92 family The Beschens THE B.Y.C. BeschenYouthCompound Rocky Point, HI Shane, Sofia, Noah, and Koda Gavin, Kendyl, & baby Marley Photos by Pat, Spencer Suitt, Sean Davey, Jason Murray & the Beschen family. Noah, Shane & Koda Shane & Noah at the North Shore Skatepark
Afternoon office hours at Pipe and some backlight delight. ShaneSofiaNoah&Koda Jason Murray Suitt By Patrick Growing up around a group of hardcore surfers such as Matt Archibald, Dino Andino, The McNulty brother s and The Fletcher s definitely impacted Shane Beschen s motivation for great surfing, but family life on his acre compound at Rocky Point on Oahu s North Shore keeps Shane young and full of ambition. Noah has been training for years on his trampoline. photos by
96 family The Beschens GavinKendyl&Marley Davey Davey One afternoon, this past winter, I sat with Shane on his patio overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Against a backdrop of jumping whales, Shane spoke about how grateful he was to be living this existence sharing life in Hawaii with a beautiful, healthy family. Shane Beschen, 35, is happily married to wife Sofia and the father of two boys Noah and Koda, and is going stronger than ever. Morals, respect and familial love are at the core of his being, values passed down by parents Mike and Sue Beschen who currently live a retired but active life in paradise. A drive down the hill to the North Shore, where all the surfing history has gone down, from Rabbit to Slater and all of the other heavies brave enough to tackle the powerful waves of Oahu s North shore will lead you to the BYC. A quarter-mile past the school at Pipeline where kids play in flip-flops and across the street the world s best surfers are getting shacked out of their minds, sits The Beschen compound, where a love of surf culture and family life thrive. Surrounded by fresh ocean air, the smell of tropical flowers and lush green mountains, the one-acre compound sits atop Oahu s Rocky Point. Not long ago Shane Beschen was grinding on the WCT, these days he s jumping with his oldest son Noah on their trampoline, giving Noah extra height on his future aerial practices. Over on the concrete section of a hip bank, Koda, Shane s youngest son, plays on his mini-grom model as if he was born to go hard. Shane s younger brother Gavin, also a pro-surfer, shares the Beschen vision kindness, respect, surfing and family. Gavin s wife Kendyl was teaching school prior to the birth of their one-year-old daughter, Marley and today she is a stay at home mom that loves to surf and make people smile. Their dogs Keena and Alkea keep an eye on everything when the boys are out surfing or traveling on the road. Gavin has traveled the world over and made a great living doing something that he truly loves. Gavin will go out of his way to say hello or offer you a drink, or just simply ask if your doing OK. Gavin Beschen is young, but well beyond his years, he is respectful and very intelligent. All of these characteristics are what make up the Beschen family and each day they are blessed to be able to wake up with healthy children and live in paradise on the North Shore of Oahu. A one-time runner-up of the world title and a veteran competitive surfer, Shane can still throw down with the best of them. A fulfilling family life has quelled the need to pack his bags every other week, but his energy for innovative surfing and progressive surfboard design are as high as ever. About this stage in his career Shane says, I have not seriously competed in contests for a couple Gavin with Jason Shi of ASG. Having Mike and Derek Ho as tight buddies has been an essential part of the Beschen family, these guys will be around for many years to come; still ripping the North Shore.
