Announced: The World Surf League declares
war on people who surf!
By Chas Smith
Yer kind ain't wanted 'round these parts.
This all started with Paul Speaker, some five
or so years ago in a rose petal scented Santa Monica backroom. For
it was then and it was there that the Association of Surfing
Professionals was given, free of charge, to a small group of men
backed by publishing magnate Dirk Ziff, who turned around and
installed Mr. Speaker as the new CEO.
The name was changed, two years later, from Association of
Surfing Professionals to World Surf League and Mr. Speaker
made the media rounds, visiting surf core favorites like Bloomberg and
Fox Business wherein he extolled his broad vision for the
future.
Now, I understand that surfing helps absolutely no one be better
at business. I think it could even be argued that some of the surf
industry’s troubles over the past few decades were actually
because everyone surfed. But I would continue to argue
that surfing in the water on a surfboard sans paddle is
essential, to… understanding why it all matters, what it’s all
about, how it creeps into the cracks of busted lives and refuses to
let go. Ever. Bottom line be damned.
Surfing is special, it matters and it belongs to surfers.
Now, a few hires outside of the ranks, some fresh insight, would
have been applauded but the tone deafness has reached a point where
I think the only reasonable conclusion is that the World Surf
League’s upper management actively dislikes people who surf.
People who surf are the “grumpy locals”
despised by Ziff. People who surf own brands being so pressured by
the League that they’ve decided to give up sponsoring events.
People who surf work at magazines, websites, podcasts, slaving for
love rather than money. People who surf spend more time thinking
about surf, traveling to surf, eating, drinking, sleeping surf than
is healthy but cannot be marketed to because it ain’t a market.
It’s a life.
People who surf don’t belong in the World Surf League.
Why the disdain? I don’t know. Maybe Speaker, Ziff, et. al. were
made fun of by surfers in school and this is their grand revenge.
Maybe they lost girlfriends to surfers even though they were all
cool jocks. I really don’t know and can’t imagine I’ll get the
opportunity to ask but am going hold out hope for Erik Logan.
I’m going to hold out hope that he is brave enough to come
play with us and laugh because he also rides a longboard.
Maybe close enough.
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Quik Pro Day 1: “Who is the quivering
coward? The fanboi bitch?”
By Longtom
Metaphysical questions plague the gorgeous French
beachbreak!
Used to be it seemed a year long tour was a grand
idea. But if I’m being honest, which is what they pay me
for, I’m suffering extreme pro surfing fatigue by the time the
European leg rolls around. My interest seems to peak sometime
around J-Bay or Tahiti with maybe a late flare up for a classic
Pipe finish.
Having to wade through the whole 34 man field again, not once
but twice just seems cruel and unusual punishment. A two-week long
Test Match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan was how BG principal
Derek Rielly phrased it in a text message. Minus John John and
Slater I want match-ups with contenders not another two-day slog
before we get anywhere near the chase.
Sophie wants to grow the audience, new hire Erik Logan calls the
league brimming with “untapped potential” and they keep throwing
out the same product.
How to actually grow the audience? An answer may lay in pro
surfings sister sport, MMA and it’s pro league UFC. I’m not a fan,
the equivalent of Backwards Fin Beth, what hard-core fight fans
derisively term “casuals”. But the pre-fight hype for the Conor
McGregor/Khabib fight effortlessly drew me in …..did you see?
Presser one in NYC Conor (biggest sports star in the world) told
Khabib to “shut yer mouth ya mad backwards cunt”, called him a
“little fanboi bitch”. Called his manager a ‘terrorist snitch”, his
Dad a “quivering coward”.
Not to everyones taste, but Joe Carr former UFC exec, now chief
strategy officer for WSL must have gazed longingly, lovingly at it.
That ability to generate hype, draw a crowd, get the fucking
despised casuals to get drastic with the plastic; what a dream for
Sophie and the new hires.
Who would be the mad backwards cunt? Who the quivering coward?
The fanboi bitch? ….assuming Pro Surfing dropped the #blessed and
went full UFC.
Sunny days in France playing happy families while we wait for a
roughie to bolt from the back of the pack is lovely stuff.
Touching. Chances of that drawing in a casual= nil. Chew on that
Erik. You can draw up all the direct to consumer pseudo
pay-per-view the Universe directs you to but unless you build a
proper drawcard, you ain’t got shit. The same thing we’ve had since
J-Bay. Two thousand hard-cores sipping peppermint tea on Facey
cheering on their gal.
