Intro
Raised in Ojai, California, Keith grew up outside surfing, exploring, and figuring things out as he went. He kick started his career as a professional surfer, competing at the highest level and traveling the world in pursuit of waves. After years in the contest scene, he eventually stepped away, not to slow down, but to follow a different kind of path in the ocean.
Leaving competition behind opened the door to a more open-ended pursuit: chasing swells in remote places, setting off on the kind of trips where nothing is planned, and that’s the whole point. Foreign coastlines, heavy surf, and long stretches off the grid.
That lifestyle naturally evolved into filmmaking, documenting the moments, places, and people that shaped him along the way. When he’s not in the ocean or behind the camera, he’s on the ranch working cattle, riding horses, and staying just as connected to the land as he is to the water.
For Keith, it’s never been about following a set path. It’s about staying close to what’s real, trusting his gut, and seeing where it takes him.
Q&A
What is your profession? And did you always know this is what you would end up doing, or was it something you stumbled into?
I’m a surfer, a filmmaker, and I guess depending on the day, a rancher. But honestly, none of it was planned. I fell into all of it. Surfing was just what we did growing up — my brothers and I were basically feral kids in Ojai, always outside, always getting into something. The filmmaking started because we wanted to document what we were doing. We grabbed some cameras, and suddenly we were making movies. Nobody handed us a roadmap. We just followed what felt right and tried not to lose the thread.
When you’re not doing your core pursuit, what else do you enjoy doing?
Horses. Cattle. Being outside. I grew up riding calves in the rodeo, and that never really left me. My wife Lauren and I have built a life around the ranch, and there’s something deeply satisfying about that. The ocean will do the same thing, but so will a stubborn cow. I also love spearfishing, hunting — anything that puts you in the middle of something real, where your head has to be completely present or it goes sideways fast.
How do you incorporate music into your life?
Music is always around. I’ll pick up a guitar and write my own stuff when I have time. A good song speaks to you like it is your life. My dad listened to Merle, Willy, Waylon and the rest of that crew and that stuff has stuck with me. I really enjoy playing some good tunes whether it’s on the boat, the side by side or a family shin-dig at the house.
What does “Live Free” mean to you?
It means not letting someone else’s idea of success become your cage. My brothers and I walked away from the contest circuit not because we were making some big statement, but because it just wasn’t us anymore. Living free, to me, is staying close to the things that actually matter — the ocean, the land, your people — and being honest enough with yourself to know when something’s pulling you away from that.
Any guilty pleasures?
Going to Vegas with my wife haha. I’ve never really been a Vegas person—I don’t even gamble. But we’ll take a couple nights away from the kids, stay somewhere fancy, and go see some live music. It’s a fun escape from the day-to-day.
What’s your hottest take or most controversial opinion?
I totally nerd out on ancient civilizations. I can go down the YouTube wormhole for hours—it’s fascinating, and honestly puts me to sleep at night. There are a lot of new theories from guys like Graham Hancock and Randall Carlson about ancient advanced civilizations that I think could definitely be true. They still don’t really know how the pyramids were built, for example. And if we can’t figure that out in modern times, there’s probably a lot about the past we still don’t know.
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you in the wild/on tour?
Some of the wildest moments weren’t the big waves — it was the remote stuff. Kamchatka, Alaska, Norway, Iceland. One time deep in Indonesia we were held up by gunpoint, luckily we got out of that one unharmed. You get out there far enough and things happen that you can’t script and those are also the places that you get a true adventure.
Who is your favorite musical artist? Or what are you listening to right now?
Ryan Bingham never gets old. I gravitate toward music that feels lived-in — stuff that sounds like it came from somewhere real, not a formula. I’ve always said Ryan wanted to be a surfer and I wanted to be a cowboy, so we get along just fine.
Favorite Turtlebox speaker and why? How do you use it?
Of course I love them all, but I use the Ranger the most. It’s the perfect size, and I really like the magnet. It goes from my Jeep to my side by side to the boat—anywhere I need to go, it comes along.