Photo courtesy of Ian Calderon

He grew up playing tag on the Senate floor, and now 19 year-old Ian Calderon is a pressing force on California’s pro-amateur surfing circuit. Son of former state senate majority leader Charles Calderon, Ian claimed first in the 2005 Huntington Beach Surf Series and fourth overall in the So. Cal Volcom contests.

A friendly San Clemente local, Ian is a regular fixture at Riviera, T-Street, Lost Winds and Lowers. He is soon to leave for Australia to study abroad for a semester. He chose a study locale near cranking Aussie breaks, and is amped to go. He is a political science major at Long Beach State, and has his eyes ahead on both suit-and-tie career opportunities and pro surfing.

Ian surfs for sponsors Sanuk Sandals, ZJ Boarding House, Sol Sunguard, Creature of Leisure, West Surfing, Hoven Sunglasses, and DOC Surf Prescription Surfboards. Hustling up and down the coast for contests, work, and school he has hardly an idle moment. He lives in the O.C., works two hours away at a surf/snowboard shop in Santa Monica, and often makes his way another thirty minutes up the coast to surf Third Point, Malibu with his cousin Brandon Boyd (lead singer of Incubus). Ian’s surf compadres also include brothers Steven Newton (pro longboarder) and Matt Calderon; and close friend, Manny Amador (Hurley rep). Not your typical Spicoli surf burnouts, the boys have a lot of ambition and vigor. They want the most, and will probably get it.

Photo courtesy of Hillary Cramer

Interview with Ian:

What’s up next for you?
With surfing, I want to be able to travel and give a lot of the pro contests a shot…get a good team vibe going with sponsors. I like to do the team surf stuff. In terms of career I just want to get a great education through Long Beach. Law school’s a possibility…I’m studying political science.

Do you think you’ll follow your dad’s footsteps and go into politics?
I think that’s definitely a possibility…It’s always been a big part of my life. My dad is actually going back into the state assembly pretty soon.

Who inspires you?
Definitely my parents…my mom and dad are remarried and I have great stepparents. I’m probably the luckiest kid when it comes to stepparents. But, the one who really pushes me, doesn’t let me slide, kind of made me the person I am is my dad. A lot of one-on-one talking, and always just being there for me when I really needed.

How did you get into surfing?
I was six or seven years old and my stepdad surfed and he bought this old 6’0, three inches thick old-school shortboard. Me and my two other brothers, Matt and Steven, would just go in the pool and learn to balance just by standing up. The first time I ever tried to surf was at Salt Creek, which is a pretty heavy beach break so I got my butt kicked and then we went over to Old Man’s, San Onofre.

What are you doing with contests right now?
I just finished the HB Surf Series. I do NSSAs and the Volcom contests. I like to do as many contests as I can. I’m competing on my school surf team also.

Long Beach State has a surf team?
Oh yeah! We actually got first overall last year.

What is your best surfing memory?
You know, my best surfing memory is with my brothers Steven and Matt. There’s a break out in front of our house in San Clemente called Pochie, and there’s a reef out there. Sometimes it would get big and the waves would break and it would get super heavy on the inside, and of course we’d run down the hill and go out when we were young. My little brother was super little, and we would be out there with him and every time the biggest, gnarliest wave that we knew nobody was going to make came in, we’d go “ Go, go, go Mattty go!” And every time he’d go over the falls, come up and he was so stoked. [Ian says amidst laughter] Now he’s like the biggest charger ever. He charges huge. I think he should thank me for that. He should thank me for pushing him as a young’un. [Laughs]

Photos courtesy of Hillary Cramer