Cover photo: WSL/Evans

Special coverage presented by the International Surfing Association 

The Impossible Wave, the film that follows the process of surfing's Olympic inclusion through the actions of ISA President Fernando Aguerre, premieres this Saturday, July 1.

The documentary follows Aguerre's journey from when he was first elected in 1994 and immediately considered surfing to be an Olympic sport, considered by many to be a lunatic, to finally realising the dream.

We consulted Aguerre about what can be seen in those 40 minutes of documentary, and this is what he had to say.

What would you say to recommend the film to everyone?

The film is the story of an Argentinian boy who dreamed of surfing because he was bad at everything; he was bad at football, tennis, rugby, and in Argentina if you are bad at football, it is painful.

So, well, I started surfing. And I fell in love with the sea and it helped me a lot and when I surfed, I surfed in championships, I was the first Argentine longboarder (in a world championship)… And when I was elected president of the ISA I was very young; one year I had been the Argentine longboarder and the next they elected me president.

"It was amazing to realize that we were one community all over the world, that we were all equal."

It was amazing to realize that we were a community all over the world, that we were all the same, we were surfers, we spoke different languages ​​but the love for the sea was the same.

So the film tells this: The story of a lifelong love. I think the sea, surfing, saved my life… That's it.

What do you like most about the movie?

It's very strange that you ask me that because while we were making it, Jay and Jessica, who are the co-directors, sent me something and I watched it every time they sent me something and I cried because it was like reliving it and realizing what had happened, and that my mom and dad were no longer there, or friends who were there and so many people who helped me... Because in life no one can do anything alone in life, it is only nothingness itself.

"I hope the film inspires other people to dream and to pursue their dreams and to meet other dreamers."

I hope that the film inspires other people to dream and to carry out their dreams and to meet other dreamers, because dreaming and fulfilling dreams is nice, but the nicest thing is fulfilling the dreams of others and making a team of dreamers trying to make those dreams come true together.

What excited you most about the film?

I was thrilled to see other people talking and noticing things about me that I didn't even realize... How fortunate to have all those people in my life.

What did you enjoy most about making the film?

It's being myself; all the things I talk about, dressing up in the crazy clothes, the hats; I like to have fun, I like to laugh. There are so many things to be sad and worried and down about in life and laughing is the most beautiful thing.

What part of the film is unmissable for you?

I really like the song I recorded, Everything is possible. I was lying in bed in California waiting for surgery with a broken back and I kept thinking, “Everything is possible, everything is possible.” That I was going to get better and be able to go back to the waves, which I didn’t know. I didn’t know if I could go back to the sea.

And I came up with a song and I composed it singing with the guitar; I'm terrible, I play four chords, but it turned out to be a very nice song. And a friend of mine, Fer Ruiz Díaz, the leader of Catupecu Macho, liked the song so much that we recorded it.

"I was lying in bed in California with a broken back waiting for surgery and I kept thinking 'anything is possible, anything is possible'"

And in the film, at the end, in front of everyone saying “it’s impossible”, that’s why I gave it the title: “The Impossible Wave”, because it seemed like an impossible wave and when the film ends it appears when we are recording the song. It’s Fer who took a selfie video with his phone while we were in the studio recording it.

And what is the saddest thing about the movie? Because there is no sad question… It is seeing that the Olympic Games and all this madness that I got into that ended well is that one always does things and you like your mom and dad to see you and be happy for what you do, that you are a good son (laughs) and nothing, when I arrived in Tokyo I thought that my old man was going to make it, but no. My dad passed away a year before and my mom five; so my dream of Olympic surfing for which they always supported me I could not share with them.