The Inertia staff seen celebrating (right) while Gabriel Medina weeps (left)
The Inertia staff seen celebrating (right) while Gabriel Medina weeps (left)

The Inertia after Medina blood (again)!

Chas Smith

By

Venice-adjacent mountain blog singles out sweet Brazilian boy for the second time!

Oh those alt-righters at your favorite mountain blog are at it again! Do you recall, some two years ago, when The Inertia went on a potentially racially-motivated discrimination spree against the world’s second best surfer, and Brazilian champion, Gabriel Medina?

Of course you do! The website set up a petition to “Suspend and Fine Gabriel Medina” for swearing. Here’s the story in brief according to our own Derek Rielly:

When Gabi Medina sulked at the Quiksilver Pro and said “fuck” and “Kieren hasn’t done a very good job” most of the surf media  found it a magnificent condition. A fearless post-heat interview from a world champion. The Inertia thought otherwise and cast a petition to have the kid suspended and fined. (Click here.) Was the petition racist? So many thought so!

Victory was claimed in the seemingly hate motivated movement after the World Surf League released a statement saying that the incident in question was “reviewed.”

Apparently though, one tilt against a hard working brown boy is not enough. Six hours ago the ugly drums that sound so much like racism began to pound once more. Let us read from The Inertia‘s recent posting:

During his Round 3 loss at the Hurley Pro at Trestles Gabriel Medina exhibited extremely poor sportsmanship on three separate prolonged occasions by showing a public disrespect towards the WSL judges and in the process reflected poorly upon himself, the WSL Tour, the event sponsors and his own sponsors. In order to right this wrong, both the WSL and the Brazilian surfer are obligated to respond in a way that firmly address Medina’s actions. It all can lead to moving toward an atmosphere where disputes with the judges are carried out in private and in a sportsmanlike manner.

The WSL is furthermore required, by their own bylaws, to at the very least fine Gabriel Medina a minimum of $1,000.00 for his blow ups. In addition, the WSL should strongly consider warning Gabriel that future displays of poor sportsmanship will lead to increased fines and/or suspensions. These items should be made public because Gabriel’s actions were done in public. Medina should also be “given” the opportunity to publicly apologize to the WSL judges and the WSL fans. This would be an ideal opportunity for him to express that he strongly disagrees with the judges’ scoring in this case and at the same time that take ownership for his behavior.

Continue here but let us remember that Julian Wilson (white), Matt Wilkinson (white) and many other professional (white) surfers had very strong, coarse even, words for the judges during and after the Hurley Pro even and yet where are the posts on The Inertia demanding blonde and almost blonde heads on a platter?

As pointed out from Mt. Olympus (thanks Zeus!) the piece ends on this note:

The excuse of cultural passion fueling Gabriel’s actions is 100% invalid. Unacceptable is unacceptable and the WSL rules pertaining to sportsmanlike conduct are designed to maintain the integrity and professionalism of the sport.

Oops! A major legitimate actually shocking gaff and certain to be frowned upon by too many social scientists including, but not limited to, Grafton Elliot Smith. Also by most non-racists.

Are posts like these red meat to less-than-savory elements of our modern culture? Dog whistles to certain Pepe the Frog loving groups?

Maybe.

Find Dane-o!
Find Dane-o!

Just in: Dane Reynolds to surf Mavericks!

Chas Smith

By

Your once-upon-a-time favorite surfer is changing directions!

Did you forget all about your favorite surfer in the world Dane Reynolds? Did you forget about his progressive surf approach, loose style, passive-aggressive wink? Did you forget about his gorgeously crooked smile? His cute French bulldogs? His multi-millions of dollars?

Well guess what? While you were busy fawning all over John John Florence your favorite surfer in the world Dane Reynolds was busting out his 9’3 gun. He was sitting in tubs filled with ice and baby sharks. He was running with giant boulders underwater. He was waterboarding himself. He was listening to Slayer’s Raining Blood * and getting ready to be a Titan of Mavericks!

Oh what a wonderful big wave surf competition! Should we read about it from the press release?

