Big-wave highlight reels should be the spear tip of the engagement funnel for surfing’s mainstream foray. The formula, blood-soaked as it is, works.
Did you watch the Nazaré comp?
No, me neither.
(Too busy chasing a resurgent east coast low ‘round the local beachies… was almost as fun as a wave pool.
But I did see it making front page news on all of the major Australian mastheads this morning.
The freakish incident involving Alex Bothelo, which you’ve no doubt seen in your Insta feeds, has the world’s attention.
His jetski backflipping off 10-foot of whitewash like a kid flicking a bottletop.
The Portugeuse surfer was resuscitated on the beach before being rushed to the emergency ward.
Scary scenes on the live feed.
Latest is that he’s awake and in a stable condition. It’s a sobering injury.
In Australia, broadsheet The Sydney Morning Herald ran it above the digital fold on its home page: Big wave surfer rushed to hospital.
There it was on the populist tabloid news.com.au, sandwiched between ‘Children watch heroin addict overdose’ and ‘Mum, 43, mistaken for teenage daughter’:
Horror as big wave surfer pummeled.
This, in the middle of coronavirus, cyclones, bushfires, political intrigue.
It’s the true nature of surfing’s image in Ma, Pa and Cousin Irvine’s eye.
We don’t matter until we’re falling sideways outta skyscrapers.
Or, as Albee Layer commented on the WSL’s posts, “Our lives are clickbait.
The news reels want wipeouts, kickouts, carnage. Not BL dissecting the degrees of difference in split-screen top turns at three-foot Keramas.
What percentage of the audience watch speed racers just to see the spills?
The Nazaré comp is manufactured drama. Boom crash opera for a Trumpian world.
Not to diminish for one second the athleticism, bravery, grit etc of the surfers and safety crews involved. They’re lions and lionesses among women and men. The progression envelope of tow has well and truly been pushed, if that’s your thing.
But for the general public, it’s the equivalent of jumping a row of flaming school buses on a PeeWee 50.
Impressive, enthralling spectacle.
Are we not entertained?
E-Lo and his team face an ethical quandary.
The formula, blood-soaked as it is, works.
Big-wave highlight reels should be the spear tip of the engagement funnel for surfing’s mainstream foray.
So do they turn up the pace?
Double down on the drama, and watch the media clippings and advertisers $$ flood in?
Probably.
But, it’s worth asking the question.
Where’s the line drawn, if not today?
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he just did that at jaws in a video clip a earlier this month. was it worth wasting all that time to watch Kai do that one maneuver live? its impressive yes but so were full rotation reverses at one point
If you don’t like it go wait tables at Mama’a Fish House Albee. Haven’t you heard people don’t give a shit about poor pro surfers getting salary cuts.
i watched live and the positive wall of noise was erected so there was no live feed for 10 minutes until the beach resus part came. reminiscent of the MF JBay scene which I was horrid to see live
The WSL is cultivating a new era of Surf Perverts. They’ll double down. They have to for their own survival.
WAHbee…. who do you think pays your bills to travel the world and surf waves? Free college, free waves, free ______ ?????? “I feel I should get paid to surf waves and have no body know about it”
“college”?
I think there’s a difference between being attracted to the risk of big wipeouts, vs. only watching to see them. I think for most people the attraction is seeing athletes right on that line, for example getting deep into a tube and then just making it out. I do get the snuff film aspect of it though that Albee seems to be talking about.
Yes Albee, your life is indeed clickbait. Always has been that way. People don’t go to NASCAR races for the race, they go for the crashes. MMA is so popular because people like to see other people get the shit knocked out of them. Been that way since man took step upon this rock. This isn’t rocket science. In fact why are we even still having this disucssion?
Because maybe you’re very one-eyed on that issue?
i wrote this whole ass article in the comments section of the last article on the Mavericks contest. no one has ever watched big wave events for the makes. no one has ever cared for anything other than people getting broke the fuck off at these events. unless its Jaws or Zicatela where people get big gigantic fucking barrels. That’s when people care, but watching a bunch of people get whipped into what amount to straight handers is boring as fuck unless there’s carnage.
Isnt that how Albee gets paid anyhow? Getting “clicks ” or likes or photos/ videos published? whatever it is that his owners (sorry sponsors) want and incentivise. Seems like making another mute point Albee. Hope Alex B makes a full recovery , heavy accident, get well mate.
Absolutely, but don’t tell Albee about Joel Tudor or the dead weight of Inertia.
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Awesome summation.
That comp was almost as exciting as the Oprah Winfrey show. Watching Oprah tow surf Nazare with ELO might be fun though.
I’d only just gotten over watching Jim Robinson’s heart attack in Neighbours 30 years ago, and now this.
What about when Madge died? Didn’t pull the old heat strings at all?
For some reason I have no recollection of that. Possibly shielded from it by my parents.
