The rebirth of pro surfing
So what's your thoughts on Kelly's wave pool event today? Was it triumphant like a lunar landing or merely another low orbit novelty?
Like you, I'm watching it remotely but I'm trying to make sense of what this means. And not just the surfing on those train-driven waves, but the WSL's declaration of intention; the whole damn charade out there at Lemoore.
It's possible the WSL could've simply run the mock comp with only the competitors in attendance, yet instead they invited every notable founding father of pro surfing: Fred Hemmings, Ian Cairns, Peter Townend, Rabbit, Shaun, MR, all of pro surfing's original visionaries and architects.
It's hard to see this gathering as anything other than a grand statement. And that being?
Welcome to the rebirth of pro surfing.
And yeah, it's also a not-so-subtle FU to Wavegarden and Webber but let's stick with the revitalising angle.
MR, Ian Cairns, Dirk Ziff, Randy Rarick, Fred Hemmings, and Rabbit at the Surf Ranch. Also present were Shaun Tomson and Peter Townend.
In 2013 the WSL acquired the ASP for a song and spent a year gathering research about pro surfing from sports marketing firm Repucom (since bought by Nielson). Repucom's research, in particular participation rates and potential audience was remarkable. They considered surfing to have “130 million hand raisers” and "120 million bona fide fans of the sport.” The WSL also said they were "in business to celebrate and grow the sport worldwide; there's a potential to have some 250 million real fans.”
Any sport pulling those numbers shouldn't have problems attracting sponsors, yet it's an issue that's plagued the WSL: Samsung have come and gone as umbrella sponsor and are yet to be replaced, GoPro has gone, Orbitz too, while individual events have gone years without billboard sponsors. Clearly the numbers weren't matching the research - a matter proven by work Swellnet did in 2014.
At this juncture there are two possibilities for the shorfall. The first is that Repucom's research was flawed, an easy hypothesis to swallow considering Repucom's stratospheric numbers, as well as the schism - often invisible to non-surfers - between surfing and pro surfing: In short, just because you surf doesn't mean you're interested in pro surfing. This isn't football.
So the first option is the WSL copped bad advice. Pro surfing in the ocean is limited, the seas will rise and fall before it ever attracts 250 million 'real fans'. However, despite the dud research they may be saved by the fast tracking of Kelly's wavepool. It was unproven in 2013, but a reality now.
The second option is that Repucom's research included the prospect of Kelly's wave pool all along. There's no way to prove this, the WSL operate like the CIA and nor will Repucom comment with their reputation at stake.
Yet however we reached this point - by design or accident - the significance of today is the same: pro surfing is struggling and wavepools are being promoted as a grand saviour. It's one part of a multi-pronged approach, the others being an imminent rescheduling and repackaging of pro surfing. But let's not understate the importance of the luminaries at the cocktail bar.
In 1976, PT and Ian Cairns and co had to will pro surfing into existence. Naysayers scoffed, yet they could see a vision that others couldn't. They made an abstract idea concrete. The trick now is cutting through the hype, applying some of that vision and examining if wavepools really are a golden ticket to success.
Like all fundamental change there are philosophical questions along the way. Did the unpredicabilty of waves hold pro surfing back, or was that the secret ingredient all along? Will the surfing be elevated so the waves become secondary?
Don't go thinking all this chin stroking is a waste of time. The diamond hard nub of the matter is that the WSL needs to reach a new market, and the only way possible is with a new product. So what will this new product - that being wavepool surfing - look like once it's established?
Will it be relatable enough that surfers are still jazzed on it in five years time? Will it be broad enough to appeal to 250 million punters and turn a profit for the WSL?
Can it be both those things..?
So many goddamn questions but all the WSL cares about is this: Will Kelly's wavepool be seen as visionary just like pro surfing was in 1976?
That, among all the pomp and promise, is the only thing that matters now.
Comments
"The first is that Repucom's research was flawed, an easy hypothesis to swallow considering Repucom's stratospheric numbers, as well as the schism - often invisible to non-surfers - between surfing and pro surfing: In short, just because you surf doesn't mean you're interested in pro surfing. This isn't football."
That's a good point Stu, but that holds whether it's surfing in the ocean or surfing in a pool, right?
They are both flavours of pro surfing.
There's no evidence that people who surf but aren't interested in pro surfing are going to become magically interested in it because it is being held in a pool.
Also, no evidence that non-surfers will magically become interested or fans. In fact it might even be less comprehensible to them than ocean pro surfing.
The much bigger danger is what Nick Carroll posited: that this move alienates core surf culture and like the big brands, they fracture allegiance from their core audience.
Then, they have nothing.
Oh, nothing is certain about what will or wont gain traction with people.
What is certain is that pro surfing now has a broadcast model; for the very first time they can advertise good waves in advance and program it to the minute. I'm sure they think that will bring viewers....and on that score they probably think it will bring advertisers too - ad breaks being part of the programming.
Not sure about the danger to core surf culture. I thought the same about Big Bash Cricket and how at odds it was with cricket tradition, how it 'd never be accepted, and I couldn't have been more wrong. A whole new product was launched and it found a whole new market. And, very importantly, many of them weren't cricketers.
If core surfers become alienated - hell many already are! - I don't think it'll have too much bearing on the success (or otherwise) of wavepools. For one, big brands don't rely on core sales, and they'll always go where the money is.
That's not to say there might not be increasing discord between wavepools and core surf culture, just that I don't think it'll be fatal.
Stu apparently it is happening in golf as well. The trend now is to build a fast and furious 9 holes for the public that can be over within an hour. It is the trend in the US and going gangbusters over there and seen as the saviour of golf which is in downward spiral numbers wise. They can also train on these courses with the young tackers before the graduate to the bigger course. I know zero about golf however it is an interesting trend.
Think I'll get the popcorn for this comments section...
My two cents worth - follow the money...
At its inception PT, Rabs etc just wanted to make a living.
Once the tour established, the surf companies wanted to make more money by hyperinflating the value of the surfers through sponsorship. This value and investment rose and fell with fashion trends and has now twice almost extinguished the industry.
Now an external non surfing billionaire owns and directs where surfing goes for the purpose of again making a profit.
