Robbie Maddison on Big Wave Tour VP Gary Linden after failed Todos attempt.
You saw it. In 2014, the Australian motorcycle rider Robbie Maddison rode a KTM250 with skis at Teahupoo. At one point he hit a west bomb, one of those kinky straight-into-the-barrel waves only the best surfers dare challenge. And nearly died. Six waves on the head. Underwater for two. In full moto gear.
Absurd, but beautifully absurd. Whatever your take, dumb, wonderful, you watched it.
Rob, who is thirty six years old, also holds the world record for jumps (three hundred and fifty feet) and once leapt onto the Arc de Triomphe at the Paris Casino in Las Vegas and back down onto the strip. A man who knows how to grip a pair of handlebars.
Since Teahupoo, Robbie has spent the last three years working on the idea of lassoing a bomb at either Cloudbreak or Todos Santos. Fiji was out of his one hundred and fifty thousand dollar budget so he went for the Todos, Mex, option.
We wrote about it a few days ago, first, taking one side (story pulled after threat of defamation suit), then jumping on the other side.
Earlier today, I called Rob to run me through his version. He tells me, oowee, it ain’t easy creating these viral events. Teahupoo hit twenty-five million views, sure, but money flows through your fingers on these things. Everything costs and it’s not as if you can just film it on your iPhone.
“Trying to plan and pull it off, it was a fucking nightmare,” he says.
But he did all the meetings in LA with sponsor Samsung (the Samsung Gear S3 watch was used to track the weather, to track speeds, his route, monitor his heart rate – fast) and media partner Vice. He sorted all the permits. Jumped through all the hoops of planning.
Organised directors, film crew, whatever else y’need for the creation of such a wild event. And when the swell hit, and the winds looked good, his crew hit the joint.
But, a storm. The port gets shut down. By the time he gets to the famous deep-water righthander, the swell has dropped significantly, the wind is blowing ruffles. Ten-to-twelve foot has turned into six-ish.
And waiting out the back is the Big Wave Tour VP Mr Gary Linden, from San Diego, and his pal Vincente Ya. Rob says the pair tell him he ain’t catching shit. Today, tomorrow or the next day. That they’ll block any attempts at catching, says he doesn’t have the permits anyway.
“I sat out there for three hours pleading to catch a wave,” says Rob. “I know the mentality of dickhead surfers who carry on like fuckwits… I grew up surfing. I understand about being respectful. I offered to pay ’em. Eventually the government officials came out and told me I could make a citizen’s arrest if I wanted.
“I’m out there doing business and them, in their beach culture shallow-mindedness stood in the way of a cool project,” says Rob, adding he’s caught a grand total of four waves in three years. “I hope this affects Gary’s relationship with the WSL. He’s been a prick about this. Out of line. He doesn’t own the place and he’s just a fucking old school guy that’s afraid of change. These guys are saying no to motorised equipment. I’ve seen video of Gary Linden being towed. He’s a fucking prick… It’s hard to get the right conditions at Todos and it’s not like I didn’t plan it right or wasn’t on top of my shit. I just had this hundreds of thousands of dollars project ruined by two individuals.”
Eventually, towards sunset, Rob announces, “We’re fucking doing it. By then the wind came ups the tide filled in, it just turned to shit. Looked six foot.”
Still, he tries: “It’s so hard to catch a wave on a motorcycle, man. I got the one wave, right on sunset, and to catch a wave you gotta point the bow of the boat directly into the swell. I came down the ramp, and it’s gotta be perfect timing, and the boat was on a bit of a angle, the running ramp didn’t stay true, made me veer right, and I went from flat-out in third gear to a complete stop. Tore my high-tensile steel handlebars off my bike. The imapact was massive.”
Failure.
“I should’ve run the prick over,” says Rob. “I spent 150 thousand dollars out of my own pocket. Now I’m sitting here realising I would’ve been better off being an electrician these last three years.”
Is he going to do it again? Maybe Cloudbreak, where he says he would’ve been welcomed?
“I want to, but the sour way this ended it may never happen again.”
Screw this guy. He takes a motorcycle and adds stuff to make it a terrible version of a jet ski, and then blasts thru the line up in his “pipe dream” video. And now he is crying about not being able to do the same at Todos? What a dick! Jet ski’s are great rescue and even tow in tools, but not much else. The guy that blocked him did the right thing.
you’ve caught four!
