Here we see Aaron Eveland, successfully completing what
was thought, only a few days ago, to be impossible!
How to: push-start a foil surfboard!
By Derek Rielly
It's a world first! Beach starts!
Two days ago, while at dinner with a lank blonde whose
cheeks were glazed with gravy and some grains of yellow
rice were stuck to her mouth, I found myself lost down the
Instagram hornpipe.
One post, of the Hawaiian cinematographer Aaron Eveland push-starting a foil board,
captivated me. A world first.
I repurposed the clip for BeachGrit’s Instagram and was rewarded with
a little over six hundred thousand views.
I spent the last couple of days trying to get one of the stars
involved, and a few minutes ago spoke to Aaron although work
commitments meant he had to whisper and asked if I might call back
at a convenient time.
As it transpired, the beach starts were because Aaron and his
pals, including Eric Sterman and Josh Amundson, wanted to get towed behind a
drone but the little bird didn’t have enough heft to move ’em from
a standing start.
And, hence, necessity as the mother of invention, the gang
worked out how to beach start prior to the tow.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one chasing the reveal. The WSL’s
Peter King just released this short of the beach starts at work.
It’s like watching harlequins dancing in the wind.
Matt Warshaw, at right, in happier days with old
college boyfriend Matt George.
Revealed: I made Matt Warshaw suffer!
By Chas Smith
Preeminent surf historian caught in cruel web.
I am writing to you, today, from deep in a New
Smyrna jungle some many yards away from civilization but in the
most civilized place ever. The Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Tonight, you see, is the worldwide debut of a small film I directed
called Trouble: The Lisa Andersen Story and it is being
unveiled at a ridiculously gorgeous compound not very many yards
away from where Aaron Cormican perfected his Gorkin Flip.
If you are around you must visit and see for yourself. It is too
fantastic to describe here.
The air outside is a pleasant 90 degrees with 123% humidity. I
love traveling to humid climates more than others mostly because I
think it makes my hair look amazing but also because I think it
makes my hair look amazing.
I am, anyhow, excited about the premier tonight. I believe in
the film and I believe in Lisa Andersen. She is a true hero and her
time is now but more on that later. At this moment I want to talk
about Matt Warshaw. He is here too, alongside David Lee Scales. We
were all supposed to meet up at nearby Orlando’s airport but my
flight had to sit on the tarmac for an hour and a half after
landing because lightening was striking nearby and apparently
airport personnel aren’t allowed to go outside where there are
lightening strikes. David Lee Scales was less fortunate and
diverted to Tampa.
So there I sat on the tarmac looking at Instagram and wanting to
drink before finally being let off the plane and wanting to drink.
Matt Warshaw, who was waiting patiently inside, also wanted to
drink and good thing because where we were headed was close.
Unfortunately, I was navigating and if you have read the still
new Cocaine + Surfing (buy
here)! you will know that navigation is not my strong
suit. Shall we read a small portion?
Or maybe it is only a marvel only to me, and mostly because
my directional sense is absolutely terrible. Even on land. Even in
a place I have lived for years. Especially in places I have never
been. I am a liability. A blight. I was once in Kiev, for example,
directly after those fiery Iron Maidan protests of 2013. My “bridge
burning” surf book had just come out and I thought I was back on my
way to a meaningful destiny. I did not yet know I was running from
it.
My phone was not working because and thus I was Google
Maps-less-but wanting to get into the mix and so I pushed off into
the charred drizzle with nothing but joie de vivre and a fantastic
pair of Saint Laurent sunglasses. Before long I was hopelessly lost
and stuck in some weird barracks of a protester practicing sword
play, mumbling what he was going to do to the Russians when they
returned, swishing his blade right under my nose. I didn’t know
where I was and I tried to leave, but he wouldn’t let me unless I
knew where I was going-because the Russians. And was I on their
side? Was I on their team? Why was I wearing sunglasses? I asked
for tea, eventually, and when he went to make it in a broken-down
Volga he was using as a kitchen I ran out into the streets but got
more lost and had to spend time with two Ukrainians dressed as
Eastern European Mickey Mouses who proceeded to bore me with broken
English and folk dances.
