Sprout, 1524873721

I'll save this for when I'm having trouble falling asleep, yawwwwwn.

blindboy, 1524876126

The Price of Everything

Most of us would now accept that surfing is totally integrated into the wider economy and that this integration is of an unprecedented extent. The natural consequence of this is that every aspect of surfing is now a commodity. Economic modelling puts a value on the breaks themselves, while Kelly Slater and others are preparing to put a price on individual waves. It is worth considering how this has happened though, to any observer of recent economic history, only the absence of commodification requires explanation.

If we trace surfing back to its pre-history, or even travel to isolated areas of the Pacific today, we can observe surfing in complete economic isolation. The surfer makes the board and surfs naked or in simple non-specialist clothing. Nothing else is needed, no transaction takes place. In later stages perhaps the work of the board maker is bartered for something of equal value. Later again the wood might be purchased. By the mid twentieth century the establishment of surfboard making businesses represented the first major step to commodification. Methods of production were standardised, prices were fixed and complex materials had to be purchased from large corporations.

The development of a surf clothing industry trading, quite literally, on images of surfing was the next major step. Until then images of surfing had been restricted almost completely to specialist productions which were rarely seen by a wider audience. This was a profound change whose consequences drew surfing, once and forever, into the mainstream economy; that terminally shallow, value free, engine driving us into ever greater environmental and existential danger.

In essence, surfing could never be freely imagined again. The widespread images meant that anyone coming to surfing came with pre-conceived ideas based on the images they had already seen. Inevitably those images came with baggage. Their use in advertising linked surfing not only to unhealthy and environmentally destructive products but to a world view so immature that it often depended on images bordering on the paedophilic. Consequently, for decades the easiest way to paint a created character as a man/boy was to put a surfboard under his arm. Surf media, dependent on the clothing companies for their very existence, reinforced this approach.

To express it in more formal language, it was no longer possible to gain an unmediated view of surfing. It might even be said that surfing had become merely an image of itself as the projected image displaced the real lived experience. The surfer, aspiring to the carefully constructed image, simply became it, becoming an actor in a script written by others for their own benefit; a mere disposable human unit to be discarded when its economic value was exhausted. The clever extracted their share of the wealth. Many, sooner or later, were simply crushed.

The final stage in commodification was the stock exchange listing of the largest surf companies. Now surfing's image, all that was left of its once vivid reality, was owned by companies obliged to place the profit of their investors above all else ........ and so to the era of the mass marketing of every aspect of surfing to anyone with the available credit.

We now need to be clear about the nature of surfing as commodity. To quote the French philosopher Guy Debord, " The absolute denial of life, in the shape of a fallacious paradise, is no longer projected on to the heavens, but finds its place instead within material life itself." Surfing is merely one of the many fallacious paradises on offer to the jaded consumers of C21, so if it is to continue to generate wealth for the already wealthy, a pre-condition of staying in business, it has to compete.

Given that actually surfing requires elements of skill and fitness this might seem problematical. The consumer, having taken his lessons at the surf school, purchased the full set of required equipment and booked his trip to the destination du jour, is unlikely to be ready to enter the paradise of a serious barrelling wave. Yet this analysis misses a profound point about commodities and consumerism itself. It is not the object or the experience that is purchased, it is the appearance. Reality counts for nothing, appearance for everything. Why else the fetishism around phones and sneakers? The new models offer no substantial improvement in function, their essential purpose is only to create a particular appearance of being up to date or fashionable. Our consumer then has purchased the appearance of surfing; the board, the clothing, the destination, and that satisfies.

Of course it is not only the beginner who is trapped into purchasing appearances. We all are. It is unavoidable. Only the naive could believe otherwise. We are all trapped within the constantly updated, heavily mediated, image of surfing created in our own minds over time. Is the new board really any more satisfying than the old one? Are the two hundred dollar board shorts any more comfortable than the cheap ones? What is the purpose of a nine foot surfboard, or a seven foot single fin, if not to recreate an image from another time? To quote Debord again " All that was once directly lived has become mere representation."

udo, 1524876636

Fulltime Ski job for Raimana ...is in every Vid ...US based now?

goofyfoot, 1524879717

It’s too perfect.
It’s almost seen one wave, seen them all type of thing

batfink, 1524887995

"Reality counts for nothing, appearance for everything."

A nice treatise BB, with a whole lot of truth for the masses, but uncommonly cynical, even for you.

" it is not only the beginner who is trapped into purchasing appearances. We all are."

