Showing posts with label burnout. Show all posts

Thursday, September 17, 2026

60+ Books, Surfing, Art, Music & More | A Conversation with Burnout Stoke Ambassador Eric J. Cedeno

In this podcast-style conversation with Burnout Stoke, we dive into the many different passions, adventures, and experiences that have shaped my life. I’m Eric J. Cedeno, a Burnout Stoke Ambassador, author of more than 60 books, competitive surfer, artist, musician, surfboard builder and high-performance longboard shaper. I’ve spent 24 years working in aerospace, while also pursuing a wide range of creative and athletic interests outside of work. We talk about: Publishing more than 60 books and the creative process behind them Competitive surfing and the lessons it has taught me Art, creating artwork, and participating in art shows Building wooden surfboards and shaping high-performance longboards Playing guitar and ukulele, including ASL songs My first 32-mile Catalina Classic paddleboard race 24 years working in the aerospace industry Using Excel and data to track and analyze surf statistics The many hobbies and projects that keep life interesting Near-death experiences and how they can change your perspective Some special shoutouts to people and organizations along the way Life advice, lessons learned, and thoughts on self improvement This conversation is really about much more than surfing. It’s about creativity, curiosity, persistence, trying new things, and making the most of the time we have. Thanks to Burnout Stoke for having me on and for creating a space where we could have such a wide-ranging conversation. If you enjoy surfing, creativity, art, music, books, surfboard building, interesting life stories, or simply hearing about the different paths one person can take, I hope you enjoy the conversation. Thanks for watching! #BurnoutStoke #EricJCedeno #Surfing #Longboarding #SurfboardShaping #Art #Music #Books #CatalinaClassic #Aerospace

Saturday, January 23, 2016

It's not very often that I get pictures of me riding my longboard...

I'm stoked I was at the right place at the right time and got my picture taken by David -3 Dog! I saw this guy swimming around with a GoPro and he was just as happy to be out in the surf as I was. He said his name is David -3 Dog and I thought that was pretty cool! He took a few pictures of me and said that he would email me if I gave him my email address (which I did).

Of course I was think no way is this guy going to remember my email address and send me pics, but sure enough he did! So we got to talking and this is what I found out:

(NoBadTides) How long have you been shooting water shots?

(David -3 Dog) Been shooting water shots for just over 2 years...when my boss sent me a GoPro for a bonus. I get so much joy out of being in the water...with my old body, it takes the pressure off my joints and when waves roll over my back...free massage!

(NoBadTides) What type of equipment do you use?

(David -3 Dog) GoPRO HERO 4 SILVER AND HERO 3+ on wristmount, maskmount and bobber pole

(NoBadTides) Where do you like shooting the most? (local only?)

(David -3 Dog) Local only...Burnout. Where you saw me is where I be!

(NoBadTides) How much do you charge for a session?

(David -3 Dog) I would like to set up sessions with people...that would be awesome. No charge...just donate to a dog rescue or homeless food bank...somethin like that.

(NoBadTides) Whats the best way for someone to set up a surf session / water photo session with you?

(David -3 Dog) Email me or message me on IG I guess...I work from home so I can do early morning sessions...Nothing over 8 foot! lol

add my Instagram - @davidecombsi

and my email - davidecombsi@gmail.com

Sunday, April 14, 2013

4-12-13 - Friday Late Morning Session at Torrance

I heard burnout might be fun so I headed down to the beach. I did look pretty fun, a little fast and there was only a few guys surfing in the area. I looked for the usual free parking and couldn't find anything close so I drove south to Torrance Beach.

Burnout 4-12-13 Photo by Eric Cedeno

It was less crowded and looked like it would be fun on a longboard. I got good free parking near the top of the ramp and snapped a quick picture before heading down to the water.

Torrance Beach 4-12-13 Photo by Eric Cedeno

The surf was around head high but was tricky to catch. You really had to commit in the right spot and have the right board to catch the waves. For the most part it was just me and one other longboarder catching all the waves. Every now and then a few others would paddle out but I don't remember them catching any of the good sets. I surfed for about two hours and came in. The shore pound was real heavy and I had to time the waves just right to get back on the sand safely.

Torrance Beach 4-12-13 Photo by Eric Cedeno

This guy didn't time it right and broke his board in half. I felt bad for him even though he was still smiling. I could tell he was new to surfing and this was just one of many lessons that he'd have to learn.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Tuckin' In For A Tube Ride

My shoulder was still not improving even after going thru the punishment of several months of physical therapy. My doctor reluctantly agreed to schedule surgery to clean up my rotator cuff and shave down the bone spur in my left shoulder. The surgery date was set for January 13 (my grandma’s birthday), 2003. At twenty four years old I was pretty sure I was going to die during surgery from some sort of genetically inherited family curse passed on by my father. My Father had his palm read when he was young and the palm reader told him that we would die before he was thirty years old, and he did.

I have no memory of him because he died when I was two years old. I have a few pictures of my father and I look just like him although my mom says I look slightly better than him. I didn’t tell anyone about my fear of dying before I turned thirty, I didn’t want anyone to worry about me or think I was paranoid.

I figured this day may be the last time I got to go out surfing so I had better make the best of it. Skip and I checked out the avenues and ended up at Burnout. There was only a few heads out and the rights were super clean. The sun was bright and there was only a slight off shore breeze and a few people sat on the big storm sand berm’s to watch the surfers brave the cold water. We paddled out and I was already dialed in after just a few waves. I did a lot of one arm paddling back to line up to limit the stress on my bad shoulder. All the waves barreled and I had a good chance of making it out of most of them. I didn’t mind not making it out of the barrel, because when I did make it out I wondered if I could’ve gotten in deeper.

Surfer: Eric Cedeno
Location: Burnout, Torrance CA

Between waves I saw a man sitting on the sand berm with a big camera and a very long lens. He must’ve been shooting for a magazine or something and of course I wanted my picture taken so I kept getting barreled. It wasn’t the biggest wave to come by but I could tell it was lining up to be a good one. I made the quick drop and tucked into the pocket. The sun’s reflection off the water was bright and dragged my right hand in the water to slow down just a little. I was surprised the wave held up as long as it did. It’s true, when I’m in the barrel time does slow down. I calmly made it out of the pocket and kicked out over the top of the remaining wave. I paddled back out for more hoping that the guy with the big camera would stick around long enough for me to find out if he got any pictures of me, but he soon left.

Two days later (Thursday November 23, 2002) Skip calls me up and tell me that I have to go buy the news paper. Skip said,” There’s this guy on the second page of the Daily Breeze that you know. Go get one and check it out.” So I did. I opened it up and saw a picture of me surfing Burnout. I knew the exact wave, the precise moment that the picture was taken. I'll never forget it.