He made a surfboard entirely out of agave. The SLO Film Fest will share his story

At age 65, legendary surfer and surfboard shaper Gary Linden overcame an osteoarthritic hip and heart problems to surf one of the world’s most massive wave breaks.

Then the Big Wave Tour founder took on an even bigger challenge: crafting a surfboard entirely out of the agave plant. That’s right — the key ingredient in tequila.

Linden is the subject of the short documentary “The Agave Gun,” screening as part of Surf Nite in SLO at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. The event, set for March 16 at the Fremont Theatre in downtown San Luis Obispo, will also feature a screening of the big-wave surfing movie “The Big Wave Project.”

Linden, owner of Linden Surfboards in Oceanside, will attend Surf Nite in SLO along with “The Agave Gun” director Ross Haines.

Also in attendence will be Australian filmmaker Tim Bonython, whose documentary “The Big Wave” features five years’ worth of footage of fearless big-wave surfers braving giant waves in Australia, Europe, Tahiti and the United States.

Tickets for Surf Nite in SLO are $20, or $15 for students and film society members.

For more information about the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, running March 13-18 at various venues in San Luis Obispo County, call 805-546-3456 or visit slofilmfest.org.

This story was originally published February 16, 2018 at 3:59 PM with the headline "He made a surfboard entirely out of agave. The SLO Film Fest will share his story."