I reject that statement. Of course, everything around us compels to a formal logic of consumerism-as-all, but it is still a choice. Human beings have the capacity to make choices, and live an examined life. That most don't, and won't know how, is just where we are, but it is still a choice. Assuming the motive behind another's actions is tricky, but possible, but the motives underlying an entire population is a broad brush. Motive differentiates the consumer from the experiencer.

The Road less travelled is still a road. Surfing can be the path to emancipation as much as a path to enslavement.

Far be it from me to argue against a cynic (realist!), I'm as bad as any, but I still maintain a flicker of hope for individuals, even if mankind is bent on self-annihilation.

Surprise you didn't get a mention of Baudrillard's simulacrum in there. :-)

I only learned of Baud's simulacrum in recent years, came to me via a strange direction, my kids' HSC English studies, but even that was just a re-hash of a much deeper idea of Maya in hindu mythology, which precedes Baudrillard by thousands of years. Everything is appearance, unless you look again.

blindboy, 1524893312

Thanks fir that batfink, surfing is a fairly trivial example of the process. I wouldn't claim to fully understand Debord but his work set me thinking. One of the things I thought about was my early experiences of surfing. I might have seen a surfing magazine before I started, an early Surfing World perhaps, and maybe I saw a small amount of surfing footage on TV or on newsreels. I doubt if I watched a full length surf movie until I had been surfing for 5 years or more. My formative experiences of surfing then were real. Real people on real waves in real time. Compare that to our current situation. It is simply not possible now to escape the imagery. In that sense at least, we are all trapped by appearances.

stunet, 1524894109

Tend to agree. However, I'm going into this next phase open-minded...like, what if the surfing performance somehow gets elevated?

The real test will be the Founders Cup which runs next weekend. If they don't blow up in that, truly thermonuclear explode, then it'll get boring pretty damn quick.

goofyfoot, 1524896396

Yes, as negative as I am, I’m pretty keen to watch that just to see what they can do there

dangerouskook2000, 1524896447

Is that the same guy that got 3 barrels on one wave at kirra for a 10 point ride???? Pretty fucken boring if you ask me. I'm positive that old mate Griffo can surf better than that. Maybe my expectations were too high.........

gnomen, 1524899252

I can't say that i followed everything you said BB, but you have made some relevant points. We have dreamed/still dreaming of the perfect wave, now that Kelly and co have produced it, in my mind it is a reality check, as someone else said is it too perfect? Nothing will replace what Mother nature can create and that feeling of being in the "elements" and experiencing all that entols? As far as a philosophical view goes, everything is derivative, it comes from somewhere and everyone's perceptions are different and that's what makes us human. So i don't disagree with what you said, it's just that what came first? The media/capitalist wheels turning or more people turning onto something that gives you an experience like no other?

blindboy, 1524901425

"The experience like no other" gnomon, is I think exactly what Debord meant by a "fallacious paradise". As people stopped believing in religion, it was replaced by these notions of earthly paradises through sex, drugs, wealth and, yes sadly in our case, surfing. I am a life long surfer and have had a healthy dose of its best experiences......but I have never believed it has a unique capacity to induce pleasure. It fits into a vast range of experiences that operate in a similar zone.

indo-dreaming, 1524903545

It's interesting the emotion/passion and opinions/ views a wave pool brings.

I think it's just something that had to happen and I'm glad Kelly was the one to do it properly.

For its size for me it's the perfect wave its my dream wave only way it could get better was a little bigger, but watching it also makes me realise how important all the other aspects of surfing are.

It's kind of like going fishing at those trout farms compared to going fishing in the wild, kind of fun but gets old real quick, or guess you could compare it to porn, its nice to watch perfect fake looking porn stars in action now and then with their false moans etc, but it also gets boring pretty quickly, id rather watch quality amateur real life type porn even if the girl doesn't have the best body or looks.

Can we say that shit on swellnet?

lost, 1524905279

Why the trucking jet ski for every wave. Surely they could walk back for the next wave ?

Judging that comp is going to be very difficult. I'm assuming every pro worth his salt should be able to get barrelled once or twice every wave, every pro will get a long wave (full length) and every pro will be able to show a variety of moves in between. That might leave minor differences between waves and scores most of us will miss.

lost, 1524905496

like fishing in a trout farm and watching porn - you are on fire Indo ! perfect analogies me thinks

lost, 1524905936

'cause it must be so hard to walk back for another wave

CryptoKnight, 1524906963

'Can we say that shit on swellnet?'

