Who flies biz class? Who don't? Who saves a few shekels flying via London?
It’s easy to paint the professional surfer’s life as a hyper-sexed club interspersed by the glamour of international travel.
But is it, really?
Hyper-sex, yes. Buttocks crushed, necks bitten, the hot ecstasy of convulsing into the hot deep sweetness of ports previously unknown. Multiples. Multiples of multiples. And it never gets old.
The travel part really sucks, however, and acts as a counterbalance to everything else.
This short, by Peter King, who let’s be generous, is the king of this sort of iPhone-shot pop art, reveals the circuitous route our fav surfers take to get to J-Bay. It’s a typical Peter King short: fast, well-edited, disposable. I once asked him the secret to his success to which he replied:
“I’m not some 26 year old shucking and jiving my way up the marketing chain. I’m not trying to be anyone’s agent, I’m not trying to be a host of the webcast, I’m not trying to make 15 dollars on a Surfline photo. There’s no jealousy. It’s just me.”
Interestingly, Ross Williams has the worst route to J-Bay: a four-day journey via Los Angeles and London; Filipe Toledo the best, LA-NYC-JNB.
Watch here.
Is this Stab? I can see this at Stab.
Have the WSL taken control of Tournotes? They seem to be getting very dull and contrived and they now have that dodgy graphic at the start.
King was going to ask Medina but figured we’re all getting pretty tired of his claims as it is.
John (John) proves himself to be the smart one by taking Emirates. The stand-up bar alone on the A380 is worth the price of admission.
Brother using miles/upgrades is also pretty smart. I haven’t done the new Lufty biz class so I can’t comment but I do like the lounges in Frankfurt. Damn good bread and Coca Cola on tap.
Also interesting to hear that Ross liked AA’s biz over British Airways. There may be some punters in London that deserve the axe for letting that happen.
Funny enough I saw Slater’s flight departing JFK (he posted the boarding passes on IG after the fact) while bike riding with the wife and it reminded me that I forgot to do something for work. My South African customer living in Singapore wasn’t so happy with me but oh well.
Derek…can you answer a question? Do these guys incorporate themselves? The reason I ask is that, in theory, all of this travel is business related and therefore tax deductible, at least in the US.
So spending the $7K on a flight essentially gets written off.
I have absolutely no clue how any other country works but in the US you can write off a lot of stuff so in the end you really aren’t paying the full whack on the ticket.
J H, thinking bout taking Emirates to Hyderabad fro SFO – recommend?
YES! Especially on the A380 in business class. Service is very good, seat is great and on the 15 hour SFO-DXB leg you’ll enjoy the bar. Also…the lounge in DXB is top notch. If your layover is long enough definitely plan in a shower. BA is good but I always try to avoid Heathrow for a connection. Lufty is solid also but not as good as Emirates. However…if you are stuck in the back as I often am go with United to Europe, pay for Economy Plus and then pick the best/shortest connection to get to HYD. Good luck!
Lolz – no biz classing for a family of 4, unfortunately. Just stoked to find tix under 1k with a minuscule layover on a non-cutrate carrier. Thanks for the rec!
I hear you. Even in economy you should be fine especially since its a short layover. However…be warned….the airport in Dubai is a gigantic shopping mall that just happens to have airplane gates. Please keep your wife/partner in your sights at all times. I made that mistake for like two seconds and I found my wife in line at duty free with all sorts of stuff. Safe travels!
In Australia, all reasonable travel expenses are fully tax deductible (TR 98/9 paragraph 67 & 68).
Pretty cool…thanks for that. I had an S Corp in the US and was able to write off most of my travel that way. Hopefully that’s how the American boys are doing it but I’m assuming they are getting good tax consultation services. However…if you hear anything my man Gary is always taking new clients.
you could have written it off as a sole proprietorship. don’t even need a DBA. hairstylists are businesses, self employed, file a Schedule C with your 1040 and deduct away!
I needed the S Corp because of my consulting contract. I’m sure you are aware that big companies don’t like to use 1099’s anymore and only want to pay other corps. Hence my S Corp.
i do, i like LLCs in that situation, where they want an EIN not a social to make it out to. should be drawing a W2 wage in that corp, lots of people try to take everything as a profit distribution
Yup…that’s what he had me do. I was also able to max out 401K contributions to offset the liability. In the end I think it worked out okay…I was able to pay my taxes and (knock on wood) no IRS audits.
you can even apply for unemployment if the checks quit coming
That continues to blow my mind. I realized that the corporation was paying for unemployment “insurance” but I didn’t think that I could actually use it because, in my mind, I was just a consultant. Fortunately I found a job right away afterwards but I think someone would have had to tell me specifically to apply.
no way they’re employees, they’re likely 1099’d by their sponsors, so anything even remotely related to surfing: travel, equipment, their car, their mileage, possibly parts of their home, and prob lots more, are all writeoffs.
I think pretty much every professional surfer on the CT would be incorporated. Travel expenses are one thing, earnings are quite another.