I think I'll just go surfing on my local hand shaped board.
They only have to create a pool surfing sub culture that is a modest percentile of the massively populated surfless nations and that'll be all the profit they want.
The oceanic surfing will lend an air of credibility that may not be necessary or even relevant to provide backstory to the 50 million landlocked Chinese punters going apeshit poolside as their local heroes perform copycat gymnastic routines along the same waves over and over again.
Dirk Ziff will make money and surfing will have a ( economically ) happy ending .
Fuck it . If you can't beat them , join them .
I'm moving to Beijing and starting up a chain of hair bleaching salons. Free puka shell necklace with every dozen frosting foils . Give the punters what they want.
Hey PT - Save some of that sell out cash for me would ya !
Funny you say that, since the beginning of last year the WSL have been getting advised by corporate strategists, Teneo Strategy. Their contact is Holly Zhao, an American-Chinese, who up until her appointment with Teneo worked in China. She also studied in China, her final year dissertation was 'Stagnant Philanthropic Growth in China: Unlocking the country’s new riches'.
Curious, no?
Blowin I think you may be some prescient god. A few years ago I saw a bunch of Russians on tiny waves at Balangan. They had their own contest with Smirnoff flags, DJ, the works. Living the dream with bleached blond hair, bikini babes, the whole attitude. None were much good but they were doing skateboard style spins and loving it. It was close to a wave pool scenario and I could just imagine the same thing happening at one of these pool things.
I posted this elsewhere for the yucks:
As for Webby, where does this sit with him (taken from the Blackfellas thread and Turk's comment)?
"Indigenous Spirituality is strongly connected with a sense of 'place'. Perhaps by contemplating these historical events we may gain an inkling of connectedness and sacredness to a break, that I would suggest can be a beautiful aspect of the surfing experience."
Who's up for a bit of sacred chlorine & concrete 'connection'?
BUT (in all seriousness)...
is a schism yawning about what surfing actually is??
Surfing IS nature. Enveloping yourself and interacting with nature. Natural wave formations. However you want to do it. It's all about the interaction, not the imposition.
That will be the future of surfing. Or else we're cooked.
Figuratively. Literally.
This is the bigger picture stuff that people just don't seem to get.
(Just quietly, China has got good waves. And uncrowded!)
I've got a mate who's been telling us that for years!
The parallel with Big Bash Cricket is interesting.
If they are going to draw in this whole new audience.....global I assume, which brings in all the old scheduling conflicts (unless they show it delayed.....would anyone tune in to watch a delayed 3 hr telecast of a wavepool event?)....then they are going to need regular events.
It won't work as a one off or even a two off as part of a world tour.
They are going to need this things on every weekend....like Big Bash cricket, with massive promotion to get eyeballs. None of this hokey dokey social media like now.
And they are somehow going to have to try and make it comprehensible to non-surfers.....I can't see how.
Anyone can watch Big Bash Cricket and understand it immediately. There is a score and the other team is trying to beat it.
You don't need any prior knowledge of cricket.
Surfing in a pool is still surfing (not as we know it) . Sit down with any non-surfer and watch pro surfing and they will literally have no idea what is going on, or how they are scored.
I don't see that fundamental problem being solved in a wavepool.
It's not a perfect analogy but there are enough similarities for me to think this might just work.
Also, people don't go to Big Bash to enjoy the finer points of cricket. They go there to be part of a crowd, yell 'emselves hoarse, and get rolling drunk. It's a gathering as much as an event. Take that promotional angle and the WSL may get somewhere.
I'm not sold, and it goes against my view of surfing, yet my view of surfing is out of date, surfing has already changed so much that I'm not shocked by what people think is now viable.
"...it goes against my view of surfing, yet my view of surfing is out of date..."
What does this mean? What are the implications in such a statement?
There's a bigger discussion on the horizon. And it can be extrapolated beyond surfing (however you view it).
It means the pillars of my surfing worldview were formed long before surfing in unbuttoned collared shirts became a thing. Same sport, different values.
Thing is , this experiment has already been carried out.
Nothing new or original about it.
River surfing in Germany is all the precedent you need.
Fuckers learn , practice and compete in the river. They then compliment this with oceanic surf trips as traditional as any surfer from any coast.
Now multiply the number of river surfers by ten million.
And their competency to the power of 100.
And that's why Dirk Ziff is grinning in the photo.
The wave supply means surfing comps can be re-imagined. 10 minute heats. The judging criteria, surfboard type etc could vary between waves within a heat. In the pool, you could have an old bloke, wearing a hat, paddling around on a log to create an unpredictable obstacle and to add verisimilitude.
http://www.flowboarders.com
I agree Stu, but you still didn't address the issue of needing to put these things on every weekend, if they are going to make it like Big Bash cricket.
Or some other comparable sport.
If they are going after a non surfing audience then they are going to need a big whack of change to chase them.
And Big Bash Cricket is unknown in China, massive in India.
So it might not work in all countries.
I still can't see any powerful argument that non surfers are going to suddenly find surfing attractive as either a broadcast product or a live event.
Actually it does make more sense as a live event, for the reasons you described.
"I still can't see any powerful argument that non surfers are going to suddenly find surfing attractive as either a broadcast product or a live event."
A few years back I ran an article about a Quiksilver surf shop opening in Myanmar and it was greeted by disbelief and scorn, yet Phil Jarratt, bless his sterling head of hair, made an astute comment:
"Wherever there's been repression, there's potential for brands that represent freedom in any form."
And the same could happen for the WSL 'brand' in China. It's ambitious but it's possible.
As for elswhere, Oz, US etc, surfing's image has been run down, yet there may still be enough cachet to fashion this into something cool for the millenial mob who have no idea about surfing's past.
Again, I'm not totally sold on the veracity of this idea but as China is involved I'm invoking some Confucian wisdom, something about knowing the extent of my ignorance.
Its interesting as you start to get pulled back shots of the wave. The whole train and noise thing i had not even understood. Its surreal mix of this perfect wave running down an industria zone.
But I get the end zones with the big screen. If they run it like a half pipe comp then after round one then top rank surfer goes last so that builds excitement
Would love to hear Greg W views on what he saw.