In perfect French beachbreaks with a ton of waves ridden Jordy
sneaked past Zeke, a mild robbery , with a neat little left tube on
the buzzer. An entertaining heat.
Italo was several notches ahead in speed, power and repertoire
in his Rd3 heat against Yago and Asing. A huge dagger knifed into
the neck of a throaty closeout – a turn only he and maybe Colapinto
can pull – was lowballed for a 7. Other waves pushed him into a
comfortable lead that was never headed. Any hopes Dora might ride
some momentum from his silky Air Show victory were quashed by a
bumbling performance.
Julian Wilson laid down the best ride of the morning, a deeply
threaded tube, greased alley oop and hammer finish for an 8.5. The
days first excellent score. It looked like the Day of the Decade at
a Coolum beachie and he treated it just like that. Easy win…..but
in the post heat presser there was still that suspicion that J-dub
was over-analysing during heats, leading to mistakes in execution
and decision making. Not in this heat, but that is the pattern.
Everything is going fine, until it’s not. Maybe he can overcome
that mental weakness. Maybe not.
Medina started cool in heat 5 against Tomas Hermes and ex rookie
Ryan Callinan , then just cooly opened up on two rights to ice the
heat. 80% winning percentage in Europe. Mad cunt. I don’t mean that
rudely, just using it as an example of what a spicy presser to
build an audience might contain Erik. The biggest sports star in
the world calls his opponent a mad backwards cunt, in public, in
front of an online audience in the hundreds of thousands. I mean
mad cunt in the Australian sense as a term of praise.
What? Surfing’s different you say?
No it’s not you mad cunt, well only in the sense that it’s spent
the last 30 years trying to build an audience by throwing out the
same moldy product the mainstream has rejected time after time
after time. Listen to your chief Strategy officer Joe Carr who said
there are a “ton of parallels between both companies (WSL and
UFC).” If there is a difference it is that UFC doesn’t seem intent
on dumbing down the product to piss off its hard-core fan base.
It’s not the broadcast, it’s the build-up. Good heat in perfect
surf. Medina in total control.
Filipe was off in the next heat. A little flakey. Nervey.
Couldn’t quite nail a lofted lien air, was out of rhythm, got
frustrated and dropped his bundle. He didn’t need much against a
strong Connor O’leary and french wildcard Couzinet. But he could
not get it done. My view: I would like to see Filipe win next two
events and clinch the title before Pipe with a delicious low stakes
victory lap at the Pipeline for the haters. Chances of that
happening: next to nil.
My favourite wave was ridden in the next heat by Adriano De
Souza, owner of the most improved skill set in pro surfing. He
sizzled one right hand wave with so much extra torque in the turn
it made me pine even harder for John Florence. Midnight in
Australia, just me and my 2 thousand homies watching… I have to
look up the results to see who won heats 8 and 9.
I watched but I must have been wide awake dreaming. Pat Gudang
won on a bright yellow board with two big styled out backhand
thwacks. Ace sliced and diced….he would definitely not be the
fanboi bitch, or the quivering coward.
Too good. Lordy, lordy. Can you shorten this Euro leg as first
order of biz Erik?
Pretty please you mad cunt.
Quiksilver Pro France Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.86, Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 13.33, Matt
Wilkinson (AUS) 11.07
Heat 2: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 10.70, Owen Wright (AUS) 10.56, Joan
Duru (FRA) 9.50
Heat 3: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.40, Keanu Asing (HAW) 10.70, Yago
Dora (BRA) 4.57
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.67, Frederico Morais (PRT) 10.46,
Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 7.74
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.93, Tomas Hermes (BRA) 11.26, Ryan
Callinan (AUS) 10.33
Heat 6: Connor O’Leary (AUS) 10.17, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 9.10,
Jorgann Couzinet (REU) 4.00
Heat 7: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.50, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 8.50, Wade
Carmichael (AUS) 8.00
Heat 8: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.43, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 13.23, Kolohe
Andino (USA) 9.97
Heat 9: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.90, Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 6.67,
Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 1.50
Heat 10: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 14.24, Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.90,
Jesse Mendes (BRA) 10.83
Heat 11: Mikey Wright (AUS) 15.30, Conner Coffin (USA) 13.73,
Michael February (ZAF) 10.77
Heat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 10.93, Willian Cardoso (BRA) 8.67,
Jeremy Flores (FRA) 5.90
Quiksilver Pro France Round 2 (H1-2)
Results
Heat 1: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 15.84 def. Jorgann Couzinet (FRA)
7.77
Heat 2: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 16.10 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 12.17
Quiksilver Pro France Remaining Round 2 (H3-12)
Matchups:
Heat 3: Wade Carmichael (AUS) vs. Wiggolly Dantas (BRA)
Heat 4: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Keanu Asing (HAW)
Heat 5: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 6: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 7: Willian Cardoso (BRA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Ian Gouveia (BRA)
Heat 9: Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Heat 10: Michael Rodrigues (BRA) vs. Michael February (ZAF)
Heat 11: Ezekiel Lau (HAW) vs. Tomas Hermes (BRA)
Heat 12: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Frederico Morais (PRT)
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Meet: The World Surf League’s new President
of Content, Media and WSL Studios!
