Everyone is a star!
If we have learned but one thing in the World Surf League CEO Erik Logan era it is that vulnerable adult learners love to have their photographs taken whilst surfing. Love to have their photographs taken pre-surf, post-surf but especially mid-surf.
ELo’s Instagram feed is a veritable garden of watery delights. Head dips, mid-wave bottom turns, squeals of joy.
The shame that used to be associated with surfing poorly vanished as the VAL utopia dawns.
A luxury surf resort in the Maldives, finger to wind, just hired a professional surf photographer to snap each guest at their lineup finest.
According to Travel + Leisure, Niyama Private Islands just welcomed Erick Proost for a three-month residency. Proost, the magazine writes, “is a seasoned cinematographer and photographer specializing in surfing and water shots. His previous clients included world champions and professional surfers Adriana De Souza and Gabriel Medina. He’s also shot and produced several surf movies, though his passion lies with photography, bringing together man and nature in one epic surf shot.
He will accompany the boat out in the morning, shoot from the water all day, then make himself available for surf chit-chat at the resort’s rum bar featuring “snacks and a reggae soundtrack softly playing from the speakers.”
Very 1.5%.
But if you had your own surf photographer, a la John John Florence, which wave would you surf if looking your absolute finest was the end goal?
Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch?
A safe, if uninspired, choice.
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I’d love to see the results of someone trying this business model in Kauai.
There’s something uncomfortable in that job description, some odd post-session innuendo, when the photographer is due to‘make himself available for surf chit-chat at the resort’s rum bar featuring “snacks and a reggae soundtrack softly playing from the speakers.” Sounds like a prostitute at a cheap motel – no offence to sex workers.
Never had the courage to surf in Harbor Mouth when big. Would surf the jetty and Bunkers.
Reggae snacks!!!
They don’t work ‘hand on cock’ with the wOsl though so very different indeed.
Independent production of anything surfwise should be considered at least a few notches above the VAL oriented dross that the ELo world of wOsl ‘storytelling’ releases…
No batch is the same.
Funny how that works. I’ve found old photos and gone “oh, was that all?”, and others that look bloody hot and the waves 50% bigger than I thought.
When I was young and had pretensions that I could actually surf well, I would’ve loved to see a photo of myself.
Now that I am older, have pretensions to wisdom, and cannot surf for shit, I want as few witnesses as possible.
Agreed.
A Maldives local was taking shots from the little island in front of cokes when I was there years ago. He had a great little set up and I checked his computer later that evening and bought a bunch of nice shots off him. Felt nice to support a local too…
A few years later I bought a nice camera and cheap computer and took it on a trip to Sri Lanka. I donated it to a family that I had met and stayed with over several trips. He now has a nice little business driving tuk tuks and shooting VALS from all over europe
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day…give him a fishing rod and you feed him for a lifetime
Give a man a world surfing league and watch him suddenly appear in all your feeds
I have a shirt that says
“Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day,
Teach a man to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”
I don’t know, I started surfing in 1978 north of the Golden Gate Bridge. I was taught the rules back then and pics or outsiders were bad, so I get it. I guess it seems archaic nowadays in the age of cellphones etc. I am shocked at how overrun our coasts have become, so I am happy that those places still exist.
First time I surfed Harbor Mouth North Jetty way up north I saw a guy on a 7’6″ gun drop into a 15 foot faced wall–had never seen anything like that in my East Coast life. Were 3 other guys out, including the dude who drove me out to the break. I hooted the dude all the way down the line and paddle out the back (where I then got destroyed). The dude who drove me said, “No one hoots out here. Don’t do that again.” Not much stoke, to go with empty world class waves. Crazy.
That’s how it was. No claims. I cringe at how I acted towards people I didn’t know back then. Just people surfing because it’s their life. No mags, no sponsors etc. Thanksgiving day with relatives over, time to check the waves.
Was surfing Florence river mouth south jetty up in OR once on my bday in Nov. Glorious sunset. Head high and perfect. Dude gets out on the rocks saying they were bumped off their board by a shark. 5 of us still left in the water. We are all in denial. I stay out past sunset as it was too gorgeous. Looking back I am still amazed at how dumb that was. My 2 buddies chased out on a 20 foot day by a 13 footer in the wave, eyeing them, as they had to bail boards to get under the set. Glad I was on the beach that day.
When I was fifteen years old I was sitting in the water on one of those oil glass fall days waiting for a set, and a huge fin about twenty yards further out slowly went by me. I took the first wave in and told some people that were paddling out and they didn’t believe me. They all paddled out. That’s the only time I’ve seen one.
That’s some raw surfing up there. A friend of mine just got back from PA and he said the water temp was forty eight degrees. Seems like right when you get past the Point Reyes Lighthouse everything is more vast and has a different feel to it. I think that’s the dividing line between Nor Cal and Central Cal imho.
Correlates with lack of job opps further north u go esp since logging destroyed everything.
Kinda wondered why you lived there. My parents said the cost of living is cheaper than the Bay Area but fuckin hell it’s isolated. Never been past Willits where I did my clinical rotations at Howard Memorial Hospital.
I guess it’s closer to fly out of Portland than SF, and I’d have to become a trailblazers fan.
I was at HSU for 1 year way back when. Loved it.
Humboldt lineups are generally a quiet/somber affair.
I’ll take pics of me doing Soul Arches at Mondo’s on a rasta Wavestorm while wearing a white wetsuit.
