Eternal Stoke (Josh Pomer, 2025): United States

Reviewed By Nico Kalin, Viewed at SBIFF

After watching this film, I was left with an empty feeling. Something about this story didn’t sit right with me. Maybe it was the religious propaganda, or the abuse of AI, or maybe it was something far more significant, the truth. 

An important part of a story is conflict; we learn and change from conflict, it is something that confronts us and later becomes a lesson, not just for us, but for our witnesses. So after watching this film and seeing no real conflict, especially in a documentary about a real person’s life, I knew something was wrong. Something was missing; this was the dark side of Chris Brown’s life. As a documentarian and surfer, I feel it’s important to tell these stories in their fullest truth so we can use them as examples to educate and inform others. 

The documentary Eternal Stoke, directed by Josh Pomer, is an independently made film that follows the life of Chris Brown and his “mysterious” death. Chris Brown was a professional surfer who grew up in Santa Barbara. In his early 20s, he quit professional surfing to take care of his daughter, Chloe. At the time, he was considered within the top 10 of the world; he would compete against legends like Kelly Slater, and in some instances, he even won. Brown then became an urchin diver to help support his daughter. In his free time, he continued to surf and compete at local breaks, with some infamous moments surfing big waves around California. Brown was 48 when he died; the exact details of his death are unknown, however the documentary paints a serene picture of his death. The bluffs give way, and Chris Brown falls to his death, only to make a final phone call to his father before returning to the ocean forever.

Something about this ending felt off, as if the whole documentary was covering something up, so I did some research. I talked to some locals, and I learned about the drug use that was prevalent among big wave surfers. Chris Brown was a well-known big wave surfer. He was one of the first surfers at Shark Park, and surfed Maverick’s many times. In the Santa Cruz area Meth use had become prevalent among surfers, with a few professionals admitting to being high while big wave surfing, the most notable being Peter Mel and Darryl Virostko. Santa Cruz isn’t the only city with Meth issues; several articles in the early 2000s talk about meth being heavily circulated throughout Santa Barbara, and it’s still around now. You don’t have to look too hard to find an article about Chris Brown’s death. Both The Inertia and Stab Magazine released articles about his death, claiming meth was involved in his death. These are prominent surf magazines; they reported that, within the toxicology reports, it said, “acute methamphetamine intoxication”. None of this is mentioned in the documentary; in my opinion, this was the real conflict we never got to see. 

So why didn’t the documentary include this? I believe it was to protect Brown’s image, and because of the heavy influence of religion throughout the documentary, it would contradict the faith throughout the film. Unfortunately, this approach took away the real message behind Brown’s life. The dangers of drug abuse within the culture of surfing. Unfortunately, drug abuse has been a significant part of surf culture, and it is very rarely talked about. With the current fentanyl epidemic, this is a more significant issue than ever, and unfortunately, more surf films include drugs and parties than awareness for these issues. Eternal Stoke missed out on a golden opportunity; they had the ability to teach and spread awareness on drug issues, but instead, the result is a rushed project that propagates what feels like a fairy tale, rather than a harsh lesson about drugs and tragedy.