Missionary on a surfboard

When Laguna native, pro-surfer and Coastline Pilot columnist James Pribram learned that a fellow surfer and activist by the name of Jack Flynn had been arrested for riding the waves of Lake Michigan last November, he felt compelled to turn the tide of Chicago’s wave-riding prohibition laws.

“This man spent the night in jail in his wetsuit, with two cellmates who had just robbed a bank,” he said. “That’s baffling.

“I was in Chicago filming an episode for [Fuel TV’s actions sports athlete] documentary Firsthand when I heard Flynn’s story and thought ‘I have to make this part of the show.’”

Pribram, who last competed in 2001 and said he’s focusing the second phase of his career on “giving back to the surfing community,” organized a stand-up paddle protest in front of Chi-town’s “Miracle Mile,” with XS Energy Drink co-founder and Eco-Warrior partner David Vanderveen, Ryan Gerard and Flynn.

“After nearly two hours of paddling, the Chicago police boats arrived,” Pribram said. “But we were long gone.”

The paddle-out, he said, was a small step toward a stand for change, which he hoped would result in the freedom of choice for all surfers.

He later rallied with the Surfrider Foundation’s Lake Michigan Chapter to overturn laws that had for a decade banned flotation devices from the city’s beaches, the result of a fatal rafting tragedy involving three young girls.

Pribram argued that tax-paying surfers and swimmers should have the freedom to challenge the waters at their own risk, an idea with which the Chicago City Parks Department would eventually agree.

“There was a great mutual respect between the city and surfing community, so the process was pretty smooth sailing as far as environmental actions go,” he said.

Pribram concluded the effort July 25 by presenting a surfboard to the city, with a graphic of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), created by Lost, his sponsor surf company.

The 2007 recipient of the prestigious John Kelly Environmental Achievement Award, Pribram travels the globe through his Eco-Warrior Project, to show people how they can contribute to environmental issues such as improving water quality and protecting endangered reefs and wildlife, and works to solve environmental hazards that endanger our oceans.

Pribram discussed his environmental activism when he made an appearance on CBS in Chicago and the local edition of CNN’s “Celebrity with a Cause” on Wednesday.

“Surfing has given me everything in my life [since I was six],” he said. “For the children in many [impoverished] areas of the world, the waves are their ‘parks and playgrounds.’

“It’s important for me to give back to something that has given me so much, and to find better solutions in change.”

Pribram also works with eco-driven companies, like Ethos FR+, which seek to benefit the community and sustainability of the planet.

He is currently developing a clothing line called “Eco-Warrior,” under the Lost label. The “green” collection of tees, boardies, trunks and hats should be available in the spring.

For more information about Pribram’s efforts, visit www.ecowarriorsurf.com. He is also the founder of the Aloha School of Surfing in Laguna Beach. For more information, visit www.alohaschoolofsurfing.com.