Titans of Mavericks is the most coveted event in big wave surfing. Mavericks has a rich history among the annals of surfing lore. Being touted as the one of the most hazardous events in the world, and having 24 of the best conditioned big wave surfing professionals compete against each other to win this prestigious competition makes Titans of Mavericks the greatest show on earth. The 24 who compete possess fearless character and endless passion that give them these unique set of skills to challenge Mavericks each and every year.

Very many superlatives!

And Dane Reynolds! One of the 56 best conditioned big wave surfing professionals alongside the likes of Nathan Fletcher, Albee Layer, Koa Rothman, Jamie Mitchell etc. Does this surprise you?

I suppose that’s what you get for forgetting all about your favorite surfer in the world Dane Reynolds.

But wait. I thought there were supposed to be 24? How in the hell does this thing work? Could I nominate myself to be a Titan? I surfed Pipes, near Swamis, last winter and it was mmmm 4 ft but since I’m not a braggart that is a very conservative estimate (it was 5ft!).

Go to the Titans website here! And get ready for Dane-amite (his big wave name). The window opens Nov 1 and closes March 31.

*He was not listening to Slayer’s Raining Blood but you can right here!

"Sometimes, some crazy times, good things happen too my sweet baby boy."
"Sometimes, some crazy times, good things happen too my sweet baby boy."

The sweetest face in all of surfing!

Chas Smith

By

Steph Gilmore? Anastasia Ashley? Wrong! Come meet Palmer from Queensland!

Oh there is no doubt you’ve seen the video of Kelly Slater Golden Ticket winners by now. Maybe on Surfline. Your beloved BeachGrit does a great job of breaking painful and/or funny rumor but we are slow, usually, to the sensitive dance.

Here I am now though! Late but dabbing my eyes with a hanky!

And just look at Rob and Palmer. Two average men growing up in the heartland. One dreams of being a football star. The other is debutante backseat of Jacky’s car (what does that even mean?). And there they were going about their days. Suckin’ on chili dogs outside the Tastee Freeze. Maybe sittin’ on someone’s lap, hand between knees.

But then there is a knock at the door and a lady with a voice as dumb as finless surfing is pushing an iPhone right directly up their noses. Like, at the worst angle possible, asking questions before telling them that they are the lucky winners! They get to crouch in a never chocolate barrel!

Rob lives very near me. I may in fact know him, or have at least seen him in the water, but certainly won’t be bugging for a chance to join. My ex-wife lived very near Lemoore and if I never have to smell those stinky cows again I’ll be better for it.

But if Palmer asked me I would scream YES while giving him the biggest hug ever! Cow stink and ex-wife we damned!

Have you ever seen a more touching reaction to good fortune? The way those teddy bear eyes sparkle before he wipes the tears of happy away. The way his smile is so big and so filled with pure emotion. The way his whole face radiates and I just want to scoop him into my arms and whisper in his ear, “Rabbi Kushner was right, bad things do happen to good people. But sometimes, some crazy times, good things happen too my sweet baby boy.”

When was the last time you wept from joy, you crusty hard-hearted bastard?

Really?

Well, that is probably why you didn’t win the Golden Ticket.

The way Kolohe says “Yessss!” at the end, defeated but kind of jacked at the same time – Chris Pratt couldn’t have spit that out any better. | Photo: WSL

Question: “Who is surfing’s best actor?”

Derek Rielly

By

Is it Dorian? Slater? Lopez? Vinnie Klyn? Wait… Kolohe Andino?

Those WSL comedy shorts. They were good, yeah?

Loose, sharp, mercifully self-deprecating, prophetic in their treatment of the cruelly set-upon judges. Any lingering criticism I might’ve had for the organisation was finally washed away.

And the fine work of Nat Young and Kolohe Andino reminded me of surfers’ various stabs at acting: Dorian for In God’s Hands, Slater in Baywatch, Vince Klyn in Cyborg. 

How do your two favourite Californians stack-up in the pantheon of surfer/actors? Let’s ask Matt Warshaw, cataloguer of everything surf-historical.

BeachGrit: Did you love the WSL comedy shorts?

Warshaw: Very much!

BeachGrit: What thrilled you, mostly? 

