Surf Leg (2015)

Tyler Dixon has been an amputee all his life. He's been a surfer for most of that time but has never had a prosthetic leg that was actually intended to be surfed on. Insurance companies are not obligated to pay for anything other than what fulfills "necessary life functions". According to them the only "necessary life function" is walking. Not running, not riding a bicycle, and definitely not surfing. So his entire surfing life he's been surfing on old walking legs that have been personally frankensteined into makeshift surf legs. But it's not anything close to what it should be. This year Tyler received a grant from an organization called Challenged Athletes Foundation to receive his very first, built from the ground up for the express purpose of surfing, surf leg. They donated the foot, and Tyler's doctor donated the time and materials to custom fit and build the upper part. That is when I had the idea of making a short film about the birth of this surf leg. It is something Tyler wanted to do his entire life. It is the culmination of time, talent, and generosity of the people around him. For Tyler the leg is far more than a piece of medical equipment. It is a living work of art. It is the embodiment of having friends that believe in his dreams enough to sacrifice their time, talent, energy, and resources to see it come to pass.