Oi, oi, oi.
It is apparently worse than scientists could have ever imagined. Way worse. The very first study on surfers (ocean swimmers and SUPpers too) and occurrences of skin cancer within our ranks (ocean swimmer and SUPper ranks too) has just wrapped on Australia’s Gold Coast and determined that we are six times more likely to develop skin cancer than the general public.
Six times.
Six times.
Scientists were shocked.
Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Stapelberg, involved in the study, said that although the participants were obviously in a high-risk group, the results were alarming.
“Previous studies have shown they have an increased risk because of their level of ultra-violet radiation exposure. However, no study has actually quantified the exact risk and the exact difference between these select groups compared to other Australians. So that was very alarming and definitely raised alarm bells for me. What was actually very interesting about that was that these weren’t just superficial, very thin melanomas. Some of them were actually invasive.”
The study lead, Dr. Mike Climstein, added, “These phase-one results are quite startling.”
Surfers, on the other hand, were neither shocked nor startled, asking the obvious question, “But have you seen Longtom?”
Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
Anti-depressive news for everyone outside of those two wonderful countries.
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Worse than sharks!
Science that liberals and conservatives can agree on? Amazing
Global Surfer Warming …… If only it would reach the Baltic Sea
When I was a grom I got a weird blue ring around a freckle/mole which the family GP claimed, assumedly over his second glass of whisky, was my body eating the melanoma using some rare natural defence.
sounds like he was just a nice guy who was saving you the embarrassment of being told you had ringworm.
Mate. Surely it was a blue ring worm. Close relative of the octopus.
This is where “white privilege” takes a nose dive. Literally! Pigment up, cowboys!
Yep …. No chance that the first surfers were whiteys and I must say that I am relieved , finally , not to have blue eyes , like Jesus , and am possibly the only human of Scottish and Irish heritage , who lucked out and got the skin of an Egyptian …… Somehow ?
wonder how many of my tax dollars were used to figure that out. could have been better used promoting GWS flake as a superfood
You would’ve only pissed it against the wall.
or fed it into the brickies laptop
It’s all good here now.
The hole in the ozone has been moved out to sea.
Thanks to whichever BG commenter sent Chas the pic–love it.
I’m usually a little shy but I made an exception. For science.
If a recent pic then I’m not so sure about your taste in music.
nah, that was taken months ago. I’m much fitter now.
And yes, that new acdc shit is shit, i moisturized them off my stomach when I heard it.
AC/DC is ageless – does that really mean “old”?
Maybe I’ve just heard their 70s and 80s hits sooooo many times over the years. Like the Stones.
Strangely enough it definitely was not music for surfers in the 70s and 80s in Sydney and it wasn’t until Matt Hoy scrawled Bon Scott LIVES on his board in the 90s that things possibly changed ?
They are HUGE till this day in Heavy Metal Heaven , Nth Germany .
When we went to Schoolies week, one of my mates younger cousins came down to surf with us for the first weekend. He would have been 14-15 at the time. We did all of the usual grom bashing things including sunscreening ‘FUCK’ into his back. It was still visible 4 weeks later at xmas time which made it a little awkward. He took it well. I remember he rode a pushy down to the Broady drive through to pick up a carton for us.
Great Grom Training Days ….. Really gave it a tribal feel as if one was becoming a part of something special ? These days he would have called his mum , to bring the slab in the SUV ….or UBER ?
15+ surgeries for skin cancer from fairly benign to Mohs to melanoma, skin grafting and subsequent chemo. Sailing likely the culprit more than surfing and I am of an age where much of the damage likely done before blockers exist – don’t mess with the sun.
Spent my first couple of years surfing like everybody else…..sunscreen t shirt or rash etc. Went to the dermo. Guy says listen, if you keep doing this you are literally not going to have a nose in 10 years. My advice to you is to never spend another second outside in the day time without a hat on. Doesn’t matter if there’s clouds, cold, whatever.
I now always surf with a trucker hat on. People always ask how the hell do you keep that on? You get used to it real quick. Also made a little leash to go through the sides and around neck. It becomes second nature.
Also tradies like brickies and plumbers.
Up until 10 years ago most would work all day with no shirts on, still see some working shirtless
Working bareback all day with no shirt on….pretty sure Ron Jeremy was a brickie.Or a plumber, maybe a chippie.
A dermatologist was examining a weird thing on my lip and asked me if I had ever been sunburned, I replied “yeah, once – from the age of 4 til now.”
Squamous cell carcinoma at 23. Sixty stitches in my lip.
Surfing.
Fucken.
In the ’70’s in Florida we applied oil so as to “tan not burn”, after a day at the beach it was hard to sleep because the sheets felt like sandpaper from the first degree burns, how stupid was that?