John John Florence sends his 400,000 followers into battle against budget airline JetBlue!

Blood Feud: John John Florence vs JetBlue!

By Derek Rielly

9 years ago

Hawaiian superstar sends his 400k followers into battle against budget airline…

Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but a pro surfer with a large social following might come close.

Today it was revealed by @john_john_florence that the budget airline @jetblue had had treated his board bag poorly.

The post currently has over 24,000 likes and 2500 comments from John John’s almost half a million followers. Very few were in favour of New York-based JetBlue.

The three comments, below, sum up, I think, an overwhelming sentiment.

ryanswiss@JetBlue you suck! I still remember when my board inexplicably turn up with a hammer strike through the deck when it came off the plane, and how you broke the nose off @pauldozier ‘s Webber when we flew you for our trip to Rincon, PR. Lame.

paulmrandolphWon’t be flying @JetBlue anymore. “Fly with us where you’ll get #jetscrewed ”

jeffbortonAre you serious @JetBlue ? Hope your $500 saving was worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue! That’s super lame. Sorry bro.

CJ Hobgood and Peter King, maker of Hurley’s Tour Notes, meanwhile, added their flavour.

peterkinglajollaNow that is social justice! @john_john_florence gets treated like junk by @JetBlue after THEY destroy his surfboard…they said it was his fault…he paid $500 for luggage fees and THIS IS HOW HIS BOARD SHOWS UP!!! Well, one post about it by him on Insta and already 25,000 people have seen it and 2500 comments and growing…@jetblue getting written off on their own Insta feed too and probably gonna lose SO MUCH business because of this! Hahahaha… #InstagramIsTheNewYelp #JetBlueLosingThousand$$$ #JetBlueTombstoneModel

cjhobgood#socialjustice or maybe airlines will never care about surfers and our boards…so be it. But for now let’s not go down without a fight, because I know how respectful and humble this kid @john_john_florence is and I can see someone @jetblue treating our boy like crap and I’m happy to put a little gas on that injustice fire that has been going on forever. @dakine_surf Johnny also needs new board bags.

What do you think?

Do airlines treat you poorly too? Or is John John a cry-baby who shouldn’t fly such shitty airlines?

Loading comments...

Load Comments

Most of that green behind Sunset (the first point)? Yeah, you can grab it for $US15 mill.

Buy: Quik CEO’s $15 mill North Shore spread!

By Derek Rielly

9 years ago

Bob McKnight selling 100 acres across the road from Sunset Beach…

It ain’t summertime in the Quiksilver Int offices these days, at least not after the bankruptcy thing. Almost a billion dollars on the wrong side of the balance sheet will do that.

Who can forget the $320 mill buy of ski brand Rossignol in 2005?

“Joining forces with Rossignol allows us to create the number one outdoor sports lifestyle company in the world,” said Quik CEO Bob McKnight at the time, adding, “We look forward to capitalizing on the tremendous synergies that come from this partnership.”

If capitalising means selling it for less than half of what you paid a few years later, it was a roaring success.

Anyway, maybe it’s related, maybe not, but McKnight has just listed his (and according to this report Fast Eddie Rothman’s) 100-acre spread across the road from Sunset Beach.

According to bizjournals.com,

“Bob’s Paumalu LLC, which is headed by McKnight and Eddie Rothman, founder of Da Hui, has owned the property since 2005, V. Elise Lee, an agent with Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, told PBN.

“The ‘Sunset Paumalu’ property may be subdivided or developed with up to four homes that will be surrounded by organic agricultural farms or an equestrian ranch, according to the listing. The parcel comes with two building permits, two water meters, two electric meters and two eco-friendly wastewater systems installed.

“Located at 59-178 D1 Kamehameha Highway, the property has a total assessed value of about $3.6 million, according to tax records.

“Quiksilver, one of the largest outdoor sports lifestyle companies in the world, which includes such brands as Roxy and DC, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“The California-based company said last month that it was closing 27 stores.”

Watch a compelling video on the property here.

Loading comments...

Load Comments

The perfect no-claim claim, as illustrated by the surfer Kolohe Andino after a tube-fin-ditch combo that netted a 10. "It's a humblebrag, a delicious display of false modesty meant to illuminate accomplishment without resorting to any untoward gesticulation," explains Rory Parker. | Photo: WSL

Fashionable: The No-Claim Claim!

By Rory Parker

9 years ago

The no-claim claim is a humblebrag, a delicious display of faux modesty…

Let’s talk a bit about the no-claim claim. It’s a humblebrag, a delicious display of false modesty meant to illuminate accomplishment without resorting to any untoward gesticulation.

A downward gazing fist pump, soul arching kick out, meant to say, “I’m proud of myself, but I’m not gonna get all up in your face about it.”

It covers up failure well.

Maybe that barrel wasn’t so deep, that air so high, that turn so hard. All the no-claim’s saying is that you think you did good, not better than anyone else. Ostensibly, at least. We all know the truth. It’s like complimenting an old lady on her famous homemade pie crust.

“Oh no, this one didn’t have enough sugar, it was terrible.”

But the old biddy is smiling on the inside, ‘cuz she thinks the meringue you whipped up tastes like sour cardboard.

I don’t do humility so good, got an awful tendency toward self praise. I really don’t see much wrong with it, you’ve gotta have a lot of self confidence to get shit done.

Years ago I got a damn good barrel out at Turkeys, a guy on the beach even said so.

“Dude, sick tube you got out there.”

My reply?

“Yeah.”

On the drive home the wife pointed out that I kind of came across like a prick.

“You should just say, ‘Thank you,’” she said.

