Besting Slater, Curren and Dora!
I’ve been chewing on a delicious piece of gristle for the past week courtesy of the world’s foremost and only surf historian Matt Warshaw. He and Derek Rielly’s conversations have, since the very beginning, been my favorite part about this little website. Each is finer than the last and the last was very fine. They discussed Gerry Lopez turning 70, modern myth making etc. and Matt also listed his five pantheon of greatest surfers in order.
Duke, Dora, Lopez, Slater, Curren.
Now, we both could and should have fun creating the definitive list but I had a thought this morning and I believe it to be a true thought. If John John Florence continues along his current path would he not be the most intriguing, the most beguiling surfer in all of history? And let me explain.
John John was born in the surf imagination. He arrived, fully formed as a long-hair’d Monchichi there on Oahu’s North Shore dazzling onlookers with his preternatural talents. It’s ever so rare to witness a prodigy transition easily through adolescence into adulthood, take the case of Macaulay Culkin, but John John did. He somehow made it onto the Championship Tour without looking foolish groveling in Japanese beachbreak, won back to back titles gracefully and now he is sailing and paddling around the world, dropping in to release clips that expand the very nature of what we love.
He has made surfing fit into his own dream, getting paid a fortune while wearing it lightly, surfing brilliantly but never with a chip on his shoulder. Dane’s greatness, if you would permit a comparison, is that he is human all too human. That last “things I hate” feature was so brilliant because it highlighted Dane’s internal dichotomies. His wrestle with meaning. John’s transcendence over struggle, though, puts him in a category of his own.
Likewise, when compared with Lopez. Of course the zen master narrative is gorgeous but there are enough stories floating around of the great Gerry snapping and growling that it has always felt slightly manufactured. Not by Lopez, necessarily, but my us.
John John’s narrative is… effortless. And isn’t effortlessness the very pinnacle of this Peruvian dance? This surfing?
Thus, I would argue that if John John Florence continues on his current path, whatever that path is as long as it doesn’t include one drop of sweat on his brow, he will become the most beguiling surfer in the pantheon and second only, in terms of greatness, to Duke.
What fascinates me about all this is (and some comments below) is serendipity within life-arcs.
JJF growing up in a Kansas wheat field would’ve just been a nobody.
Many of us have had ‘opportunities’ which led to different paths away from the beach and were not able, for various reasons, to spend every waking moment in the warmth of Hawaiian waters.
Many surfers have proven that brain damage from reefs, drugs, and alcohol, improves your surfing.
He is an exceptional surfer. I am not sure how far he has raised the bar from Kelly (lost crucial heats to Kelly), Andy, Bruce, Dane & Jamie. Significantly raising the bar from previous generations in the true measure of greatness. But what I do sense, due to the Brazilian Storm, is white western hubris desperately clutching to the fall of white elitism. John is definitely a media phenomena; who try juice every drop. The shark attack drained Mick of his vital energies. Its good that John avoid the media, for his own well-being. He is just a surfer. That is all he should be good at: surfing. He is not the next Buddha or Jesus.
JJF still rips with better style & flow than Medina & Italo. A surfer’s surfer.
This article kinda covers it all
The Ocean Is Everything
BY JOHN JOHN FLORENCE
I just remember little JohnJohn popping up all the time, where ever we surfed on Oahu. Makaha, Ehukai, Haleiwa, I wanna say even like Makapu’u (don’t know if he had the Burger King tray or not for bodysurfing). Tow-headed grom was ubiquitous. I don’t even live there anymore and he’s still everywhere. It’s kind of weird to see a person’s life develop before your eyes, even if it’s on the fringes. Don’t know about all-time status but he’s in the pantheon of surf greats.
lol
Yeah, I was always kinda lol until that waist-high motherfucker would go out and kill it in the water.
I think I responded to the wrong comment.
I agree with you, i lived on oahu then also.
Believe me, if you hung around and saw him as he got older and better than you would have no doubt in your mind that he is all time.
He’s a bit young for me to say he’s all time yet. Certainly his skill and flair in bigger waves is pretty much the best going.
the greatest surfer
backward fins in soft top but
ain’t having most fun
I hate this terrible haiku. Only down votes please
I’m sorry for the up vote. It’s truly a terrible Haiku. So terrible. Maybe the most terriblest. And b/c of that, it is worthy my friend. Worthy of an up vote. And you know what? I’m not sorry after all.
you people are impossible
It was more of a Bonny and Clyde Aikau
Than a Eddie and Clyde Haiku ?
No idea what this means but maximum respect for the Aikau Family .
he doesn’t even surf.
who cares what he thinks.
Ummm, if your a ‘surf star’ ‘groupie’, I guess some of the above may matter to you.
Boooooo
Aww, did I hurt your feelings. Sometimes the truth hurts…
You’re*
Sorry. I’m just trying to be like kelly.
I have no idea what John John is like so can someone inform me if he is an enigma or of limited intelligence ?
JJF is ten times smarter than you.
If you had ever been in serious tube than you would understand what Iam talking about.
Do you really think he blows peoples minds over and over again, making it out of impossible tubes with a slow brain?
Dont mistake a lack of formal education or differant cultural ways of communicating for low intelligence.
Ck T , lovely to see you aggressive as usual . I didn’t accuse him of being slow , I am just trying to find out if he is hiding his game or if he is a simple happy soul who happens to be a genius on a surfboard .
a genius obviously
Ck T , I appreciate that you wear your heart on your sleeve. I am a crusty old Australian surfer who is forever thankful that the Duke and Cecil Healy battled it out in Stockholm in the 1912 Olympics which lead to the Duke’s invitation to a very white Australia bringing with him the gift of surfing . We are forever thankful . In the context of this article , if John John is going to be placed on a pedestal as one of the greatest of all times , I am trying to find out if he is a multilayered character or the shy competitor with not much to say in the post heat interviews ?
sorry about my aggresion. im working on it.
