Ladies and gentlemen.... we have a rivalry!
And what a day of professional surfing! What a truly fabulous day! There will be a pointed recap here and soon coming Straight outta Kauai but in the meantime can we just be happy that a true rivalry seems to be bubbling again? Something we haven’t seen since Kelly Slater vs Andy Irons?
Feel the joy!
In this corner, weighing in at 170 lbs with ankles as thick as tree stumps… John John Florence!
And in this corner, weighing in at 140 with skin so impossibly hairless… Gabriel “Gabi” Mediiiiiiinnnnnaaa!
The two men are locked in at 1,2 at the top of the Jeep Leaderboard and I don’t know how they feel about each other but I hope hate flows through their veins. This is what our professional surfing needs. This right here.
A rivalry!
And I hope the two of them rise to the occasion. I hope they subtly dig at each other. I hope they burn in their hearts when seeing each other. I hope their camps try to sabotaj each others’ with every chance they get.
I hope, also, they take the word “rivalry” seriously. Andy Irons did, admitting to hating Kelly Slater. Oh not personally, probably, maybe, but his competitive fire cooked so hot that it colored everything. Everything!
That is what we need. That right there.
Da pashun!
A paixão!
The two men will surf soon in their respective semi-final heats. John against Keanu, Gabi against Kolohe and then hopefully against each other. With burn in their hearts. Hopefully!
These two dont like each other, barely spoke a word to each other for nearly two years. Apparently started with an out of the water incident in Hawaii 3 seasons back. Not much in it, two young bucks a few words exchanged.
No talkies from them on. It had cooled a bit to the occasional head nod.
Blew up again at Trestles. Gabby stormed straight up the path after his heat loss leaving Charlie to chase him down with all Gabs boards etc.
Charlie apparently had something to say in Portugese in the competitors area which may or may not of been directed at JJF who was sitting with a mate and they were laughing. Apparently not at Gabbys misfortune, just two blokes who laughed at the wrong time. Charlie went on blast. Fued reignited
Are there any journos on here or do we mere readers and pro surf groupies have to break all the stories.
If I’m not mistaken, there is a tip line in the works. Top dollar for leads!
It’s not really a rivalry until the fan base gets on board. Remember all those idiots who thought KS vs AI was Good versus Evil? And how KS played to it by getting a white wetsuit? And went out and surfed in it at large shitty Backdoor a day before the Pipe event, right in front of AI’s house? Fat lot of fucken good it did him.
So get to work you cunts. Take sides! Get this thing rolling.
That might be the problem who the fuck outside of Brazil will rout for gabby?
Who the fuck outside Brazil needs to? That’s a lot of rooters. If you get my drift.
Why is no-one talking about Kai’s disco dance in the shallows at the end of his last wave of the heat against The Kolo*, and the fact that both Pottz and Turdpell ignored it, or at least were told to because it a) demonstrated that a pro surfer had a personality b) was an act that demonstrated free thinking and free will, and c) was an interpretive dance loaded with subtext about what he thought of running a comp in Rio like conditions? If you haven’t seen it you’re missing out. Kai-boy’s got mad skills on the dance floor!
*(N.B. Kolo is Greek for anus).
” I hope their camps try to sabotaj each others’ with every chance they get.”
This idea is Endorsed, Encouraged and Joyously Liked by Taj Burrow (and Jack McCoy)
Don’t know if Gabby and JJ hate each other Chas, but Charly certainly hates when Pete Mel gives insight on his son in law’s board…
Have you been there? Have you see the rage?
I wasn’t close enough to tell you the truth, but from my perspective he didn’t appreciate to see someone else playing with his son’s tools…
That pic of gabs, i hope it gets shown every single day on this site. I will never tire of seeing it, ever, and i find myself wishing there was a pic of him crying right next to it, also shown every day until the planet expires. Dude is so lame.
Sure sure sure… but this one has nation vs. nation as an element. Fun! No?
They should make a “HAND SOLO” contest …..im not doubt who will win.
John John is the man.
Man, is there WSL’s money at Beach Grit?? Because this article is about exactly what WSL is trying to make for the last 2 years: find a white rival to the brazilian. They would be glad with Jules Wilson, but as the guy is a soon-to-be-30 and can’t win anything, John John is, as we speak in portugese, “a bola da vez”.
Once a ball? What does that mean?
Cmon, Chas… Research!!
Is this really a racial issue for you? I see it pretty clearly as the two best surfers, both doing their best to win a world title by beating whoever they have to to get there. What’s your obsession with skin color?
No racial issue. But we want a fair dispute, and that’s not happening.
Pro surfing has never been even close to fair. It’s got subjective judging and an ever shifting environment. In fact there has NEVER been 100% agreement on any single contest result.
You guys are sleeping, since Speaker is the boss he wants new viewers for the cast, brazil have more viewers than all the rest of the planet, is a BIG MARKET and even when brasilians cry about FAIR believe it or not WSL likes brazilian winners, because that means more viewers. Brazilians LOVE TO COMPETE, and wsl is looking for a white rival to make something like brazil against the world. All this is calling create a market.
Really? Here’s a few:
1. AI over KS, Phil Macca and Parko, Pipeline 2003. As clear a win as you’ll get.
2. My lil brother, Pipeline 1987, 1991, 1992.
3. Greg Long, Eddie 2009.
4. Kelly, Teahupo’o 2005 (the double-10 final)
5. Carissa, Honolulu 2015.
I could go on. For a long time actually.
Please don’t.
Your Coastalwatch shark debate however was very insightful – thanks.
Yeah I learned something there too.
Perhaps I overstated the situation, but only in trying to make my point that surfing is entirely subjective and therefore open to flawled calls and mistakes.
Yes and I have almost certainly watched too many heats
I have to respectfully disagree with you on Greg Long’s Eddie win. The guy is a beast but he got absolutely smoked right at the bottom of his “perfect” wave. You can’t win the Eddie by wiping out on your best wave.
Apparently you can.
what was Mick Fanning’s role? Remember him? What about Adriano? Your boy has won a single world title…. You treat him like he is the messiah.
Your trolling is weak James, NLand level weak
James. Did you think Gabriel was underscored yesterday in comparison to the scores John was previously given for his low height airs? What about ADS’s last wave with lots of vertical turns? Should ADS have got the score? Thanks
I surfed a four man heat against James B at the 1991 Del Taco Pro at 54th street.
Also a man on man at the Pure Juice Invitational at Jalama.
I heart James B, but like Captain America I seek truth and justice.
James has publicly stated he is an “ex-pro Surfer” Is this true?
Couldn’t we get Throwing Disqus to do some sort of Beach Grit funded photoshop comp of this? I picture Jimbo in Hot Tuna with a vicious backhand attack and a spiteful forehand floater.
John white, Gabi dark
John raised poor, Gabi raised poor
John embraces art, Gabi competition
John burns cool, Gabi burns hot
Which one is more anti-corporate Illuminati? Am I rascist if I root for John? Is Gabi a spoilt brat or is that just my cultural lens? I need answers
John raised poor? Living in Hawaii, USA? hahahahhahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahaa!
oh, wait…
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaha!
Evidently you’ve never been poor in Hawaii
Evidently you do not know what it is to be poor.
Poverty Feud: Hawaii vs Brazil
Brilliant.
Lol – always root for the poorest kid. And we all know that the streets of the US are paved with gold. Bunch of malingerers they are.
Coolantatta is pretty high up in the meth capitals of Australia*. Does that put an Aussie back in the running?
*This statistic up, along with 67% of most, may have been made up.
Hey hey, two at a time
The wsl plan is to have as many nations as possible engaged in the race. Jordan will get a dream run, although not Jeremy Flores. They a have a thing about him…
Evidently you don’t know that Charlies family is rich…
his mother rented out floor space in their house when he was a child to traveling surfers and was a waitress, just to make it by.
Gabby grew up on the beach at a firing beachbreak and his step dad owned a surfshop…doesn’t sound THAT bad.
It is a much more nuanced rivalry than Andy v Kelly. Much more fun!
Except neither of them are adults……both are man-children
Clearsil makes things way more fun than Coke
Andy earned it. Andy kicked Kelly’s arse
John is a pretty boy gifted results (Taj at Fiji, Gabi at Trestles, ADS yesterday)
Gabi is the non-Anglo that must earn everything he gets
Gabi has integrity
If John doesn’t refuse the trophy, he is the corporate Illuminati
Integrity? LOL.
John isn’t pretty
Nick, my perception of Gabby is that he’s smugly entitled. I assume that’s not your perception (unless, maybe you’re a fan of smug entitlement!) I’m just wondering how much of your opinion is anti-colonialism or what-not. if John were Brazilian and Gabi white, would you feel the same, just based on their surfing and personalities?
na…i like John. I wanted him to beat Kelly at Pipe 2013 and Chopes 2014 but he never comes thru (Kelly smashed him at Pipe 2013). What Medina did at Fiji in 2012 or Chopes 2014 & even Pipe 2014 (to take down a string of Hawaiian heavy weights) was way beyond his personal experience in waves like that & that is the stuff of world champs, just like Kelly from Florida became the master of Pipe very early on. I want to see John win fair & square. If anyone has a sense of entitlement, it is John. Gabie only appears that way because he believes in justice & fairness. It does not matter if John is the most popular & best surfer on video. It is competition surfing. If its close at the end of the year, John’s title will be tainted, like Mick in 2013 or MR in 1979.
Interesting. My memory of that Chopes contest (and I DID watch it) was that Gabi “won” with safety surfing, while Kelly and John were balls-to-the-wall. I also remember Parko being the rightful winner of Snapper that year, so if you’re going to talk about tainted titles…
There’s no doubt Gabi’s a savant. I just don’t get a hard-on watching him surf.
Pretty safe to say that ADS’s title was “tainted’ too then. No jbay final, as well as Gabby’s bullshit score for that weak air.