I think in this consumption driven world there will be home for these. But I do not see much of an impact on ocean surfer numbers. Takes years to come to grips rips, sets, timing, positioning etc etc One time if that in the ocean will send pool raised surfers back to their safe controlled environment
I've seen people fresh out of a surf school - people that can swim but maybe never even been in the ocean to any extent - out at Supersuck .
Which , if you're not aware , is one of the most treacherous waves you'll ever come across.
Nothing will stop the invasion.
It'd be interesting to know what all the blokes in the photo really thought of the direction pro surfing might be going. Outside of the paid junket they are on.
What a fucking cheese-ball photo. PT & Shaun must've missed the 'shorts & pluggers' memo or something. That's why they're out of the shot!?
If they take away the paddle battles then me and pro surfing are DONE!
Think about when chairlifts were introduced on ski mountains. All the skiers at the time would have said similar negative things that are now being said about wave pools. And look at ski resorts 80 odd years later - full of people who would never think about telemark skiing or would never bother to hike up a hill. It seems to be a very similar transition. The grisly old skiers were left to their wide open 'off limits' mountains and snow caves, just like the grisly old salty surfers will be left to the beach carpark at the crack of dawn and a paddle out in freezing cold water.
I'm glad I've had the chance to experience one, and likely, the other.
"As for elswhere, Oz, US etc, surfing's image has been run down, yet there may still be enough cachet to fashion this into something cool for the millenial mob who have no idea about surfing's past."
Look around you in the lineup. Listen to the wisdom of Nick Carroll as expressed on the ABC's Future Tense.
Surfing is a baby boomer fantasy.
There is no cachet of cool for the millenials. Surfing is not cool.
Pro surfing contests are not cool.
Pro Surfing contests in a wavepool are uncool squared. Take a motherfucking look at that Photo.
From Travis Ferre, Ed of What Youth: I just don’t have any interest in their elite surf country club (wavepools) or the likely very sterile events they’ll be holding inside. Did I hear Coldplay is playing? Coldplay? Fuck that.
This constant appeal to an (imaginary) Youth- the chinese?- who are going to ride in over the hills to save Pro Surfing is a bizarre cargo cult fantasy that pro surfing indulges in.
Well there's cool and then there's cool.
You think Big Bash cricket with prancing jocks wearing logo-festooned duds is cool?
Fuck no!
But they created a succesful product were there wasn't one before - that's the crux of it. The rest is up to the WSL and they'll crash or crash through. You can probably guess what I'm hoping for...
Also, surfing is baby boomer stuff in Oz and US only, not the rest of the world.
Ok so if we continue to compare the "Big Bash" to "Suck/Tube Bash" (trying to think of a good marketing term for WSL to use for their new pool tour..)
-Big bash has it in stadiums , Tick WSL can now build those.
- BB has entertainment at the game to build up the atmosphere, tick WSL can now do that..
- BB builds a team following, maybe WSL could have "team events?" but I think this might let them down a bit - they might have to look at tennis and try to work the personalities that you "love" to hate, I'm sure if they pay B_____. M (now that I would pay for - dummy spits like the big mac used to have in tennis) enough he could come back and do that..
- BB has really cheap family tickets to get you to the game, would WSL do that?
Thinking of it this way ( a hybrid of BB and tennis together..) they could set up national comps events each weekend - big sat night entertainment then have the "grand slam" events. with the top ranked in the world meeting up.. and maybe the top pool surfers against the best ocean surfers at Pipe to crown the Ultra Champ?
This is a whole new ball game - and I mean "game". if they want to market it that way! Think of the reason they changed the name ASP to WSL... appeal to the masses. It has to make money to survive, so it has to change even though some people wont like it.
Stu I think you are right it will help and maybe bring new people to watch the sport and maybe they will try it, But I watch the NRL... but would never play it..
I'm all for it and want to try to surf a pool, but if my "local" firing that's where i'll be!
on another aspect - I do think this will help surfboard manufacturers work out designs better (but again it will be only the ones that can afford to have a pool or pay to spend time to test their designs)
I blame blinder. No wonder he's so quiet. He left rabs/abs to his own devices. Big mistake. Rabs hates the sun, he's terrified of the outdoors. Slats head is frying, unprotected. He wants shade too. Both want to be listed. Both lost it ages ago. Rabs got flushed in the desert. Slats talks to aliens. After midnight. Blinder won't help. He had a shattering pivotal moment. Thomson v blinder. He should have slapped Thommo. Nothing. No gigglin', no circles, nothing. Thommo went power crazy. So, here we are. There's a tower above me in the mountains. Stones has eyes on me. The tide's turning. I'm going surfing, in the jungle. Alone, just crystal clear water, purple coral, green jungle, in the sunshine. A frames. And me, justa a big, strong, pristine, untouched, unmarked, uninjured, raw boned, good looking, ageless, blax trained unit. Just as things should be. And always have been. A union... rep. And stones has eyes on me. Step up to the plate blinder. Slap some sense into rabs for starters. Slats talks to aliens...
Otherwise occupied Herc. Fighting the good fight for the workers and up to my neck in an interesting, but completely unprofitable, project. As somebody once remarked about your current location......I will return.
Haha! Brilliant Herc! For someone that's had so many solo surfs in a pristine environment like Blax (so you were recently telling us) I'm just so surprised your more often than not quite agro & unsettled in these threads. I thought those moments in the wilderness would've calmed your ego. Unfortunately not. Before you lose it you make good sense & are pretty funny. I reckon you too may have been flushed one too many times at Blax. Less is more sometimes.....
Ramming pool boarding down the throats of the unconverted masses can be for money only & is in no way for the betterment of the sport of surfing worldwide.
This isn't like building lifts on mountains, that would be like putting tow cables at all the beaches. Wake pools are like the the ski run in Dubai. A completely, & quite possibly totally unnecessary, man made replica of an element of nature.
