"Hey, you should go be with all the cool guys..."
Our World Surf League leadership has done an absolutely incredible job mocking the pastime it seeks to promote.
Who could forget the money, and co-Waterperson of the Year Dirk Ziff coined the phrase “grumpy locals,” his co-Waterperson of the Year, and wife, Natasha, calling the same group “grumpy traditionalists.”
Then there was the legendary Beth Greve, the League’s Chief Commercial Officer, who made herself a household name by innovating by somehow inserting her surfboard fins backwards.
Backward Fin Beth, lauded by dairy ranch hands and Pulitzer Prize winners alike.
Now, of course, we have Chief Executive Officer Erik “ELo” Logan who rides a standup paddle board, singlehandedly destroyed the just-re-launched 2020/21 Championship Tour by contracting Covid-19 in Hawaii but also used to put his wetsuit on backwards too.
He was recently a guest on the Health Gig podcast where he said, “Moved to Manhattan Beach (California) and bought a house five blocks away from the beach. Now, go back in time, Chuck the Duck, landlocked kid from Oklahoma who wouldn’t even go into a lake if I couldn’t see my feet. It’s like, ‘If I can’t see the bottom, I’m not going in.’ And so, my wife at the time bought me a wetsuit when I was 41, for my 41st birthday as kind of a joke. It was sort of like, ‘Hey, you should go be with all the cool guys…’ so I put the wetsuit on, put it on backwards of course like most people do, zipper goes in the back, not in the front, it’s a great picture. So I put the wetsuit on and walked into the ocean…”
Fabulous but is it really true that most people put on wetsuits backwards for the first time?
Is this a truism of our little world?
I saw a frustrated younger 20ish boy sitting on the beach, two years ago, with his wetsuit on backwards but this is the only example in-the-wild I can recall.
Are there more at your local?
Most at Manhattan Beach?
Much to ponder.
With all due respect… who cares?
Some of these guys comments seemed like there tampon was put in backwards
Ill admit it ….I Did it at 23. My friend has an old wetty…. Maybe it will fit.you go try it on. Walked out zipper in front everyone laughing their asses off at me . made me drink a beer like that. Also my the suit was too small . f me . I thought learning surfing was gonna be easy bA ha ha …17 years later still have an occasional kook moment
In the Canary Islands,land of the German and Russian Val you see it more often than not
that would be one sweaty beaver.
I’ve put half of it backwards many times, pull up to waist high just to realise it’s backwards. Fuck.
Yep…..one time walked three blocks down the beach like that in a springy went to pull it up….backwards. F me. Had to go contortionist under someone’s stairs full naked beach change out. Was pretty ridic
i put my wetsuit on inside out and upside down so when i piss in it the next surf it doesn’t have crotch rot
Only a complete fuck wit puts their wettie on backwards. So yeah, I can see Elo doing that
I proudly fell down the neoliberal consumerist hole in blowing $30-plus for the Vissla/Beach Grit collab t-shirt honoring backwards-fin Beth, and I’ll plunk the cash down for the Vissla/Beach Grit collab t-shirt mocking Elo without a doubt… get on it Vissla, Derek and Chas…
Didn’t fog up a bit?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Ah man… I can’t give up control in roads like that. Too little faith in the crazy kiwi’s and backpacking scando’s driving the buses!
The grit at its best on this article – story, comments.
I’m giving it a 9.3. Good to see you Chazz.
The only wetsuit I have owned was an Ripcurl zipless number from the mid nineties.
I will happily admit to putting in on backwards once, in the cold grey shite weather.
Since there was no zip to easily orientate with and I was baked like a haggis pizza, I feel I have a reasonable excuse.
I’m still a fucking kook. There’ll never be an escape from that, but I don’t think this solitary wetsuit experience would define it.
I put my rash shirt on backwards today. It was a hand me down and requires the back knot to prevent waterboarding. Took it off out the back and immediately put it on back to front again. Three goes to get it right….
