Dominant.
Well what a night that turned out to be. The 94th running of the Academy Awards was supposed to be a bland, dull affair that would, likely bring about the end of their television broadcast. What we were treated to, instead, was a smorgasbord of jokes and action, culminating in a wild face slap delivered to Chris Rock by Willard Smith.
Wow.
But the highlight, for sure, was the appearance of Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater and Shaun White who shuffled on stage at around the .45 minute mark to introduce the James Bond franchise and early returns are suggesting that it was Slater who delivered the most stirring performance of the trio.
Hawk began first, mentioning that Dr. No was the first Bond film with a little shake in his voice. Slater took over from there, dominant and sure. Shaun White, looking like their progressive son, kept having to lean in to the mic setting up the joke, that it would be impossible to pick just one Bond as the “GOAT” to which Hawk delivered that laugh line… that the three on stage were, in fact, GOATs.
But let’s be honest, quickly. While Slater does have a claim to being the greatest surfer of all-time, neither Hawk nor White are anywhere close to the greatest in skateboarding or snowboarding, respectively. The most well-known, maybe, but not greatest and they should both be publicly shamed for claiming.
Back to Slater, though, it is undeniable that he shined in front of Hollywood’s glitterati. Self-assured, handsome, in control.
Critics, and the World Surf League’s CEO, are swooning.

Bravo.
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
And people have said,” Surfers are all,” Cowabunga Dude& I’m so Stoked”..
…why?
The Fresh Prince giving plenty “slaps.” No punch needed. Personally, I thought it was completely appropriate. Chivalry is alive!
Jeff bezo
I’m not going to get caught up in your politics but I will say that Will Smith was certainly a model posterchild for inclusivity as he committed pathetic, inappropriate physical violence and then was blatantly sheltered within the enabling cocoon of the Hollywood system, live on air as he went on to be awarded a shiny thing and went on to party as if nothing happened. What a shit-cunt of a system.
BTW: email me for stiickers.
I’m serious.
memo to the Academy Awards committee ….. next year, remember security guards at the catwalks.
Three athletes past their prime presenting for a franchise also past its prime seems fitting
Past their prime?? ” Slater won in heavy Pipeline a month ago, at age “49”. Time to,” Wake- up”..
One win, as awesome as it was, does not mean he’s still in his prime
Well, ” Videos pop- up,and just look.You see a man, who has lost virtually, very little& still exciting to see, in any surfing break on the planet.And one” helluva nice human being” too!
I just really wish that after that slap a cameraman panned around the room and caught all the future award presenters quietly pulling their speech notes out of their pockets, scratching a line through various scribblings
Ricky could just burn the whole thing
Nobody ever said he wasn’t good in front of the camera, just needs to get treatment for Dunning-Kruger and keep his musings off social media.
Im a fan of Sean C. As well. Not so much Sean W.
Tony Hawk is looking very odd. But he was good in American Psycho ->
https://youtu.be/S2IkMd-v0DE
robert’s voice cracked but he quickly recovered
Dominant? Seemed very nervous if you ask me, sandwiched like a sweaty hotdog between Hawk and whatshisname. The Biden esque slurring and total lack of screen presence reminded me of someone…yes…Jimmy Slade! If oration is part of his no-doubt haughty plans for the future, he’s got some bloody work to do.
Cringe, but probably not a gig one could turn down. Instead of TH referring to KS and S? as goats, KS should’ve just claimed the undisputable goatness, and pondered why the others were there.
Waiting on scores…
Slater is a class act. We are lucky to have him as the voice of pro surfing.
Ring that f–kin- Bell Slates!
Btw Chas are you rock or smith?
Nobody wants their wife’s minge in someone’s mouth.
Shaved minge
Yeah…is that an American thing to get something/ somene “out of your mouth”? is that an actual saying or just Will Smith struggling with unscripted dialogue?
Cocaine and slapping.
Tony was a little shaky, but respect that he was able to walk the red carpet after recently breaking his femur. Does this mean the next James Bond is going to be an extreme sport secret agent? With a scene with Q explaining that their high tech e-foil is capable of stealing people’s data and uploading it to a secret compound in Kauai.
Breaking News: WSL will have a longboard tour! Manly, Huntington and Malibu. Nobody gives a shit however, aside from their suspended champion and his ill timing duckdiving son!
The best part was JMD saying something along the lines of pro longboarders being “passionate” and thanking them for their “input”. LOL.
Chas or DR must be typing feverishly atm to deliver a BG article.
They should have canceled the whole thing and blamed Joel
I agree, but only because it’s funny.
Jimmy the wannabe, you obviously give a shit. You comment on it every chance you get.
Disparaging long boarding in hopes that people will think you are a “cool” short board shredder isn’t going to work. You are trying too hard. It’s obvious that you don’t surf
Incorrect. I own longboards, and surf them when the conditions suit. Do I give a shit? I find it entertaining, does that mean I care? Maybe! Do I think Longboarding merits a tour, or a champion, absolutely not. It is one of those things, like walking or yoga where everyone can agree more or less how it should be done, most can do it to a certain proficiency, it hardly warrants the crowning of a champion.
I think it merits a tour if someone wants to pay for it. Why not? I don’t do it, but then I don’t do lots of stuff that others find highly valuable in their lives.
Same with any form of wave riding
ill timing duckdiving son, gold…
I think I find Sean the most nauseating out of the three. And I make that statement not just off this performance alone.
I thought you were talking about Bonds for a second! They didn’t even mention George Lazanby, such shade being thrown, is that not an affront to his home country of Australia?
All three are nausea-inducing, and equally interchangeable in their irrelevance to the Oscars.
Shaun would be better suited to the nickelodeon teen award show.
If not Hawk and White in skate and snow, who?
I’d say Terje in snow and the Gonz in skate?
What about Jamie Lynn? Ha!
Gonz can’t touch Hawk. Only one close maybe Alva but still, nowhere near on longevity.
Alva and Gonz are the spiritual shaman more like MP and Curren
burnquist, mullen, barros, nyjah, etc…
None of them come close to Hawk. Props to Rodney Mullen though, he definitely created his own version of skating. Timing was a big part though.