I get back into a surf event broadcast booth! Kind of!
I was once allowed into a World Surf League booth to call live surfing action. It was also, and maybe coincidentally, the last time. My memories are fuzzy but there was much early morning beer and many swears. And heavy reprimands later. But oh it was the time of my life!
Two-ish days ago I got to relive thanks to Red Bull.
And have you been listening to The Other Guys on the Volcom Pipe Pro broadcast? It is such a wonderful thing! Red Bull has the main booth feat. standards Sal Mas, Ross Williams, etc. They call the action normal. But if you ain’t in the mood for normal you can click to another feed which matches the action but has a freer format.
Chris Binns and Taylor Paul host and it is fun, interesting, good. Like chatting with pals!
And somehow I got to chat too. I was told by a wonderful friend at Red Bull that I was going to get called in. I chuckled and said, “Sure.”
It took some days and then 4 extra hours to convince the powers that I wouldn’t get everyone fired/sued/slapped/killed but he did it and I was called in! 4 hours later than scheduled. I was not drunk but at Legoland with a 4 year old which is very similar.
In any case, you can listen here, at the 1:00 mark or something middley, but more importantly it is a really great idea, don’t you think, to have separate audio feeds? Where if Joe Turpel is dripping too much honey in your ear you can flip over and get someone else? Maybe someone like Steve Shearer or Nick Carroll? And if the World Surf League was as smart as Red Bull they would hire Steve Shearer and Nick Carroll to be their other guys.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
It’s making sense. Esteemed “surf journalists” get pissed when they don’t get the gigs at wsl events, but they hang in regardless and solve their depression by abusing those who do get the gigs – elementary school behaviour for real . Red Bull have created the perfect solution, hire the esteemed surf journalists to the alternative channel, until the ratings bottom out.
The same surf journalists in the other guys commentary booth, might follow the same pathway as their previous surf magazines glorious performances over the past decade – not their fault no ones reading the magazines…..not their fault no ones listening to their voices.
anyone else think that Chas has a lovely tone to his voice in this clip? soothing. seductive. salacious. sensual.
Erm, no. Not in the least any of the above listed adjectives.
I give it 3 years or less and redbull owns the tour. And what a blessing it would be. This comes off as polished brilliance. Cinematic and very entertaining where in the true order of surfing is displayed. Scott bass said it well, it’s like dad’s out of town and the surfers are throwing a party. As for the commentary it feels very much like I’m not being treated like an absolute surf idiot, minus you of course Chas. All jokes aside, it’s what we deserve dadgummit!
But Rogan is tight with the UFC. I don’t think Beachgrit has quite the same relationship with the WSL.
No? I’m sure the WSL holds Beachgrit in positive regard?
Hang on. No article on Volcom Pipe Pro. Article on Chas doing commentary for same.
*where’s that fucking mutt hiding now? Skulls another beer
It looks like every reprimand you received was dealt with by the swift justice of a safety pin removed from your shirt. harsh
this must have been the start of Defend Hawaii shirt
can beach grit clothing Inc. please produce Defend Hawaii T shirt (Chas Model), so I can buy one? Will it come with permission granted to wear the shirt?
volcom has two of the highest paid freesurfing twinks in the world, noa and yago, but they arent in the contest? the waves have been good. so why arent they in the contest if they are good at surfing real waves? volcom has a god dam house on the beach overlooking the break!
Wow so true! Wasn’t Yago in though?
If Derek wasn’t so scared of lawyers. BeachGrit would’ve a independent Pirate radio broadcast live tomorrow!
Who is surfing’s Roy & HG commentators?
Their State of Origin commentary was fucking epic, better then watching the games themselves
That’s what I said ages ago – that’s exactly the type of commentary needed be classic. Good call!!!!
Bit much to ask for surfing’s Roy & HG maybe? They were golden comedy. The Brick With Eyes etc
To be honest imagine having to do WSL commentary with hours and hours of nothing happening in the water?
Again, maybe they need to change the competition format. Why do we still have man on man heats when the waves are fucking pumping? Why Round 2? Round 5? Rhetorical questions I guess
*Good waves this morning, pats dog, tells him he’s a good boy, has another beer
Get me in the booth at Bells, Chozza. I won’t disappoint. Even just give me a Nick Carrollesque interview when I’m walking up the beach leaving the water. He should’ve said there are too many fucken cunts around. That’s what he was thinking.
If you can fill that unforgiving mid-heat lull with decent conversation,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And what’s more you could probably earn a lot more money commentating a different sport.
By that last sentence are you encouraging people with photo-shop skills to place Chas picture provided above in various commentator booths in different sports to see what truly is his calling and ” could probably earn a lot more money”?
Cause…..if so…..that would be great
Shearer and Carroll in booth together:
S: The way John John approaches competition this year… blah, blah, blah *some garbled reference to Thomas More*…
C: Actually, that was Thomas a Becket… anyway, the way he attacks the lip reminds of the way *insert some 1970s Australian pro* did, who invented the style, btw!
S: The format is dull and rewards mediocre surfing. History has it…
C: Fuck history. I reckon you’re right about the format being dull. In case you didn’t know, Australians invented pro surfing…
I’d tune in to the 3rd audio feed sponsored beer a beer company with all the pissed up sweary twats chatting stories n shit as epic pipe unfolds. Now that would would be fun, just trying to work out a shortlist of must-have guests and suitable enforcers to stop it getting too out of control