Is he the world's most complete surfer? Well?
Who would have ever seen that coming? I mean, like, years ago when Josh was surfing air shows? Could the argument be made that Josh Kerr is the most complete surfer on earth? Well, could it be? More after I sober up. And until then, read Rory Parker’s investigative action here!
Update:
I’m sober!
Josh’s win was very fine and his after heat quote was the best of all. “To walk away with a win — I feel like one of those dogs with his head out the car window, I was smiling the whole time I was paddling around in the final.”
Bravo and I wonder if he will continue to compete in that game.
Which raises a larger question. What will happen to the Big Wave World Tour? That Jaws jam is going to be very hard to beat and Todos, on its best day, ain’t super wow. I would be very curious to know how many people tuned in and what the kick from Jaws was, if any. With money not exactly flowing in to the WSL coffers and maybe actually running out the door (upcoming hot rumor on the boil for tomorrow!) what will they chop?
P.S. Why hasn’t the Eddie run yet?
I woulda watched, but I can experience the whole “drop-in-go-straight” thing in first person.
The argument for Kerrzy can certainly be made. To which I offer a two-word rebuttal:
John John.
Well considering Kelly´s 540 and the win at the Eddie…. I dont know if the most complete surfer in the world, but let me tell u something, sure as hell more complete than MIck and Toledo put toghether.
totally disagree. Nobody’s better at 6 foot and under than Filipe and it’s not even close. Mick surfs big waves quite well and has the rail surfing many people think Filipe lacks. Combine those 2 and you’ve got about the perfect surfer.
I was being ironic, and even if I wasent u cant compare surfing big waves quite well to winning an Eddie Aikau in Ginormeous Waimea, or the way Kelly surfs Teahuppo, or doing a Rodeo Clown in Pipe, or the 540… who gives a fuck Its just stupid that u have to combine two surfers (who by the way make top top dollar) to get a made up super heroish character that comes close to compete against Kelly, super surfer Mick Toledo might beat Kersy thought.
Mick and Fiilpe both beat Kelly this year. Maybe Kelly needs to join with JJF to compete.
If he has to join with someone to compete it should definetly not be JJF… Kelly and Kanye… there we go, Kelly´s got the surfing, Kanyes definetly has the king of the world competetive thing going on. Kelly West, Or Kanye Slater… Or just KK bad ass
You probably noticed that there were no ads on during the commercial breaks – thank fuck, if I had to hear “but never in the house ” one more time I would go all Michael Douglas in Falling Down
Ian Walsh!
I would definitely agree with that.
Albee Layer
And not sure about the most complete surfer, but he’s gotta be up there. Guy’s frothy in 2 foot to Todos.
Kerr & Hobgoods just exposed Big Wave tour as the tour that the worlds not-quite-best surf because they can’t make the real tour.
Can you expound on that a little more?
Sure. The big wave tour is touted as the best big wave surfers in the world. But many comps are run at times and places that don’t allow CT guys to do them. What does it say if Kerr and Hobgood can roll into one and win without any real training etc.? To me, it’s another glorified QS, but just in big waves rather than small. The best guys are still on the CT no matter what the big wave guys tell you.
nah, this is the mega ramp and the CT is the street course. this is Danny Way and Bob Burnquist shit
Except Kerr won. Without training.
Alright, saying “without training” is misleading. Kerr is obviously in damn good shape, surfs big waves on the side already and is a charger. If Glenn Hall had won, I’d be shocked. I’m not shocked that Kerr won. To the earlier reply as well as Bitter Guy’s, it’s apples and oranges. The Big wave world tour is something that 2/3 of the CT simply want nothing to do with. Felipe doesn’t even catch a wave at Chopes and he’s one of the “best” (yep) guys on the CT, but the hell if he wants anything to do with Jaws or Mavs, etc. The other side is trying to get a big wave guy to ride regular waves with flow and style, which is pretty damn rare. To each their own, but I agree, the best guys, at least for the sake of guys like you or me, are on the CT, but I don’t even put them side by side with big wave guys. It’s like comparing a street skater to a vert skater (thanks bitter).
you’re carving out a few exceptions, and very young ones at that. I bet Gabs could do it. Slater, Parko, Mick, Taj, Dusty, CJ, can and have surfed waves of consequence well. Owen too. Bede. And I’m not even looking at the CT roster – Italo, ADS, Wiggoly all charge pretty hard. So yea, holding up the 130 lb Filipe doesn’t convince me of much. No way it’s street versus vert – it’s all around versus guys left with only big waves because they can’t do the rest.
OK, sure, those guys have all put in time at big wave spots over the years, but guaranteed a lot of the CT wants nothing to do with 65 foot jaws, etc. You also have Shane on the big wave tour, and he’s kinda the man
but was also a CT guy for years. He’s doing the only part of competitive surfing his age will allow.
Fuck you have a warped mind. You’re possibly the most cynical person I’ve never met. You’re right though, Shane-O has been relegated to paddling 65 foot jaws and occasionally crushing a backdoor/pipeline wildcard. I’m just thankful the guy can still eat solid foods. Good point dude.
I hate to agree with Trojan Fan but here goes. Simply put, I think he’s saying (and I 100% agree) that if you were to take any of the top CT guys (not the Micros and Simpos) that were willing to (not the Felipes) do all the big wave events, you would see them win most of the time. They’re just better surfers. You let them train the way the big wave guys do for a year, load them up with all the safety equipment and give them the peace of mind the safety crew provides, and the Kelly’s and John Johns and Julians and Owens of the CT would absolute dominate the big wave guys over the course of a season. Shane-o is a perfect example – top ten CT guy but never won a title and maybe only a couple events during his career yet now he’s widely considered the best big wave guy in the world. In fact, I would be willing to bet that any of the lower lever (Micros and Simpos) guys on the CT that were willing to huck themselves over the ledge with the big wave guys would be right on their level. The top CT guys, though, would dominate.
If you re-read the discussion, I’m agreeing with most of what Trogan Fan is saying, which pains me immensely. Like hell any of the guys on the BWWT have any real semblance of style in regular waves, and no, they probably can’t make the real tour, but they aren’t trying to. It’s a completely different deal. My argument is that there is bound to be a comfort level among the guys that are big wave surfers vs. the WCT guys. I think the separation comes on the extreme end of big waves, but I’d put money down that most of the CT guys aren’t keen on paddling 65 foot jaws or towing massive Nazare, or even blackwater Chopes.
I was down there and heard some firsthand discontent with the event in particular. For one the waves were a lot smaller than everyone hoped so lots of the guys were disappointed off the bat. Secondly, some competitors were unhappy with what was being scored. At that size, the inside is a much challenging and critical wave. Lots of the guys in the event wanted to take out smaller boards, get tubes and do critical turns on the longer, smaller, more critical waves. The judges wanted to score the biggest waves. The best contest surfers surfed to the criteria and won. The CT guys are undoubtedly the best contest guys in the world.
which is convenient seeing as how this was … a … contest.