“I’m out there to do business”
screw your business. You get no priority. None. Nada. Just because you are out there to line pockets of corps and yourself and officials.
“I offered to pay them” – not everyone can be bought sheesh.
Anyone who spends 150k out of their own pocket for this sort of stunt deserves to lose that cash. I have a place he can do it. trust me. payment up front.
this interview tells us all we need to know about this clown
well, at least he gets a cool phone and endless supply of caffeine in a concoction of piss.
Linden was just pissed that Maddo didn’t show up with the shin length boardies he borrowed from Chas.
Dear Robbie,
fuck friday
fuck saturday
fuck sunday
fuck you
Look it’s pretty fucking simple. If surfers are paddling a spot, then surfers with PWCs don’t tow the spot. This is true of everywhere and everyone other than 10 or so people at Kirra when it’s 8′. It’s right down the track of the ancient convention regarding power craft and sail or paddle craft anywhere in the world. There are excellent reasons for this which have nothing to do with video stunts and everything to do with human safety. Indeed in most cases it’s specifically banned via maritime law. Surely the same counts with motorcycles.
so if maddo had he permits , no surfer should have been out there,fucking gringos, when ya watch shippies and Chopes PWC’s are every where.
Maritime law has nothing to do with it. Permits stops people paddling snapper when the WSL circus comes to town, permits should have stopped this miserable old gringo from being in the water. He’s not even a local.
There’s actual a thing called the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, or COLREGS. Within that, Rule 18 classifies human powered vessels like canoes and kayaks as “power” vessels. Where it gets fuzzy is that a surfboard isn’t specifcally defined, but in many areas SUPs are lumped into group. That said, surfers are often banned from using water ways to commute across a channel because of the danger from boats.
If you’ve ever taken a boat into Mexican waters, you know various permits are required. I wonder if the bike had its own registration and permits?
150 grand to ride a wave on a Motorcycle????? Seriously?? That shit is so boring and lame…..takes the “R” out of “GARY” for sure. Should of spent it on cocaine and hookers or something marginally exciting like sand boarding the Sahara. A big golf clap and a round of yawns for Robbie. Douche-Bag
Doesn’t matter how much money you lost you fuckin’ tool, that’s the point, you only care about money and have no soul. Also your jet ski argument is weak, no one tows there any more because it’s fuckin’ lame to tow 20′ faces that are perfectly doable paddling. The comments on the original article were right on. Don’t come back!
I still don’t really get how 2 guys stopped him? So Gary was willing to die for surfing, but Robbie wasn’t willing to kill? Sounds like the guy needs more passion
Ol’ Cappy Goodtime here is Mr. Linden’s legal representation
and demands that this defamazitation of character be taken down at once or an
ass kicking is coming. LAWYER UP!
Paddling surfers > motorcycles (or motor-anything). But Linden doesn’t own the ocean and can’t control others, his way.
At last, validation for electricians everywhere.
At least Robbie is a “surfer” and made it clear that this was all about money. What a guy.
“Waaaaaaaahhhhh. I had the permits! I’m going to threaten to sue you, even though there is no chance I would win a libel suit (Beach Grit doesn’t have money to fight anyway)! It hurt my heart to be called a ‘rich prick’ in one of the titles (no matter that it accurately describes me). I hate surfers, they’re so mean. Waaaaahhh… Gary is a prick! WAAAAAAAHHHH”
-Robbie Maddison
Thanks for your side, rich prick.
Yep, threatening to sue won’t help him get his wave. I sometimes think the quality of a BG article can be determined by how long it takes the target to threaten defamation.
In that vein, can we please have an article on any connections between the Hulk Hogan tape and surfing?
Yeah, I sorta overlooked all the crybaby legal action bit. Fairly lame way to behave. Should’ve kept filming, had an epic waterworld battle with Gary, and won himself millions of surf-hating redneck motocross fans!
I reckon I might actually be with Maddo on this one. It’s like when they shut down a whole block to film a scene for some shitty movie or the next episode of Chas’ favourite TV series: you’re probably not going to watch the final product but you’d have to be a real cunt to fuck it up for everyone else. Having said that, if moto-ski things become popular and start invading the line up I’ll be the first in line to castrate the fucker!