Pro surfing in this modern era is not about preserving this thing called "surfing", it's all about business/profits. "Surfing" is a lifestyle choice, always has been. "Pro surfing" is something completely different. It staggers me that so many people talk about "surfing" in general as if it's something that should never change & yet on the other hand embrace positive changes in surfing technology etc. As if WSL comps in wavepools weren't proof enough that change is the only certainty. Just what is it that people are so concerned about? Too much promotion/growth in surfing in general? It's almost like people want to protect surfing's "image". Just what is that exactly in 2017? Surfing means many things to many people. So what if the pro's end up competing in wavepools. It's their job! Don't like it? Don't watch it. Go surfing in the ocean instead & worry less. Unless ofcourse your trying to make money out of it, then pay attention for sure.....
Reality check. Pro surfing was never viable. From the start it was a charity case supported by the clothing companies way beyond its intrinsic value. Now it is a total charity case funded by some surf star groupie. So, my prediction, a couple of seasons of pool surfing with ratings too low to register for any serious sponsor and then.......goodnight, except for a few low value events.
Good on them I say. If they can get tons of crowds to great waves with the worlds best surfers then great idea. It will give the ASP more funds to do other events in natural waves like Teahupo where it may be a loss leader.
The issue is though the Slater wave is 2-3ft and weak. If it was 6ft it would be more aligned to high performance surfing.
One comp in a wave pool on the tour would be okay, but it's going to get old pretty quick.
It's kind of like having a trout fishing comp at a trout farm.
The mechanised snow spot analogy is a good one. Ski racing in its current form only exists because of perfectly groomed runs accessed by mechanised lifts, as do slope style events for skiing and sno boarding. Both discliplines are highly organized by professional organisers, national teams, big name sponsors and ideal for TV broadcast. The ski industry is orders of magnitude bigger than surfing (worth $5 billion to Colorado alone), and yet FIS, the governing body only pulls in about $65m in revenue annually. If WSL can achieve a quarter of that, then they’ll have done well. There’s absolutely no comparison between surfing and big bash cricket with its billion plus Indian fan base.
Having watched perfect waves and surf contest with non surfers it is pretty clear that they find it boring. Even huge chopes and shippies barely register a glance. Just saw kellys pool on the news on tv and asked my family, would you watch a surf contest if it was there? Answer- no, boring.
I watch a bit of snowboarding every 4 years at the winter olympics. One hour every 4 years is enough.
Weirdly watching tennis is more interesting even though it is essentially incredibly repetitive. Why ? The clear cut scoring and competitive batlle that occurs. Surfing commentators try to create drama and the scoring dynamics but it never gets like a tie breaker at wimbledon or match point.
totally agree Frog.
This notion that pool comps are going to be both a: cool enough to attract this new millenial audience
and b: Somehow and suddenly entertaining enough to build a huge new fan base amongst non surfers
I find fanciful.
So how long before we can pronounce judgement?
5, 10, 20 years?
The one thing we can all earn from all this is that nobody over 22 should wear shorts.
Roger.
"You can't script this!"
Surfing begins at 4pm.
First ad break 4:07.
Return at 4:09.
etc etc
Been surfing since 1967 witnessed the whole damm contest thing surfed in them organised them sponsored them .the guys and girls who compete in them just love going surfing just like the rest of us just do it a bit better as I.m writing this the 20 grand question on hot seat was what was midget Farrelly famous for, the guy got it right won 20 grand . My point being nearly 60 years since the late great midget won that contest at manly his name is still the most recognised by the general public. Apart from airs joe public would not no a cut back or reo if it bit him on the arse so how can you explain the judging no hope wether it's in a stupid pool or cloud break l hope pro surfing keeps going so the crew who are in it get to surf all those great spots but I hope they don't have to wipe chlorine out of their eyes
65-70'000 people on the sand at Manly Sun May 17 1964 to watch the Final Day of the world surfing championships.
Seventy fucking thousand.
As Blindboy implied, after that heady opening, it's mostly been downhill since for Pro surfing.
I guess the next version wil have the train boxed in and hidden from view and you could dial up your own background scene a;ong the wall. Indo backdrop for this one please.
I can see some excitement in a half pipe style format with the leader surfing the last wave but I still wonder if it has any appeal for non surfers who just do not get it.
I follow and watch the comps but end up having it on the background on computer and click on when it sounds worth seeing. Still miss Carroll, Occy and I still think the best was Jake the Snake betting on heats with his side kick.
Slater Dorian and Machado were good when together. But that is a surfer getting to listen to people who can talk story as there is so much down time.
I guess thats the beauty of this place it is so scripted
I guess the next version wil have the train boxed in and hidden from view and you could dial up your own background scene a;ong the wall. Indo backdrop for this one please.
I can see some excitement in a half pipe style format with the leader surfing the last wave but I still wonder if it has any appeal for non surfers who just do not get it.
I follow and watch the comps but end up having it on the background on computer and click on when it sounds worth seeing. Still miss Carroll, Occy and I still think the best was Jake the Snake betting on heats with his side kick.
Slater Dorian and Machado were good when together. But that is a surfer getting to listen to people who can talk story as there is so much down time.
I guess thats the beauty of this place it is so scripted
Sheesh, LOTS 'o thoughts flying here already!
65-70,000 on the beach in '64 has always sounded exaggerated to me - perhaps rubicon's founders were doing the head count?
Anyone else notice how most boards were not really 'up' on the water? While the idea sounds great, I suspect, the water flow and density issues will limit the application of design with 'pool' boards and 'ocean' boards.
Alternate 'scoring' will change the game. Air rated on height (using a back drop marker) and a timer for 'tube time', etc ... that makes it easy for the punters. Think back to KS surfing game on Playstation, how were 'scores' determined?
Entertainment? Easy. Surfers ride a wave to achieve an outcome. So, let's say a 5 m landed air - first to do it scores the points. Or, say, first to complete 30 second 'tube' ride. Yep, turns, too hard to 'measure' UNTIL pressure pads on boards, so the surfer to do a 5G top turn scores $5000. Entertainment for the masses. No?
Wrap up an entertainment pack for the day, say like the 'supercars' (i.e the old V8 Supercars) with pool pass for the days 'comp' also giving access to a live concert, etc. How many at the Goldy supercars event really car about the motorsport aspect?
