Never too old to learn!
I once said that Mick Fanning was the best-ever turner of a surfboard, but Surfing‘s photo editor Jimmy Wilson was quick to correct me. “Mick doesn’t do the most impressive individual turns,” Jim explained. “He’s just the best at linking them together.”
And he’s right!
Rarely if ever has Mick produced the type of grunting, growling, explosion of nose-pickery that we’ve come to expect from say… Dane Reynolds. For instance, many regard Dane’s upside-down, no-grab, under-the-lip-nose-pick at Haleiwa to be the best turn ever done on a surfboard. And Mick ain’t got none o’ dat! Airs neither!
Until now.
Mick has spent his retirement experimenting with aerial progression. Why not? Slater is almost sixty and he’s still jumping off shit. No reason why Fanning, a ripe thirty-five, can’t play catch up. But it makes you wonder, how did one of our most talented athletes completely disregard a major aspect of modern-day surfing for oh so long? The answer lies in the analytics!
I can’t quite remember where he said it, but I’m a hunnit that a sentence of this nature once escaped Mick’s Vertra-coated lips: “Every time I do airs in heats, I end up getting scored lower than if I were just to do turns. So I figured, why bother?”
Is this not a direct example of how the WSL compromises talent for… negative profits? Yeah, it doesn’t make sense to me either. Unless… maybe the WSL was designed to destroy surfing as a whole. Maybe Paul Speaker once had a love interest pilfered by someone groovier, tanner, with just the perfect hint of sun in his shaggy locks. Maybe this is revenge.
At this point our only hope lies in Mick. Keep jumping homie. Maybe you’ll save surfing in the process.
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this whole airs vs. carves thing is stupid because they’re both lame. bring back head dips, spinners, mysteriosos, el telephonos, quasimotos, and noseriding 2017
Kampfirestories,
First of all, your spelling needs a bit of polishing. Next, this is a terrible thing to say about someone. Your parents have failed horribly in raising you, and I’m glad I’m not you. KARMA
Be glad you’re not me so you never know what’s it like to have your mother murdered.
Jake,
I’m sorry to say, after your earlier (now deleted) comments, you are totally unemployable. Sorry to hear about your mother.
wife swapping? spearfishing?
if you want to write about who the biggest losers have been under the judging format for the last 10 years you need to speak with Taj, Cory, and CJ. 2012 was the performance peak, but Jordy was double grabbing and the judges still can’t tell that from a stalefish that Kerr and nobody else can do
Jesus, remember those superman airs Jordy used to do? Almost made me wanna start riding an alaia.
those were ugly af
I feel bad about bagging you guys, but Beachgrit is becoming a snore fest, I can pick up any generic surf mag and read the same shit. This writer tries to be biting and humorous with a couple of very weak very overdone jabs at the WSL blah blah.
Attn: Editorial Dept of Beachgrit. Don’t run articles just for the sake of content.
Good luck in your search for a writer, its obviously a lot harder than expected,
It’s really not, you just need a subject.
Do you think you could do something that’s not a poor appropriation of the style in which Chas and Derek’s lovechild might write? Have some dignity, man.
Shall I impersonate Rory next?
Might as well!
It was 25 years ago that I surfed it but I remember Angourie as just about the funnest junky wave I’ve ever surfed.
Ripcurl probably couriered a few cartons of beers to the Grit.
Congratulations on Beachgrit’s merger with the Inertia.
Come on now Nug… you know we need an article on the yoga routines of Surfers in their twilight years to really seal the deal. You available?
Somehow I’m reminded of this:
https://youtu.be/Fr6Na4NH7J8