‘The Cigarette Surfboard’ merges surfing and environmentalism

By Brian Tress | Outer Banks Voice on April 19, 2025

Thousands of cigarette butts — the most littered item on the planet — are used to make a Ciggy Board.
Credit: thecigarettesurfboard.com

Award-winning film screened at Pioneer Theater last week.

By Brian Tress | Outer Banks Voice

If you see The Cigarette Surfboard, don’t expect a film about the carefree, nomadic lives of young men and women chasing the next big wave. It’s a documentary about surfing with a purpose — showing how those who make a life out of riding waves can also be stewards of the ocean. Its cast includes professional surfers who moonlight as scientists, regenerative farmers and environmental activists.

The film screened on Thursday, April 17 at Manteo’s historic Pioneer Theater — which was nearly at full capacity — sponsored by Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

The story begins in 2017, with an international contest that challenged designers to create functional surfcraft using upcycled or repurposed materials. Taylor Lane entered the contest with the original Cigarette Surfboard (nicknamed the “Ciggy Board”), which he created with his friend and burgeoning filmmaker Ben Judkins. The Ciggy Board  — made from 10,000 discarded cigarette butts, mostly collected from beaches in northern California — won the contest and immediately garnered international attention: how could something so throw-away and toxic be turned into a work of art, not to mention a functional surfboard?

Seven years, 14 Ciggy Boards, five countries and a cast of about 20 professional surfers later, what began as a 15-minute contest video emerged as The Cigarette Surfboard, an award-winning full-length documentary. Produced by Lane and Judkins, the film follows Lane as the creator of all 14 Ciggy Boards and its central character, while Judkins served as director and editor.

Both men were present at the event on Thursday night, greeting moviegoers at a pre-screening party and answering questions from the audience after the show. The Pioneer, a product of preservation efforts itself, was a fitting venue for the screening of the film, which Judkins describes as a “visual story about the world of surfer activism and ocean preservation.”

Completed Ciggy Boards — the finished product is a functional work of art.
Credit: thecigarettesurfboard.com.

According to Judkins, a native Californian who recently moved to Asheville, “The ocean is the story’s unspoken central character — as surfers, we have a moral obligation to protect it. The ocean doesn’t have a voice, and if we don’t stand up for it, who will? We tried to paint a picture of why we love the ocean — how beautiful and integral it is.”

The 90-minute film is visually stunning, with shots from every angle capturing the sheer expanse of the water and waves to the depths below the ocean’s surface; from the perspective of a surfer staring down a towering wave to the silhouette of a rider vanishing into the barrel. It’s hard to miss the irony of the Ciggy Board — with its toxic contents — set against the deep blue waves.

An extraordinary soundtrack and score add drama, excitement and rhythm that energize each surfing scene. Artists relevant to each of the places featured in the film — California, Hawaiʻi, Ireland, Fiji, South Africa, and the UK — were chosen, yielding a progressive, upbeat sound with a sense of place.

John McCord, Associate Director of Education, Outreach, and Communications at Coastal Studies Institute, helped coordinate Thursday night’s event as part of CSI’s Science on the Sound lecture series.

“We have a vibrant surf culture here on the OBX, so the film is relevant to the community,” he says. “It uses one of the greatest sports in the world as a mechanism to discuss issues related to the ocean and what we can do about it. It’s solution driven with  an optimistic outlook in the future.”

“There’s some great surfing in it, too,” McCord adds. “It’s powerful to see these boards taken into waves of consequence.”

Some of the professional surfers featured in The Cigarette Surfboard.

Rob Machado (California) is a surfboard shaper and ocean conservation NGO founder. Credit thecigarettesurfboard.com.

Hannah Bennett (Fiji) focuses on the prevention of plastic pollution along the island’s shoreline. Credit: thecigarettesurfboard.com.

Cliff Kapono (Hawaiʻi) has a PhD in Chemistry and studies the biological connection between surfers and the ocean. Credit: thecigarettesurfboard.com.

 

According to Jeff Schwartzenberg, Community Engagement Manager at the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, “The film aligns perfectly with our focus on responsible tourism and destination stewardship. Far and away, the number-one item we picked up during a recent cleanup was cigarette butts — they were everywhere you turned. The OBX Promise focuses on responsibility, respect, kindness, and safety — and this film really speaks to the theme of responsibility.”

Although the film has  local resonance, its message is global. It follows Lane — who lives in Santa Cruz, CA — around the world to visit renowned professional surfers who showcase the Ciggy Boards by taking them out for a spin. The film makes the point that rather than embodying the stereotypical surfer — think, “Dude, that’s a gnarly wall of water!” — these surfers are defined by a deep awareness and reverence for the ocean.

In Ireland, for example, the filmmakers visit Dr. Easkey Britton, a professional surfer who is also a marine social scientist with a PhD in Environment and Society. In one scene, Britton says, “The duality between the idea that there is something called nature, and then there’s us — that’s absolute insanity. And a lot of the problems we’re facing stem from that disconnect.”

It was clear from the pre-screening party in the courtyard of the Pioneer that Lane and Judkins were having fun, mingling with the crowd, manning the merchandise booth and posing for photos under the theater marquee with two of the Ciggy Boards — which were otherwise available for filmgoers to admire and touch.

Scenes from the Cigarette Surfboard pre-screening party at the Pioneer Theater. Director Ben Judkins explains to moviegoer Louise Hanson how a Ciggy Board is made. Credit: Brian Tress

Filmmakers Taylor Lane (left) and Ben Judkins pose with a Ciggy Board in front of the film’s poster. Credit: Brian Tress

Ben Judkins (left) chats with Jeff Schwartzenberg, OBX Visitors Bureau’s Community Engagement Manager. Credit: Brian Tress

 

But getting to this point wasn’t all fun. As the film opens to a murky underwater scene, we hear Lane say, “So here I am, 30 feet under water, a forty foot wave breaking on top of me, and a surfboard built of thousands of cigarette butts strapped to my ankle, wondering if this was all worth it.” We later learn that Lane had taken his big-wave Ciggy Board out at Mavericks — a world-famous spot north of Santa Cruz known for its giant waves — and got caught under a big wave.

“But the Ciggy Board didn’t break” Lane says, recounting the moment. “I didn’t need a rescue, the leash stayed intact. I believed in myself and the board, and I persevered.”

According to Lane, this scene encapsulates his experience making the film. “Some people looked at the Ciggy Board like it was cute and gimmicky. But I wanted to make those boards surf. I had to  believe it was possible. Cigarette butts were not designed to be turned into surfboards — I had to push through what didn’t make sense and persevere through the failures.”

The film ends on an optimistic note, with local surfers and activists in Santa Cruz county securing a conditional commitment from the county to ban single-use cigarette filters.

Please visit the film’s website here to learn more about the film, its cast, and future screenings, view video clips and photos, and/or donate to The Cigarette Surfboard, a fiscally sponsored project of the International Documentary Association (IDA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.