A person
Encounters with Thomas Campbell
I spent every sixth grade weekend watching surf videos on YouTube. In doing this I came across the name Thomas Campbell. I clicked on a trailer for Thomas’ The Seedling, a movie longboarding entirely shot on actual film with a jazz soundtrack. I remember thinking “Wow, I hate both jazz and longboarding but this is kinda cool.” In the internet sea of thrash metal and shaggy-surfer-dude-chick-in-thong videos the men in retro wetsuits riding beat fiberglass logs were refreshing. I never really looked into Thomas more than that until more recently. My next encounter occurred on Instagram. As I mindlessly scrolled through the monotony of throwback thursdays and 15 year old girl self-promotion, I spotted Thomas again. A surf account I followed posted a picture of him painting a mural. He had painted an entire wall with bright patterns that splashed me in the face. Thomas had saved me from the monotonous the internet sea once again. I vaguely remembered the name and decided to look him up. He has been popping up everywhere since. Through multiple sources and yes, some sixth grade YouTube binges, I learned that Thomas is a creator in every sense of the word. He has done it all. Everything. Every single thing that I like. He is a professional photographer, painter, sculptor, skate and surf cinematographer, and even has his own record label. It is hard to find time to do what a 17 year old boy really wants to do in MA’s rigorous education. I want to be Thomas, or in the truest sense, I want to do what Thomas does: whatever I want no matter what everyone else is doing. Word Count: 276 |