Scientists call it the “neurological effect of
navigation-by-smartphone.” Scientists say that our directional
sense lives where are memory does and when we end around by using
technology instead of our brains we quite basically give ourselves
Alzheimer’s. That we never really know where we are in the world
and that puts humanity’s very future in danger. All I know is that
I am an absolute directional catastrophe and that my memory really
is so bad that I’ve been accused of Alzheimer’s more than once and
I blame navigating by my phone. Or playing football in seventh and
eighth grade as the skinniest boy ever born.
I made Matt drive one full hour in the wrong direction to a
slum. We got to the slum and he said, “This doesn’t feel right.” I
looked at my phone and responded, “Oops. We were supposed to go to
Winter Park not Winter Haven.”
The torture lining poor Matt Warsahw’s face during the hour back
made me feel very badly. Very very very badly.
Taken today by David Lee Scales. Matt is not
suffering here but this is much how his suffering
looked.
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I always like to bring a nice shirt or stylish white
shirt. Then I really like to play with my jewelry. I have a lot of
rings that I mix out. I have one silver lion and one gold lion
ring from Gucci. I also wear Gucci watches. One that’s more
elegant, one which has a sports style. Because at the end of the
day, we are at the beach so I can’t show up in a suit. I do wear my
board shorts with rings, which is a little more my style. | Photo:
Gucci
Leo Fioravanti is the new Adolph
Spreckels!
By Derek Rielly
Who does unapologetically vulgar better? Leo or
Bunker?
It ain’t news that the Roman surfer, and former
WCTer, Leo Fioravanti gets his Gucci Gucci for free.
Recently, Leo, who is twenty years old, appeared in a Gucci
photoshoot at Malibu, California. In every photograph he looks like
a king or an emperor and you can imagine Leo carrying a plastic
sword with a gold handle and swishing it at the camera crew.
“First of all, it has put some style in my surfing style, or in
my lifestyle. As a surfer, I can give it an extra touch, and what
they’ve done in the last few years with Alessandro [Michele] has
been incredible. They really brought Gucci back to the young
people. I feel like four or five years ago it was kind of getting a
bit older. In the last five years they’ve done an incredible job
whether it’s from Alessandro or the stylist or a lot of people in
the background working with younger people. It’s really shown.
“They really brought Gucci back to the young people. I feel like
four or five years ago it was kind of getting a bit older. In the
last five years they’ve done an incredible job whether it’s from
Alessandro or the stylist or a lot of people in the background
working with younger people. It’s really shown.”
Other notable quotes:
On Italian surf style: I think it’s more that each
surfer has their own style; we all have very different
styles. Sometimes you just want to achieve the same—whether
it’s progression, speed—so we are looking for the same things to
improve on. As far as outside the water, I really believe Italians
have a different style, because they care a little more about how
they dress, or how they look, whereas most surfers all they want to
wear are board shorts and T-shirts and flip-flops. I love to
do that, too. A lot of times I like to play dress-up a bit and
bring out some Italian blood.
Breaking his back: It was the first event of the
year and I was ready for the season. The first one, the very first
wave I landed out in Hawaii, and it turned into a really big
injury. I went to the hospital, I flew back to Europe with a big
brace and had surgery, so it was a good four to six month of
recovery. It was tough, because I was 17 years old and not used to,
you’re not used to being injured. I never had anything like that
happen before. Not being able to surf for about five months,
that’s crazy. Like, I was going crazy and at the same time it gave
me an extra motivation and it really made me realize how important
surfing is and not to take it for granted whether it’s good waves
or bad waves. I always enjoy it as much as possible and it really
gave me an extra fire. I trained as much as I could, and I did
everything possible so that I would come back on my surfboard
stronger than before, and I really believe that happened.
Gucci things: When I travel, whether it’s for surf
competitions or surf trips, I’m mostly at the beach. I always like
to bring a nice shirt or stylish white shirt. Then I really like to
play with my jewelry. I have a lot of rings that I mix out. I have
one silver lion and one gold lion ring from Gucci. I also wear
Gucci watches. One that’s more elegant, one which has a sports
style. Because at the end of the day, we are at the beach so I
can’t show up in a suit. I do wear my board shorts with rings,
which is a little more my style.