By Chas Smith
What do Oprah, stand-up paddleboarding and
professional surfing have in common? Come find out!
Where did she go? Why did she go? I haven’t the faintest and so
spend each day wondering and crying, intermittently.
But alas, the sun comes up once again, the world turns and the
World Surf League hires a bold new friend directly from the very
surf-centric The Oprah Network.
Let’s turn those frowns upside down and meet Erik Logan, new
President of Content, Media and WSL Studios!
Erik enjoys warm nights and great friends.
Most days find him with a paddle in his hand and a smile on his
face.
When he’s not getting out amongst it, he’s culturally
appropriating at the SUP shop he owns in
“the heart of downtown Manhattan Beach.”
But mostly you can find him with a paddle in his hand and a
smile on his face.
What does the man himself have to say?
Today, I’m announcing that I will be stepping down as
President of OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network. Working for one of the
greatest leaders in the world has truly been the most incredible
opportunity in my career. I have learned and grown more over the
past 10 years professionally than I did in the prior 20.
The accomplishments over the last decade have been many –
from ending the Oprah Winfrey Show, transitioning the company to a
studio, moving to LA, and making OWN the most high-profile
turnarounds in cable network history. What has made these many
years of work so memorable and enjoyable are the people who I had
the opportunity to work and partner with.
My “Next Chapter” (as Oprah would say) is truly an
opportunity of a lifetime. To marry my passion of surfing with my
career is something that I never thought was possible or even
imagageable 5 years ago. SUP, surfing, loving the ocean, were all
things I’d never thought would be a part of my life. Now, it’s my
life, my daily passion, and something that propels me into my next
professional journey.
Joining the World Surf League is something I never thought
this kid from landlocked Oklahoma would say, but it’s happening.
I’m beyond grateful tothe WSL for the chance to join the already
exceptional team for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If I have learned one thing from Oprah over the past decade,
it’s this: there is a “divine order” to the universe and our job is
to get into that flow. We must LISTEN to what the universe is
saying. So here I am. Marrying my passion with my career in this
way is something only a higher power could forge for me. I’m
humbled by this moment and still in a state of “I can’t believe
this is happening!” But it is…. You’ll hear me say this a lot, but
it’s true: #followyourpassion #liveyourpassion
What do I have to say?
I can’t wait for BeachGrit’s next billboard!
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Yago Dora, happy as a yam. Photo: WSL
Red Bull Airborne: “I really like the term
‘cork’. It reminds me of a corkscrew. Is that where it came from?
Is it a corkscrew?”
By Derek Rielly
The WSL gets airshow spectacularly right!
Did you watch the ‘Red Bull Airborne’, which was
streamed live to an audience of almost thousands, during
yesterday’s lay-day in the Hossegor Pro?
Even without Filipe Toledo and Gabriel Medina, who withdrew
because, what, they win and everyone yawns, I told you so,
or they lose, and the air crowd yaps about paper gods, the contest
was an entirely blissful experience.
The Josh Kerr-confected air contest did two things.
It let the WSL loosen a few buttons on its starched pinafore and
show that surfing didn’t have to be six hours of heats, grimly
fought, like trench warfare. There was a spirit and, let me hitch
my pyjama pants up for a moment, a joy to the game.
And there he was, just like magic, putting a ferocious amount of
pressure on Peter Mel and Attack Tits
Wasilewski. Kindly, but sternly, Richards
responded to Mel saying goofy things like, “I really like the term
‘cork’. It reminds me of a corkscrew. Is that where it came from?
Is it a corkscrew?”
Suddenly, pro surfing felt like surfing. Alive, unraped.
Accidentally, Red Bull Airborne revealed what the WCT still gets
wrong, what the ASP got wrong. The events are too long, the roster
of surfers is too unwieldy and, unless you’re swinging over the
ledge at Teahupoo or Pipe, no one wants to see cutbacks and turns
at three-foot beach breaks.