And, just like cricket (i.e. test matches) and supercars (i.e. bathurst) there will 'still' be the soul and core of the sport with 'ocean events'. A world champion though, will need 'pool' results.
China? Hmmm, maybe. But, doubt it. Needs more 'white trash' to get excited to make it work, so that says, middle America and the broader western world. Imagine one of these pools in the middle of a Nascar track, linked with an 'X games' style event and a 'big day out' concert. Sheesh the $$$ to be made?
Anyway, I'm off to bed, got an 'ocean surf' in da morning, on the coastal stretch where Mr Matson is bemoaning the 'devil' winds - if only he knew where to look ;)
Why won't pro surfing survive was in Melbourne recently visiting family went to one of those big retail centres in the burbs big obese woman jammed into quicksilver t shirt and biiabong hoodie across the way between between maccas and 2 dollar shop there it was surf shop flogging the image no boards no wetsuits no wax no legropes just bullshit and bullshit can only take you so far
Once the big obese mums wear it, it aint cool no more. No cool, no premium price or youth market.
Kids these days chase bargain clothes online and get their cred from scoring a bargain and having the latest phone and apps or posting some shit in some social media somewhere. Having billabong on your t shirt was a big deal 20 years ago. Now not so much.
Industry is running on fumes and memories of past booms.
A serious question: when was surf (in whatever manifestation) ever cool?
Taking into serious account whatever that means.
I contend it's been awhile.
I thought surfing coolness had been rising steadily each year. That's why there extra clowns every year. But not the funny type
My first thought is that this is about selling wave pools not saving professional surfing.The pro surfers would perhaps be better served financially buy getting in early on insider share offers as the roll out proceeds.
The credibility of the new forum is established by the pros, I just hope their union protects their interests rather than allowing their image to be exploited. Ho ho .
That photo is so depressing (apart from the inclusion of MR, who's a legend and one of the most generous gentlemen in surfing). Could someone please ask Rabbit to stop dyeing his hair?
While I can get excited about seeing Filipe's huge alley oop, and Steph's smile, the whole thing just smelled dead to me. As does Big Bash cricket; to me it is symptomatic of everything that's awful about Aussie cricket.
'For someone that's had so many solo surfs in a pristine environment like Blax (so you were recently telling us) I'm just so surprised your more often than not quite agro & unsettled in these threads. I thought those moments in the wilderness would've calmed your ego. Unfortunately not.'
The 'ol sly boot! Sly boot alert! With Joel Fitz stamped on the toe! Joel Fitz, the fucking absolute, genuine legend charger, Joel Fitz the surfer! The real fucking deal, Joel Fitz even copped a sly boot! I've come out of the water, in the jungle, and look out! Sly boot from the mulch on the path!
And because you didn't have all those solo surfs rabs, in that overall environment, 'the wilderness' to you, you 'think' as you do. You 'think' about what you don't remotely know. As you've tangented into this perhaps spiritual angle, you become the guy that's never eaten a banana, but 'thinks' he knows what they taste like. The guy that thinks he would do a double jab on Tyson in his prime, and use angles, or go down the pipe, or get a fake tatt, and becomes ashes, sprinkled on the daisies. A 'highchair' case!!!
'That wilderness' is intense, raw, honest. Nature is honest. The desert is harsh sometimes. It broke the toddy, the best I've seen at blacks. And I've seen tons, 'legends', including world champs. In his prime, flushed him, just too much rawness, the constant, unrelenting rawness and intensity. It aint newy. I used to laugh with 'the kid', not that 'kid on the rocks', that, savvy aside, wasn't 'the kid'. 'The kid', the real 'kid', I named him 'the kid', he loved it! He, who desperately longed for a tree, a forest, a river, a boardwalk, a rainwater tank, no dust, a lentil burger, clear water, so that you could at least see what wanted to eat you. And the kid liked remoteness. And he charged. For a while.
Blax taught the most valuable lesson of all. Its blax, take it or leave it. And its real, no bullshit. It won't cater to your bullshit. Your 'image', better be real. And enduring. And I saw that plenty of 'legendary' 'images' aren't. Pants shitting, floggings, fleeing, wrong turnoffs, 'can't or I'll charge too hard chargers (sic, FFS)', wash aways, pitifull excuses. And the 'legendary' magazine articles. The best I saw, Todd, got fucking smashed. (at least in the water, plenty get fucking smashed in a myriad of ways, out of it). He would be dead if he was out there alone. They all get smashed. I got smashed. You won't beat it. Its not fake. And, its not every now and then real. Or every once in a while. Plenty come, charge, and escape. 'It was the best day ever'... 'ever'!!! Plenty pick their times and days, and waves. But, spend some time with blax when it's not 'perfect'. When its 'too blah, blah, blah'. And that's just blax. It's just a drop, a point in that ocean, that overall 'wilderness' as you call it.
If its raw, new, west, lumpy, maxing, overcast, cold, raining, winter, massive ocean movement, fish around, no one around, and you want to experience that, you learn how. Or you don't. I learned how. I loved seeing that side of blax. And other places. Of trying to find a way in. No one to 'save' you. No one, nothing to save you. So your board became crucial, McCoy became crucial, your leggy, booties, every little detail was crucial. Not some stupid surf shop sales geek, titts flashing, 70% off winter sale 4 oz, litres bullshit. Not some wave pool, business, fucking commercial venture. I saw what happened to that fucking shit. Coverup. I did that logo and came up with that name, for squwark.
It's why that 'ledge', that real ledge, rode an MR twinnie, in barrels of major, of life and death consequence. For years, often alone, because for his particular approach, nothing did as well. And his particular approach was truly legendary. No phones, no internet, no TV, newspapers days late, no drones, no rescue team, no north shore life guards, no Aikau family, no meetings, no 'I got mates', no 'gidday, I know wordy', no off season, sometimes no truck for weeks, no predecessors at all. No chopes. None of us, no one had chopes then. And he was very, very, very particular, demanding, and fussy. But honest to the core. You had to be, to surf, to want those waves. Before anyone else. Think the legendary 'smouldering staffs'. One label of many. And yeh, there's others who put their toes in the water first there, and ran off. But that's not surfing it.
