Wow: WSL brings Virtual Reality to surf!

Virtual Reality! The entertainment medium of the future, since the early 90's or so. It's almost here!

Virtual Reality! The entertainment medium of the future, since the early 90’s or so. It’s almost here! For real this time!

Don’t believe me?  Well, ask Mr Paul Speaker, he’ll back me up.

Speaking at the NeuLion Sports Media & Technology Conference earlier today, Speaker discussed the myriad ways on which the sport of professional surfing is poised to take the world by storm.

First up, “over the top” entertainment. It’s “changing the sports media distribution model… surfing is perfectly positioned to benefit from these developments.”

For the curious, OTT entertainment basically means something broadcast over the internet by a third party, rather than an ISP. It’s also the title of the best movie about arm wrestling starring Sylvester Stallone ever made.

But the real news is the VR.

Thanks to the WSL’s “partnership” with Samsung, a glorious relationship sure to last the ages, you can now step behind the eyes of your favorite surfers, for the low low price of $199.99

Plus the cost of a Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which is a type of cell phone. It might be a good one, I have no idea.

Imagine being able to experience an entire Cloudbreak session from CJ’s POV, especially if you package it with one soundtrack that’s just the ambient noise, and another that’s actually him walking you through a session, explaining how waves hit different sections of the reef, the little adjustments he’s making with his weight and stance, anecdote fillers between waves.

But check the two-minute POV clip they put out.

Mind blowing stuff!  It’s like you’re really there!

If I’m being honest, there is a true potential for VR surfing.

There’s real VR applications for surf, I think. Imagine being able to experience an entire Cloudbreak session from CJ’s POV, especially if you package it with one soundtrack that’s just the ambient noise, and another that’s actually him walking you through a session, explaining how waves hit different sections of the reef, the little adjustments he’s making with his weight and stance, anecdote fillers between waves.  Probably wouldn’t even need to edit the video, literally just film two hours at a really good wave and use that.

Though I’m kind of scared to see virtual reality become a thing. If science fiction has taught me anything, it’s that we’ll eventually become a dystopia of obese internet shut ins who live totally immersed lives while oppressing an underclass of non VR ditch diggers, and hunting a few weird pockets of backwards luddite revolutionaries who shun the whole thing with robots they pay to control in some horrible video game type experience.