Best Sections of All-Time: Chris Ward in What's Really Goin' Wrong

There’s something about Chris Ward. Style. Rawness. Creativity. And a lot of “fuck it.” You can see it in his demeanor even in these early visions of him. A little punk running San Clemente and that’s why we loved him.

Lost immortalized Chris with this part shot one week in October of 1995. A 16-year-old Chris showed us what he could do and it ended up being a whole part in What’s Really Going Wrong. He simultaneously landed the cover of Surfing Magazine with an iconic Larry “Flame” Moore shot (RIP) and sequence and “Wardo” was born.

As we wrap up a month of focus on the south Orange Curtain of San Clemente, we have to pay tribute to one of it’s most polarizing and radical children Chris Ward.

And while we’re talking about Chris, let’s not discount the way Lost roughed up the shiny industry with its broken-bottle-in-the-alley energy of the late ‘90s. Lost’s vids showed you what it really took to push the envelope in and out of the water and it had a huge influence on the surf world and how we do airs today.

Make sure you check out the Inherent Bummer Guide: San Clemente, CA and if you head down there, definitely keep an eye out for Saint Christopher Ward. He’s around. And still ripping. And be sure to hit up the Surfin’ Chicken for a feed, a few relics and short history lesson in San Clemente surfing.—Brandon Guilmette