The Westsiders

The Westsiders is the awe-inspiring, eye-popping tale of a special piece of Santa Cruz history: the rise and fall of The Westsiders surf gang as portrayed through the experiences of our own hometown’s surfers.

Best friends Darryl “Flea” Virostko, Shawn “Barney” Barron, and Jason “Ratboy” Collins bonded in the icy cold waters of Santa Cruz as kids in the 1980s.  Joined by their common tragedies and love of surfing, they supported each other through shattered homes, drug addiction, psychological challenges and hardcore localism.  In order to earn their stripes as surfers, they were forced to join The Westsiders, a local surf gang, and go face-to-face with Vince Collier, aka “The Godfather,” a massive brute force, who ran the notorious Steamer Lane with his own version of street justice.

Managing to earn the acceptance of The Godfather, they turned their focus to realizing their mutual dream of becoming professional surfers before the age of 24.  Inspired by seeing their heroes in person at a local surf competition one winter, the trio became convinced that professional stardom was, in fact, a possibility.  After 1994’s Cold Water Classic, where Ratboy’s startling 360-degree aerial move blew everyone’s mind, a signal was sent that a new breed of surfers was brewing in Santa Cruz.  Magazine covers, sponsors, tours and fame soon followed.  They’d done it.  They’d reached the peak of professional surfing.  However, the pressure of success took its toll and each struggled to cope with their personal demons.

Director Joshua Pomer, who grew up on the Westside, and was friends with Flea, Barney and Ratboy, has crafted an intimate and sensitive portrait of three boys who grew up to become the best surfers in the world, and one who simply struggled to keep his head above water.  Featuring a combination of stunning archival surf footage, news clips, interviews with family, friends and loved ones, and video Joshua shot himself of the guys as a teenager, The Westsiders is the latest chapter in the bizarre, yet innovative, history of Santa Cruz.

In Person: Joshua Pomer, Director; Brian Hirrel, Producer