Warshaw: Their screen time was pretty short, but I thought Nat and Kolohe were great in the “I Spy” clip. The way Kolohe says “Yessss!” at the end, defeated but kind of jacked at the same time – Chris Pratt couldn’t have spit that out any better.

BeachGrit: This surfer-actor thing has been going on for almost a hundred years, am I right? Like, the Duke broke the husk on the game for surfers.

Warshaw: Poor Duke Kahanamoku was so broke in 1920s that he was forced to go to Hollywood to scrape out a living in movies. Started I think in 1925. He was 34 or 35, ancient for beefcake, but still filled out a tank-top bathing suit like nobody else. He was in a dozen silent movies, give or take. Small parts.

BeachGrit: Acting skills?

Warshaw: They called him “The Bronze Statue,” so I’m guessing no. But the whole point I think was to have him strip to the waist and look incredible. He could do that!

BeachGrit: What other roles have famous surfers taken?

Warshaw: I never saw it, but Gerry Lopez was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s sidekick in Conan the Barbarian.  Then was some kind of dart-blowing island savage in Farewell to the King. Laird and Lopez were both in North Shore. Robbie Page and Occy were in that one, too, and we all thought Pagey was going to kill it, cause he was the funniest pro surfer at the time, but eh. Occy was hilarious but not on purpose. Not like Kolohe. It’s weird, Occy’s voice used to be so much higher! Everybody made fun of his high little voice, and now it’s kind of rumbly and cool. I guess the most famous might be Vince Klyn as Fender Tremelo in Cyborg. Vince was actually pretty wicked in that. Hammy but evil.

BeachGrit: Tell me about the most underrated surfer-actor…

Warshaw: Nobody much talked about it at the time because we were all so busy laughing at Shane Dorian, but Shaun Tomson did nice work in In God’s Hands. Schooled all the other surfer-actors in that movie. I seem to recall that Keala Kennelly was pretty good in John From Cincinnati, but again, that might have been because the show itself was so crap.

BeachGrit: Who’s the worst? 

Warshaw: Shane Dorian probably. But give him credit, he tried, failed, and got the hell out of there. Shane makes fun of himself now for doing In God’s Hands. He goofs on it in a way that Kelly Slater never does with his Baywatch thing, which now that I think about it was actually a low point, maybe THE low point, for surfer-actors.

BeachGrit: Who is the greatest surf-actor in the history of the world?

Let’s cross our fingers and go with Kolohe. I see red carpets in his future.

Luanda Bay fort
Amazing how a couple years of slow news day "honky surf gang" coverage can light a fire under a community's collective ass. Toss the Coastal Commission into the mix, add a bunch of poorly considered attempts at damage control, and you've got a recipe for losing your decades-long exclusive access. | Photo: LA Times

Cops to Smash Iconic Surf Clubhouse!

Rory Parker

By

Honky surf gang the Lunada Bay Boys seek new play home!

The Lunada Bay fort is not long for this world, reports the LA Times. 

The Palos Verdes Estates Planning Commission on Tuesday night approved a permit to raze the structure used by the notorious Bay Boys, a self-appointed gang of enforcers who people from outside the upscale community have, for decades, accused of using violence and intimidation to keep them away from the famous surf spot. 

The commission approved the motion unanimously and without comment. No one from the public spoke on the matter. 

In July, after initially seeking delays, the City Council unanimously approved a plan to dismantle the shelter despite strong opposition by residents of the relatively isolated enclave, who urged  their elected officials not to honor a request by the California Coastal Commission to remove the shelter or take harassment charges seriously.

Very funny.  Amazing how a couple years of slow news day “honky surf gang” coverage can light a fire under a community’s collective ass. Toss the Coastal Commission into the mix, add a bunch of poorly considered attempts at damage control, and you’ve got a recipe for losing your decades-long exclusive access.

What’s next? Will the Coastal Commission accept the fort’s destruction and move on to other matters?

Or will they continue to push for improved signage and shoreline access?

Pave the way to the beach, write a couple online articles about “majestic Lunada Bay, an untouched beach just a short drive from most of LA County,” and watch the place flood with out-of-towners.  Maybe even, gasp, some of the blacks!

Photo: Jack English
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