The Rock (left) incredulous Rogan (middle) and inspiration (bottom right). Photo: Baywatch film

Joe Rogan trains ire on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; demands strapping Hawaiian “come clean” about physique as steroid-gate continues to roil!

Time to unleash the lion.

So did you see anabolic steroids becoming the it topic at the tail end of 2022? I’ll be honest, I did not. I thought vein poppin’ spray tanned big ol’ muscles were a relic of 1988 and, while they might still exist in odd subcultures, would not be major surf news. But here we are and all thanks to Brian Johnson.

Johnson, better known as the Liver King, recently came out as a steroid user, shocking his many fans who had believed that he had crafted his arms, chesty, abominables through the consumption of raw animal guts and raw animal guts alone.

It turns out that he lied, was on steroids and continues to be on them so as to help young men not commit suicide.

While professional surfers became intently curious if these blast from the past hormone boosters could help them paddle battle harder or maybe strengthen the spine and allow for dropping into Teahupo’o, notable surf personality interviewer Joe Rogan has made it his recent mission to publicly out potential users who are keeping their secret secret.

He began with Conor McGregor, declaring that his urine would burn a hole in the drug testing cup, before turning to Hawaii’s Snicker King Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson saying, “The Rock should come clean right now. He should make a video in response to the ‘Liver King’ video. I need to talk to you because The Rock’s been lying. There’s not a f—ing chance in hell he’s clean. Not a chance in hell. As big as The Rock is, at 50? He’s so massive, and he’s so different than he was when he was 30. There’s a responsibility you have to people who are listening to you. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s one thing. But if you do talk about it, there’s a responsibility you have to people listening to you and I think you have to be honest about it, which is why I’m honest about it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking hormone replacement.”

But what do you think about that?

Will it scare Filipe Toledo off or no?

I think it shouldn’t as Rogan casts no moral judgement and it doesn’t appear that the World Surf League has a serious testing program.

Time to unleash the lion.

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Look but don't touch. Photo: WSL
Look but don't touch. Photo: WSL

Surfers panic as Indonesia bans sex!

Surf-rich archipelago declares "The old randy code what with its forbidden canoodling belongs to Dutch heritage and is no longer relevant!"

The Indonesian archipelago, a wonderful republic floating above Australia in the dreamy Indian Ocean, is known for many things including enchantment, fried rice, Komodo dragons but it is mostly known for surf. One can be standing on any of the 17000 islands, toss a rock and hit a historically important wave. Uluwatu, Lagundri Bay, Lance’s Right, Padang Padang, Lakey Peak but to name a tiny fraction.

As such, surfers have been flocking to paradise for many decades to surf, drink cold beer, maybe find love in the arms of a beautiful man or woman. Well, that final divertissement is now off the teak table for, hours ago, the government officially outlawed night music between non-married folk.

Per CNN:

Indonesian lawmakers unanimously passed a sweeping new criminal code on Tuesday that criminalizes sex outside marriage, as part of a tranche of changes that critics say threaten human rights and freedoms in the Southeast Asian country.

The new code, which also applies to foreign residents and tourists, bans cohabitation before marriage, apostasy, and provides punishments for insulting the president or expressing views counter to the national ideology.

“All have agreed to ratify the (draft changes) into law,” said lawmaker Bambang Wuryanto, who led the parliamentary commission in charge of revising the colonial-era code. “The old code belongs to Dutch heritage … and is no longer relevant.”

The penalty if caught in flagrante delicato is one year in prison and a lifetime of deep shame.

Tour operators on popular destinations such as Bali are extremely worried that the new statues will deter tourists from booking travel, declaring the rules would be “counterproductive” but they should not worry about surfers who will come anyhow, controlling their sexual impulses, swallowing snide comments about the president, in order to barrel and air. To glide over dreamy reefs, through tunnels of water, out again into the warm sun.

I suppose, at the end, it is a good thing that professional surfing’s governing body, the World Surf League, has decided not to return to Indonesia for this year’s Championship Tour and will instead go to Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch there in Lemoore, California where sin of all kinds is not only allowed but encouraged at the nearby Tachi Palace.

Games of chance, drinking bottom shelf liquor from a flimsy plastic cup, making eyes at Leonardo Fioravanti.

In all seriousness, though, which professional surfer on tour, announcer, executive, senior vice president, judge would have gotten into trouble first?

I’m going to go with CEO Erik Logan.

Remember when he brought Covid to Hawaii?

Happier times.

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Warshaw as a beautifully cut aqua-boy in 1972! | Photo: courtesy Matt Warshaw

Meet the brave little “aqua-boy” who grew up to become surfing’s cultural heart-beat, “I wanted it to come through my eyes, my skin, and my blood, and my hands!”

"You're the f**king leader of the free world!"

Sometime last summer, an email appeared in my inbox.

Would you like to write a profile of Matt Warshaw for Emocean magazine?

It took me exactly five seconds to reply. Yes, of course, I would like to write a profile of Matt.

The story is available now in Devotion, Emocean’s fourth issue.