In the end, Yago Dora won with an ability to strike that isn’t
always apparent within the strictures of a regular event.
Red Bull Airborne Final Leaderboard:
1 – Yago Dora (BRA) 18.27
2 – Griffin Colapinto (USA) 17.21
3 – Jack Freestone (AUS) 15.3
4 – Kalani David (HAW) 5.66
5 – Matt Meola (HAW) 5.40
6 – Eithan Osborne (USA) 0.00
Qualifying Round Leaderboard:
1 – Kalani David (HAW) 16.83
2 – Griffin Colapinto (USA) 14.29
3 – Yago Dora (BRA) 13.83
4 – Matt Meola (HAW) 12.46
5 – Eithan Osborne (USA) 12.34
6 – Jack Freestone (AUS) 11.26
7 – Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 9.84
8 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 9.80
9 – Albee Layer (HAW) 9.76
10 – Eric Geiselman (USA) 9.60
11 – Mason Ho (HAW) 9.17
12 – Leif Engstrom (USA) 8.63
13 – Kael Walsh (AUS) 8.36
14 – Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 6.20
15 – Italo Ferreira (BRA) 4.96
16 – William Aliotti (FRA) 2.60
17 – Chippa Wilson (AUS) 1.46
18 – Sebastian Williams (MEX) 0.00
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Journalism: Are wave tanks swimming pools
or are they lakes?
By Chas Smith
Major newspaper investigates recent events in
Waco!
I don’t use the word “shocking” lightly but I
do use it here because “surfing” and “journalism” haven’t shaken
hands since Brad Melekian’s icon “Last Drop” published eight
years ago. That is a long time, especially considering our
ultra-fast world where news and newsworthy events happen multiple
times a day.
Let’s not discuss whose fault it is that “surfing” and
“journalism” are so estranged. Let’s not point fingers at Nick
Carroll but instead let’s see what it looks like by reading
The Houston
Chronicle (pronounced “Hyoo-stun” as opposed to
“How-stun” like they do in New York).
And here we go.
The investigative piece first describes how a young man from New
Jersey died from a brain-eating amoeba after surfing the BSR Cable
Park in Waco, Texas. Then, if you can believe, the journalists asks
a question. We’ll pick it up from there.
Stabile’s case raised questions about how water was cleaned
at the surf park, a new attraction growing in popularity across the
country, and one of two in Texas. State law strictly regulates a
similar park in Austin, but it is unclear whether the Waco park fit
the same definition. A spokesperson for the Waco-McLennan County
Public Health District said they did not inspect the facility and
did not further explain why.
It also highlighted a lack of protocol surrounding what to
do when such an uncommon, bewildering infection occurs. The park
told the local health district it would close the wave Sept. 28 —
seven days after Stabile’s death. But patrons said they continued
to surf there until Sept. 30.
One who visited on Sept. 27, surfing at a cost of $90 an
hour, said he saw officials collect test samples but was not warned
about what happened.
It also highlighted a lack of protocol surrounding what to
do when such an uncommon, bewildering infection occurs. The park
told the local health district it would close the wave Sept. 28 —
seven days after Stabile’s death. But patrons said they continued
to surf there until Sept. 30.
“I think they should have given us a choice,” said Edward
Denton, 47. “They should have told us: ‘There’s a potentially
deadly amoeba that has a 97 percent death rate, and it’s your
decision.’… Now I could wake up tomorrow with a severe headache and
have a three percent chance of living. ”
On and on it goes, each turn more stunning than the next, and
you should certainly read and digest but the question is proffered,
at the end, that interested me very much.
Are wave tanks swimming pools or are they lakes?
The regulations around both are very different. Pool owners must
filter and clean the water. Lakes merely get closed down to the
public if an outbreak of, say, brain-eating amoebas occurs.
It is a good question, one I’d imagine very much changes the
fortunes of wave tank owners and hopeful wave tank owners.
Also, as it relates, the World Surf League’s number one
financial play seems to be Surf Ranch. Right? Either Surf Ranch or
the new and improved air-show format.
As first reported by The Inertia, Surf Ranch’s GM
recently informed the Lemoore City Council that it would remain
private, never actually “opening” to the public.
Do you think this in order to skirt regulations? Water quality
issues etc?
Hmmm. This journalism seems exciting and I am going to call
someone and ask.
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Jon Pyzel and Matt Biolos by
@theneedforshutterspeed/Step Bros
