Learning to Breathe is an intriguing documentary that explores the troubled and changing life of professional surfer and legend Anthony Ruffo. Ruffo is a surfer, but he is also an addict, a dealer, a community leader, and at the mercy of a dysfunctional California court system.
Anthony’s surfing past, methamphetamine addiction, criminality, and eventual recovery are displayed candidly in Learning to Breathe. Those surrounding Anthony, including some of the world’s best surfers, discuss Anthony’s rise to fame and spiral into darkness. For the first time, athletes like Pete Mel, Tyler Fox, Darryl Virostko and Christian Fletcher, break the code of silence in the surfing industry and open up about their own addiction issues, discussing the problem of widespread drug use in the professional surfing community.