Did Albee just click
That sex and death make the world
Go around and round?
Many concussions
Affect Albert and others
Doctors are ignored
More click bait as heard today channel 7 is gong to pump free to air stuff here leading to Olympics – Snapper Bells Margarets?? Cant wait for Kochie in the booth with Turps
hot take: true reason for accident being edited out of the broadcast was Pete Mel and the other dude laughing and “wow-ing” and “wall-of-positive-noising” the whole time, which in retrospect obv seems in poor taste. Not really their fault, it’s the gig, and usually it’s all fine, but the one time it’s not fine, it’s bad branding to have a chuckle-along track. In the WSL youtube clip of the full rescue they edit around it as they can, and craftily include all the other language audio traffic (definitively not in the OG broadcast) to try to soften the vibe. ELO got TFW when you paid for the positive wall, but now wanna show the sobering carnage. between a hard rock and a dollar.
Not like Peter Mel to say something dumb on occasion. Will never forget when he was recorded talking shit about Jonny Boy pulling back in one of the early Tahiti contests (the one Koby Abberton won from memory), “Jonny girl I think it was , ha ha pretty much ended his surfing in Hawaii for a long time
Ha ha good on Pete for that.
pete mel looks and sounds like an aging lesbian..
I liked when they said why are those guys trying to rescue a piece of jetski debris?? Oh that’s a body? Never mind.
Wes is my real name
Richard O’Crusty was my alter ego when I (as a Kiwi) had a fellow New Zealand surfer to cheer on
Worst coming out story ever. Now you have to build up all that hard earned ‘O’Crusty’ credibility again and it’s not easy. Ask Otto.
Unless this is a case of identity theft.
Yeah I know it’s a shocker, only did it cos that Negatron bloke gave out his full name and address, from which I then found out that he’s a lame AF south island knob-end…
It’s sweet that you’ve been talking about me Wes.
Sour grapes, to be more precise, upon realising that Pammie only had your address to send her undergarments to…
Negatron you must have your finger pretty close to the trigger with this one.
Ha, This is nothing! I’ve been stalked across social media and my work email a handful of times.
Once many moons ago my home phone would ring then stop after ”debating” online.
Anyway
I’ve decided to become a bogan now, I feel it’ll help me understand some of the other commenters better.
So am changing my name to Westie Rubbo
I’m going to have to buy a notebook to keep up.
WSL – World Snuff League
“we’ve made our lives click bait” is what I think Albee meant to say
Oh the truth does hurt !
But let’s Blame everyone else for our personal choices.
Click bait. Shark bait. Master bait. Whatever. I just see bad jetski driving. Jetski bait
Yes
Exactly
I saw the worst line taken by a jetski driver ever
Nothing to do with the beach resuscitation
We need to be shown the 10-30 seconds prior to determine or not if the ski driver is truly a fuckin’ bullfighting machismo clown, or just had bad luck.
I’ve got money riding on the former…
What’s bullfighting got to do with this? I keep seeing all these bullfighting references.
It’s a reference to the Mediterranean and Latino etc mindset.
Their skills levels generally don’t keep up with their blindfaced aggression and often misguided selfbelief.
Wherever you travel you’ll see this come out in different ways, whether it be as pushy nonsurfing tourists or fit and strong athletic types who look like they’d rip in the surf but are absolute claggers.
A mindset which can be a dangerous thing in the surf to themselves and others, especially in straightline big conditions when a rudimentary skillset can get you into waves but also into trouble.
The machismo fueled bullfighting culture they’ve followed since Roman times is fully alive in their surfing.
I hope that explanation partly helps you….
P.S. seeing the 30 secs or so leading up to the incident (which hasn’t been shown) will help determine the drivers place on the bullfighting scale.
Notice WSL cut all footage of the accident from the heat replay… But they did post the accident footage (edited) on their Twitter… Was this a strategy to boost their social media traffic or what?
Super suspect and disrespectful to the sport.
All I know is that I saw the ‘crash and rescue’ on a Facebook WSL post.
Then checked the whole event (which I had recorded on my skytv harddrive) and the show went to an advertisement and then immediately after the ads finished the recording went to ‘fault with transmisson’ and only came back to a live shot about many mins later and didn’t show anything prior to the jetski heading for the shoulder toward an incoming crosswave when the driver should be straightening out to the beach…..
mate – it’s all still up there on heat 6 replay. not really the commentator’s fault I reckon and they did allright once they realised it wasn’t debris washing in but alex’s body face down. They stopped being funny quickly and did ask for the camera not to stay on a drowned man being resuscitated. Since we’re all watching live it’s part of the show – the good the bad and the ugly I guess.
Whoa she is a smoking 43er. Now I know the key to youth is looking after my skin and having a relaxed attitude…and not surfing Nazare
The announcer on sky sports thought that kai lennys 360 was cute.