Brave work.
Professional surfers, by and large, are not considered to be overly “engaged” in exposing troublesome, potentially exploitative societal subcultures. The Spicoli stereotype of only needing a few tasty waves, a fine buzz and a 12.34 heat total is generally truer than not which makes Danny Berk’s current mission that much more notable.
The current World Surf League number 1115, whose best result on tour was 25th at the Shoe City Pro and only falling to Kolohe Andino, has been spending less time perfecting his Huntington Hop and, instead, heading into a San Diego compound that is home to a “Twelve Tribes” community in an attempt to shed light on some allegedly nasty business.
The group is described by Southern Poverty Law Center thusly: “…a Christian fundamentalist cult born in the American South in the 1970s, is little-known to much of the country, and on first impression its communes and hippie-vibed restaurants and cafes can seem quaint and bucolic. But beneath the surface lies a tangle of doctrine that teaches its followers that slavery was ‘a marvelous opportunity’ for black people, who are deemed by the Bible to be servants of whites, and that homosexuals deserve no less than death.”
One of those “hippie-vibed” restaurants just so happens to be in Vista, California a handful of miles from Oceanside, where Berk and his partner Reckless Ben begin their dangerous mission. The two explain what the Twelve Tribes believe and how they plan on infiltrating and uncovering and then off they go for organic sandwiches then a trip to “the middle of nowhere.”
Berk and Ben fear if they are found out they might be killed, warning viewers neither are suicidal and so if their bodies happen to turn up deceased then, well, look no further than the deli.
Modern day Upton Sinclairs.
The one constant in any cult is eventually god will tell the leader that he needs to fuck your woman.
I’m also half Kraut, thank you very much.
It’s sad people are so frighten of dying!
god bless sam
Full retro, those dudes. SPLC? They’re even worse calling out old Sano locals that have been underexposed to nuclear radiation and overdosed on LSD. A real test of wills would pit the SPLC against the The Brotherhood of Eternal Love against The Twelve Tribes in a contest at Lemoore with prizes including wildcards into any WSL event of their choice, stage try-outs as extras on Jonah’s Jerry Garcia movie, free mental health evaluations by Kelly (and Dr. Stutz), and a BG Badge for By-Goners.
Wow they are in CA? That’s something i would expect out of FL.
Valley Center is home to the Bate’s Nut Farm. I took a daughter to my high school prom and showed her mine!
Good article. This racist cult is in Vermont too — their compound is a 2 hour drive from the surf spots of New Hampshire. NH gets good waves once every few years for an hour or so. But there are busy surf shops there selling Billabong crap. Rhode Island is well worth the extra 30 minutes.
Hope the team at Kustom have been spared 🙏
OK
That’s it.
I am quitting BG until the commenting glitch (error or purposeful) is fixed.
I have tried 5 times to get to the comments for the top story and each time only getting into comments for the second.
I’m out.
Somebody email me when you get it sorted.
OK I’ll be sure to do that since you didn’t provide an email address. I agree Disqus is awful.
The SPLC has literally never met a person, place or thing that they couldn’t label as racist.
Please check out their web site and decide for yourselves rather than trusting JH. Also, can someone explain why there is a Confederate flag next to JH’s “name”? Thanks.
Yes, please go to their website to see how they declare everyone and everything racist.
Even WaPo calls out their phony racism shtick.
wannabe Merry Pranksters, unless…they directed their attention to the FBI. now…that would be something!
The FBI would set them up on the Ray Epps Plan and make them informants.
that’s the asshole badge. JH earned that thing years ago
Join the WSA to fight pollution and surf a contest…send $20 to Santa Cruz…Kolohe did! Where’s Nat Young?
Shower needed after that read.
I’m thinking of starting a commune and seceding from Oz – “the Church of Groot” or something similar! Times right
Don’t forget your horse and sword.
So Otto opened a restaurant! No wonder he’s been too busy to comment.
Charter Dishwasher from The Chart House here…order there...”Hi, I’m Hobart…”