The surf industry is dying, says Michael Tomson! But he knows how to revive it!
Welcome back, dear enthusiast, to our second installment of BeachGrit TV’s Like Bitchin! Its poor production value matched only by its lack of host talent.
But who needs a host when you’ve got Matt Biolos? Not us.
Did you like when he dipped those surfboards in his halved water heater? Did you laugh when we went to a Donald Trump for President rally together and slapped minorities? It was a good time.
And I will tell you with complete certainty that a host, even as skilled as Ellen DeGeneres would fall totally flat next to our next shining star. If you are unfamiliar with Michael Tomson’s legacy please take the time to read Matt Warshaw’s post in the Encyclopedia of Surfing. It begins…
Forceful, articulate, self-destructive pro surfer and surfwear entrepreneur, originally from Durban, South Africa; world-ranked #5 in 1976; the founder of Gotcha. Tomson was born (1954) and raised in Durban, and began surfing at age 10, along with his younger cousin and future world champion Shaun Tomson.
And is very well-written but can’t match actually being in a room with South Africa’s Greatest Export (Besides Diamonds and …. Gold)™.
After reading Warshaw’s work you’ll know he surfed professionally, founded Gotcha, sold it to Perry Ellis and called it a “whore,” founded MCD, sold it etc. but what fascinates me more is his finger on today’s pulse. He knows why our surf industry is dying. He knows how to revive it. He knows what’s next.
And so, I humbly invite you to sit down and enjoy a few minutes with the one, the only Michael Tomson.
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https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Left me wanting more of that one, is there a part 2?0
I’m sure he knows how to revive it. He´s gonna blow the whole thing up.
Up his nose that is.
I feel your pain Chas. Not sure if I qualify as okay-to-good writer, but I definitely tried the camera thing and came off second best. Still, what else are us geriatric hacks supposed to do in the intranet age? Fuck em all and keep em coming.
55 seconds in – I had that print of Gerr on the back of a powder blue jacket with two hurley-style yellow bands on the left arm. I thought myself achingly cool.
It surprises me how articulate and intelligent Michael is. I’d like to have a beer with him. Maybe come coke and hookers.
Whoever is interviewing him, you don’t need to say “yes” or “uh huh” or “who saw it coming?” after every soundbite. Just FYI. Just nod.
Ok so here’s the problem… usually when people are talking about something they need strong positive reinforcement to continue….I started off just smiling and nodding but it wasn’t working as well. I very much apologize for the grunts etc. but sometimes a necessary evil.
in the spirit of constructive criticism, you are mistaken. silence can be golden. once people start talking about something they care about, the real trick is getting them to shut up.
in addition, playing dumb can be a really great interviewing tactic. remember – your goal as an interviewer is NOT to make your subject think you are intelligent, but rather to get good pieces of sound that your VIEWERS will appreciate. often, the way to accomplish that is to make the guy stop talking and say “wait, i don’t know who __ is. can you please explain who he is and why that matters.” its different than interviewing someone for a print story where the writer can supply the backstory
Nodding is going to go slow at first, but MT seems like a guy that if you let him run a little bit and just nod, he’ll start unraveling truth bombs. You could see him starting to run a bit and then like Rico said, a dumb question would have gasolina’d that fire.
Chas, you’re learning! It seems like you realize that you’re not naturally fall-down funny or star-gazer captivating and you’ve chosen to refocus the camera on the guest. For reals, in digital video, either get a really fucking good host or don’t have one, but don’t kill your somewhat legitimate cult of followers in print by being someone on camera that most people would want to pop in the nose. Did MT say shit that I care about? Nope, but his babbling through a heavy edit is better than back-and-forth babbling that would likely result in you emerging as unlikeable or boring and then alienating BG readership.
PS Everyone I can think of who writes okay-to-good about surfing and has tried video comes off as a lifeless wanker, a blowhard wannabe, or a fucking tool on camera or podcast. So the above is as good as a compliment.
Oh you don’t have to tell me! I am the worst on camera and have always known!
My very voice on camera makes me want to punch myself in the face, so I hear you. I’m also an arrogant cunt. Were we separated at birth?
