History: Were the vikings our surfing founding fathers/mothers?

By Chas Smith

6 years ago

Ancient proto-Polynesians own the narrative but what if...

Oh my, oh boy, oh my. I am half lounging in a very fine bed right now because it is ten o’clock at night though the sun has not yet set and won’t for a few short hours. Then it will rise a few short hours after that because I am in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen!

I have never been here before but have been wildly fascinated since youthful days spent reading Søren Kierkegaard and imaging.

Søren Kierkegaard!

All of his philosophy is the absolute best, or at least all his philosophy that my addled brain can understand. Like either/or.

Either/Or! (buy here!)

And I have given two book book readings lately in promotion of Cocaine + Surfing (buy here in Australia! Here on Audible! Here in America!) where a few questions have been asked on the origins of surfing and my claim that it was Peru.

“But what if…” they say “…but what if the Portuguese explorers were riding waves too?”

And I tell them that those ancient Peruvians pre-date European expansionism. “But but but… what about the vikings?”

It would be an easy search, considering today’s technology, to know if the ancient Peruvians predate these proud vikings but I have never done it so don’t.

I would imagine the ancient Peruvians predate everyone but Mesopotamians but, again, what do I know? And I am jet-lagged.

But!

I went swimming tonight in that salty Danish brine at eight o’clock at night and there were no waves but the water was perfect and so was the warm wind.

Do surfers actually need waves?

Does history even matter?

Just kidding, Matt Warsahw! I’m super jet-lagged!

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Unbelievably magical!

Indecent proposal: Buy two hours with Brett Simpson for $US348!

By Derek Rielly

6 years ago

Fairytales do come true!

Have you ever dreamed of inhaling the toxins of a two-time champion of the US Open? Brett Simpson, who is thirty-three years old and has skin pigmentation consistent with rust, is offering personal coaching, and the use of surfboard as well as his home beach (Huntington), for $US348.

Brett isn’t your standard pro surfer, of course. His cameos dazzle, his opinions shine. Brett was a star of Peter King’s once-great #tournotes (Watch “Brett Simpson is the Unicorn of Lowers” here), helped Filipe tutor Lake Peterson in the art of the 540 and when Filipe lost in an interference at the US Open last year he told the WSL to “change that fucking 1970 rulebook.”

(Read here)

Anyway, Airbnb experiences/WSL etc are offering Brett to you, for two hours.

Here’s the spiel.

Hi, I’m Brett Simpson! I am a consecutive 2X Champion of the US Open of Surfing, California’s most prestigious surfing event, held at the Huntington Beach Pier. I spent 6 years competing at the world elite level, traveling across the globe for competitions. Though I am still competing, I am spending more time closer to home, giving back to the sport I love by coaching and bringing up the next generation.

What we’ll do
Meet at Hurley’s marquee store in Pacific City mall. Check out the vast selection of Away Co boards on site to book.. Find the right length board for your size and skill level. We will assess the conditions and get a overview of all the local breaks in HB. Learn insider tips about the best Huntington Beach has to offer. We’ll surf for 1 hour with in-water coaching. I’ll talk to you about techniques to help progress your surfing such as wave choice, positioning, and tips on maneuvers. After surfing, we’ll have a post-session coaching at Hurley Pac City. This includes footage analysis.. You’ll leave ready to take your surfing to the next level!

What I’ll provide

Surfboard

Who can come

Guests ages 10 and up can attend.

Where we’ll be
HB Surf City – lots of great waves, my favorite place in the world Hurley Pacific City – my sponsor’s marquee store, lots of fun stuff HB Pier – where we will catch some fun waves

Make your booking here.

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Hoo-eee! Empty boat Steals Show at Nias!

By Derek Rielly

6 years ago

"Some wild seas I tell you," says big-wave photographer Daniel Russo.

Ain’t it just the sweetest thing when a swell that’s been telegraphed for two weeks arrives and some very good carnage ensues?

Earlier today, a south swell hitting the island of Nias, home to the famous right etc, pulled the anchor and snapped the rope of a local boat sending it deep into the famous lineup.