In a nutshell, of course you can! In a nutshell, swillnuts can and regularly do say anything that they like! Even if they haven't a clue what the fuck they are blathering about! Swillnut club locals can charge too hard, without even charging, they can and do surf without even going in the water, they can even get younger when they are older! Its all about the performance! In a nutshell, what a performance!

Swillnut club locals are experts, intermediately, no, instantly!

Where else but the swillnut club can swillnuts bravely shriek,

"It doesn't matter how much milk you put in coffee it's still coffee.

Which well is not true at some point it just becomes coffee flavour milk."

The swillnut club local boldly shrieks and googles, 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story!' It s just like slattso's back... wooooops, I mean pool. One phantom bomb, raw, new, lotta west in it, huge tide, few big fish swimming around, desert waiting, 'get ya tickets now'! Backbraces forever! Highchairs rule! FFFFFFFaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MMMMMMMMUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Retreat!!!!! Sacks of ayahuasca on sale now! Save the environment, bring ya own bag(s)!!

Imagine the movie! In a nutshell, will it be even more mind shattering than them other swillnut box office smashers!!!

</iframe Never let the truth get in the way of a good story! fuck twinnies... Richo lost that fuck'n comp! Officials officially rule!<hr>blindboy, 1524907553 The End of Imagination Surfing involves a significant amount of imagination. A surfer needs to see the wave in front and imagine a dynamic path through it. Depending on the circumstances they will rely to different degrees on previous experience. If they surf that break regularly they may already have a sequence in their repertoire that needs very little adjustment to the individual circumstances facing them. Some breaks also produce waves of a consistent pattern that will make the task of choosing a path simpler. Yet no matter how similar any wave is to others that have gone before, they are all different. Those differences may be subtle, but they exist and it is a creative exercise to factor them in. More frequently, at least in temperate climates, the differences are significant. On the coast I surf you could wait a considerable time to get days which matched, even on the gross data: number, direction, size and period of swells. Allow for wind and tide, and while days resemble each other, they are rarely the same. Throw in the variation in individual waves and chances are that the wave being ridden is different in many ways from any other wave you have ridden recently. Understanding this variation in waves is one of the most fundamental surfing skills. It most obviously shows up in wave selection. Anyone who has surfed for a while has had the experience of paddling out on an a day of quality waves and somehow managing to be in the wrong spot for the whole session. If that makes you feel bad, watch some WSL events. It happens to the best in the world too.....though probably not as often! The ability to ride a wave well might be the basic surfing skill but it needs to be supported by skills of positioning in the line up and wave selection. All this is important in understanding why wave pool events threaten to irreversibly change surfing. There is currently very little comparison between surfing and sports such as gymnastics and figure skating. They are totally closed activities. What this means is that the performer has a set routine that they perform under unchanging conditions. Developing the routine may involve creativity but often that has been done by a coach. There is no creativity or imagination in the actual performance. It is simply a reproduction of a routine that has been practised thousands of times in identical fashion. Put surfing competition in a pool and the same thing happens. All the skills and creativity mentioned earlier disappear. It becomes a totally closed activity in which the same routine can be practised endlessly. The WSL have already changed their judging system, as in gymnastics, to heavily penalise non-completion or "errors". So we see a surfer make a super late critical drop on a heavy wave, sneak under the lip, get barrelled for several seconds, then get clipped sneaking out and score 2, while another surfer on a smaller, shorter wide open barrel scores 5, because they "completed". Most surfers know which wave was best and which they would rather have surfed, but that is not the point anymore. The move is towards the standards that would have to prevail in a wave pool. The idea of wave pools appeals to many, perhaps a majority, of surfers who like the idea of being able to get perfect waves on demand. The reality, given the costs involved, is that they would be available only to elite competitors and those with money to burn. The size of the capital investment and the high energy costs make it unlikely that most surfers would ever experience even an occasional visit. On the other hand, as numerous commentators have already pointed out, wave pools in non-coastal areas would quickly develop cohorts of very capable surfers eager to try the real thing and so cause significant crowd increases. It is hard to imagine that an organisation run by surfers for the benefit of surfers would behave in this