I listen to Swell Season from time to time. It’s about surfers and everything that surrounds the scene.
My favorite room in my house. It’s the living room. You can sit there and watch the sun set over the water. And I can look out the window and see the day. It’s just a comfortable room. A kind of epicenter of the house. I have a lot of my artwork here and some pictures of famous surfers. And also some artwork by Peter Beard.
My favorite websites and apps They are the surf channels and the weather channels. magic algae [now surfline.com] it’s good. It’s a bit of a funny name, but you can go there and it has surf spots all over the world. Also surfforecast.com. They are very useful when you go to a place and want to see the different surf spots. And it just provides all the information you need. Also worldsurfleague.comwhich covers all professional surfing competitions around the world.
my favorite place It is Indonesia, for its beauty and creativity. Like in Bali – the architecture is very consistent with the environment. I first went there in 1980 and spent a lot of time there in the ’90s. But I haven’t been back in a while. It used to be spectacular, but it has changed a lot. When I returned in 1996, I was shocked by how Westernized it had become: they had replaced banana leaf packaging with plastic. The situation got so bad that there was plastic everywhere and in the ocean. It looked like a jellyfish.
Montauk Surf Magazines by Tony Caramanico is published by Damiani at £45