Surf Cat

Surfing, let alone going to the beach, weren’t really options for Giovanni Douresseau while growing up in South Central Los Angeles even though the beach was just 30 minutes away.

Douresseau’s mother, who emigrated from Jamaica in the 1980s, worked multiple jobs to provide for her three children after Giovanni’s father left when he was 5 years old. Douresseau was offered drugs before he even knew how to add or subtract. Friends and classmates would seemingly disappear out of thin air from one day to the next, either getting arrested or killed.

“I was kind of a candle flickering on its last light,” Douresseau said.

It wasn’t until a 12-year-old Douresseau went on a surfing excursion with A Place Called Home in partnership with Youth Mentoring Connection that his life changed for the better. Today, Douresseau, 26, is now a surfing mentor himself after reviving the program to help inner-city children in similar situations he was once in.

Douresseau’s inspirational story is highlighted in Transformed, a three-episode video series created by World Surf League Studios. The series’ second season premieres on October 28 on the heels of a successful and well-received first season that premiered in early August.

“As a passionate surfer myself, I know firsthand the transformational power of surfing and what it can do to people’s lives when you really immerse yourself in the sport,” WSL Studios president Erik Logan said. “We’ve decided to create World Surf League Studios with a clear intention of trying to grow narratives in and around the sport of surfing and further extend that just beyond the jersey.”

Logan joined WSL Studios in January 2019 from his role as president at the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The newly created studio has developed and produced multiple series and documentaries to expand the narrative around surfing outside of competitions.

The Kelly Slater Documentary provides unprecedented access to the professional and personal life of 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater. Big-wave surfer Mark Visser’s quest to find and surf the largest unridden wave in the world is the subject of Deep Blue: The Mark Visser Project, while Sound Waves has surfers mic’d up during championship tour events to give the audience an intimate look into the excitement and pressures of competitions.

Hosted by 1977 World Champion Shaun Tomson, Transformed showcases the impact surfing has on both a personal and cultural level with episodes ranging between 15-20 minutes. Season two kicks off on October 28 with “Sawubona (I See You)” featuring Douresseau’s story with other episodes about the South African-based Sentinel Ocean Alliance (October 31) and empowering girls through surfing in Jamaica (November 3).

“This season we wanted to help bring awareness to the fact that the ocean is for everybody; it’s a global playground,” Logan said. “All of these stories are about transforming lives. It’s very defining for the studio and the league as we chart a new course of storytelling, something that’s never been done before in the history of this sport. Those types of opportunities don’t come along all the time.”

For Douresseau, having his story featured on Transformed is part of a promise he made to his surfing and life mentor Tim Wingard, who presented him with three challenges: finish school, dedicate his life to public service and helping people, and share their story to help inspire others. Wingard passed away on June 23, 2019.

“It is invaluable to honor my mentor with his last wish,” Douresseau said.