02:20 - The February family of surfers 05:47 - Mikey and his dad, Isaac, go on a road trip 08:11 - Surfing is like jazz 10:07 - Isaac on growing up under apartheid 12:34 - The next generation of African surfers
Documentary by Sandra Winther. Text by Mikey February:
I was born in 1993, just as apartheid was ending in South Africa. My father is an avid surfer who introduced me to the sport at a young age, and the freedom he felt in the ocean had a big impact on me. He faced challenges pursuing the sport, since it was historically reserved for white South Africans and beaches were segregated until 1989. But by the time I came around, things were changing. Being able to bring his son to the beach and into the water was something he’d always dreamed of. He’d always have a big smile on his face when we’d go surfing together, and he still does.
Despite the obstacles he faced, my father never lost his love for the ocean and its power to heal. As I grew older and got more involved in the surfing community, I was usually surrounded by people who didn’t look like me or surf like me — but I still felt so liberated by the sport. My father told me to find pride in my uniqueness, and his words were always in my ear.
In 2018 I became the first Black South African surfer to qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour, an elite professional competition. Achieving that level of recognition felt like a lot of pressure at first, and sometimes I wanted to retreat from the spotlight, but I knew that the impact of breaking that barrier was bigger than me. I often think about my ancestors who were brought to Cape Town as enslaved people. They were stripped of their humanity and identity and renamed February, after the month of their arrival. This history is part of my family’s story and I’m proud to carry the name, whose meaning and history changes and deepens with each generation. My parents being so proud of who they are makes me feel proud, too, and I work to continue that legacy.
When I go to the beach today, I see diversity in the people who are in the water. It’s a joy to see surfing grow in South Africa and across the continent. Surfing is now making a difference in our community. It makes me optimistic and excited about the future — the future that my son Miles, who was born in 2022, is stepping into.
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Video Summary
AI Generated
This video tells the poignant story of a pioneering South African surfer and his son. It explores the journey of becoming the first black South African on the world tour, the struggle against the systemic racism of Apartheid, and the eventual passing of a passion for surfing and individuality down to the next generation.
So your old man can still make a fire, eh?
Yeah.
Tell me about how you got your first surfboard.
Remember that one?
Oh, man.
I didn't have much money, eh?
So I decided the easiest thing to do was to buy the cheapest board.
And the cheapest board happened to be a kneeboard.
Yeah, but I didn't know what a kneeboard was.
It looked like a surfboard to me.
Michael, February, making his debut on tour, representing Cape Town, South Africa.
I always wondered if there would be a time where there was someone who looked like me.
It's been earned.
And he's setting the tone for the future generation.
Falling in love with surfing and being able to pass that on to my son,
it was a special moment for him to experience the water the way I did.
And not to think of the negative things that was attached to it for me.
People just screaming Maki's name, a lot of support for him.
The individuality he shows is just second to none.
You chase this dream your whole life and then when you get there you realise that it changes.
It's looking pretty solid, eh?
Yeah.
A lot of, like, water moving around.
Yeah.
Quite a big swell, this, eh?
Out of control!
It's huge, look out there, it's like...
Otherwise the swell direction is just coming straight this way.
You can't even mind surf, eh?
No.
The early days were just pure enjoyment.
I had no concept of what competing was.
Catching a wave and having this blank canvas where you can express yourself.
I just fell in love.
Starting off his whole surfing career was building sandcastles before competing.
But when he started winning his first contest, from that day,
he just pushed hard and built less sandcastles.
Hi there.
My dad, he's quite a young soul, he's like a little kid.
From a very young age he instilled that it's OK to be different.
It's actually a good thing.
My father wasn't present in my life.
I grew up with my mum.
I met him a few times, but I didn't feel like I needed to spend time with him or anything.
Look, he had his issues and problems,
and I was going to make sure that I don't have those same problems
and make sure that I'm there for my children and my wife.
That's amazing.
It's good, eh?
Yeah, it's just a fun little boat.
It's nice to be on the road again.
I know, I love it.
Boat trip with the grandchildren, aren't they?
I know.
What are they going to call you?
They're going to call me Isaac.
Yeah, I don't think you get to decide that, eh?
I think the kids get to decide what they call you.
That won't work.
I think from the outside for a lot of people it looked like for you it was an easy road,
but getting the results that you did took a lot of hard work.
Travelling on a tight budget, not having everything that all your peers had around you.
When I went overseas to compete when I was around 14, 15,
it was a humbling moment where you're like,
wait a minute, there's so many good people out there,
you know, maybe I won't get to that high level.
His style of surfing, I know it was always a problem for him competing
because he had to adapt to what was required to win competitions.
He was always lanky and a bit awkward.
My body just didn't feel like it would fit into that way of surfing.
For many years I was trying and trying and my arms would go everywhere
and my body would do its own thing.
Eventually, failing to mimic other people made me realise
I should just stick to what I'm doing and embrace it, really.
Oh my gosh!
Did you see that?
I've never seen it this hollow.
Surfing feels so relatable when it comes to jazz.
It's just spontaneous, it's not calculated.
It's just a feeling.
There was this really cool quote, I think it was Miles Davis.
I'll play it first and I'll tell you what it is later.
Going surfing together feels like an honour,
especially because my circumstances were different to his.
Back in the day it wasn't the same, I'm sure.
No, we couldn't just surf wherever we wanted to.
We had to travel long distances.
Apartheid was a horrible feeling to go through when I was young.
Growing up we went to a place called Vic Bay.
As I was in the water, kids started circling me
and they said to me, you can't surf here.
Years passed and my kid won a competition at Vic Bay
and he said, I dedicate this one to my dad.
And the tears just started rolling down my eyes.
I had this dream of qualifying since I was like 12, 13 years old.
He was the first black South African to make it onto the world tour.
It taught a lot of young kids they can have a dream
and work hard at it and achieve anything.
You chase this dream your whole life
but competing to win a world title wasn't feeding my soul.
It wasn't what I wanted to do in surfing.
When you are part of the top 34 in the world
you realise that it's not really everything.
For us the main thing was that our children understood
who they were and what their purpose was in life
and that they had a purpose.
But this must have been weird just you surfing out there.
Travelling in Africa is so unique.
Surfing wasn't a thing in the community
and now it's making such a big difference.
How you've navigated this whole surfing career all your life
I'm extremely proud of you.
Where are you taking it to now?
Changing people's perception of where they come from or where they're going.
From a very young age he kind of taught me that surfing is like life.
You take off on a wave and you've got this amazing canvas
and you just have your own expression that you kind of get to paint on it.
As parents it was cool to do that for your children you know.
It wasn't always easy but if you look at our family and where we come from
all we want to do is move forward.
There's no one like you.
As a father that is amazing.
Just keep changing surfing you know.