So who does gaudy better?
Adolph?
Adolph, from Art Brewer’s extraordinary book for
Taschen called Bunker Spreckels: Surfing’s Divine Prince of
Decadence.
Or Leo?
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Celebrate: National Women Learn to Surf
Week!
By Chas Smith
What a time to be alive!
What a week. What a very special week. It all
started, for me, with the official release of Cocaine + Surfing on
Tuesday. I worried, briefly, that the news would be overshadowed by
Kim Jong Un and Donald J. Trump’s meeting in Singapore but soon
realized that nobody really cares about peace on the Korean
peninsula. I did a reading that night at the iconic Warwick’s and am now
sitting in the airport awaiting a flight to Florida for the premier
of Trouble: The Lisa Andersen Story at the Florida Surf Film Festival. If you
live anywhere near the Sunshine State I expect to see you
there.
More will be written on that later but in the meantime, did you
know that this is also National Women Learn to Surf Week? It’s
true! And let us turn to the Corpus Christi
Times for more:
Female surfers converged on Boogie-Bahn at Schlitterbahn
Riverpark and Resort in Corpus Christi on June 12 to celebrate
National Women Learn to Surf Week. World Pro Female BodyBoard
Champions Cathy and Morgan Seabert, a mother-daughter team, were on
board to instruct.
Cathy Seabert is a regular at Schlitterbahn, helping riders
tackle the inland surf attraction during the season. Currently, she
is ranked second in the world in her division of Pro Female
BodyBoarding.
Some 20 female surfers from beginner to expert and ages 8 to
70 slid into the endless inland surf created by a blast of 50,000
gallons of water on Boogie-Bahn. The water is only 3 inches deep on
the ride. Wipeouts land on a foam-covered surface, keeping everyone
safe from harm.
This entire time I thought the Schlitterbahn was in Munich and
was confused about which nation was celebrating Women Learn to Surf
Week but just re-read and realized the Schlitterbahn is a chain of
water parks in Texas. Anyhow, do you have time for a few quick
questions before I board?
How difficult is it to get a National _______________ Week?
Like, could we petition the U.S. Government for a National
BeachGrit Cut n Paste Week? What about a National Venice Adjacent
Gathering of Online Surf-ish Magazines That Have Located There in
Order to Thrive and Seem Abbott Kinney Kool?
Do any of you know the process?
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Says Matt Biolos: "The criteria is speed power and
flow. He was going faster, with bigger more powerful turns and
better flow. Julian was kinda pivoting and hitting the lip but I
don't think he was projecting nearly as much or linking his turns
like Kolohe. Nothing against Julian. He's surfing very well and I
worked closely with him for a long time and I hope he wins a world
title. I think it's his year. The judges obviously think so too." |
Photo: WSL
Opinion: Kolohe “screwed by judges.
Chronically underscored.”
By Derek Rielly
Judges "negligent," says the shaper Matt
Biolos.
As the rich and good looking Julian Wilson gallops
towards a world title in his thirtieth year, it might be
interesting to examine pivotal heats en route to this title and the
response thereof.
Five days ago, Julian won a semi-final heat at Uluwatu against
the similarly rich but not-quite-so good looking Kolohe Andino. The
result was not received well by all surf fans.
BeachGrit‘s Longtom had a swing (“Kolohe got
absolutely cooked by this phenomenon, the overcooking of Julian’s
scores. He was clearly the better surfer, on the better waves doing
the better surfing against Julian in semi one.”) and the
commentary accompanying the heat video on YouTube was similarly in
favour of the moustachioed American.
“Kolohe robbed!”
“Kolohe’s barrel wave was at least an8 something. Bad scoring,
bad characters at wsl.”
“Kolohe surfed better in this heat. Came down to Kohole’s barrel
compared to Julian’s barrel. Kolohe was deeper, it was a bigger set
wave, and he did more aggressive turns.”
