Saltfree Stoke
Alpena, Michigan | Film Feature
Documentary, Sport
Supporting "Saltfree Stoke" helps amplify a real story of resilience, climate adaptation, and community-led conservation. Your support ensures this film is made independently, ethically, and shared widely. Connecting people to place, water, and one another through surf culture.
Saltfree Stoke
Alpena, Michigan | Film Feature
Documentary, Sport
0 Campaigns | Michigan, United States
Supporting "Saltfree Stoke" helps amplify a real story of resilience, climate adaptation, and community-led conservation. Your support ensures this film is made independently, ethically, and shared widely. Connecting people to place, water, and one another through surf culture.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
A 15-minute excerpt from the film was recently screened at the Thunder Bay International Film Festival to over 200 attendees, and the project announcement reached more than 15,000 people organically across social platforms—proving there’s a growing curiosity around freshwater surfing and the communities forming along the Great Lakes.
Saltfree Stoke is a feature-length documentary centered on surfboard shaper Josh Weisfeld and his wife Emily, a surfer and photographer, as they help cultivate a new surf culture on Michigan’s “Fresh Coast.” On the shores of Lake Huron, they explore what surfing looks like far from the ocean. Through craftsmanship, shoreline stewardship, and the founding of the Thunder Bay Surf Club, the first surf club in Michigan’s northeast region.
This campaign will allow us to capture the final surf sessions, deepen the story of this emerging community, and complete the film. Sharing a uniquely Great Lakes surf story that’s about connection, place, and the future of surfing beyond the sea.
Why us?
This film is being made by a small, independent team with deep ties to both surf culture and the Great Lakes region. We’re embedded in the community we’re documenting, allowing us to tell this story with authenticity, trust, and long-term access.
Why this story?
Climate displacement is often discussed in statistics, not in lived experience. Saltfree Stoke humanizes that reality through creativity, craft, and community. This documentary shows its viewers how culture adapts when people are forced to reimagine where and how they belong.
Why now?
As climate events are increasingly uprooting families and livelihoods, stories of rebuilding are more urgent than ever. Freshwater environments, like the Great Lakes, are becoming new frontiers for outdoor culture, conservation, and connection. This moment of great transition is happening now, and it won’t wait!
Your Support Matters
We are currently in the production phase of Saltfree Stoke. This Seed&Spark campaign will fund additional surf sessions, in-water cinematography, interviews, post-production, and the preparation of festival and community-ready deliverables.
Once completed, the film will premiere in the festival circuit, followed by community screenings throughout the Great Lakes region. Unlimited online access will be provided for supporters. If we exceed our funding goal, additional funds will support broader outreach, educational screenings, and environmental partnerships focused on freshwater conservation.
How you can help:
- Pledge to support the completion of the film
- Follow the campaign for updates and behind-the-scenes content
- Share the project with your community
Your donation directly supports:
- Ongoing production and field filming on and around the Great Lakes
- Ethical, community-centered storytelling
- Post-production, including editing, sound, and accessibility
- Distribution, festival submissions, and community screenings
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Finished Filming and Travel
Costs $10,000
Final Travel pay and filming for two more surf sessions and three more interviews in Michigan and possibly Hawaii to document the aftermath.
Editing and Final Production
Costs $5,000
Help for payment in software, editor work, audio mastering, and song releases.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Zachary R. Irving studied cinematography at Trebica Flashpoint Media Arts Academy in Chicago, IL. After graduating, he returned to his hometown of Alpena, MI, and began to pursue storytelling as a career. Two years later, Zach founded Irving Entertainment Studios, the premier high-quality video production service for Northeast Michigan.
Irving Entertainment opened its doors in 2018, mainly focusing on character-driven stories from the community. Irving Entertainment seeks to hire local talent and work in the Northern Michigan region, but also has traveled across the country for previous projects. Building a creative and professional crew that seeks to tell cinematic stories in verite style.
Zach is an Emmy-nominated cinematographer who has shot segments that have aired on PBS, CNN, Meta, Tubi, Amazon Prime, & more.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
A 15-minute excerpt from the film was recently screened at the Thunder Bay International Film Festival to over 200 attendees, and the project announcement reached more than 15,000 people organically across social platforms—proving there’s a growing curiosity around freshwater surfing and the communities forming along the Great Lakes.
Saltfree Stoke is a feature-length documentary centered on surfboard shaper Josh Weisfeld and his wife Emily, a surfer and photographer, as they help cultivate a new surf culture on Michigan’s “Fresh Coast.” On the shores of Lake Huron, they explore what surfing looks like far from the ocean. Through craftsmanship, shoreline stewardship, and the founding of the Thunder Bay Surf Club, the first surf club in Michigan’s northeast region.
This campaign will allow us to capture the final surf sessions, deepen the story of this emerging community, and complete the film. Sharing a uniquely Great Lakes surf story that’s about connection, place, and the future of surfing beyond the sea.
Why us?
This film is being made by a small, independent team with deep ties to both surf culture and the Great Lakes region. We’re embedded in the community we’re documenting, allowing us to tell this story with authenticity, trust, and long-term access.
Why this story?
Climate displacement is often discussed in statistics, not in lived experience. Saltfree Stoke humanizes that reality through creativity, craft, and community. This documentary shows its viewers how culture adapts when people are forced to reimagine where and how they belong.
Why now?
As climate events are increasingly uprooting families and livelihoods, stories of rebuilding are more urgent than ever. Freshwater environments, like the Great Lakes, are becoming new frontiers for outdoor culture, conservation, and connection. This moment of great transition is happening now, and it won’t wait!
Your Support Matters
We are currently in the production phase of Saltfree Stoke. This Seed&Spark campaign will fund additional surf sessions, in-water cinematography, interviews, post-production, and the preparation of festival and community-ready deliverables.
Once completed, the film will premiere in the festival circuit, followed by community screenings throughout the Great Lakes region. Unlimited online access will be provided for supporters. If we exceed our funding goal, additional funds will support broader outreach, educational screenings, and environmental partnerships focused on freshwater conservation.
How you can help:
- Pledge to support the completion of the film
- Follow the campaign for updates and behind-the-scenes content
- Share the project with your community
Your donation directly supports:
- Ongoing production and field filming on and around the Great Lakes
- Ethical, community-centered storytelling
- Post-production, including editing, sound, and accessibility
- Distribution, festival submissions, and community screenings
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Finished Filming and Travel
Costs $10,000
Final Travel pay and filming for two more surf sessions and three more interviews in Michigan and possibly Hawaii to document the aftermath.
Editing and Final Production
Costs $5,000
Help for payment in software, editor work, audio mastering, and song releases.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Zachary R. Irving studied cinematography at Trebica Flashpoint Media Arts Academy in Chicago, IL. After graduating, he returned to his hometown of Alpena, MI, and began to pursue storytelling as a career. Two years later, Zach founded Irving Entertainment Studios, the premier high-quality video production service for Northeast Michigan.
Irving Entertainment opened its doors in 2018, mainly focusing on character-driven stories from the community. Irving Entertainment seeks to hire local talent and work in the Northern Michigan region, but also has traveled across the country for previous projects. Building a creative and professional crew that seeks to tell cinematic stories in verite style.
Zach is an Emmy-nominated cinematographer who has shot segments that have aired on PBS, CNN, Meta, Tubi, Amazon Prime, & more.