Can you guess correctly?
And as has been discussed many times, here, 2010 – 2020 is the decade that the VAL not only exploded onto the scene but grabbed surfing’s bull by its horns. We play in their world now, their mid-lengthy, neoprene surf cappy, booties n boardshorty, surf schoolie world and we assume many things about them, assume, I suppose, that they’re drafting off us in terms of style and taste but… are they?
Of course not! They are charting their own brave, yet vulnerable, course but who are they looking up to? Who are their north stars, as it were?
Thankfully Book SurfCamps by Tripaneer is here to show us.
“The go-to resource for planning your surf camps. Find all you need to know about the top destinations and take your surfing to new heights”, just released its vaunted list of The Four Best Surfers in History and… before looking can you guess who they are? Can you guess which is number one? Close your eyes, scroll down to the comments and enter your thoughts then scroll back up here and drum roll….
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4. Miki Dora:
The Hungarian surfer is known for popularizing longboard surfing. His light stance on the board and ‘ultra-nimble’ footwork earned him the nickname of ‘Da Cat.’ As a mysterious and gifted surfer, Miki was hailed as the first superstar of the surfing world. Living a thug life, Miki spent time behind bars for fraud and grand robbery in 1973. He died in 2002 after succumbing to pancreatic cancer.
3. Kelly Slater:
Born Robert Kelly Slater in 1972 and acclaimed as ‘The Greatest Surfer of All Time,’ Kelly Slater’s career in surfing began at the tender age of six. His career skyrocketed when he began winning successive surfing championship titles at the young age of 11. Slater became a television household name after landing a role in the famous series Baywatch as Jimmy Slade.
2. Laird Hamilton:
Here are some interesting facts about this famous surfer…He is a highly revered model, producer, TV host, fitness and nutrition expert, stuntman, and author.Hamilton coined tow-in surfing, which entails the use of a personal watercraft (PWC) in towing a surfer into large waves. As a pioneer of this technique, Hamilton described it as “just going as fast as you’ve ever been. Really, it’s just the sensation of speed.” As a surfing aficionado, Hamilton believes that surfing is a creative process that is intrinsically motivated rather than a sport driven by external rewards.
1. Duke Kahanamoku:
Dubbed ‘The Father of Modern Surfing,’ The Duke was a native Hawaiian swimmer. Growing up, the ocean became Duke’s playground, and here are some of his most notable achievements… In 1911, Duke beat the existing world record by 4.6 seconds for the 100 yards (91 meters) freestyle in Honolulu Harbor. At 21 years old, he grabbed his first Olympic gold medal for the 100-meter freestyle; he remained the United States’ representative at the Olympics for the next 20 years.
So there we have it. How many did you get right? Surprised to see Da Cat there at number 4? More surprised to see Kelly Slater not at number 1? Laird Hamilton as the second greatest surfer to ever do it?
I imagine Book SurfCamps by Tripaneer will be hearing from the 11x World Champ shortly.
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Where’s Bodhi on that^ list? He’s more famous than all those d00ds!
no Gidget?
4. Jimmy Slade
3. Lance Burkhart
2. Jeff Spicoli
1. Bodhi
Joey Buran!
He beat Derek Ho, Tom Carroll, Occy, fkn everybody in the ’84 Pipe Masters….then he became a priest….then he became the 2020 Olympic surf coach…then he went back to pastoring.
Duke
Phil
Nat
Kelly
5′ 7″ Cort Gion with the gorgeous clear plastic fin, all narrow at the base, like a thresher shark’s tail. God, I wish I still had that board.
Ya, some credit card fraud, (bad boy) while other surfers were buying smack and getting shot and killed, or smuggling heroin into the USA and OZ., possessing it for sales, doing hard time in jail for years not months. Does Hackman, Aberilla, Rastmuttin, McCabe, ring any bells. Gotta run or I’d come up with a few others.
Let me guess: Greg Brady…, Kelly Slater…..Load Hamilton. And Fonzie when he jumped the shark in Malibu
Since the subject of Dora and Vals came up ‘here’–lets clear the air a little, as far as da Cat goes and a previous post on BG. It seems Daniel Duane (the author of the mag. article, also a Val) was intimated early on in his surf life by the words, “Kooks go Home”, on some steps leading to the beach, where he was begining his surf life as a VAL, it also seems Duane did not appreciate what he thought was Dora’s brand of localism.
I think the words, “Kooks go Home” left a little scar on Duane’s VAL psyche, as he had to learn to surf as a Val at some ‘localized’ spots. The added fact that he never went through a real ‘grommet stage’ where you get used to some hazing (being called a kook, a gremmie, even worse things) probably contributed to his Val development.
I think him trying to paint Dora as racist, for what seem like a few little ‘off the cuff’ remarks over a ‘half a century’, a 60 year time period, does not make someone a racist.
Dan Duane is a double VAL. Surfing and rock climbing. He needs to be a guest on the podcast.
Buttons, Dane Kealoha, Marvin Foster, and AI. In no particular order.
Kelly Slater
Mick Fanning
Steph Gilmore
Layne Beachly
Plus, special mention to the girl who lost her arm in a shark attack
Oh wow, just scrolled back up – I was way off. Sorry VALs.
MR. The end.
The one having the most fun of course.
If I had to do this list, 4 is pretty much impossible but I’d really want to take Laird off, ’cause, you know, Laird…but I don’t think I can. I hate myself sometimes.
4) John Florence
3) Dane Reynolds
2) Andy Irons
1) Kelly Slater
Go back to your PlayStation.
Swap Curren for AI or Dane depending on preference.
Who’s having the most fun?
When all is said and done–Phil probably did get it right. “The best surfer in the water is the one having the most fun”….
no, that guy usually sucks.
From your attitude–pretty sure your not having too much fun…..
Hence, I don’t suck.
ok, if you say so.
I crunched the numbers. You’re right.
In sports like track, there’s a worlds fastest list that almost never includes guys from 50 years ago. That’s because guys from 50 years ago sucked compared to athletes today. Same goes for Dora and any old guy you want to throw on the best surfer list because of some weird nostalgia. They were good for their time, that’s it.
Peter Snell’s 800m and 1500m records are still NZ records. His 800m grass record is still the fastest in the world. They were set in the 60s.
Curren still hasn’t been bettered at J Bay.
Otherwise I agree 🙂
This is so VAL. They covered it
1. Origin
2. Fame (along with wife, pretty mainstream famous)
3. Most famous surfer
4. Most famous surf miscreant
My guess is these are the first four names that comes up when a VAL does a Goolge search.
There are 2 types of people in this world.
Those that learned to surf on a 8′ foamie, and those that learned on a passed down 6’2.
3 types –those that learned on a log and made the transition to shorts boards….
Sounds lame
I wish I had that 6’2″ still. A Carl Hayward (RIP).
in fairness they probably don’t go so good as we remember, if you’re anything like me, we’re at least twice as heavy now.
Ha so true! Mine was a 6’1 Pipedreams thruster I never returned to the neighbour I borrowed it from. Wish I still had it.
Haha..I use to steal my next door neighbors 6’5 from his backyard in Hawaii on bigger days.
A passed down 6’7″. Glassed on find, duct tape all over.
Warm or cold water?
Morning star twin fin
4 / Wayne Lynch
3 / Michael Peterson
2 / Mark Richards
1 / Simon Anderson
all built their own boards, the designs of which still have influence today
great, then put them in the best shaper category.
No, definitely in the best surfer category…
If it were surfer/ shaper category I would throw in Matt Kechle.
And Gerry Lopez.
VALs wouldn’t a give fuck about those guys but.