SURFER MAGAZINE INTERVIEW, Collectors Edition 2001: In order to appreciate the life of nascent big-wave charger and feral entrepreneur Adam “Biff” D’Esposito, it’s necessary to also have a chat with his father, Big Sal. “My dad,” says Adam, “is such a character that sometimes I can’t even believe he’s my dad. He’s straight out of Goodfellas, but without the crime.” Big Sal will point out that as a youth in Asbury Park, N.J., he was once an alter boy with Danny Devito.
The father’s northeastern sensibilities contributed to the later successes of the son, so it seemed to make sense just to let the two talk. Sal spoke from his adopted home in Carlsbad, Calif., Biff from a campground on the road to Teahupoo, where he’s been living as a feral for several months.
BIG SAL: We move to Carlsbad when Adam was 12. He first starts on a Boogie Board, but a week later, he comes into the house, and says, “That’s it, Dad, I’m a surfer.”
BIFF: I started surfing every day, just getting so psyched. Do you remember the cover shot of Luke Egan on the red board at Pipe where he’s angling in? That mag also had the Tom Carroll snap at Pipe–that was what inspired me from the beginning. I thought that it would be so amazing to one day be at that level.
BIG SAL: He was a pretty smart kid–graduated at 15. The principal says, “Look, he scores in the 99th percentile on his tests. Let him do what he wants.” He finished this super hard equivalency test, got his diploma and went to Puerto Escondido by himself.
BIFF: On that trip, Davey Miller, Strider and Carlos Cabrerro, those guys were getting huge barrels and blowing my mind. The next year, I wanted to train to surf the Pipeline. So I brainstormed some business ventures and went back to Puerto the next summer with some stuff to sell–leashes and wax mostly–and I started a board supply out of my hotel room. I was a mobile surf shop. After Mexico, I went back to California and saved two grand with a valet job. I moved to the North Shore, bought a car and then got another junker–a full North Shore special–for $500. My friends were like, “Biff, you’ve got the two cars, let me rent one.” Eventually I even got a nicer one that I guaranteed could make it to Town and back. I thought, cool, I can rent cars, pay rent and surf.
BIG SAL: So I went to Hawaii and Adam’s bought three old cars that he rents out. Picks me up in an ’87 Town Car–it’s nicer than the car I’ve got back home. And I gotta tell ya, he’s grown up to be exactly the kind of a kid a dad would hope to have. Everybody loved him. He coulda been the mayor of the North Shore. At Foodland we ran into Strider. When Adam was about 16, he had told me, “Dad, there’s this kid named Strider. He gets paid to go all over the world and get his photo taken in tubes. That’s what I want to do.” So now Strider’s kind of taken him under his wing. I said, “Wow, Adam, that was like Babe Ruth coming out of the grave and telling me I’m on his team!”
BIFF: I saved money from the cars and from cleaning carpets in Hawaii. Now I’ve been living off that in a tent near Teahupoo. Recently I saw a sign on the wall at the snack shop and it said, “SURFERS TRADE BOARDS FOR BLACK PEARLS.” The guy’s from California and owns his own pearl farm and is also a surfer. So, I’ve been selling black pearls from Tahiti to my dad who turns around and resells them.
BIG SAL: Laird Hamilton watched Adam surfing that reef in Tahiti and when he told him he was from Jersey, Laird said, “See, that’s proof that big-wave riders are born not made.”
BIFF: Best compliment I ever got. My buddy Jarius Cannon was out freesurfing on some 8-to 10-foot days leading up to the day that Laird caught his epic wave. Laird actually offered me the chance to tow in on that day, but I’d never towed and didn’t think I was ready for it, but I definitely want to get into it. I actually got to witness his wave from a boat. It was the heaviest experience of my life–the one time I was ever truly afraid for another person riding a wave. It was just beyond… beyond.
BIG SAL: I pulled Strider aside and said, “You gotta help my kid. Everybody’s got a contract and he’s got whogots.” Adam, of course, is like, “Dad, don’t say anything. I’ve got to pay my dues. If they want me, they’ll contact me.” So that’s why he’s been living like Jack London in exotic places.
BIFF: Living like I have, you also learn a lot about survival–that you can actually live off the land on coconuts, fruit and fish. Live off the land and water, without money. It’s amazing.
BIG SAL: I tell Adam God moves in mysterious ways. If I had the money to send you to these places, I’d have given it to you. But then you wouldn’t have learned as many things as you have about surfing and surviving. So that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
BIFF: Dad said do what you do for the love. It’s not about the money or the fame. If you’re doing something you really love, and it’s a positive thing, it’s well worth it. That’s what will drive me for the rest of my life. — Chris Dixon