In every way but also two very important ones.
Our own Rory Parker wrote, passionately and eloquently, not one week ago that skateboarding is better than surfing. “Other than the whole slamming-face-first-onto-concrete side of the sport, skating is pretty much better than surfing in every way…” he says.
He included progression, lack of interest in contests, superior art in his reasoning and when I read, and saw the attached Big Brother magazine photos and older videos I thought, “Oh Rory…you are wonderful but also wonderfully wrong!”
I’ve met hundreds, maybe thousands, of people who point to skate’s superiority over surf and most of them also point to Big Brother. “So raw!” they crow. “So unafraid!” But do you want to know something? Big Brother stopped publishing magazines in 2004, over a decade ago or an eternity in popular culture terms. It is no longer relevant in any way, shape or form.
Today’s skateboarding is different. Totally fine but not better than surfing and I won’t give three reasons, I’ll give two. Li’l Wayne and Justin Bieber.
The pop stars have embraced skateboarding like no famous person has maybe ever embraced surfing. Li’l Wayne has started a skate label (Trukfit) and Bieber’s newest music video is a pure skate feat. Ryan Sheckler (who sparkles) but also himself doing nollies or something. They both go to skate contests. They both feel comfortable showing off their skillz. And they shouldn’t! I’ve seen Weezy skate and he is terrible. A total embarrassment. Yet when he shows up at skate films the crowd erupts. I would like to think that if he showed up at surf films, after bogging rail, the crowd would boo. Also Bieber is as awkward on a skateboard as he is dancing. I don’t know why they feel so comfortable embracing skate publicly. I don’t know why skate lets themselves be embraced so publicly but it ain’t a great look.
Certainly many famous people surf, or try to surf, but none of them start labels and none of them make surf videos. And Cody Simpson doesn’t count as famous.
Surfing is better because it self-regulates, ruthlessly. It is the most fascist subculture on earth save Neo-Nazism (I once edited a whole Stab issue under this theme! You can maybe buy it here!) In any case, surfing is the narrow path and that makes it gorgeous but also, and really, getting into the saltwater and gliding on God’s energy beats everything but sex. And it always will.
Wait so you are telling me Ryan Sheckler and Justin Berber are two different people? Mind blown.
I’ve had love affairs with both.
Skateboarding was my life from about the age of 12 till I was 23 years old. After a series of twisted ankles, a hurt back, and a number of other injuries from skating, I ended up putting it on the back burner. I started partying and boozing in my most of my spare time in my early 20’s. Finally after a couple years of not skating, I decided to join my roommate one time for a spontaneous surf session. I thought it would be easy, like skating a mini ramp without any of the repercussions, but I could not have been more wrong. Surfing was definitely the hardest thing I had ever tried to do. I was scared shitless, in a big unknown ocean, and couldn’t paddle to save my life.
6 years later, now I love surfing more than anything. I still skate occasionally, cruise a bowl or mini ramp, still got my kick flips on lock, but really nothing beats a day surfing with perfect conditions. NOTHING. I seriously can’t believe I wasted so much time of my youth NOT surfing.
They definitely both go thru hi points and low points. Skating went thru a golden age in the mid to late 90’s, but now I feel its kinda plateau’d. With so much of the sport being based on technical progression and going big, its just kinda crazy that a switch flip blunt slide down a 15 stair isn’t that big of a deal anymore. Greyson Fletcher is definitely my favorite to watch these days, the stuff he’s doing seems like a fresh direction to push skating. Surfing’s been on a good run lately, people doing bigger more technical airs, and paddling into bigger waves. I think board shapes are helping surfing, giving them opportunities to surf waves differently, and it seems like the big air game is just getting started. Surfing in my opinion is more about the ride, its a little more ethereal, which is really hard to capture in video. Its almost hard to understand if you haven’t tried it.
There’s things about both that I don’t like. Surfing is definitely a little more of an “affluent” pastime. So there’s things that come with that territory, but at the same time skating is so accessible to everyone that you get a lot characters you probably wouldn’t associate with as well.
I feel the skate industry as a whole is definitely grittier. I think a lot of that stems from the fact there’s so many little companies being ran by actual skateboarders. Making product the way they feel it should be made. A lot of the surf companies are older and often ran by people very disconnected from surfing, so I think a lot of the influence is “sales/numbers driven” But I think at the same time, surfing is a lot cooler than the way it’s packaged. Thomas Campbell said it best, “Surfing as a culture is a lot more tripped-out than the way it’s spoon fed to us by a very uncreative industry. “
One thing I will say skating has figured out is, they definitely know how to edit videos and make good soundtracks (The Habitat Videos were legendary). Surfing videos for the most part are shit compared to skate videos. They just pick a song and let it play over someones clips, where as skating is actually edited to a song. There are a few exceptions, Kai Neville, Jack Coleman, and George Trimm are a few off the top of my head, that make very good videos for surfing, but as a whole I feel this area could definitely improve.
Hahahahaha, tricks…. good point. Oh wait, that’s the point i was making. Pogo sticks have hard tricks too. Surfing has no need for em. BTW, Beachgrit should be paying you for this kind of flaming.
I dunno, all the fascism has drained out of it in recent times.
We’ve got eurotrash in wavepools now and soon the Olympics.
If you’re gonna throw Lil Wayne and the Biebs at skating you’ve gotta take ownership of Matthew McConaughey, Tony Abbott, and Lindsay Lohan.
Scott Caan may be the only acceptable celebrity surfer. But thats mostly because his dad was in the Godfather and I’m still not 100% convinced that Sonny won’t come kill me if i talk shit on his kid.
There are many australian politicians who surf.
What about Barry Obama and his bodysurfing?
Bodysurfing’s so awesome even Obama can’t ruin it.
Reminds me of Dave chappelle. Remember the episode on this?
Skateboarding is surfing and rollerskating combined… a redheaded step child of sorts for when there’s no waves… and where there’s no waves. Skateboarding is a 60’s fad like hula-hooping and pogo sticking but has survived because of better marketing. Surfing on the other hand is full of kooks because it feels good and doesn’t skin knees. When you feel good you don’t give a shit how you look.
You forgot to mention chicks, Chas. Chicks at the beach are far more appealing ( physically) than the girls at the skateboard park!
“Gliding on God’s energy” Thats exactly why surfing is lamer… No skater would dare utter such hippy-drippy nonsense.
Funny thing is – most surfers dont!* 😀
New entry for Urban Dictionary: Hippy Drippy!
*Unfortunately, most DO say “Yew” and throw shakkas at every opportunity when they cannot think of anything else to do with their hands! :/
I’ve got three words for you. We. Are. Blood.
Im sure they stole that from the Bra-Boyz?
the self regulating part was true however.
christ, what’s up next, fucken snowboarding?
Yeah Nick!!
Global warming is fucking with their steez.