Ain't gonna chase a Bell either…
Ten months ago, shortly before the Margaret River Pro kicked open its Bali reboot, the two-time and defending world champ John John Florence announced he’d been wounded in combat and would be taking a little time off to heal.
His coach, Ross Williams, behaved in the manner of the loyal sidekick, punching this supporting explanation into his cell phone.
“I was holding my breath the minute he paddled out. I knew he was feeling jumpy. At one point I looked at him from the beach and gestured to take it easy! Haha. In my position it’s sketchy watching him surf like that cause I want him to be ready for the next comp, but you can’t tell someone like John to just surf safe.”
Gesturing on the beach to “take it easy”? Oh if this was a movie it would be too fantastic to believe.
Do you remember the theatre that ensued? Ross tapping on the glass, John bravely disappearing into the machine.
Now, according to a source that is more reliable than most, John John, who’ll turn twenty-seven this October, is going to withdraw from the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper shortly before the waiting period opens on April 3.
Which means, according to our source, “he’s not doing Bells either. Probably will show up in Bali on the one-year anniversary of his knee injury with a handy excuse as to why he’s not in the World Title race, cause let’s face it, he looks like he’s not even close to being able to compete with Italo, Filipe and Gabriel. Probably not even Julian and Jordy
“He really is not back from that injury so it makes sense to hold off until he can actually compete at the top-level again. But who knows when that will be? Probably should’ve had surgery. Watching his surfing on social media has been rough. He looks about seventy percent. I wouldn’t do Snapper either.”
A harsh assessment, no?
Also, Adriano de Souza, your 2015 king of the hill, is also gonna pull out.
Not sure why.
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Haha, you’ve never met him have you.
Well flat paver, i respectfully disagree: understanding the past is essential to understanding current society and the future. I dont think we should dwell on it and place blame on people who had nothing to do with it, but not understanding the past can result in large societal problems, i.e., historical ignorance is a huge problem in america, i.e., most people dont understand segregation, the civil rights movement, etc. That’s just one example of ignorance. And AU just recently stopped fucking over the aboriginal people. respectfully, i think we should understand, acknowledge, and learn from the past. And i dont think one’s cultural heritage is “baggage”; the world would be a pretty shit place if we all had one culture, i mean, can you imagine if the entire world was British? or Indian? or chinese? nothing wrong with those cultures but im pretty happy the world is so diverse.
It’s actually incredibly effective
ADS has a long term knee injury, it’ll probably cause him to retire.
I know all you cunts will laugh at him and call him a lil plumber or whatever but it’s a painful way to go out if that’s how it goes. Adriano won a world championship and most of the people who make funny jokes about him in comments sections can’t even paddle out at Burleigh on a six foot day.
Respect!
Work hard dream big.
Always liked him.
Even Kelly was jealous of him
ADS once complimented me on a barrel at Vland. He is the most respectful pro I ever shared a lineup with. He is my favorite Brazilian surfer.
Anyone else think that white guys humorously acknowledging the irony in them listening to hip hop is just the worst? When Ross threw up the W it made the cancer in my ass percolate.
Where do you guys get your info from… certainly not from anyone that really knows whats going on.. talk about click bait…
I’m 25% native and although I don’t look 100% native, i am still an indigenous person; and that’s not to say that i dont consider myself to be a white person as well. I can’t speak for Soli, but I dont see anything wrong with him representing his indigenous roots while also being an australian.
I thought he’d had surgery..?
haha ,you , today , are simply the sum total of all your past actions and thoughts!
even the present becomes the past, oh so quickly , so who are you again?
You only read the bits you wanna read, keep insulting us. It speaks volumes
By the time anyone knew who Filipe or Gabe was, they were 16/17. Kolohe 15. Jordy 18. Julian 18. by then… JJ already had 8-10 years under the spotlight. He was pegged as a future world champ at 10. Not everyone handles and weathers through a prodigious upbringing and expectation pressure like a Slater or Tiger Woods. I think Michelle Wie is a great example. She did not fully live up to her expectations, but won enough to be content and comfortable in her own skin. Fact is that most child prodigies experience burnout.
John has won 5 comps; Filipe has won 7 and Gabriel 12 (although should be 14).
Does anyone out there question if John was really injured to begin with? People need to realize that JJ is not your normal pro. He has been under the media spotlight since he was 9. He surfed a Triple Crown at 12. He’s 27 this year. Meaning he has been doing the “pro surfer” thing for at least 17 years. Look at the average retirement age of most CT pros based upon years in “the spotlight”. JJ has already surpassed all the shine and expectation pressures. Bali was post Zeke shakedown. Perhaps he realized then that he truly didnt need this. He’s a veteran pro with two world titles and financially set for life. Just saying.
You think he might not have suffered an injury?
I didnt say that I thought he didn’t. I was asking if anyone else did. Name ANY sport – basketball, football, baseball, soccer, etc. When an athlete suffers an injury, don’t they usually reveal within a few days what type of injury the athlete incurred and have a pretty definitive recovery period? When Kelly got hurt.. the mri photos were made public. It showed a definitive break. Julian as well. Caio made his broken foot public. Those were definitive injuries. JJ revealed he had a “sprain” and a “tweek” of his knee. I personally have never heard of a sprain/strain (with no torn ligaments or muscles) that had surgery as an option nor it sidelineing an athlete for a year. But I am no doctor. That is why I am asking. Is there an article out there that definitely says what JJ’s injury was?
Ok, thanks for clarification; to answer your first question: I think he did suffer an injury. To answer your last question: I don’t know of an article detailing JJ’s injury/recovery/etc.; all I remember is Ross talking about JJ’s injury on his Instagram. In any event, I don’t think anyone questions that he was injured.
And I retract what I had said as well. I should have said “Does anyone question the severity of the injury…” and not that he wasn’t injured at all. Similar with Slater. We know his injury was legit. But at what point do you surf the wave pool then pull out of the next event citing the same injury?
Or it could be a way of inspiring young indigenous kids to be the best possible version of themselves, and god knows Australia could do with more role models in that area. If Soli wants to represent his indigenous heritage then more fucking power to him I say.
Might net an extra hunj grand
I am 35% less excited about the Tour beginning without John.
how is affected your book maker?
That’s a great point!
DIdn’t his whole entourage just fly into Snapper? I mean it wouldn’t surprise me if he was going to fly over and spend time on the GC with his girl but why would the whole team fly over if he was going to bail on event 1 and 2?
There was an article today on swellnet with Rabbit who says John John is already at snapper warming up. So I call bullshit.
You can’t support it any way bro. I thought we were all about inclusion?
Its a purely racist concept and it’s unprecedented Binnsys having a lend if he thinks it’s been done before
I’d say the Basque flag that Aritz flies is probably a little more controversial to be honest. Separatists, terrorists, moustached men with funny hats and squeaky voices etc.
But isn’t he 100% Basque?
ouch , now please educate yourself on the hIstory of the Basques , one of the oldest cultures on earth and don’t call them spanish or French..Geurnika ring a Bell?
No disrespect to the Basque folk at all but surely you can see that Aritz surfing under the ikurriña (and in spectacular red, green and white Quik trunks) is a louder statement than Soli still surfing for Australia, but with an Aboriginal flag on one sleeve?
ADS 2015 king of the favela you mean? That’s racist or whatever ADS considers himself.
Anyone watch Kelly at Manly this morning? He was looking fit! Like he’s going to have a real go this year.
That’s good to hear. That’s how I felt at the start of ’17 when he was looking in great form at Snapper.