A witness described the injury as from “the groin area down to just below his knee… it was pretty much all taken. It was pretty much all hanging there by not much.”

In a now familiar piece of theatre that’s been playing out along a few hundred clicks of Australia’s east coast, a surfer has been killed by a suspected Great White shark, the third fatality by Great White in three months. 

The man was found face down in the water by another surfer just before sunset at Greenmount Beach, the final jigsaw piece in the SuperBank puzzle. 

The man was brought to shore, lifeguards staunched the wound, hit the CPR buttons. The man, who was forty-six, died at the scene. 

It’s the first fatal attack on the Gold Coast since a 1958 hit in Surfers Paradise and the first fatal attack, ever, since shark nets were introduced to the Gold Coast almost sixty years ago.

One man who helped drag the man to the beach said he was “pretty much gone” by the time they got him to a stretcher.

The witness described the injury as from “the groin area down to just below his knee… it was pretty much all taken. It was pretty much all hanging there by not much.”

Fairy dust or essential nutritional addendums? It don't matter! Invest!

Laird Hamilton is the supersonic mouthpiece, and part-owner, 13.5 percent if y’wondering, of Oregon-based company Laird Superfood, the company he created in 2015.

It sells plant-based coffee creamers, including one made from an ocean algae called Aquamin, which will toughen up your bones, “premium” instant coffee, freeze-dried coconut water and assorted other treats that line up under the umbrella of  “superfoods”.

Before you tuck your napkin into your collar, it might be prudent to point out, here, that frizzling your body with superfoods don’t automatically turn you into Laird Hamilton.

Or toughen up your bones,

“Food is more than the sum of its parts,” writes Peter Lipson in Forbes. “Some of the vitamins present in foods are necessary in small amounts to maintain health, a fact that has over the years led us to think that there are more magic substances in food.  This has not been borne out by science.  None of the myriad ‘antioxidants’ and other magical substances discovered in foods has ever been found to provide some sort of revolutionary health benefit.”

It don’t hurt sales.

Laird Superfoods did thirteen-million dollars last year although the company recorded a net loss of $8.5 mill.

Selling the gear too cheap? Not according to the IPO’s prospectus.

“Strong gross margins provide Laird Superfood with a sustainable competitive advantage…”

Go figure, as they say in the trades.

The forty mill Laird Superfood is hunting in this public offering ain’t such a stretch for the fifty-six-year-old who was born in the UCSF’s Medical Center’s bathysphere, mammy and bebe enjoying zero gravity for the birth.

It raised ten mill from Danone Manifesto Ventures in April and WeWork founder Adam Neumann, a surfer bro of Laird, was part of a thirty-two mill round of funding in 2019 

Of course, all foods live or die by taste.

And BeachGrit‘s Jen See was at the vanguard of Laird Superfood in 2018.

When I ate the Superfood I did not immediately acquire the ability to fly or anything useful like that. Presumably it added calcium to my bones, but I felt nothing. Not even a tingle. This was slightly disappointing.

I mixed the Hydrate with bottled water in a 12-ounce container as the instructions demanded. Once mixed, it has a milky, white color. The flavor is nothing to write home about. Not terrible! Just not super exciting.

It needed something. I rummaged around the kitchen and found vodka of questionable vintage. I added the vodka to the Hydrate. Mmm, vodka. I added more. Even better. Then I was out of coconut water Superfood. More Vodka. What were we talking about again, I don’t know. Vodka, good. Next time, I skip straight to vodka. More vodka.

I approached the Instafuel with trepidation. Instant coffee. I once carried a French Press in my camera bag on a bike-packing trip in Oregon. This was a stupid decision, because packing out wet coffee grounds is stupid. But it does give you an idea of my feelings about instant coffee.

I again entered the kitchen to boil the required boiled water, which just about exhausts my kitchen repertoire. I added boiling water to the instant coffee and Superfood mixture. It dissolved! Magic! A thin layer tan bubbles, resembling crema, appeared on the surface. I know this game. I see you, Instafuel! I see you trying to fool me into thinking you are actually good coffee! You can’t fool me.