Multilayerd and no love for surf media, like Dora
No dramas Ck T , I survived as a grom in the 80s in a tough neighborhood in Sydney so am no stranger to aggressive behavior in the surfing culture both in and out of the water .
I am an example of a haole living in hawaii for the last 30 years and having to be aggresive to not become a target for abuse. But those days are over and its past time for me to evolve.
Dora was an intellectual also, so maybe not exactly like JJF
Maintain the rage , embrace the struggle and don’t forget to enjoy the ride .
Thanks bro… if you ever find yourself on the isle than lets go surf
Mahalo bro . It would be a pleasure .
Wow, that fight ended up in make up sex quickly.
Pie . I’m half Catholic half Protestat Atheist hyper competitive blow in law abiding anarcho / pacifist aging surfer / party animal,barman / stay at home dad with a sister who is a Dr of Psychiatry and a knife wielding surgeon of a wife and two kids under 5 . I’ve been ducking and weaving and trying to bring out the best in myself and the brothers and sisters all round the world with nothing but the gift of the gab and hugs and tears since Jebus was a boy . ( and usually failing )
There’s waves there??
Ahhh, old Cec. Last time I saw him he was down the bowlo neck deep in schooners.
I’ve met plenty of near retarded Surfers that were phenomenal tube riders.
Any…ahem…Kiwis fall into that category?
Of course! Near retarded surfers are a very multi-cultural diverse group from every corner of the globe.
I have often acted like a near retarded surfer on three continents from Cronulla to Cape Breton to Corralejo , dribbling on in 4 European languages, since 75 and am showing no signs of slowing down .
Acting like a retard is sorta most peoples modus operandi in the water…
Me Tarzan ? Sadly most of my retarded behavior was out of the water and after midnight .
you have never been in a tube and have no idea what you talking about.
same with the people who like your commnet
Sorry, I almost forgot your hard charging hardman Hawaiian credentials…
believe it or not some people here actaully do push themselves and test their limits.
we are not all the same.
Ummm well yeah it’s the proving ground for any surfer worth his salt… Are you working security at the Haleiwa pro as we speak?
different island. and you completly misunderstand me
Well according to you I have no idea and have never been in a tube. So guess that’s the conversation over then?
Talk about throwing the toys out of the cot Ck T.
desperate for attention?
go find a woman
I don’t think anyone understands you.
Especially you.
desperate for attention?
go find a woman
I thought I’d found one?
So your hitting on me?
You really are looking for attention
Bring on the battle of the Os , RicardO and ParkO ,the Herdy Gerdy almost man , and da Silva Nugget .
Ric’s had a pretty good run… here’s hoping he catches some sets….
He was so unlucky on his first year on tour . Would love to see Parko win one for the old boys and see Ricardo back on tour .
Yip, love to see that too… it’s a pretty easy final to be in. Most of the event favourites have been knocked out.
Got to take the top dogs down before they get on a roll .
why so angry?
Also there was a comment thread a while back where these (Bicko and negs) exchanged surf photos.
The two are bona fide shredders. They won’t tell you that tho.
You seem to need to say it. That’s suspect.
I have never said I shred or surf better than anyone here and I invited him to go surf with me if he is around.
Work on your reading comprehension skills and then get back to me.
jaja
By your logic both Marshawn Lynch and this lizard are long overdue for Nobel prizes!
https://youtu.be/c5jvBxLZLwk
you dont surf either.
so how would you know?
Well I know because both that lizard and Marshawn Lynch are preternaturally evasive. Their first class trip to Stockholm is a lock! I wonder what they’ll drink on the flight
Maybe he has the brain of a dolphin
You’re one of them Christians, so I guess the immaculate John John would appeal to you. But if we’re going polytheistic it would be weird for him not to have some weaknesses. Dane, Andy, Kelly fit much better.
“John John was born in the surf ” …Nature and now, a Bee Keeper on land connected to nature! When flat he sails the winds and currents of nature. Ya he’s a real SURFER!
Gerry was and is 💯 % media made. He’s a by product of the society/matrix.
You’re high, yes?
Lopez is full of himself. John isn’t.
Fair enough, I just couldn’t parse what they were saying exactly.
today they are all making up their own “genuine” thing. there is one Hawaiian young undergrounder who I have surfed with numerous times that is an absolute punk ass (young and still has time to get his shit straight as a human being with others), but online clips oh how jovial and friendly he seems. the biggest crock
Zeke?
Well it definitely wasn’t Uncle Brian Seurat and Parko hugging out after the final . Let’s hope he can inspire ya man Joycey to go big at Pipe .Nice to see me old pal dog get in and show some Kirra Turkey Farmer love as well .
along time ago I used to live at Sunset with a guy that was friends with Dog and he would come by the house occasionally.
he is a cool guy
Zeke said he hurt his rib first day back and had only surfed 5 times before the contest.
Sounds likes somebody set him straight.
Coco?
Negative
Nope
Mason?
No
who?
You can’t put stickers on a teenager’s board and expect them to be humble. The most entitled little shits in the water at my local all got stickers on their boards and their parents following them around bending to their every whim. People need to quit blowing smoke up these kids asses.
Is that like legal where you are from?
Naw. He’s a kid and I’m an old fuck
the best answer you could have given.
he could change.
kids in hawaii are very isolated, the more they travel the more they usually come to understand how to behave.