So when some city grommet mouths off, 'twinnies are fucked in the barrel', that's pure fucking bullshit. And you think I give a fuck about being 'banned', or you, or some email throwing soft cocks, some face book investigating soft cocks, some private investigator mate, fake tattoo soft cocks, some injured, crippled, hiding in the fucking shade soft cocks, thinking I'm 'agro and unsettled', while I sit here, after another surf, in the tropical jungle? Over 60, and justa a big, strong, pristine, untouched, unmarked, uninjured, raw boned, good looking, ageless, blax trained unit? Just as things should be. And always have been. A union... rep. You fucking think that city grommet would have banned me on the cliff? Or in the water? For telling the fucking truth? Anywhere up and down that coast, if he spat that bullshit out, he would've got a dose of the truth.
So truth. Wave pools. Bronzed Aussies ride again. but now the little fatties version. The Mcmuffins. Orange monaros, satin fucking jump suits and bead necklaces. In the desert? Little bead necklaces. Hey did I tell you when I saw them in Adelaide, in the sport science clinic? Fucking hilarious shit!!! Comical.
Here's a real surfers story. A true one. About blowie's mate (sic), clam. Slats got a magazine spread once, 'greatest barrel ever', by the king! At Gland! Bullshit! Pure fucking bullshit! Absolute fucking bullshit. Clam was the king at Gland. Clam had caught the thing, that 'wave' slats claimed, where it was truly intense, hard, real, Gland, and ridden it for miles, life and death, and then slats faded him, clam, when he's done all the real legendary stuff, and was coming through to the end. Slats faded clam, and rode the little end bit, and claimed the 'legendary' mag. That's surfees for ya!!! I know all I need to know about slats and his entourage and pools. Surfees forever!!! Soph's boyz!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fuck'n surfees, ya gotta laugh!!!!
Polish them boots rabs!!!! I know your down there sneaking around in the mulch!!!
Right on cue ol boy! Geez Herc, ya sound unsettled again, I reckon your nerves are shot! I mean, at the very least they sound like they're mostly gone. Strewth! Hopefully not all of them. Surely its gotta have something to do that bloody pristine wilderness! All those years you've subjected yourself to that pristine environment, Blax, the desert, just you, solo, time after time. Wow!!
Its gotta be a combination of things tho. The pristine enviroenment ofcourse, but I reckon the onshore solo surfs played a part, must of, just the sheer number of them, possibly the pristine offshore solo surfs too, so many of them as well, hard to say. And the desert flushing's!! How many desert flushing's can one solo surfer handle in a lifetime, in a pristine environment, the most pristine environment possibly anywhere, and have the nerves hold up? Fark!! Then, put on top of that, the fish! The BIG fish!!! Now, I know that you know that when I say Big, I mean they must of been very Big! Huge! And what about the ones you didn't see!! Fark me!! They must of played a part too. Surely! Your poor ol nerves. Relentless......
Tell ya what tho, in the spirit of you getting back on track, cause its never too late, how about you and I break some bread amongst the mulch. Just you and me and the mulch, the pristine mulch! We'll light a fire under the stars and we'll share some pristine wilderness stories, truthful pristine wilderness stories, we'll take turns, you first. It will be quite spiritual, but that's the effect the pristine mulch has. It just does. It's grounded.......
On a practical note tho, don't wear your gym sneakers!! You'll need boots if your coming down to the mulch to join me (do you even own a pair of boots these days?). If not just get some. Don't bother polishing them tho, not necessary and besides, the mulch will wipe that bullshit polish off with the first contact. I'd say within the first two steps. The mulch is ready, but only when your ready. Oh, by the way, just bring yourself, you know, Uplift. Pretty certain Uplift was closer to the real thing than Herc has ever been. Just leave Herc behind....
One last thing. Fuck I was glad to read that you were in that pristine environment, Blax, when Freeride got seriously flushed!! I mean that sounded like a proper desert flushing in a pristine environment!!! Heavy!! Ofcourse, I'm not surprised that you happened to be there, surfing solo, with the big fish, before Freeride paddled out, but the fact you exchanged smiles, complete strangers, near the desert, just sums it up. Sounds like you didn't help poor ol Freeride after he got flushed, but hey, that smile you gave him before he got flushed, farkin pristine........
Everytime you mention Blax Herc, I put my hand on my forehead and feel the semi-circular scar, the raised bone where that limestone split me open like a watermelon.
And then when I was at the Docs in Elliston and they were sewing me up, the nurse said where you from and I said Broken Head.......they thought that was hilarious.
Look at this concussed idiot.
Rabs you little sneaker
Ha, classic freeride. And you know some truth. As fate would have it, we sat in that ocean, in that raw nature together, no agro at all, no bullshit, just two surfers who didn't know each other from a bar of soap, surfing.
Slater's wave is the meteor from 65 million years ago ... the naysayers are dinosaurs, the yaysayers are mammals ... we all know who came out on top.
Not that it can ever top sitting below a cliff top natural amphitheater surfing natural waves in a pristine ocean but these pools will find a positive, and negative place in history.
Choose your own adventure ... just don't rain on someone else's parade getting there.
'Slater's wave is the meteor from 65 million years ago ... the naysayers are dinosaurs, the yaysayers are mammals ... we all know who came out on top.'
Not true, that's just a guess. That scenario comparison hasn't happened. The bronzed ozzies bombed last time. 'Miracle feather duster included with each set... ring now... just 10 minutes left for this never to be repeated offer... again... and again...' Leyland P76's.
Slaters 'milleneum' wave? A chubby granny will take that on all day. Nature's 'milleneum' wave? That will wash chubby granny and the whole sideshow away in a split second. Atlantis 2.