Rhetorical question: who is the funniest motherfucker you guys know with some surf connection who could host Like, Bitchin!? See Thrasher’s “Skateline” as an example…nobody in surf has touched that level of sheer entertainment, although Mailman tried over at Epic TV a few years back. I feel there’s got to be some middle ground between that obnoxious bogan Reef cunt, any of the little OC teenagers who think they’re clever, and the WSL. Question is what personality fits it, stays in character, true to brand.
Next consultation I’ll have to charge…
Sterling Spencer?
I think he was born with Zika.
how many of these okay-to-good writers who tried video are there? i remember Sam George on SURFER TV, (Chris Mauro did that too, but he doesn’t count). What other decent surf writer tried video?
Depends on where you draw the line on okay-to-good. And video as in a full, magazine-produced series a la SURFER TV? Not many, although a fair few noteworthies showed up on Surfer’s Journal TV back in the ’90s…but lots and lots have thrown their face and name on webisodes, etc, to little fanfare. I think people that don’t regularly read about a topic could give a fuck about some seemingly-random author being on screen, regardless of production quality, so I’d imagine that only the avid surf mag reader draws the connections. I guess I’m also thinking in terms of authors appearing in surf documentaries and being consulted as experts for TV, etc.
he’s 100% right, his brain may be so drug addled that he thinks that shirt and cardigan combo are acceptable, but goddamn it he’s right.
p.s I agree with Wiggs, production values were pretty good. Kinda reminds me of Vices “hi shredability” – but with more credibility.
could someone summarise what he actually meant?
Did he steal your girlfriend back in the day Longneck?
Longdong?
Long dongs at the Gong when I get south of Sydney.
He said a bit but I didn’t understand what he meant. Did you get it Neg? You’re a smart guy. It was a like a bunch of biblical proverbs all stuck together.
Is that a euphemism for getting shagged in a Wollongong public toilet?
Ha! The masses love biblical proverbs rammed down their throats, come back for it weekly… Not sure if I got it, but I got the drift. It was all so much easier when everyone wanted in, When was the last time you or any of your friends brought a major labeled surf brand tee or hoodie? Still, I’d much rather watch something different with one of surfing characters than watch actual surfing these days online. Death to the stylized 3 minute surf clip!
he said likes mean shitt or something like that.
he’s obviously never heard of the Coffey sisters.
Likes these days, are akin to currency in the first world. Companies can fall and rise on click’s of the up-vote.
I was going to say I don’t know who the Coffey’s are but I’d be lying…
the bots follow the shit out them
what he meant was “everything was better back in my day.” same thing you hear from everyone old enough to see Zeppelin or whatever old band.
I can write a killer Business Plan for MT next enterprise, find below the index:
1) Cocaine;
2) Meth;
3) LSD;
4) Heroine;
5) Speed;
6) Conclusion: Rehab.
He sounded pretty happy about his young “Heroine”
this is what Chas will dress like in 30 years
I didn’t watch the video
…I think you’ll like! Only three minutes!
Hi Bitchy Crap, yeah I watched it now, it was cool. Was Gotcha a surfer?
Thanks for the insight.
Thank you MOD
How’s his nasal septum these days, much energy left in it?
cocaines a helluva drug
So is Success.
I thought the production value was alright Chozlos. I liked the still frames on photographs. It was very VICE of you. Little known fact, Michael Tomson and I share very similar real names and even more interestingly I saw him when I was in jail in California a few years ago. He wasn’t in there with me. I just saw him in the processing area when you’re waiting to go home. He may have been picking someone up.
…what delivered you to the pen? A glamour crime?
Not the pen. Just jail. Drink driving.
Bad luck you got popped in Cali. Barely even a crime out here.
Viva Jimbo!
Too quick for me.
Yeah sounds like you only get fucked on if you lose an arm and tell the ambulance driver you’ll get your revenge.
Slap on the wrist? or lose your license? Over here you can be over the limit and in the clink {abet politely} after 3-4 beers if you are unlucky…
Small fine, possible license suspension.
Pretty much impossible to land in jail so long as you don’t hurt someone.
You such a badass. Menino travesso!