“The owner had it anchored for two weeks in the keyhole area leading up to the swells,” says the Hawaiian photographer, Daniel Russo, famous for his wide-angle shots in dramatic waves. “There was no one on it and it drifted straight into the impact zone. (The photographer) Chris Bryan was screaming his little lungs out, ‘Best clip of my life!’

“Some wild seas I tell you,” says Russo.

Here, various angles.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlpDdGmF2zT

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlozOoaDNqC/?hl=en&taken-by=_danielrusso_

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Attend: Tonight’s Cocaine + Surfing reading!

By Chas Smith

6 years ago

An excuse to spend an evening in West Hollywood!

Tonight, at 7 pm, I will be at Book Soup in West Hollywood, California reading a passage from Cocaine + Surfing and answering “questions” usually from older people who grew up near the beach and enjoy talking about their experiences. I would never, normally, invite anyone to this sort of thing BUT I’m inviting you now because… because… well, because in this digital age the analog feels like a wonderful breath of fresh air.

When was the last time you were actually in a book store? Smelling that particular must? Dreaming those particular dreams? Were you ever a reader?

I spent my 20s and half of my 30s dreaming only literary dreams. My heroes were writers. Albert Camus, George Plimpton, Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, Hunter S. Thompson, John Horne Burns, Derek Rielly. My own writing aping all of them ruthlessly without any self-awareness. I breathed their words and spat them directly back into my computer, imagining I was somehow a true original.

Any man or woman who paints pictures, takes photographs, creates music or writes books moves though imitation, I think, before growing into their own voice. I sure hope I have though my heroes are all there. Always there.

I don’t read like I should anymore. Any spare second gets poured here or into starting book number three but being back inside a book store makes me fall in love all over again and that’s why I’m inviting you. Not to listen to me or the older people but simply as an excuse to enter a book store once again, to browse spines, to pull one down and to dream big big big.

Book Soup
8818 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
7 PM

And if you can’t make it tonight go and see RuPaul there in October!

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Surfline staff enjoy each other's company.

Media: Surfline finds voice, becomes Fox News!

By Chas Smith

6 years ago

A bold pro-milquetoast agenda!

Surfline, the world’s largest surf website, has had a very long run at the top. What started as a telephone call in service turned online in 1995 and has been a go to for any serious surfer since. I’ve always been fascinated by it. Thousands upon thousands of eyeballs coming every day for surf reports. Captive eyeballs since no one else has the camera network etc. I always imagined how powerful the editorial voice could, in theory, be.

Brands killed, brands made. The world shaped.

And maybe, the specter of this power kept Surfline from ever trying to discover an editorial voice, preferring to stay safely in the bland where no hurt feelings dwell.

Until last week.

It appears that new-look Surfline (the site has changed and cameras are no longer offered freely) has decided it is going to be the Fox News of surf media. A bullish mouthpiece of the current administration. A bold pro-milquetoast agenda.

The transition was signaled by a softball interview with World Surf League CEO Sophie Goldschmidt and continues today with unvarnished excitement about Olympic surfing’s schedule which, apparently has locked down dates. Let’s read a touch together?

So we did what anyone curious about surfing and the Olympics would do — called the ISA’s Fernando Aguerre, who, by his own admission, “knows more about surfing in the Olympics than anyone on earth.” And who are we to argue? It was Aguerre’s vision, drive and commitment that led to surfing’s inclusion in the 2020 Games.

Turns out, those dates are placeholders. “This is one of difficulties in having a competition in the ocean,” Aguerre said. “They need initial competition dates to put some pins on the wall to start selling tickets. And if we have a good swell, we’ll run then — but if not, we have all the way through August 9th to run. They do the same thing in sailing — if there’s no wind, they can’t run, but they need to have dates on the board.”

This is good news, obviously. Surfing in the Games needs four days to run, and a two-week waiting period is essentially the same as a current men’s WCT event. Decent chance of surf.

Then later…

More good news: there is flexibility. It’ll be the ISA — not the IOC or Tokyo — making the call to run each day. They can run a few hours during the morning offshores, then hold till the next day, etc. Just like a ‘CT event.

Etc.

I think it is wonderful that Surfline has found its voice though I do wonder if the Huff-Po inspired The Inertia will get testy. What do you think? Do you think the Huff-Po inspired The Inertia will get testy?

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Eat beach grit spam!