I am so giddy with breathless anticipation waiting for Billy Bob’s latest episode. In the last installment we were left with our hero injured and floating helplessly on his back in the exotic waters of Morocco waiting for Koa Smith to rescue him. Will Billy make it to shore? Will Billy ever surf Peahi again? Will his step children hate him? Will he be forever addicted to opioids? Does he get a new tattoo? Will there be a Rolling Stone cover story? Will Bruno Mars finally tell his sister that Billy’s a bum? Will Bethany Hamilton tell Billy to sack up? Will ELO cry? So many questions. Stay tuned sportsfans, it drops in 24.
Kinda weird how some outer island surfers go full Hollywood and others stay out of the spotlight.
Hahahaha niiiiice
If he’d done a normal blokes report about his disastrous (some say karma influenced) trip, I would’ve been interested.
He came across in an intense big wave rider manner (which is good and to be expected) in the only interview I’ve seen him do, on the Occast a couple of years ago, but the fact he and the wOsl are soooo far up each others wazooo on this attempt at apparent redemption after calling shit on Nazare etc has lead me to not give a shit.
Maybe I’ll watch it in ten years time, probably not…
They’ll make us watch it at the old folks home.
This guy Koa is so fucking annoying and over the top carrying on with that mouth full of teeth, that it’s almost unbearable.
Will Koa ever shut the fuck up?
Well you were right about elo
It really needs to be said…whomever in the Beach Grit media empire holds the position of “photos to accompany editorial” deserves a raise, with this particular photo placement as most recent proof.
Whomever had that position for Rory Parker articles deserved HazMat pay.
The irony is Elo is sooooo stoked every time this pic appears on BG.
It’s the one thing I didn’t like about Mentawai boat trips; everybody wants photos of every little turn.
Our ‘guide’ was a decent photographer, and would shoot all day when not surfing. I said no thanks. Didn’t want to feel under surveillance.
i am reallly, really wantin’ to see that vid of Chas not rippin’
on that left at Ke11y’s wave pool, a few yearz back,
sad that it ain’t no~where to be found online,
as thee dude did such a bitchin’ fly-way kick!
hahaha…
I like how you use a Z for an S. Venice Beach Jay Adams fuck you.
C4 wrote me a reply,
it is now, suddenly, gonzo…
here wuz my rebutal:
^^^
hahaha…
i know of “Team Pain” from back in thee day,
b4 he got all tatt’ed, sorry that this botherz ya!
that said, pal,
have you a giggle, for ah, some dude, his name is ‘Christian Jay Adams’
was recently arrested by SMPD, last month,
as read in Santa Monica’s Daily Press!
thee dude has a classic name, eh?
hahaha…
Quote:
Thursday, February 11th 9:44 p.m.
Officers responded to Cabo Cantina at the 3rd Street Promenade regarding an Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Upon arrival, several individuals pointed Officers in the direction of an individual that matched the Suspect description. After the individual was detained, Officers contacted the victim who relayed that the individual had been acting strangely and watching her and her friends for approximately an hour. After some time, the individual walked over to where they women were seated and without provocation punched one of them and began pulling her hair. The Victim’s friend and other patrons noticed the Suspect was holding a knife. The Victim was able to run into Cabo Cantina and away from the subject.
Christian Jay Adams was arrested for a 245(a)(1)P.C.- Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
My reply got deleted.
i know, it sux, though, it’z no biggie!
have a great rest of your Saturday, old~timer,
as i will surely try to do, also!!!
rw
RIP Jay Adams. No sell out.
Disqus thinks it’s “toxic”
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Disqus is “woke”
You should listen to the talking Schmitt podcast with Andy Roy about the times when Jay Adams was living in Santa Cruz.
I’d surf the green screen to maximize post production enhancements.
Is this one of those ‘throwback’ articles of how’s things used to be ?
Or did you write it 20plus yrs ago and just found it in a cardboard box under your bed ?
P.S.
On second reading it seems to be just another Chasleaze to pretend he’s a ‘journalist’ in an attempt at a discounted or freebie trip…
Basically my same thoughts, you just re-worded them well. ‘filler (fluff) material’.
Thank you.
That’s really funny, cos when I was reading it I wondered if it was another alter ego of yours.
Btw, can you go back to freerider? He was fun.
Not in the mood for a bible sermon?
Sermon with a pout?
he’s terrible
Resort photogs could blackmail guests by threatening to release video footage of them surfing, not just the photos. All over LinkedIn and / or other VAL platforms. They’ll be thinking twice about their precious content then won’t though? mmuHahahHAaa
They (guest, newbies) are so clueless, they could probably care less.
Erick Proost could probably double his money if he made a video as well as took photos. Elo for example would feel no shame showing said movie at a dinner party.
They probably hired as much for his Photoshop and airbrushing skills as they did his skills handling a camera in the water.
I genuinely think VAL’s and like would love knock kneed 3 stage cutback footage.
As they’d wear the” I started Surfing at 32″ “My surf coach said” “that Inertia article” badges with pride not embarrassment.
For sure. When I went to Nica at JJ Yemma’s Popoyo Surf camp one of the boatmen took pics regardless of whether anyone hired him. Took pics of everyone and later you could browse them and buy shots for a nominal fee. While not a vulnerable adult, nor complete barney, can’t deny my ego had vulnerable tendencies anticipating how’d they look. Gotta say it’s a world of difference having a skilled photog .
Did you delete my comment about Venice Beach? No four letter words now?
“four”?
It’s not me… Disqus in the last week has upped putting comments into the pending box. It’s a fucking pain and I can’t seem to change the settings.
Outdouched*
We celebrate the hard work you do for all us crazies down here in the weeds, Negs. Hope you get the next set wave…
Shit fuck wanker pussy tosspot.
Does that help?
It passed the acid test! So I must’ve pushed the right buttons