Gavin blasting through the atmosphere. This is backdoor when Shane steps into the office. The season consists of a bunch of jonsing pro s trying to get the shot and Shane just sits back a waits for the crowd to simmer down and clocks in for some overtime. Sean Davey he is definitely giving back to the sport that has given him so much. years now, and I admit it does feel strange just watching from the sidelines and I know I still have that competitive fire just smoldering down deep somewhere, but I still don t know if that is what I want to put my energy into. Instead, Shane takes a special interest in the local kids around the North Shore. If they are not skating you can find most of them pulling into the close-outs at beach park. The generation of kids coming out of Hawaii right now is growing rapidly and the limits that they are pushing are mind-blowing. Shane often speaks about how some of these younger kids are doing what he did 15 years ago, but on a whole different level. The inspiration to pull moves that no one else is doing is what I am looking for Shane says. He is currently working on a trick that has not yet been pulled, but with his perseverance it s just a matter of time. When Shane is not surfing, you can find him playing Tony Hawk s skateboarding game in the living room with both kids while mom (Sofia) is modeling for international and local agencies. Born in Venezuela, Sofia is so talented at everything she does, her patience and ability to maintain the household is unlike that of any other woman. Usualy when the Beschens are home a Bar-B-Q is the norm on a weekly basis. B-Man a good friend of the families and longtime north shore surfer is the chef. As the sun goes down on the Beschen camp, you can always smell your way to the kitchen, where Sofia, Shane s wife is busy making the day s meal. She has it all, the good looks, a huge heart and the ability and patience to run her family and the others that surround her. I remember the first time meeting Shane and his wife, being welcomed into their house and feeling like I had known them for years. Living such a wonderful and free life for all these years and being raised by great parents are things that the Beschen s value. The Beschen house is a family environment filled with love and passion for life. Shane s involvement
100 family The Beschens photos by (left) We had been going up to this ramp for a day or so and Noah kept contemplating if he was ready, but after seeing his friend Jordan blow up on the ramp Noah was pedal to the metal and no holds barred. This is Noah Beschen representing the 7 year olds on a 15 ft. vert ramp. (right) Shane is a surfer with calculated timing and here he is setting up for a shady disappearing act.
Both of these shots of Shane typify his surfing, built on form and power. Suitt photos by I guess having surf class with your dad 365 days a year pays off. with the surrounding local Hawaiian youth is positive and coach like, he is definitely giving back to the sport that has given him so much. Innovation is a big part of Shane s surfing, he has recently released his own models through friend and veteran shaper Matt Biolis of Lost Surfboards. The five star series is Shane s labeling and he has a short board, high performance model as well as a 5 3 Rocket design. Yes a 5 3, Shane ordered a board from Noah Budroe a few years back for his son Noah to begin surfing on. Only a few days into the new board and dad was going for frequent surfs on his newly found model, The Rocket. Over the past two years from Hawaii to Florida and in between, Shane has been filming with friend Casey Collins and collecting some fresh clips for Lost s new flick The 5x5x19 1/4 Re-Dux. In 08, Shane plans on retreating to deep mainland Mexico for some tube time with good friends Hopper and Morcom and enjoying family life on the Hawaiian islands. Beschen has also recently signed with Tavik Clothing, a California based company. Shane explains, at the moment I am a professional free surfer and brand ambassador for Tavik clothing, I am making webisode segments that can be watched on YouTube and GrindTV. Good friend Joe Bard is running the marketing department and is excited to work with such a great person. With new surfboards and a fresh sponsor, he will definitely impact surfing in 08. For the past 15 years Shane Beschen has done photos by
104 family The Beschens THE B.Y.C. what it takes to make things happen. He has battled with the world s best surfers for valuable points around the world. These days he can still maintain his raw power moves in the ocean while training his younger generation of Beschen s for who knows what is to come for the future. Shane admits, Looking back at my career is a strange thing because I can clearly see so many phases of my life. I can definitely see how I made things hard on myself at times, by sticking to my principles. I stirred the system I competed under and tended to go against the grain, a lot of times creating my own hardship through my actions and words. But Shane wouldn t change a thing: Whatever path I was on, it led me to having a life with my wife and kids. When I look at my wife and two boys, I can t imagine being any more grateful than I am, they mean everything to me and I thank God everyday that I have been so blessed. All in all Shane and Sofia Beschen are a perfect balance for this ever-changing world, their kids are beautiful and filled with laughter. The support of all the people surrounding them is tight and life is good on the North Shore of Oahu for the Beschen Aina. Getting on rail is something from the old school and Shane is just that. Sebastian Inlet 08 Gavin facing off with Backdoor. Noah & Pat