Ryji Masuda Might Be the Most Stylish 14-Year-Old Ever (Interview)

When Ryji Masuda was young, his father, famed filmmaker Takuji Masuda (director of Bunker77 , which chronicled the life and times of late surfing playboy and heir to a sugar fortune, Bunker Spreckles), surrounded his kid with stylish specimens.

His hope? Osmosis. Style by association. An education from the elders.

Now a seasoned veteran, clocking in at 14 ripe years old, Ryji is about as stylish as they come. He’s finding his way through surfing and skating, figuring out how he’s going to make an imprint on this world while still standing in the shadows of his heroes, innovating the game with new tricks, new aerial maneuvers, and blowing minds in the skatepark, the wave pool , and the ocean. That is, while he still can before starting the grueling time-suck that is high school.

So, before school starts, we hit up Ryji to hear what makes him tick, about being certifiably big in Japan, why wave pools are the way of the future, his arsenal of skate-inspired aerials , and more.

Yo Ryji! Where you at?

At home in Malibu. No waves today, so I slept in.

Take us back. What was your childhood like? Or wait…you’re 14. What is your childhood like?

I’ve been in Malibu since I was two, but I was born in Switzerland. I was super small when I moved, so I don’t remember much of it. Just little glimpses. We go quite a bit to visit during the summer. But I mostly remember my childhood here [in Malibu]. It was a great childhood, just surfing and skating. And the waves right out from our house are so good to learn airs on. Little ramps on every wave, so I got a lot of practice from an early age.

What came first for you, skating or surfing?

Both pretty similar timing. They [my parents] would put me in between their legs and go skateboarding. Then, I’d swim out on a boogie board with my dad when I was super young.

Do you remember your first legit air?

I think it was at Topanga actually. It was a tiny, barely one-foot straight air. [Laughs.] It was super quick, like a blur, because it was pretty small. But I do remember landing it. And when I stomped it, everything was just tingling.

Surfing and skating are like siblings. How does skating influence your surfing?

Definitely when it comes to my airs. I’m trying to tweak the board out, essentially doing skateboarding airs. It’s a lot more fun for me to think about it in that way. With surfing airs, you really have to huck it. You have to throw your body at the lip, especially with rotations. But with skateboarding, it’s more like an extension of yourself. It feels more flow-y for me. So, that’s what I try and do – surfing airs, but with a skating approach.

What’s one air that you're super proud of learning? And what’s one you want to learn?

Oh man, I’m really proud of the Japan air. I was really stoked on that one. I mean, it’s part of my family’s culture. And it was great that I got to do it in a Japanese wave pool. That one felt good, like a real air.

[ For historical context, a Japanese/French skater named Philippe Mentone was featured in a 1984 issue of Transworld Skateboarding tweaking out a mute grab in a bowl. The word “Japan” was printed above the image, because that’s where it was taken. Tony Hawk saw the image, was stoked on the tweak, and cemented the name in the skate lexicon with a 1985 image also in TWS. Read more about the history here .]

One I want to learn…I’ve been trying to do a one-foot tail grab frontside. Like, an ollie north in skating, with a tail grab.

“Style is everything.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s break this down. Sorta like a Greyson Fletcher ollie north, with a tail grab, and hoping you don’t accidentally grab the fins? That’s insane.

Yeah, exactly. I used to have this little poster right beside my bed that he [Greyson] gave me. It was a huge ollie north, no tail grab, but massive. I wanna do that.

Your style, both in skating and surfing, is so refined. Does that come naturally or do you work on it?

It’s been pretty natural. I think it also helped that my dad has always put me in an environment with stylish people, especially in skateboarding. These guys – like Christian Hosoi, who’s been mentoring me – tell me: “Style is everything.”

Lots of people’s styles are influenced by where they come from; do you think growing up in Malibu has shaped your style?

Of course, there’s a longboarding culture here, so I think that influences me. Maybe I stand up too much on the wave. Also just being in LA. That has an influence for sure. It’s a big city, instead of being somewhere with good waves but far from major cities. I think your surroundings shape your style whether you’re aware of it or not. So, being in LA has definitely impacted my surfing and skating.

Then there are the waves that I surf. They run really fast down the line. All the waves here run really quickly, so you’ve gotta be fast on your feet if you wanna make the section. There’s not a lot of time for top-to-bottom surfing. I’m just running down the line always and searching for a ramp.

What do you think about wave pools? You obviously kill it in the tank.

I love wave pools. They’re essentially skateparks. They’re advancing surfing, especially when it comes to airs. You can be so creative with a wave pool. It’s so much easier to learn new tricks in a wave pool. You never get the same section twice in the real world. I think the scale is only getting bigger, the tech is getting better, prices hopefully are getting lower…so, yeah, wave pools are going to be a part of surfing for a while.

You’ve also been putting in your time in the bigger stuff, like Hawaii and Fiji. What drives you to be a well-rounded surfer?

You have to be very focused in bigger waves, and I’m usually not a very focused person. You have to be ready; you have to be in the zone. So, I like that bigger waves push me to be in the moment.

Yeah, I totally want to be a well-rounded surfer, so that also pushes me. I don’t really feel the need to do, like, Jaws-level surfing; but definitely Pipe. It’s just so crowded though. Maybe in the future they can make a wave pool that’s like Pipe. [Laughs.]

How’d that photo exhibit in Japan with Arto come about?

It was really cool. We had a huge turnout. This was actually the second we had. So many people came to hang out. We had 13 pieces, and we sold 15. There were a few duplicates.

So, how it started was, we had a bunch of mutual friends and they told us we had to get together one day. Then when we finally did, Arto started taking photos of me surfing and skating. Then after like two years, we would just bump into each other, just see each other in random places. And then after some time, we had a cool collection of photos.

He’s such a legend. What was it like shooting with him and hanging with him?

I’m quite a few generations below him, so of course, I know he’s a huge legend, but I don’t get that same, like, in-awe-of-him feeling. I see other people freak out. I knew about him, just by being around skating and stuff. And I knew he was a legend. So, it’s super cool to hang out.

He told me I can never do a double-grab. [Laughs.] That’s, like, a big no-no in skateboarding. And he told me to never do one surfing. And then his other saying is: “Don’t kook it.” He’s always telling me that. When a good wave comes, “don’t kook it.”

What do you think about the Olympics? Would you ever wanna double-qualify for both skating and surfing?

I think it’s cool, but you know, I don’t really do many contests. It’s still cool to push our sport. But the culture is a huge part of it. It shouldn’t be just about contests and winning. At least it’s not for me. Representing your country and competing with the world’s best is awesome. But you gotta keep your roots, too. As far as double-qualifying, I guess I would if I could. Especially in LA [2028]. But some of these kids coming up are so gnarly. Like, so young, and so gnarly.

In the more immediate future, what’re your next moves, your goals, your dinner plans?

Goals…man, I’m not sure. I’ll be going to high school next year in Santa Monica. But really, I just wanna keep working on skating and surfing. I feel like it’s a little too early to worry about big life goals, but I’m definitely thinking about the next moves. High school will be a big thing, so my goal is finding time to surf and skate as much as possible.

What I’m gonna eat next? I think I have some leftover Karaage chicken. It’s like Japanese fried chicken. I didn’t cook this one. I love to cook Katsu, which can be hard with the frying bit. I also love Naporitan, which is like a Japanese take on spaghetti. It’s kinda strange because instead of tomato sauce, they use ketchup. It’s actually really good.

You should bring these dishes to high school next year for lunch.

Oh, I will. For sure.