Brothers of the Cloth: D.E. on writing, film making, and a love of surfing

We catch up with D.E. author, film maker, surfer, Father, and brother of the cloth at his home in Malibu.

1.  We loved Dead Mountain and passed it around quite a bit back at HQ.   How’s the Cobain movie coming along

D.E.: The film rights to my book Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident were just optioned. I’m pretty excited to bring Dead Mountain to the big screen. I’m currently finishing a feature documentary film about the death of Kurt Cobain called Soaked in Bleach that will be in theaters next year.

2.   Where have you jetted off to lately?  Any travel items you cant live without?

   D.E.:  Earlier this year I spent three weeks in Costa Rica with my family on a surf vacation. It was an amazing experience to introduce my 3 year-old-son to surfing on this trip.  He loved the warm water and walking through the jungle trying to spot the Howler monkeys and macaws. My father took me on my first surf trip to Costa Rica many years ago, so it’s great to continue the tradition. I don’t go anywhere without my Wallabee Boot in sand Suede. This is the most confortable shoe I’ve ever owned and it hasn’t changed much in style from the 1960’s. I’ve worn these shoes in my travels from Russia to Central America to NYC and they’ve never let me down.

The Classic Wallabee

3.       What are you into these days? Are you still spending some time on your board? Riding much?

DE:  With all of my film projects and my family now, anytime I’m not either working or with family, I’m surfing or doing my martial arts. We’ve had really good waves here in Malibu this summer with one historic swell that was the biggest it’s been in ten years. When the waves are small and gutless, I enjoy ridding a Mark Richards retro twin fin. I’ve been really into listening to Chet Baker lately. Chet Baker just never gets old. I recently read a book called People Who Eat Darkness that was one of the most frightening nonfiction books I’ve ever read.

The always classic Chet Baker

4.       You have a few of our shirts now and building a collection. Any current favorites?

DE:   I really like the Palmyra shirt.  It fits really well, it’s timeless and simply just feels good to wear. You guys nailed it in terms of style, fit and function.

5.       You know we feel that we have our shirts finally nailed after all of these years and are working on taking the fit and aesthetics to other pieces.  Anything in particular you would like to see?

DE:  I’d like to see you guys design a pair of cargo pants that are really rugged and fitted (watch this space-IB)

6.       What’s your favorite surf break around here? There are so many good ones close by.

DE:  I mainly surf in the Malibu area, and a little further up the coast in a few of the California State Parks. There aren’t really any secret surf sports in LA County anymore, but we have a few spots that we surf that rarely get crowded and can get really fun in the right conditions.