Stupid idea, but they should have let him get a couple and then sent Linden to sit at the peak. We even let SUPers get a few set waves before we complain (at my break anyway). Fortunately, I think we’re safe from moto-surfing if his Chopes stunt nearly killed him.
Ha! Anything goes at my local circus. But I draw the line at surf motorbikes.
i dont want anyone else getting enjoyment when my life is one big fuck up and the only future is a further dark abyss. take your light of life elsewhere!
Sorry Angel! I forgot myself for a minute. I promise I’ll do better (or worse?) next time!
Garry Linden is a cunt. Why is it that surfers believe have a monopoly on waves? Someone wants to try something different and there’s a bunch of stepdads in Quikripabong shirts and below the knee shorts on BG trying to define what’s cool and what’s not.
trust me, you’ll be just as sorry in 5 years if you buy the 9″ inseam models that are coming out now
yaassssss. knee length boardies are back. chaz is a pioneer in the board short world.
This is a beautiful tale of permits and money being defeated by two grumpy old men. I’ve always wondered what would happen if the locals at, say, Snapper just said ‘Sorry, this is the first good swell we’ve had in months. We’re not getting out.”
Would the cops actually arrest them? What would they be charged with?
I remember watching a few waves from a WSL Snapper contest ending earlier than they should have because locals dropped in. Surfing is unique in that regard. You’d be happy to give Tiger Woods the right of way on a golf course, but when the waves are pumping, you don’t care who is in the lineup.
https://youtu.be/bamWa9vNPi4
this is impressive. not only could the “locals” barely make a drop, the kid in red is still pearling and already surfing in a jersey.
I once, as a small child, watched Pat O’Connell’s portly boogie boarder brother be removed from the water by police with a helicopter for refusing to paddle on to the other side of the black ball flag at Salt Creek. I am no fan of boogies in my zone but it was a beautiful demonstration. It was also a sad ending to an epic battle. The State always win. It was a full show of force. ATVs, firefighters, helicoptor, trucks and cars. These are the kinds of problems we fight in Orange County.
Can you explain the black ball system for this ignorant Australian?
black ball flags fly (at my local) from 10 am-5pm during summer months. When they are flying, no hard boards or finned boards are allowed. Normally its no big deal, but there are a couple days every summer where you watch perfect waves come through and demolish jean-wearing tourists. If it weren’t for the black ball, you’d be able to spear said tourists with your board.
This is wrong, you must rebel!
cops have power to arrest people at Snapper.
Trespass I believe.
i once did this at burleigh. i got punched in the head. i fell in lust with the aggressor and his brother. we had sex i the public toilets. all ended well, in fact. well worth it.
So the bro spent $150,000.00 of his own money only to crash his dirt bike while exiting from the boat? 1) Sounds like Gary was the least of Maddo’s worries. 2) Really hope HD Redcam footage of this comes to light.
i want to see the receipts. if Maddo has an “i’ll pay for the stunts and you reimburse me” arrangement with RedBull, he really should stick to being an electrician. he can’t possibly have an agent.
Based on this fiasco, if Maddo were an electrician he would probably buy super expensive tools only to electrocute himself on his first day.
He has an agent, who’s just as much a kook as Maddo.
“I want to, but the sour way this ended it may never happen again.”
If that is the case then Linden did us all a massive favour.
Thanks Gary!
I tried sliding down a dirt down-ramp on my surfboard at the local motocross park and i was very surprised when all of those guys told me to leave. Said i was in the way. But i rode a scooter in bali once when i was younger. what the hell guys. id taken my fins out and everything. dad paid. i didnt have a job. feel like i should have stayed an accountant all these years after all.
how did Gary do us a favor ?? the WSL big wave tour showcases surf spots
by squashing this moto-cross surf thing before every exhibitionist fuckwit with an energy drink sponno looks to do a stunt.
Also, sounds like Linden respected the wishes of the locals down in South Oz at y…… b…… who didn’t want the big wave tour there.
once its been done , just like all gimmicks its done, no-one has tried his Arc de Triomphe or his other stunts , now it still has to be done so more to come…..
Linden tried as hard as he could to hold the event in SA , in the end it was threats that saved the day , I know as I was personally involved , but he was prepared to hold the comp , which was more exposure.
“he’s caught a grand total of four waves in three years” haha