If you like your coffee very sweet and you enjoy coconut-flavored things, Laird Superfood Instafuel is your dream morning libation. It is easy to make! And almost instant! But so is Starbucks Via, which more closely resembles coffee.

Browse the Laird Superfood range here.

Ships worldwide.

Hit by the gentrification bulldozer… 

Master shaper and big-wave notable Gary Linden has whittled boards in his Oceanside, CA, shop for forty -three years.

Now he’s forced to move.

The block is being systematically bought out to build high-end condos. 

Many will be displaced.

It’s said If you don’t like gentrification in your city, leave. 

Oceanside had long been immune to major development and is one of the last places along US coastlines with relatively inexpensive housing for its citizens who work ten-hour days hanging drywall, shoveling gravel or working in shaping bays.  There are some parts that aren’t as shiny as its neighboring cities, making Oceanside a bit raw, but affordable and unmolested from corporate hands.

But the town’s city council approved a plan which includes mixed-use structures complete with six and seven-story condos and hotels perched above gyms, coffee bars, and restaurants. They’re investing in cleaning sidewalks, painting over graffiti and hiring additional security for safety to increase tourism and entice new business development.

Gumaro Escarcega, program manager at the downtown business association, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that their plan is expected to bring more jobs and tax revenue to the city.

“Downtown Oceanside is becoming a destination for new investment opportunities. It’s attracting people from San Diego to Los Angeles.”

The plan also calls for the construction of multiple big-box stores, bars, a wave pool,and attention to the arts, an Oceanside centerpiece. 

Unfortunately, the city council is thinking Bob Ross when the town is more Goya. 

The transformation is something many residents do not recognize nor welcome.

Walking around town, you can see hats and tees (courtesy of Real Surf Shop) reading “Localization not Gentrification.”

But Escarcega said, “Most of our downtown residents and neighboring communities are talking positive about downtown Oceanside growth.”

And the eternally upbeat Jason Mraz says that “Oceanside’s the new Brooklyn of San Diego.” 

Sounds cool, if not disorienting.

But let’s hear from Mr. Linden who, like Mraz, is also eternally upbeat but happens to be getting kicked out of his lifelong place of business. 

Here’s Gary’s take:

“Gentrification is a joke! I have been robbed twice in the last four years. When Oceanside was considered a rough place to be the locals protected each other and nothing ever happened. Now there are so many transient people it is impossible to control!

“This building has a huge surf history and before I moved in it was the Plastic Fantastic surfboard factory. You could walk out the back door, check the waves, and cross the tracks to the surf.

“Cleveland Street has been the best place to make surfboards that I have ever been in and I have shaped all over the World. Close to the beach so you can surf on your break time and the onshore breeze keeps the factory cool and aerated. The residents on the street were always really mellow and stoked to see what I was up to building my boards. There was a really homey vibe.

“Oceanside has for so long been kind of a secret jewel in between San Diego and LA. The waves are super-consistent and the crowds were always thin. It was the last major beach town to face the developers’ greed! There was a strong sense of community amongst the residents who faced with the constant portrayal of living in an unsafe place. We took care of each other.

“I am not really sure exactly how it will all play out as in so many ways this place can never be recreated, It was just such a special time and place. I will still be surfing and making boards in Oceanside and hoping some great opportunity presents itself!

“I hope everyone appreciates the fact that life takes its turns and you never know what the future has in store. Keep positive and expect the best. I am sure this will all turn out great!”

Eternally upbeat, for sure.

And you can always help him out by checking out his balsa boards or new agave guns; Gary even finds and cuts his own lumber!

As perfect as they are unique. 

As some of these special boards run up to five gees, it’s ironic the only people who can afford to grab one are the same who will be living in the new condos covering of the footprint of his old shop.

You are not finding these boards in New Brooklyn.