About the foundation

Saving surfing's
visual history

For decades, a small group of filmmakers and photographers swam into the lineup with their cameras to capture surfing and action sports at their most extraordinary. Their film reels, videotapes and photographs are the visual history of the sport.

Above: Greg Noll at Waimea Bay, 1964 · Photo: Beverly Noll

Why we exist

Analog doesn't last forever

Film turns to vinegar, videotape sheds its coating and prints fade, and without climate-controlled storage and careful handling much of this history will be lost for good.

The Nalu Film Foundation was created to protect this irreplaceable legacy. We scan film, slides and photographs, digitize videotape, and preserve every piece in the Nalu Vault, so the work of these legendary filmmakers can be seen, shared and studied for generations.

Leadership

Our founder

Founder · Executive Director

Derek Hoffmann

Born and raised in Honolulu, Derek has spent more than 40 years behind the camera, from 16mm surf films and Rip Curl's Search to primetime television.

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Derek discovered his love of the ocean at Sandy Beach, picking up a Minolta yellow water camera at age 13 to shoot stills of his friends in the surf. After graduating from Kaiser High School in 1984, he moved to the North Shore, sharpening his eye on its iconic waves.

In 1988, legendary water housing builder Taro Pascual designed a custom housing for Derek's 8mm video camera. That launched a filmmaking journey that soon had him shooting 16mm film for directors Scott Dittrich and Mike McFadden, including water cinematography for the 1991 theatrical release Rolling Thunder.

Mentored by the late Chris Bystrom, who flew him to Australia in 1990 to shoot water footage for his upcoming film, Derek spent the early '90s traveling the globe for Rip Curl's legendary Search program alongside his close friend and collaborator, Sonny Miller. In 2010, he and his brother Craig produced the award-winning documentary Fiberglass and Megapixels.

Alongside his surf work, Derek built a distinguished career as a television camera operator, working on hundreds of episodes of primetime television, including Survivor, The Apprentice, and Hawaii Five-0. His work on Survivor has earned him seven Emmy nominations for cinematography.

The sudden passing of Sonny Miller in 2014 marked a pivotal turning point. Stepping in to help the Miller family secure a vast, vulnerable archive of historic footage, Derek spearheaded the effort to safeguard his late friend's life work—an undertaking that birthed Nalu TV and established the Nalu Film Foundation.

Today, Derek serves as Executive Director of the Foundation, leading its mission to digitize, protect, and share the historic moving images of surfing and action sports.

Treasurer

Kamna Mishra Upadhyaya

A strategic finance executive with more than 30 years of worldwide leadership experience; Chief Financial Officer of JL Capital in Honolulu.

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Kamna's experience spans real estate, infrastructure, telecommunications, consumer goods, investment banking and hospitality.

Working closely with CEOs, boards and executive teams, she guides capital allocation, investment strategy, corporate governance and financial performance to drive sustainable, long-term growth.

She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of JL Capital, a Honolulu-based real estate development and private equity firm. As Treasurer, she brings that same discipline and oversight to the Nalu Film Foundation's finances.

Secretary

Prabhas Joe Upadhyaya

More than 35 years in marketing, management and finance, an Executive MBA with honors, and Vice President at Hawaiian Agents Inc.

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His background spans marketing, management and finance, and he's known for strong leadership, clear communication and a long track record of building lasting relationships with clients, senior leaders and staff.

Joe currently serves as a Vice President at Hawaiian Agents Inc. in Honolulu. As Secretary, he brings that business and organizational expertise to the foundation's mission of preserving surf film history.

Governance

Board of directors

Board member

Nathan Fletcher

Grandson of Walter Hoffman, son of Herbie Fletcher, and one of the most committed big-wave surfers of his generation.

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As the grandson of big-wave pioneer Walter Hoffman, son of surf icon Herbie Fletcher and younger brother of aerial innovator Christian Fletcher, Nathan Fletcher was born into surfing's most storied family. By age 12, he was already charging Pipeline and Waimea Bay, before stepping away at 16 to race motocross.

He made an unforgettable return at the 1998 Gotcha Tahiti Pro, scoring two perfect 10s in a single heat at a then little-known wave called Teahupoo.

Nathan's career has been defined by a relentless pursuit of the ocean's most consequential waves, from helping spark the modern paddle-in movement at Mavericks in 2008 to riding what many consider the heaviest wave ever surfed at Teahupoo in 2011.

As a board member, Nathan brings a deep personal commitment to preserving surf history, including his father Herbie's extensive archive, which is housed in the Nalu Vault.

Board member

Herbie Fletcher

Surfer, shaper, filmmaker and innovator: inventor of Astrodeck and producer of more than 50 surf films, including Wave Warriors.

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Herbie Fletcher is the patriarch of surfing's most influential family. After securing a Clark Foam franchise in the Hawaiian Islands and honing his craft as a shaper, he opened the Herbie Fletcher Surf Shop in Dana Point, where his slogan, "The Thrill Is Back," captured the energy of a new era in surfing.

In 1976 he invented Astrodeck, the world's first surfboard traction pad. He was also among the first to bring jet skis to the outer reefs, helping lay the groundwork for modern tow-in surfing. Over his career he produced more than 50 surf films, including the landmark Wave Warriors series.

Today his legacy lives on through the Fletcher family, including sons Christian and Nathan and grandson Greyson. As a board member, Herbie helps preserve the history he helped create, with his personal archive safeguarded in the Nalu Vault.

Board member

Rick Haynes

Joined the board in honor of his brother, the late Larry Haynes, whose films and archive are preserved in the Nalu Vault.

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Rick is the owner of Haynes Properties LLC and Haynes Real Estate Investments, with offices in Fresno and Arroyo Grande, California. He also owns the HomeVestors franchise for the Central Valley Fresno area. His companies buy and rehabilitate single- and multifamily homes, manage a rental portfolio and offer investment returns on first trust deeds.

A cum laude graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Rick is a member of the Pismo Coast Association of Realtors, the Fresno Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Outside of work, he's an avid pilot who also enjoys golf, sailing and scouting new properties to restore.

The team

Staff

Lead archivist

Richard Cheski

Scans the film, digitizes the tape and preserves the photographs at our Mission Viejo facility.

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Richard grew up on Oʻahu with a lifelong love of surfing and the ocean. He picked up his first camera at 13 and hasn't stopped shooting since. He went on to study photography and film at the University of Utah, where he found a second passion in snowboarding and filmmaking.

Combining action sports with professional cinematography, Richard built a global career as an adventure sports photographer and cinematographer for commercial clients. That hands-on experience with film, video and still photography is exactly what the archive needs. He and his wife live in Orange County, California.

Producer · Editor

Craig Hoffmann

Co-produced, co-directed and edited the award-winning Fiberglass and Megapixels (2010); Derek's younger brother.

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Craig combines a lifelong connection to surfing with a passion for storytelling and filmmaking. He holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in communication, with an emphasis on video, television and film production and editing.

He has worked on the sets of major feature films and episodic television in the grip, electric, props and set dressing departments.

As an independent filmmaker, Craig produced and directed The Freddy P Project – Interrogation (2006) and The Seven Mile Miracle (2007). In 2010, he co-produced, co-directed and edited the award-winning documentary Fiberglass and Megapixels.