Thanks Nick. I was wrong about the PSI rules. The PSI rules that void a corporate structure do not apply because sponsorship income is not PSI (Taxation Ruling TR 2001/7) and the WSL (PSI) income is produced from achieving a ‘result’, bearing ‘risk’ & providing one’s own ‘equipment’ (see link at bottom). I never had a sporting client before & did retire a couple of years ago so was a bit rusty. In summary, while competition earnings are personal services income (PSI), they are treated as business income for a surfer (since a surfer is not on fixed income for their performances). As the link below states: “If you pass the test, your business is a personal services business (PSB) and the PSI rules don’t apply.” lol – you read it here on Beach Grit.
https://www.ato.gov.au/busi….
they are owned by the jews(wsl)
oh boy more jet setting tales of JH…save it
Come on…this is the only time that I can contribute anything practical to the discussion!
i know you fuck, tell us all your fantasy stories of all the pros you’ve met on all the rad surf trips you’ve taken
Dude…it was all work. Even when I was in Hawaii for two years it was work. Do you want me to regale you with tales of my trip two weeks ago to Waterloo, Ontario and Ypsilanti, Michigan? The drive across Ontario was a barn burner! That’s most of the shit traveling I have to do.
By the way…If i ever win the lottery I’m picking you up and taking you on a trip with me. Here’s the deal…half the trip will be fun stuff (hellllloooo Pipe masters and Turtle Bay) and the other half will be shitty airport hotels in Canada and the Midwest in the middle of the fucking winter. We’ll top it all off with a visit to the Dukes of Hazard museum in Nashville and we can stay at one of my worst all time hotels. But….you pay for your own drugs and hookers. Deal?
perfect, i want to live this life of luxury.
Deal!
im traveling now for work so hopefully i have these encounters and not ones with ISIS
Nice! I can guaratee you that you will have more run-ins with over zealous TSA than with ISIS. However…my two greatest fears…smelly people and fat people. Consider yourself warned.
those two traits usually come hand in hand
I wish you luck and a diminished sense of smell. If you need anything you know where to find me. I’m serious…if I can put some of my accumulated useless information to good use let me know.
thanks JH keep kookin it out
You know it!
Also…GasEx…lots of GasEx.
Emirates is a wise choice. Those guys are money-drunk
United Airlines = borderline self-harm
(From the Oz experience that international flight anywhere is akin to a NASA mission to Mars)
Economy Plus on United is the only thing that keeps me sane when doing long flights (I did Newark to Hong Kong and back in economy). The economy seats on Lufty or even Swiss recline right in your face and it makes me claustrophobic. Yes, the service isn’t great but if I have to sit there for 8+ hours I’d prefer not to be literally trapped in my seat.
My experience was straight up economy, trapped in the seat for 18 hours.
Economy Plus. That extra leg room looked worth every cent. Better still wrangle one of those emergency door seats. God help the other passengers if shit hits the fan though
Too funny. I keep telling people…want to know all of ISIS’ secrets? Put them in a middle seat in economy for 16 hours and they’ll beg you to kill them!
That’s too funny. Like I’ve told people…stop waterboarding ISIS and put them in a middle seat in economy from Frankfurt to Singapore. They’ll be begging for the electric chair by the time they arrive.
In Australia, the corporate thing allows earnings to be taxed at a lower rate (28.5% for gross earnings less than $2M or otherwise 30%). Therefore, the high earning surfer can keep the earnings in the company and pay them out as dividends over a longer period to ensure they are not taxed at very high personal rates during their golden years. This benefits annual net income over $156,000. I hope I got that right.
John John looks like a blonde nine year old jihadist. Cancel his passport immediately. Over scored on the last wave. Someone tell Lyndal Jarvis to take a piss with the door open while Jordy Pistorius is in a cranky mood.
If John (John) hung around Pipe all winter JOB would kill him. The boys need him to go away so they can get some waves.
The only thing more sour than Jordy’s mood was the look on the guys face whose sunglasses he borrowed for the interview. Ever notice how Jordy’s mouth turns involuntarilay up into a snarl on the one side when he is really pissed? Not that I obsessed over that heat or anything, but 3.37 seems a tad generous for a projection floater on a crap wave. It may be time to get a qualified veteran judge on the commentary panel to explain Chas’s judging formula to the web punters.
I’ve never flown business class. It looks like a dream. I get to sit in the front seat when mum drives though. If my older brother isnt there. or dad. havent seen dad in a while though. drives his own car. with other kids in the car. dunno why. mum said hes confused. went crazy and got his family mixed up. i run after these kids at school to try and ask them how dad is. always get in trouble though. shouldnt be at school Wincy. boss calls up asking why i aint in the yard. i am in the yard Grant. im in the yard and i cant see you in the yard. which yard im here by the goals? brick yard Wincy jesus christ. oh no Grant im in the school yard tryin to find out about dad. youre supposed to be at fuckin work jesus christ we got bricks piling up by the belt jesus christ. ok Grant ill come back.
Your life and John John’s have a lot of parallels.
Is this how you and Wincy are trying to drive up sales of your amazon e-book, John???
This is a work of art.
or should that be an work of art?