way, but that description never really suited the WSL or its predecessors. It's business. The return on investment is more important than the product, and in that rests our best hope. Professional surfing has never been economically independent. It has never generated, on its own, the profit necessary to support its grandiose ambitions. A business plan based on wave pools, constructed with large investments by outside entities, seems no more likely to succeed than previous attempts. An outcome worth hoping for! <hr>lost, 1524909658 well put BB. <hr>tubeshooter, 1524917935 Unless they can amp that wave up to something better than they currently have , I'm switching off. It seems way to predictable , and viewing anymore than 5 minutes of footage of anyone surfing it bores the living shit out of me . It seems so repetitive and lacks the anticipation of ocean waves. <hr>nickg, 1524917977 i'm into it. you can see the wave can dull the impact of a surfer like Conner. but Griffin... some of those first waves when he starts tweaking and improving successive lip smacks.. not too shabby. also, reduced spontaneity due to the wave becoming a known quantity should be offset with some big technical advancement of particular maneuvers and then combos. a comp here is about the surfer's ability to surf a wave.. Zeke will have to bully JJF in the car park to get him off his game. <hr>blindboy, 1524918112 Let me suggest a boycott. Send a message that this is not the way to go by not watching in any format. <hr>tubeshooter, 1524919144 Said and done , I,m not doing it as a protest either , I just simply don't want to watch it.<hr>sunlover199, 1524919951 they need an adjustable floor in the pool to make it more interesting and bigger maybe the odd suckrock poking out of the water ?<hr>sunlover199, 1524920145 put some gators in the pool for the Brazilians <hr>wax-on-danielson, 1524923636 It’s kind of like it has become like skating. You can just try and grind that 10 stair rail - stack, stack, stack, till 10 hours later you land the shot. Good job! On the fence cause it’s fake surfing but also has potential to be entertaining. Crew better work out their routine and musical accompaniment, I bet Medina has..<hr>gcuts, 1524958149 Ya missing the issue(s), me thinks. Besides the cost of running the noisey as fuk train up n back, the time to let the pool "settle" between waves and the same same angles of the wave... The real problem is that the boards don't work as well in the pond. The r all having trouble, other than riding in the tide, of getting the spring out of the board to get up to speed with the wave. It's too fast but at the same time, it's too soft n slow with no real punch in the lip. There's no solid push to let a 'real' reentry or space for a full roundhouse cutback. So, it's all too same same. Solution? Boards with no concave, and an outline with wide point further forward, swallow tail and fins set a bit further forward...<hr>nextswell, 1524958252 Save the time, mark down as a win to Toledo and give them an extra week in Europe.<hr>Faunt Leroy, 1524964061 Thanks BB. In regard to Polynesians / Hawaiian culture i seem to recall surfing available to royal bloodlines only. Elitism in surfing was there from the beginning.<hr>indo-dreaming, 1524967649 How do you know the boards don't work as well in the pool? Some of these guys are ripping in the pool. Fair to assume the biggest thing holding anyone back seems to be the pressure not to fall, if you fall you can't just catch the next wave you have to wait again and in most cases id assume you blow your wave on a turn and you go to the back of the line. Not to mention I'm betting guys are not pushing turns as hard on the outside because they want to get a chance to get tubed ion the inside, get rid of the barrel and id expect to see guys going hell for broke towards the end of the wave.<hr>blindboy, 1524971530 So do all competitors get equal training time in the pool prior to the event? If not the event is clearly unfair.<hr>nextswell, 1524987433 One of the key scoring criteria for wsl is progression. Nothing about this wave is progressive...other than the technology. I think most people would jump at the chance to surf the wave pool but that doesn’t mean it should be a stop for the world tour. <hr>terrable, 1525045652 What?<hr>memlasurf, 1525046794 Nickyg, it will blunt those with a power and hack game and favour the snappers and flickers (the zillas are going to love this, plus no sharks). Griffen was fluid and snappy whereas Connor was tying to hack but the wave looks gutless once out on the face.