“another rigged heat!!? wtf? how many rigged heats in a contest
can you have? wsl, when you’re like the whl and nobody remembers yo
or what you were,,, don’t complain because you’re becoming
irrelevant,,,, fast.”
“Result manipulation. Kalohe was clearly harmed. Your 7.70
should be 8.70. WSL without credibility.”
“Kolohe clearly won & jordy even more so in heat before… wsl is
disgusting.”
‘So sad to see how WSL is manipulating the score in favor of JW,
it is not a honest way to manager the sport!”
“First they favor him through vs jordy and now vs kolohe man as
an australian I feel sorry for julian the judges making everyones
energy negative towards him and its not his faut he was overscored.
Every decent surfer I know agrees julian was gifted in this
heat.”
“I don’t know who got robbed worse, Kolohe or Jordy. That dumb
girl Sophie must have a crush on Julian.”
Kolohe’s shaper Matt “Mayhem” Biolos was equally convinced his
surfer had been cut off at the knees, jumping onto the
FCS Instagram account and
calling the result a “blatant rip off.”
Shortly afterwards, BeachGrit’s Chas Smith took
pleasure in kneading Biolos’ clay into a story, which you can read here.
It was a short piece and the writer didn’t contact Biolos who
subsequently expressed his dissatisfaction in a DM.
“Stirring the pot. Damn, you guys used to call me to elaborate.
Not any more, huh?”
Earlier today, I called Biolos, who was about to drive to LA for
a flight to Fiji where he’ll be joining Strider Wasilewski on
Tavarua, to elaborate.
I say, “Blatant rip off. A sentiment hard to misinterpret.”
“Maybe those words weren’t right,” says Biolos. “I was grouchy
and jet-lagged. Blatant means the judges purposely did it and maybe
they were just negligent. Just a negligent mistake. They made an
honest mistake. And it wasn’t just me who thought it. I watched it
individually in the middle of the night and I was blown away.
Obviously there was a storm of social media and even legitimate
media you like you and Stab believed
Kolohe won. I mean, the criteria is speed power and flow. He was
going faster, with bigger more powerful turns and better flow.
Julian was kinda pivoting and hitting the lip but I don’t think he
was projecting nearly as much or linking his turns like Kolohe.
Nothing against Julian. He’s surfing very well and I worked closely
with him for a long time and I hope he wins a world title. I think
it’s his year. The judges obviously think so too.”
I express my belief that there’s something…tight… about
Julian, where his phenomenal, beautiful, natural skill isn’t
allowed a room to breathe.
“A little mechanical, yeah. Kolohe suffers the same fate. They
get knotted up. It’s a similar hiccup in their game. But I thought
Ulu’s was (Kolohe’s) to win. The draw was gong down and watching
him in that heat with Julian, I thought he’s going to win this
heat, he’s going to win the contest. Didn’t happen.”
I missed the semi live, and therefore missed the spike of
emotion, and found Julian a clear winner and that, despite claims
to the contrary, most heats are a points-per-manoeuvre deal.
“I was watching it live and Kolohe was doing harder turns, going
faster, his flow was a lot better and, bottom line, Kolohe’s 6.83
was the best wave of the heat. It sure as hell wasn’t a 6.83.”
“That’s how I felt. I’m not going too hide from it,”
says Biolos. “I’m not going to comment on your website and I’ll
never, ever, ever sign up to comment on anyone’s website. But fuck
it. I’m going to defend my guy. I think he got screwed. I think
he’s chronically underscored. Maybe he’s done a few things in his
career to welcome that.”
“You know as well as I do, things like that, and being very
successful financially, numerous things. But if you know him as a
man, as a person, he’s awesome. Kolohe asks me, does it bother me
when he punches a board? I’ve been watching baseball players break
their bats for a hundred years. It’s not as if Louisville Slugger
throws a temper tantrum every time Mark McGwire breaks a bat.
“I think that there’s a lot of scoring on the WSL where they
score the surfers not the competitors. They score Gabriel Medina
against what he can do, not in the actual heat he’s in. ”
