This Is What Cyrus Sutton Has Been Building for 11 Years

To say I’ve been fascinated by the details of Cyrus Sutton’s latest project, The Gorge Onsen, would be an understatement. Over the past few years, I’ve been watching as he shared the process of creating, building, landscaping, carving, welding, clearing, and grading the property into something both functional and quietly beautiful.

When he recently announced a giveaway, I knew it was time to reach out and learn more about the story to share with the SURFER audience. Unless you started surfing during the pandemic (no judgement if you did), you’ll know Cyrus from his deep roster of films from the Korduroy days, his surf blog that was ahead of its time, featuring surfers like Dave Rastovich, Ryan Burch, Nat and Beau Young, John Peck, and Rob Machado, to name a few, or from once-in-a-lifetime trips surfing and exploring the Arctic Circle with figures like Chris Burkard, Ben Weiland, Keith Malloy, and Dane Gudauskas.

If you haven’t heard of Cyrus, consider this an introduction to someone who has consistently followed curiosity wherever it has led. Our conversation ran for some 90 minutes and touched on everything from his formative time in Japan, to being a pro surfer with sponsors like Reef, Leatherman, and Hydro Flask, to filmmaking, and the nexus of ecology and anthropology.

The conversation has been edited for brevity, with the focus being on the sanctuary he has been building on the Columbia River in Oregon over the past decade. It is available for bookings here, and if you act fast, you can still join the giveaway by checking out this post.

Raised between LA and Orange County, Cyrus started surfing at an early age. He says, “My dad was a talented and humble surfer who spent a lot of time surfing around San Clemente, and surfing is how we bonded as I was growing up. When I was 11, he took a job as a landscape architecture professor in Japan for seven years, and I would go over there to visit him. I did a semester of school there and eventually started making annual trips because that’s where a film distributor I worked with was based. It was there that I fell in love with onsen culture and Japanese craft.”

Onsen culture evolved from Buddhist traditions of purification, revolving around bathing in natural hot springs for healing, relaxation, and bonding. Over the years, many new onsens have been developed, yet the core virtues remain. In Japan, onsen etiquette dictates that nudity is required (swimwear is prohibited), as it promotes hadaka no tsukiai, or “naked friendship.” You enter and exit slowly, keep your voices low, and unlike most modern luxury spas, the baths are free of chlorine and other chemicals.

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It’s an ancient practice that feels increasingly relevant in modern times, when we are constantly bombarded by noise, chemicals, and the demands of hustle culture. For Cyrus, that sensibility grew more important as he moved through different phases of life, wearing many hats, from pro surfer to Emmy-Winning documentary filmmaker, creative director, commercial director, and co-founder of the organic sunscreen company, Manda.

The Gorge Onsen reflects that evolution, a shift from a nomadic, digital life toward a more grounded relationship with land, water, and making things by hand. What began eleven years ago as a personal refuge has become an ongoing experiment in craft, maintenance, and place.

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With the property, Cyrus currently hosts small retreats and short-term rental clientele, and plans to offer more community events and workshops involving permaculture and homesteading skills in the near future. The emphasis on education is no surprise.

“Both of my parents were teachers who taught how to connect with nature through craft and design, and as you know, Southern California is expensive… I skipped college and moved into my van full-time at 19… In high school, I became fascinated with becoming a pro surfer, the travel and creativity it might offer, so I trained constantly and was very driven to make it work.”

After achieving that goal, Cyrus did not just cruise. He leaned into creativity. When you look at his body of work, a pattern emerges of sustained effort, curiosity, and a willingness to learn new tools along the way.

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“I had never really picked up a camera until I decided to make my first surf film, Riding Waves, featuring a 16-year-old Dane Reynolds, Rob Machado, a teleporting Donavon Frankenreiter, and yogi and Pipeline pioneer John Peck. I cleaned pools in the summer of 2002 to buy my first camcorder and computer to make the film. My hands reeked of chlorine while I learned the hot keys on Apple’s now bastardized Final Cut Pro.”

That first film opened the floodgates to a range of media projects, from personal work like Stoked and Broke with Ryan Burch in 2012, to professional roles that led to his time as Creative Director for Guayakí Yerba Mate, which, before COVID, brought together an eclectic group of creatives like Gigi Douglas.

“By the time Instagram came out, I had already been making hundreds of edits through my blog, Korduroy, and that’s part of what made me attractive to sponsors. Within a few years, I was going non-stop, always traveling and always working, but I started saving every penny, and that’s how I bought the land. That was eleven years ago. The house and property had good bones and a lot of potential, so I hired friends and learned a variety of trades through osmosis and online research. Since then, I’ve been steadily working to get it to where it is today.”

That work is evident. The Gorge Onsen is now three years running, with well over a thousand happy guests. It feels less like a finished statement and more like a place in active relationship with its surroundings, quiet, considered, and still unfolding.

Related: Meet the Costa Rican Surf Guide Who Tames Snakes—and Billionaires