<hr>tubeshooter, 1525083065 Most of the time the tube time comes from stalling etc, in the wave pool. The WSL claims to award decent points for committed barrels where the surfer disappears and drives through the section. It doesn't seem to be the case here, and points will be will be awarded for posing through yet another predictable soft running section. Given the WSL's downsizing of the previous scoring formula at least for the mens events in ocean waves, I will be curious as to how they score this event , and waves ridden compared to those of that are held in the ocean. It's a novelty event at best and it reeks of corporate bullshit. <hr>Legrope, 1525094536 I surfed Sunway lagoon a couple of years ago on a 6ft soft top. Was hilarious. Bashed my knee on the tiled bottom though which sucked. Overall I had a fun time and had a smile on my face. Surfing this wave would be a total trip. When your on a wave you don't look around at the other things around you, just the wave in front of you. I reckon I'd tune out to the surroundings and be pretty happy to get a wave that is as long as this and with tube sections to boot. Who wouldn't. Yeah I get the comments about "it's not real" from all the purists which is cool but who doesn't mind surfing a novelty wave for shit's and giggles. Even Slater himself would be pining for the real stuff constantly. It's really just another option albeit a pretty damn good one. The problem for anyone surfing this wave is how to appreciate a 3 second close out wave at the local beachie afterwards. It'd be disappointing after a long wave at the pool. Still, salt water up ya nose from a good ocean flogging is so good. I think Griffin has just done the best surfing in the pool so far and everyone competing next week will be taking notes. That was enjoyable to watch. Fakie to tube. Nice.<hr>nickg, 1525098362 yep, 100%. exactly what i saw in Conner's footage. he could adjust to suit, but i'm not sure i want to see that. in a comp, given say 10 waves a heat for each surfer i reckon Italo and Filipe would make 9 out of 10 finals and from there the only guarantee would be unfettered emotion on the podium.<hr>crustt, 1525120723 That thought crossed my mind, is Kelly still part owner of Quickie? Will the big company's build their own pools and put contests on and give sponsored surfers a home ground advantage. Gee those kids at the start were really channeling their inner Seppo. :) <hr>Faunt Leroy, 1525142423 Sorry, The class system in Hawaiian culture determined what type of surfboard (olo) a commoner could ride versus what type of board the ruling class could ride. The Ruling class got to ride larger boards 14 - 16 foot in length and the common folk rode 10 - 12 ft boards. Elitism has been there from the beginning.<hr>poket-roket, 1525172051 Are you a professional writer, in particular surf media because if so isn't it a tad hypocritical to be lamenting the commodification of surfing when you are contributing to it yourself? "Of course it is not only the beginner who is trapped into purchasing appearances. We all are. It is unavoidable. Only the naive could believe otherwise. We are all trapped within the constantly updated, heavily mediated, image of surfing created in our own minds over time." Couldn't disagree more. There is an abundance of second-hand board racks, seconds and clearance stock wetties, Vinnies and Salvos. Some of us get by quite well, through either choice or necessity, without needing to buy the latest custom or retro shape, brand new 4x3 super quick dry, super stretch steamer, or current season threads. Get wet any which way, not concerned about image. (Though I will confess in the early days I thought learning to surf would help me get laid, but it has now become something far more meaningful). As for the wave pool I don't understand why you feel they are such a threat to the purity of surfing. Surely you must be aware of the contradiction towards the end your other post below saying firstly that in reality the pools will only be accessible to pro's and those who are well minted, then on the other hand mention some surf commentary's concern that that the wave pools will spawn hordes of skilled but inexperienced surfers into the real lineups. Can't have it both ways. I mean currently how many wavepools are there worldwide with proper surfable waves like Kelly's? Half a dozen? As far as I know the one proposed for Melbourne hasn't even turned a sod yet due to lack of financial backing. I think natural population expansion, and inter-generational multiplicity within surfing families is the biggest culprit. For example the crowds down in Torquay have clearly increased over the past decade or so but I would estimate the town itself has has increased fourfold, and that has nothing to do with surf commodification but more to do with natural population growth.<hr>JM, 1525227463 Spare a thought for the commentators trying to filling up hours of air time with waffle.<hr>sandcastle, 1525313987 Yes! And even surfing some waves... You were allowed only if invited or according to your nobility.<hr>memlasurf, 1525475330 Waffle? That’s making me hungry I might get out of bed and make some. <hr>3dfins, 1525477603 Bring back the dream tour and let this one go to the pond.<hr><div class='datestamp d-none'>Data retrieved 07/05/25 15:19:18</div><script type='text/javascript'> function getDayOfWeek(date) { const dayOfWeek = new Date(date).getDay(); return isNaN(dayOfWeek) ? null : ['Sun', 'Mon', 'Tue', 'Wed', 'Thur', 'Fri', 'Sat'][dayOfWeek]; } function getMonthName(date) { const monthNumber = new Date(date).getMonth(); return isNaN(monthNumber) ? null : ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May', 'Jun', 'Jul', 'Aug', 'Sep', 'Oct', 'Nov', 'Dec'][monthNumber]; } var dates = document.getElementsByClassName('comment-datetime'); for (var i = 0; i < dates.length; i++) { var date = new Date(parseInt(dates.item(i).innerHTML + '000')); dates.item(i).innerHTML = getDayOfWeek(date) + ' ' + ('0' + date.getDate()).slice(-2) + ' ' + getMonthName(date) + ' ' + date.getFullYear() + ' ' + ('0' + date.getHours()).slice(-2) + ':' + ('0' + date.getMinutes()).slice(-2); } </script>