Are those two kids in the pic about to go to bondage prom together?
That’s a shot from an old US sitcom called “My Three Sons” – before Penny got Lost in Space!
Fuck I’m old!
Thanks for that. I always had it for the blonde sister on Lost in Space…and Ginger, never Mary Anne (RIP).
Ah Harry you went for the more risqué Ginger than the girl next door Mary Anne – at the time with my bunch of friends it was about 50-50! I won’t mention who I went for – My sex life is confidential!
Was that the show with the goofy little kid with the Buddy Holly glasses? That show was on re-runs in the 90’s when I was a kid. Can barely remember it.
The chick in the pic is a babe!
Dead right! The chick is Angela Cartwright, she was one of the Von Trapp brats in “Sound of Music” & Penny in “Lost in Space” – WP if you ever need a guy for trivia night down the Pub, I’m your man!
I took longtom surfing once, lent him a wetsuit and he put it on backwards.
Fuck yes he did.
Was this the event that led to your falling out?
Pics or photoshopped pics to seal the deal and continue the feud !
The image is seared on my mind. It was an O’Neill Psycho-something with a chest zip. shearer now hates chest zips with an epic passion! That’s his real blood feud: Longtom vs Chest Zips.
WAIT – WHAT??? How in the hell can someone put a chest zip wetsuit on backwards. sheesh. Come on Steve, what gives?
It was one of dirty old Nick’s gimp suits that he had chucked some O’Neill stickers on to mislead his victims. Wasn’t LongDongs fault.
what Nick fails to mention is I had a huge night out in Bondi and was pretty much completely fucked .
surfed straight onshore North Av and took the heat.
Hahahahahar
Way to go – Rub it in !
Just a bit of fun astro, we all make mistakes. Why, I surfed south Newport yesterday.
I have no idea, I think he’s just jealous because I’m a natural foot
Another unbelievable story written by Nick, the man that assisted in bringing the masses to our lineups.
Who hasn’t put on a g banger back to front? It feels good.
Separating the grapes!
Umm, me!
41.
He didn’t get his first wetsuit til he was 41.
And now he’s in charge of the whole professional sport.
And he’s been *barreled* at Slater’s pool.
And he’s probably had more access to world class waves since the age of 41 than I have in a lifetime.
I hate surfing.
Forty one.
Would you rather have your limited access to world class waves and be capable of surfing them or would you rather have Elo’s unlimited access to world class waves and get burnt and thrown into the reef on every attempt? It’s a divine universe. Remember that.
Getting thrown into the reef assumes that he’s actually taking off on waves.
I’m picturing a very weak paddle effort with the nose going underwater followed by an over-vert arms flailing/legs kicking pile drive into oblivion on every attempt. Two more strokes next time Elo and you would have made that one mate!
Those extra two strokes…
There ya go – straight below the belt.
It’s where the secrets and the fragrances are stored.
the vinegar strokes?
sounds like me.
I’m looking forward to a solid going-over-teh-falls sesh tomoz earliez. (is that the way the kids talk?)
Ha! Saw that this morning with a bloke on a clubby board nose diving and somersaulting down a 4′ wave. There were a few cheers. His board popped up behind him, paddled back out and did the same thing on the next wave. more cheers. Perfect.
I’d rather be a bit richer and have a nice house by the beach and be able to go surfing when I want instead of worrying about the rain pishing through my roof, or the fact my fucking starter motor in the van has packed in again after less than a year.
The secret to a happy life, I think, is Japanese-made vehicles. I’m guessing you own something made in Britain or continental Europe.
VW Transporter.
Like every other cunt.
Get a Land Cruiser. Like every other cunt.
Once upon a time in NZ I lived with some little Jap friends and we had a communal Land Cruiser we’d rag up and down to Cardrona or TC every day. I was the token white boy and all the little hotties that my pals were trying to fire into but couldn’t would try to teach me Japanese words and then we would resort to more primal, common languages.
