Appreciate the Ride
All his life, waterman Mark Cunningham has answered the call of the ocean. Amid the waves, he’s learned the importance of humility, gratitude and caring for the earth.
Our Kūpuna: Stella Shimabukuro | Edward Kuba | John Waihe‘e
Mark Cunningham | 70 Years Old
Lifelong waterman Mark Cunningham has spent decades getting to know the ocean. First, as an athlete: As a boy, he got his gills wet catching waves at his local break off Niu Beach, which eventually led to a legendary bodysurfing career that saw him conquering swells and clinching titles on the North Shore and around the world. Then as a guardian: The 70-year-old spent 30 years protecting people as a lifeguard on Hawai‘i’s beaches, and founded the O‘ahu Junior Lifeguard Program. Now, as an advocate: After hanging up his whistle, Cunningham dove into a new career, transforming found objects culled from shorelines and the ocean floor into art pieces that call for mindful consumption and better care of the earth.
Along the way, he learned the rhythms of the ocean, he listened to its tales, he unfurled its secrets like whitewash spilling onto the sand. These are some of the life tenets gleaned from his time in the water.
As told to Brie Thalmann:
Some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from my life in the ocean—patience is certainly one of them. And not to take yourself too seriously or think too highly of yourself, because in the whole scheme of things, we’re all pretty manini. It overwhelms me sometimes, the enormity of our world and all that’s going on in it in this time.
Going to the beach and seeing every size, shape and age imaginable, and we’re all stripped down to our bathing suits, and we’re all sort of the same, regardless of where we’re from—our ethnicity, our religion, where we live, where we grew up. We’re all just people trying to do the best we can.
I beat myself up an awful lot with self-doubt and would haves, could haves and should haves. Getting into the ocean helps me wash those things away.
I beat myself up an awful lot with self-doubt and would haves, could haves and should haves. Getting into the ocean helps me wash those things away. That serenity, happiness and physical well-being that the ocean—swimming, surfing, bodysurfing, snorkeling—provides for me is very rewarding, and I’m very thankful for it. We’re so lucky here in Hawai‘i that we have so many opportunities to get into the ocean.
So many people think of surfing as being in tune with nature and one with Mother Nature, but there’s so much of the foam and fiberglass and the plastic fins and plastic leashes. There’s a carbon footprint involved in everything. I try to keep my life as simple as possible, not to accumulate too many things. Some of my art pieces incorporate the marine debris and the plastic pollution to remind people and make them aware of where’d this stuff come from.
I was very nervous the first time I showed my artwork. But it gives me joy to repurpose all these man-made objects that have passed their use-by date. You only live once. No shame. People will like it or they won’t like it. It doesn’t matter, so long as it gives you personal satisfaction. The possibilities are endless on what you could do to fill your time, to keep you on your toes, to keep you socially engaged, mentally engaged.