Hard to wrap my head around at first. I try hard, why shouldn’t I just bask in well deserved praise? Because people will like me more, that’s why.

It’s a pretty manipulative move. Almost insulting, denigrating an impressive accomplishment only serves to shit on those who aren’t on that level.

But we lie to ourselves and others every day. In word or deed, it’s these forced delusions that get you through life.

It works great with freediving.

“Yeah, I only hit 120′ before I turned around. Pretty weak.”

I’m not an idiot, I know 12 stories is plenty deep. But the subtext, so beautiful.

“I’m so gnarly that 120’ ain’t shit.”

But make no mistake, it’s all the same when things are said and done. Whether you’re waving your arms above your head like some meth-ed out monkey, or just setting your jaw and giving a bit of swagger, you’re broadcasting to the world that you think you’re better. Just in a more palatable fashion.

And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.

Of course, I wouldn’t. I’ve got a pretty high opinion of myself.

(Thanks to Karl Myers for the idea…)

Loading comments...

Load Comments

Oh Nazaré!

By Derek Rielly

9 years ago

Good old fashioned big-wave schmaltz!

Opening day at a big wave is always a thrill. The jetskis are wheeled out of garages in the very early morning, ropes are checked, tanks are fuelled, cameras of every flavour are readied, those little inflatable vests, each with fresh air cartridges, are strapped on to the surfer, surfboards are carefully waxed (one slip!) and

…just wow.

A few days ago, the wave Nazaré opened its gate. As the best surfers in the world drifted home after surfing four-foot beachbreaks in Peniche, the not-best-surfers in the world headed out to ride the world’s most photogenic, if dubious, big wave.

2E031FB600000578-0-image-a-62_1446406402793

As the UK’s Daily Telegraph reported, “It’s the world’s most powerful and monstrous wave – yet it didn’t put daredevil surfers off showcasing their skills.

“And as huge tide crashed into shore from a stormy sea, the wave-riding heroics saw it as an opportunity to show just what they’re capable of.

“Their spine-tiggling displays were guaranteed to leave stunned spectators with hairs standing up on the back of their necks.

“Photos captured the remarkable attempts to surf the monster waves whipped up by powerful storms in the North Atlantic at Praia do Norte in Portugal today.

“Amazing images show the tide as it comes roaring towards surfers who risk it all to ride them.

“The beach has become famous for huge waves since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara received a world record for the largest wave surfed in 2011.”

I can hear you laugh! Me too!

But not so quick. It’s easy to rip into somewhere like Naz when you’re safe tapping the keys at home.

I asked Shane Dorian about the joint once and he recalled being tossed like a salad at the joint.

“The place is a logistical nightmare,” said Shane. “We lost a couple of skis. And, it’s really hard to do rescues there, really really hard. Each surfer needs his own water rescue guy on a ski. At all times. It’s really super dangerous. There’s a cliff there. All that shit. Once, I caught a wave and we lost one of the skis in the shore break. I finally got back out there an hour later. I got a couple more waves and then we had to ditch another ski on the sand. It is just chaotic. I had one of those feelings that I should be happy with the two waves I caught. It’s a full on beach break. It’s like these big wedges down the beach so every time you catch a wave there’s no way to paddle back out. You need a jet ski to come and get you right away and there’s a rip sucking you straight into a big cliff. It’s a lot like the north shore when the waves are big. The water’s really angry.”

Watch the opening day video here!

Loading comments...

Load Comments

Listen: Jack Johnson’s song for JJF film!

By Derek Rielly

9 years ago

Surfer troubadour writes quirky uke track for View from a Blue Moon…

I can guess how you feel about the faceless, characterless, middle-aged jams of Jack Johnson. Cutting-edge it ain’t.

You’d need to be thirty-plus to climb back into 2001 and remember how revolutionary his new folk sounded amid the schmaltz of Faith Hill, Matchbox 20 and Celine Dion and the flatulence of Creed and Everclear.

If the black man of 1988 had Straight Outta Compton, the surfer of 2001 had Rodeo Clowns, the song that first appeared on a G Love and Special Sauce LP and, later, on the album Brushfire Fairytales.

Johnson’s cred was further established with the brilliant surf films Thicker than Water in 2000 and The September Sessions the following year that he filmed, scored and starred in.

Today we learn, via Rolling Stone, that Johnson has written a song for the John John Florence and Blake Kueny film View From a Blue Moon.

Let’s examine the quotes.

“Florence is a big music fan; Led Zeppelin, the Talking Heads and Black Sabbath are a few of his favorites. When he was thinking of music for the film, he decided to call in a favor from an old family friend friend: Jack Johnson. ‘We both grew up in the same place,’ says Florence. ‘Our family is really close to his family. He’s kind of like an uncle to me and my brothers. He’s always given me really good tips on life and how to do things.’

“Florence initially asked Johnson if he could use one of his songs in the film, but Johnson topped the idea: ‘He was like, ‘Love the idea of making one for the movie.’ So I was blown away that he really wanted to do it,” says Florence. Johnson sent back Seasick Dream a ukulele-steeped ode to the surfing lifestyle. ‘The song plays with a bunch of clips of when I was really young surfing with my brothers, so it worked out insane,’ says Florence.

“I’ve known John John since he was a baby,” Johnson told Rolling Stone in a statement. “The amount of soul that he is able to put into such high performance surfing is mind blowing … I’m always trying to give him uncle advice about everything besides surfing but he seems to have it pretty figured out.”

Listen to the song here.

Watch Jack, John and Kelly rip Haleiwa together!

And, again, the trailer for View from a Blue Moon

“View From A Blue Moon” Trailer from John John Florence on Vimeo.

Loading comments...

Load Comments

Eat beach grit spam!