Thanks for reminding me of that. Those were good days.
That drive down TC, when y’feel like you’re going to get crimsoned on the valley below, I doubt I’ve ever felt such a terror.
Take a tough pill, bro!
Cardona and TC are sketch as fuck. That one way bit with the at Treble feels a suicide mission when its icy/cloudy/ any time!
Mt Hutt ain’t no Sunday drive either.
Cars get blown off the Mt Shut road in bad NW gales.
I definitely believe this. Seen some crazy shit in my two trips up there. The trip up and down way scarier than any riding or surfing I’ve ever done.
I reckon that Mt Hutt one is the worst I’ve ever seen. Who knows what it’s like now, but back then I couldn’t believe it was a road in the developed world!
I was last there in 2013 and it was fucked. An avalanche took out the bottom chair two days after I got there so only had the top third of the mountain to ride after that!
Seen a head on, car into a massive snow bank, and a bus slide straight into the car in front of ours one all on one trip up!
Is it wood-panelled inside and with clever storage tricks?
Fuck no. Did a bit to tidy it up after belonging to a local builder, but still very basic.
None of that cedar lined, chick-reading-in-pants-beside-scruffy-mongrel vanlife shit.
I’ve got some dignity.
Dream-catcher above bed with Mexican blankets?
don’t knock a good dream catcher.
leg opener par excellence.
Hahahhahahahahahahahaha
Only someone in the UK would be stupid enough to purchase
Love you like a brother Derek, but I respectfully disagree.
Although my experience is limited to video..I would say the secret to a happy life is a Japanese soap house.
Landcruiser for the win
Alternator?
Starter I reckon. Battery was strong. Went with a bump, been fine since. Prob a loose connection somewhere.
Have a mate whack the alternator with a big spanner while you turn the ignition. If it fires, there’s something wrong with the alternator.
Just wear rubber boots while your whacking it.
Maybe you should dump the gambling.
Then how would I ever get rich?!
Wiggolly the Derro Llama. Fuck I’d drink to that
And, most importantly…he is hanging with all the cool guys
Really? What musicians does he know?
The American Dream.
Oklahoman moves out west. Tries out surfing. Ends up running the whole sport. There’s a movie in there somewhere.
write that instead of the legalese!
I love it, though I’ll need some WSL funding if I’m going to write the definitive Elo story.
Maybe we can even get Derek to produce!
You have to be careful what you wish for, (you wanted pro surfing)– you got it, Elo included.
Of course he lives in Manhattan Beach, a city filled with douchey Ken and Barbie brats that never wanted to leave their frat or sorority so now they fly SC and Michigan college football flags outside their condos, or it’s uptight, panicky NIMBY-types that are too afraid to go full Trump by moving down to OC.
Apart from that, a lovely joint.
If they just put in some angled, rock jetties to create wedges up and down the coast, place would be mental.
The gray short sleeved Hurley wetsuit is the most Elo wetsuit ever. Surprised he isn’t wearing booties with it.
Or at least gloves
The webbed ones!
Sat next to a milf Once on the way back to lax from San Jose del Cabo. She pointed out her house in Manhattan beach from the plane. She complained about her boyfriend being a lazy park ranger who did not have shit, while bragging about taking her richer ex husbands’ house. She seemed alright.
Gday Hobbo, get any waves lately mate?
It’s been a couple weeks. Winds been blowing the wrong way on the lakes.
Good to hear from ya though. Been meaning to reach out about my Grammarly trial expiring.
Yeah switch it over to your credit card this time wouldya cunt I’m skint from carrying you
Fair enough. Hope you’ve been getting more waves than I have lately!
Haven’t surfed for a few days. Been working a fair bit unfortunately. Gotta spend time with the kids etc. Such is life.
hahahahaha.
This reaction can’t speak well to my writing…