Nalu with Derek Hoffmann

From Surf Stories by Florida Surf Film Festival

June 4, 2026 · 1h 8m · Episode 120

About this episode

Derek Hoffmann discusses his journey from a young surfer in Hawaii to a filmmaker dedicated to preserving surf cinema.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Derek Hoffmann @derekhoffmann808 fell in love with the ocean and still photography at his home break, Sandy Beach, before moving to the North Shore and picking up a movie camera. His in-water 16mm work on the 1989 theatrical release Rolling Thunder set the course for a life behind the lens. He went on to travel the world filming Rip Curl's legendary Search program alongside director Sonny Miller, contributing to iconic films like Searching for Tom Curren . Today, Derek is the founder of naluTV and Nalu Film Foundation , and has made it his mission to preserve and digitize surf cinema's most treasured archives — ensuring the history of the sport is never lost to time.

People in this episode

Guest: Derek Hoffmann

Topics covered

surfing
film
ocean
photography
history
preservation

Keywords

surfing
Derek Hoffmann
naluTV
film preservation
Rolling Thunder
Rip Curl
ocean photography

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: naluTV, Nalu Film Foundation, Rip Curl

Books & works: Rolling Thunder, Searching for Tom Curren

Places: Honolulu, Hawaii, Sandy Beach, North Shore