Now you can get your surf gear and your local talent fill all in one place, with a bottle of cheap red wine. Brendan “Buck Nasty” Buckley is officially on the Eastern Lines team.
Brendan Buckley is a strange little man. You probably know him as the Belmar air kid who can’t bust big hacks and folds in a contest jersey.
Actually, that’s not true at all. Buckley’s not real big on surfing between the flags, fair enough. But in actuality, the kid won the Smith Optics Grom Grudge Match in 2009. He needed four points in the semifinal and he pulled a Superman. Not the most calculated competitive move, but it wasn’t three to the beach, to be sure. He also made the world outside of New Jersey take notice at the Unsound Pro that year.
And about this notion that he can’t lay down a solid turn, well that’s just ridiculous. Buckley has got the gaffs, left hooks, and uppercuts in his arsenal to leave you on the ropes. Don’t let his affinity for slobs and spins fool you.
Buckley grew up in right here in Belmar, a few blocks down Ocean Avenue from 16th Ave., where the event happens. He came up in a surfing family, and quickly rose to the top of the ESA CNJ standings. Whenever the event was in town, he would take every advantage to surf with the traveling pros. Then, in 2007, he qualified for the Smith Optics Garden State Grudge Match, a landmark in any local surfer’s career.
Buckley has been supported solidly by locally-based Ergo Surf since his days as a Manasquan High School ripper. Upon graduating, he hit the road to shoot in Puerto Rico, Panama, Hawaii, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Buckley hasn’t really stopped since. It’s not uncommon to see him boosting among the world’s best at Rocky Lefts on the North Shore. In addition to thorough coverage in Eastern Surf Magazine and Mundo Rad, Buckley’s recently graced the pages of Transworld Surf.
Still, airs are his trademark, from the ability to milk a simple air revo out of summer slop to extremely tech above-the-lip gymnastics. His recent Kerrupt flip and Passion Pop were considered among Dane Reynolds and Ry Craike in the $50,000 Kustom Airstrike contest.
This spring, Buckley made the decision to ride for Eastern Lines. Owner, Don Tarrant had been a friend of the family for years, and it only made sense for Buckley to reconnect with the hometown shop.