Chubby granny will afford to get in slats digital pool, with slats no doubt. But, the real vibe doesn't have a cut off point. Big, booming, hungry, real blax? That's gonna cost ya big time!!! Way too real and expensive for most. Always will be.
http://proguitarshop.com/andyscorner/10-most-expensive-guitars-ever-so-far
There are two things occurring. One is this: wave pools are here. Second thing: some people think this will affect 'their' experience of surfing in the sense it may taint or take something away... When any individual feels threatened by what 'may be' there is a simple disconnection with what 'is'. ;);)
This ONLY applies to a person who actually struggles with their own ability to have fun and hence chooses to unconsciously decide that an exterior influence or activity will be the determining factor! From here a survival instinct kicks in to preserve or attempt to maintain something that is non-existent. Having trouble grasping it?! This non-existent thing... some like to call it happiness or contentment. And some try and rationalise their lack of something through their actual dependence upon a particular pursuit or 'thing' that may or may not even generate this supposed happiness or contentment. Yet sometimes we wish to put the emphasis on a thing to just try and understand what is 'meaningful' to us. This can take on extra importance if the connection is through nature;);)
For a lot of us this thing IS surfing! And fark yeh it's a wonderful thing. I imagine a lot of us here (for and against) have one clear and unifying constant in our lives... Surfing! In the ocean or in a pool - you are free to make a distinction - just be careful to have done the time in both before you sprout existential facts!!
From being a grom learning about the ocean... Spending sun soaked days each school hols - or every morning and arvo for us lucky buggers that grew up within walking distance of the beach... The hrs spent daydreaming of waves in school and then to escape to go surfing as soon as school was done (or just missing school coz the swell was on!) are cornerstones of Aussie youth. How farkn lucky we were and are;) And this carries on into most of our lives - look how many of us put in the hrs at work to then carefully plan and exact another surf mission after fulfilling duties and kid requirements etc. Each adventure gathering us more knowledge of the ocean, the tides, the winds, the equipment we ride and as a result our ability to gain an understanding that allows us to score good waves and experience pleasures beyond what words can even describe. The introduction to and experience of wide and varied cultures through travel... Most of us are better off because of surfing and nothing can take that away!
It is a tremendous gift. We are blessed to be surfers. All the times we get skunked are worth it because we are learning. If we aren't learning about the ocean or surfing itself, we are learning about ourselves and how we can adapt and adjust to adversity, and more importantly, how we can carry our stoke back on land. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, a few of us have developed a possession of surfing... The supposed joy has only fed the 'idea'. Surfing in it's purest form is just fun - yes hard work and injuries, sacrifices and expenses come into play... But we do it coz it's mad fun;)
So the only thing amongst all the pretend bravado, the perception of what's cool/what's not, what's right/wrong, who is selling out and who is being 'true' - the only thing we can't lose sight of is that surfing is fun (reminder that fun cannot be identified as something you can 'have'!) This fun, if it is true, can only be shared and will manifest as encouragement to others so they can hopefully experience this too... Coz if you're really having 'your' fun, you won't mind that someone else derives their fun through different means;);) Whether or not you dislike/like, agree/disagree is the irrelevant part unless you have a hankering for misery!
Pls read that last bit again...
So this is where wave pools have come into play. Not all wave pools have been a success or will be. The fact is what is on offer now is pretty impressive so what's ahead could possibly be amazing - cudos to Kelly and good luck to Greg! All the people lucky enough to surf Kelly's pool look like they're having a fuckload of fun. SIMPLE! So let them have their fun... What the fark else is goin on out lemoore way;);)
The resentment comes from the reality of only those who aren't actually having fun with their surfing. The ASP or WSL or local board comps or big surfing companies or whoever never have and never will get in the way of me scoring a few empty pits or nice whips off da top! No extra people in the water ever gets in the way of anyone finding the means to seek out new places... They may get in the way of what 'was' for you, or what 'may be' ;);) But that bit is up to you!
If surfing is a distraction to deflect what's really going on for you, well, you may be in real trouble... Maybe memories of uncrowded waves, empty line ups and so on are just that - just memories. Just ideas... Your beliefs, perceptions, assumptions. Just that! Try let them go.
Pretty sure the smiles on the faces of Steph, Kelly, Felipe, Gerry... whoever... They are REAL smiles. They are real coz they are removed from what 'may be'. We as surfers have a lot to learn... A hell of a lot;) So cheer up detractor muppets and get over yourselves - the people having fun are the people actually having fun!
Who would you rather be? ;)
Right on ... a Perfect 10 for you Jelly Flater.
"Not true, that's just a guess."
That was said about the motor vehicle, the gas light, the electric light, solar panels, the computer ... take your pic ...these things will never catch on!
It's like this, 10% of people are the uptakers, ready to embrace new tech, and ready to evaluate all aspects good and bad ... 80% of people are followers of that first 10% of uptakers ... then there is the last 10% who are dinosaurs, not willing to embrace anything new at all costs because it just ain't in their hard headed scope. Forget the fucking dinosaurs, cause if we only payed attention to them humans would still be using stone tools.
We need heretics to progress, for it is only heretics who push forward but I can see how dinosaurs feel threatened by heretics ... there is no kudos for the dinosaur, only the heretic gains kudos after time passes. Edison was a heretic, Tesla was a heretic, Ford was a heretic, Slater, Webber (when he finally rolls out) will be heretics ... when your long dead land locked surfers won't be talking about you, they'll be talking about Mr Slater and Co.
@TGF,
I seem to remember Segways coming in like a meteor too. It'll change the way we walk the inventors said.
Never did catch on, not everything does, yet it doesn't stop the hype.
Or the psycho-babble.
...or the freedribble ;);)
Oh, I'm having tremendous fun in here Jelly.
And to quote an absolutely brilliant and prescient internet psychological expert:
"So cheer up detractor muppets and get over yourselves - the people having fun are the people actually having fun!
Who would you rather be? ;)"
Wow those segwayers look like they're havin fun ;);)
U may be mistaken freeride, u know... being an expert and all
If u are having fun you're just gonna be having fun yeah...
-Not trying to explain that you are doing that
Are you sure you're not in that Segway pic? Or an investor ;);)
Yeah, that's me, far right, waving at all the dinosaur haters.
So am I Freeride ... call me brown arm for the day ... more shooting the tube man ... less shooting the shit yew
Too many crew on here set a hard judgement way too fast without knowing fuckall really ... gotta get em jumping somehow.
'Who would you rather be? ;)'
Seeing as you ask, and you did ask flats.
