Surfing made them brothers. But competition nearly broke them. This is a story about wave-chasing prodigies who crashed together in a tiny house on the North Shore of Oahu and turned pro surfing into a billion-dollar industry.
GearJunkie named this one in their list of “The Best Outdoor Documentaries and Films on HBO.”
Trailer for “Momentum Generation”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Kelly Slater’s dad gave him one dollar for every wave he rode when he was 9 years old. That turned into 11 world titles and a surf career that made him a household name.
- After Rob Machado gave Kelly a fist bump at the 1995 Pipe Masters (possibly conceding the win), it became one of the most debated moments in surf history. It also fractured their friendship for years.
- Shane Dorian survived a 40-foot wave wipeout that held him underwater so long he thought he’d die. Years later, he helped develop the inflatable surf vest that’s now standard safety gear.
Watch “Momentum Generation”
You can stream “Momentum Generation” on HBO Max and Amazon Prime.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 96/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 99/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Directed by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, best known for “The Two Escobars” (my colleague, Rob Kelly, rated this 95/100).
Their strength is showing how sports intersect with identity, trauma, and legacy. “Momentum Generation” is less about catching waves and more about chasing meaning.
Release Date: December 11, 2018 (HBO)
My Review of “Momentum Generation”
The Setup
In the early ’90s, a group of teen surfers—Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Shane Dorian, Taylor Knox, and others—moved into a North Shore crash pad to chase their surf dreams. They became known as the “Momentum Generation” after Taylor Steele’s VHS tape put their skills and personalities on the map. But their story is about way more than surf contests.
The film chronicles how this group went from broke and sunburned to the center of a media empire—while struggling with the costs of fame, grief, rivalry, and pressure to perform.
More Highlights from the Doc
- This crew—Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Shane Dorian, Taylor Knox, Kalani Robb, Benji Weatherley—became the heart of the 1990s surf revolution, thanks to Taylor Steele’s VHS tape Momentum.
- The group lived together in Taylor Steele’s North Shore house with no air conditioning, no rules, and often no money. They were just waiting for the next swell like it was gospel.
- The doc explores how sponsorship deals, media pressure, and contests pitted close friends against each other. Brands like Quiksilver and Billabong were shaping the industry—and using these guys as pawns.
- It’s not just big waves. The film dives into grief (they all lost close friend Todd Chesser to drowning in 1997), depression, toxic masculinity, and how their “surf bro” image masked some serious emotional trauma.
- Each surfer reflects on what they were escaping—broken homes, abusive parents, or just the weight of expectation—and how the ocean became their therapy and their battlefield.
Cameos – Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Tom Curren, the original surf icon of the ’80s, shows up briefly as the ghost all of them were chasing in the early years—especially Slater.
- Actor Edward Norton narrates select sections of the film, but he’s never shown onscreen. It’s subtle but adds gravitas.
- The house they all lived in had a broken outdoor shower and no real beds—yet it was ground zero for some of the most iconic surf footage ever recorded.
- Slater admits that while the world saw him as invincible, he was often lonely and unsure if the wins were worth the personal cost.
- Taylor Steele funded his early films with odd jobs and cheap cameras—then launched a new surf media era almost by accident.
Wrap Up
If you think surf docs are all stoke and barrels, this one will surprise you. It’s about friendship, ego, and what happens when paradise gets complicated.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc