People have many opinions about Eddie Rothman
but I will say, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he cares deeply
about Hawaii. He cares about its people, he cares about its
environment, he cares about its economy and he cares about his
surf.
And here, on election day in America, we see Eddie giving ‘er
hell!
Oh the passion is as refreshing as an Off the Wall head slap! He
is no mealy-mouthed politician. He is a firecracker who has seen it
all and done it all and is not content to sit back and let the
lesser fortunate get rolled.
Watch, learn and vote.
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Reiss Laurenson, here, is a surfer from Western
Australia, nicknamed Quokka by Matt Hoy 'cause Australia didn't
have a Rat Boy. He is also the founding daddy of Necro, a wax and
tailpad company, of which your ol pal DR now has a one-fifth
stake!
But the sun sets every day, and people die every minute, and we
mustn’t be scared by rigours of business. If you don’t roll
the dice, or spin the wheel, how will you ever win?
Today, therefore, I announce my latest venture: a twenty per
cent stake in Necro, a new
deck-grip and wax company created by the two crudest
and most savagely ambitious dreamers and doers in the world.
Let me introduce.
The first is Reiss Laurenson, currently, the menswear designer
with the Perth-based surf company Rusty. Reiss is also well
regarded for his expressive and soaring airs. Some years ago, Reiss
placed well in the Quiksilver Air Show series and
earned the nickname Quokka from Matt Hoy as Australia “needed its
own Rat Boy.”
The second founding daddy is the film director Luke Farquhar,
whom you’ll know from his ability to create WSL surf promos and
whatever else for the cable station Fox with an unusual zeal.
Watch his piece for summer, here.
Luke and Reiss approached me with a deal that was very hard to
ignore. No biz plan, no idea of how to sell, a category that was
notoriously lean (how many tail pads do you buy a year?), so how
about I shovel in a little cash and be a part-owner?
The pair were driven by a desire to emulate their heroes at
Astrodeck, the American deck grip company still owned by the
famous, and famously wonderful, Fletcher family.
This is consistent with Necro’s inability to create a working
business structure or of any coherent idea of moving the little
company towards profitability.
Says Luke, “It’s become so safe so it’s good to set up a non-pro
surfer owned company that still remains true to what we all got
into it in the first place. ”
Just, wax and grip that is exact as a knife.
Have you ever seen such a ravenously aggressive
box of wax? Or human skulls as wax?
Stab magazine wrote a
terrific profile on Necro a few months back, which you can read here. It covers Luke and
Reiss’ influences, and further reasons behind the creation of
Necro.
The tail pads, which are made in the Communist utopia of China,
are available in red, with black coming in a month. Pads cost
sixty-six Australian dollars, and wax is six dollars and sixty-six
cents. The devil imagery reflects Reiss’ love of Deathwish
skateboards.
Tomorrow is election day in the United States
of America. And while the prospect of a Donald J. Trump presidency
has driven even the stoutest among us to the hills, I must admit,
this whole cycle has left me nothing less than thrilled.
Part of my joy comes from the daily leaks. Oh not the ones from
Julian Assange. His lily-livered faux power-mongering from behind
the canary yellow walls of the Ecuadorian embassy is so weak! So
gauche!
No. My favorite leaks are the anonymous nuggets from inside the
campaigns themselves. Did you read Inside Donald Trump’s Last
Stand in The New York Times? It
positively crackles with anon gossip. A true work of art that will
undoubtedly go down as a journalistic high water mark.
Also the works of cold-blooded Russians deep in Siberia who are
not in it for fame or glory but for integrity. For truth.
And in that same very same vein, a brave Russian deep in Siberia
just today emailed me this Rob Machado commercial from 2011
that never saw the light of day. The hacker, WilderBEAST420,
said he/she found it while combing through the dark net. Or
darknet.
What’s that?
But I don’t care! It sounds wonderful. And he/she leaked it to
me because even in Siberia there are people who recognize the soul
crushing seriousness of the surf industry.
You might recall my rant against Volcom last week
that shouted at them forgetting that what we do, this surfing, is
at the end just plain fun.
The hacker, whoever she or he is, knows this, read the piece and
got to work digging around in the inner sanctums. And this little
peek behind the ivory walls makes me smile, yes, but it also fills
me with great hope.
There are people out there trying to make surfing fun again!
Revel then in this bit that you aren’t supposed to be seeing and
smile along.
What is your worst biggest fear? Rogue set
wave and a super low reefy tide? Shark? Hydrofoil SUP? Regular SUP?
Beginner on a longboard? Beginner on a SUP? A really good surfer
embarrassing you whilst your girlfriends is on the beach taking
pictures? Shark riding a hydrofoil SUP?
Jetski?
After the strapped thing went away I sort of lost track of
jetskis in normal waves. Like, who does that? Apparently some man
at Uluwatu who mowed down another man on a fun-sized day. You must
go to Indo Surf Life to catch all
the carnage but I’ll give you a taste here!
Our favorite surfer saves The Inertia! And they
said it couldn't be done!
You and I both know that The Inertia
is like acid to the eyes. It is the worst thing to ever happen to
the earth. Worse than anything. It is worse than if…
You are diagnosed with a chronic, painful illness. Your business fails and you lose everything. Your home is destroyed by fire. Your mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Your best friend gets divorced and has to move in with
you. Your infant is diagnosed with an incurable disease and will
need a transplant or he will die. Your wife leaves you for another man. Your husband loses his job and stays home every day
drinking. Your spouse leaves and takes everything and you are forced to
file bankruptcy. You get into a car accident and kill someone. You are sent to prison for a crime you did not commit. Your car is stolen. Your home is broken into and you are raped. Your are exiled from your country You are exposed as a fraud on national TV Your child is abducted Your sister is injured in a car accident and is paralyzed on
one side of her body. Your son goes to war and is a prisoner of war. Your wife gets breast cancer. You lose all confidence in yourself and become a
hermit. You are fired from your job. Your boyfriend sexually abused your children. You are in the witness protection program and are forced to
leave everyone and everything you know. Your boyfriend/girlfriend leaves you after 10 years
together. You have to have a hysterectomy and won’t be able to have
children. You have an illness that puts you on long-term
disability. You have prostate cancer and will no longer be able to perform
sexually. Your husband leaves you alone when you are 8 ½ months
pregnant. Your home and neighborhood is destroyed in a
hurricane. You flunk out of college. You get arrested and are sentenced to 10-20 years in
prison. You have to pay child support for a child you didn’t
want. You are 15 and pregnant. You lost all your money and savings. Your child runs away from home and lives on the street doing
drugs and working as a prostitute. You think of suicide all the time. You know other people’s problems may be worse than yours, but
you are still devastated. You are forced to live on the street. Your son is arrested for rape.
But guess what makes The Inertia ok?
Mason Ho! Watch this clip, which I think was made/produced by
the big tent website, and dance in his miracle. Hallelujah! The
Inertia swings!
Sorry. The video is little like the penises of “contributors”
and “writers” and “editors” and “owners” at The Inertia.
You can enlarge it or something. Like a miraculous surgery! And now
that you are finished watching, The Inertia returns to
being worst than if…
You were born without the ability to see. Your daughter is convicted of murdering her children. You are paralyzed from an accident. You lose your entire family in a tornado. You have a different, serious crisis every year. You have to have your arms amputated. You witness a gruesome murder. You are drafted to fight in a war you don’t support. Someone is trying to kill you. You hate the way you look. You fail at everything you do. Your family thinks your beliefs are crazy. Your boat capsizes and you are lost at sea. All your friends abandon you. Your mother won’t talk with you. You lose everything and have to move in with someone who is
abusive. Your father beat you as a child. Your dog is killed. Your country is the victim of a terrorist attack. You are stranded on a deserted island. You were falsely accused of abuse and lost custody of your
children. Your business manager steals all your money. Your spouse/partner cheats on you. You are diagnosed with an illness that makes you lose your
ability to think clearly.