The guy sitting in the jungle. Who just felt an earth tremor.
The guy that didn't have to resort to fading clam and bullshitting about it.
But, I agree, who gives a fuck. The bronzed aussies, or the WSL have had no effect on my surfing fun at all.
'Pretty sure the smiles on the faces of Steph, Kelly, Felipe, Gerry... whoever... They are REAL smiles.'
One day the Billabong team were whinging their guts out, and freezing their balls off at greenly, because the sponsors wanted 'shots'. So they did as they were told, smiled their little faces off, froze their nuts off, and posed for the 'shots'. Like good little surfees do, the world over.
But lets be real. We'll see a lot more of those 'smiles'. Soph, big and little, will make sure of that. Or heads will fucking roll, and there will be tears. 'Staff' will be trained, on exactly what to say, and when, following, learning scripts, on how to 'close sales'. And if 'staff' don't perform, even the smiles won't save them. That's just business 101. Reality.
But, I like webbers go for it, and unlimited imagination. Who knows.
Maybe this Pro Surfing malarkey has got an upside?
http://beachgrit.com/2017/09/surf-contests-perfect-for-match-fixing/
Ka-ching!
You know why the pros are smiling, because they are getting paid to surf there.
When the 10% get their chance in 5 years time, have paid their $3600 membership, have waxed up their special $1500 pool board & paid for the gopro guess who will be smiling the most then?
Well... your guess is as good as anyone's ;)
I'm guessing it's akin to selling something or buying something and in the process getting a smile maybe? Let's say, if you were to sell some veggies and for some strange reason you got a bit of a smile - or even more of a smile - as a result of getting paid for doing so... Or... you were to buy some veggies and even though you forked out some hard earned for it, you got a smile outta eating them ;) Maybe they tasted good or the whole transaction was just a bit of fun. That might be an ok scenario. It may be hard to imagine... Or you could just stick to guesswork ;);)
Your big speech was full of assumptions? You base all your grand statements on just that!
Maybe someone could count them as I certainly wont be going back over that BS.
Good guess !
It seems from what I've heard, its Dirk's Ziff's wife who is the one that's really into the pro surfing, but it seems Dirk is really the one getting taken for expensive ride.
It might take you a while to work out the connection, but if you watch the whole video, you should understand why so many of us are repulsed by wave pools. Oh and profoundly important in so many other ways!
http://iainmcgilchrist.com
Wow, how good was that. Thanks
I could care less about watching any pro surfer or contest, just the way I feel
Not quite sure how I came up with that last comment but I kind of like the sound of it.
Big Bash cricket is a good analogy, creating a new market overlaid on the existing one and building a new audience.
On the other hand, may have just brought into the fold a younger crowd who a generation ago would have sat through 5 days on the TV enthralled, but with the world today that is well considered a waste of 5 good days.
But that left one day cricket as the dinosaur cousin, now looking strange and bereft in the clusterfuck of world cricket.
But cricket, mainly due to India and Pakistan, has huge global numbers, surfing is a smidgin of that. And even cricket is going the way of the dinosaur. I can't see it being anything but a niche player in Australia in the near enough future. Look at it, it's a dying game with little intrinsic worth. Big Bash is a niche within that but created a new niche, but it only lasts for what, 4 to 6 weeks in summer. It sustains itself by the brevity of the game and the brevity of the season.
Surfing is niche and pool surfing may attract a new crowd, but they aren't going to hang around watching contests for years. The contest side will be a flash in the pan, or a once in a while situation, it's not long term sustainable. Watching that on an ongoing basis is just inconceivable to me.
But the surfing isn't cool argument? I demur. In Australia, it reeks of something aspirational, you can tell because advertisers of any and every product want to have their product placed beside it. Nobody knows 'the people' like advertisers, it's their job.
Surfing, whether you describe it as cool or not, elicits subliminal responses in the average punter and plenty more. It defines something that others want to place their product beside. You can call that something other than cool, but you can't say it ain't buried deep in our psyche. Cool is the ultimate aspiration.
And for the surfer, that connection with ocean is key - Herc's pristine environment (full of smoke haze)
Herc, I hope we meet one day. You're a little bit mad, but the best people are. You couldn't possibly be the same as the character that comes across in the writing, but you probably aren't that far removed as I suspect not a bone of artifice in you. Perhaps best taken in small doses, as I don't always find time to get on the forums, but you're quite the enigma.
Contest surfing, jesus, only a small percentage of surfers are sufficiently interested in real contests in the real ocean, let alone imagining flocking herds coming to wave pool contests.
And suggesting that those with this opinion are just dinosaurs is no more than the folly of youth. If wave pools make a buck, it will be in the punters riding them, not in contests.
I put that lack of connectedness in that last post down to it being 5.00 am and being awake since 2.30.
What do you do when you can't sleep, may as well read the workings of the inner minds of swellnetters.
Yah shoulda gone over to Rabs place, fuck what a mess!!! He's been up in the wee hours too, carrying on, all agitated, angry, smoking mulch, pacing the hallway, boots, bread, sneakers, polish, tinnies, flagons, bibles, casks. Stumblin', bumblin' around. Totally stuffed up freeride's story. No idea. I'm letting him sleep it off... I hope he's finally collapsed. I blame myself though, I outed him sinking a sly boot into Joel Fitz, although zenny started it, before back peddlin'. Stupe got one or two in too, and bolted. That left rabs to cop it. He back peddled, bit late but. Then I should have resisted, but how can ya? I knew that 'mulch on the path' would stick in his head, run amock... in the wee hours.
When he comes to (I hope the mulch has run out), there's really only one thing he has to face. And embrace the truth. How did he go at blax? I know the answer. Its not a crime. And he should embrace that answer, and free himself. I won't say anything. Well... maybe just...
But, if you ever get over west batfink, you'd have a good time. Happy to steer you onto some surf, and beautiful spots if I'm around. I'm easy to find. Head to the beachfront gym on the front street. Or, just look up, as you're wandering around. Or follow the crowd.
You spelt hero wrong.
Surf cool peaked at at around 3.45 pm on 5th April 1999 and has been sliding ever since.