Wednesday, September 4th Joey Buran, the 1984 Pipeline Master champ debuted his new autobiography Beyond the Dream: From the King of Pipeline to a Life of Serving and Inspiring Others, the much-anticipated memoir of Joey’s journey from the California Kid who won the Pipe Masters to a highly respected minister nationwide at the California Surf Museum.
The crowd of over seating, with SRO and would have had more without Fire Marshalls.
Joey is a great storyteller, so and a professional speaker so it was not hard to keep an audience already in his corner riveted for 45 minutes of tales from the tube – and other geographic locales.
That his book centers around win at Pipeline, and the singular achievement that launched his life’s career, it is not surprising that he pays homage to the man considered to be its greatest performer.
“There has never been anyone or anything even close to the surfing, the brand and the legacy of Gerry Lopez. The skill, the style, the influence, King of the Pipeline, Beginning of the Pipeline Masters and the birth of modern Pro Surfing…he profoundly shaped and influenced it all,” Joey told me last month when we discussed the various figures he drew inspiration from.
“It was my purpose and dream to be like Gerry Lopez and become King of the Pipeline! There had to be a dream and a big one at that! And…there had to be something even greater Beyond The Dream. This is my story.”
So how is the story? I know Joey won’t take offense when I say I was pleasantly surprised at how compelling the story of his life actually is. After all, I am a writer who loves to surf and loves to tell surf stories. Joey is a top tier former pro who loves to surf and likes to tell surf stories. So if he saw me take a wave at Pipe and actually make the drop and get to the end of the wave unscathed, he’d probably give me a high five. I’ve never done that at Pipe, but Joey has successfully dropped in, carved some great lines, and even a few tense turns and funny flourishes.
Credit should be given to Bob Yehling, a surfer and professional writer and book editor who guided Joey’s structure to make it a good read for anybody. From the opening chapter confronting his deepest anxiety about leading a pack of pros as their coach, Buran shares his approach to dealing with his career-defining victory at Pipeline, creating the United States’ first professional surfing tour—then hitting a low period of doubt and confusion dark enough to nearly cost him his life.
Bottom line: Joey’s story is a lot more compelling and his telling of the tales is a lot more interesting than most pro surfers – and a lot more inspirational too. Self-published and available for under $20, it’s a bargain and a page-turner all in one.
– Jim Kempton