 

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It has been a joy to work with the crew at Emocean, who love surfing and making print media as much as anyone I’ve ever met.

I’d love to see the magazine thrive. If you’d like to buy a copy, and I feel like you most definitely do, you can buy it here.

I feel like Matt does not need much of an introduction to you.

He is surfing’s devoted historian and spends his days in Seattle sifting through the ruins of our strange and beautiful past time. He says he’s motivated by an effort to assign meaning to his own story and to understand why he’s spent so many hours of life obsessed with riding waves.

How did he arrive here?

Matt’s life has intersected so many interesting characters and places in surfing. Matt learned to surf in Venice Beach with Jay Adams, competed in the first Katin Pro/Am, edited Surfer Magazine — and that was just the beginning.

Here’s a short excerpt from the longer profile.

When Warshaw went to work for Surfer in 1985, he arrived during a surf media golden age. “It was a really wild and fun period,” says Jamie Brisick, who was a pro surfer at the time. “This was the period of Tom Curren, Tom Carroll, and Mark Occhilupo — the surfers were still characters.”

Advertising money flowed, and the magazine was fat with the work of writers such as Derek Hynd and Dave Parmenter and photographers such as Jeff Divine and Art Brewer. “Had he been the editor at a different time, he might have come out of it a different person,” says Brisick.

Shelved in publisher Steve Pezman’s office were bound copies of the entire run of the magazine. Warshaw read them all from start to finish. “I wanted to absorb it completely. I wanted it to come through my eyes, my skin, and my blood, and my hands,” he says. “I’m not a fast learner, but I never don’t get better.” Soon Warshaw was managing editor at Surfer.

When he made editor-in-chief, Warshaw’s future in the surf media looked assured. He was less certain. His younger brother Chris had traveled widely and gone to the University of Chicago.

All Warshaw had ever done was surf.

“There is a real risk of intellectual suffocation in surfing,” says Lewis Samuels, who wrote the widely read blog PostSurf and was a senior writer at Surfer. “I think you’re more likely to suffer some form of intellectual suffocation than to die from drowning.”

In a long-shot move, Warshaw applied to UC Berkeley. To his surprise, they agreed to admit him as a junior after adding up the miscellaneous credits he’d accumulated.

Walking up the trail at Trestles one evening, Warshaw encountered Sam George, who wrote for Surfing and had somehow learned of Warshaw’s disaffection.

He tried to change Warsaw’s mind.

“You’re the fucking leader of the free world! You’re the editor of Surfer Magazine,” George recalls saying. “What is wrong with you? Revel in this!” But George was too late.

In many ways, Warshaw had already left.

Not long after that conversation, Warshaw sold the house he had bought near T- Street and packed his bags. He had been editor of Surfer for just five months.

In January 1991 at age 30, he arrived in Berkeley to pouring rain.

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John and Kelly, thirteen Pipeline wins and thirteen world titles between 'em. | Photo: Kelly by @sensitiveseashellcollector, John by @pauly-matt-war-shore

Surf fans delivered new thunderbolt as John John Florence and Kelly Slater withdraw from upcoming Vans Pipe Masters, one day after bedevilled contest lost world champs Toledo, Medina, Ferreira and Gilmore!

Pressure y’think from the WSL or a sort of malaise at the idea of spending two weeks before Christmas riding empty Pipe?

Surf fans delivered new thunderbolt as John John Florence and Kelly Slater withdraw from upcoming Vans Pipe Masters, one day after bedevilled contest lost world champs Toledo, Medina, Ferreira and Gilmore!

After suffering a horror blow to its lineup of invitees, losing current world champ Filipe Toledo, greatest female surfer of all time Stephanie Gilmore, three-time champ Gabriel Medina and 2019 world champ Italo Ferreira, the Vans Pipe Masters will now proceed without John John Florence and Kelly Slater.

The Vans Pipe Masters, which will pivot away from only scoring barrels and apply an equal weight to turns and aerials, is an invite-only event which runs from December 8 to 20 and is not to be confused with the WSL’s Billabong Pro Pipe, which’ll open the 2023 Championship Tour on January 29.

Medina, Toledo and Ferreira have all cited injuries for not taking their invitations, while Gilmore, eight times world champion, pulled due to a “scheduling conflict”.

Today’s bombshell, no John John Florence, the two-time world champ, four-time winner of the Volcom Pipe Pro and 2021 Pipeline Master, nor Kelly Slater, eleven times world champ, seven times Pipe Master and winner of this year’s Billabong Pipe Pro.

Helluva lot of WSL drawcards suddenly pulling out of the event.

Pressure y’think from above or a sort of malaise at the idea of spending two weeks before Christmas riding empty Pipe?

Also out is Jackie Robinson, former Volcom Pipe Pro champ, due to appendicitis.

The invite-list now is,

Men

Seth Moniz, Barron Mamiya, Griffin Colapinto, Mikey Wright, Yago Dora, Billy Kemper, Koa Smith, Mason Ho, Nathan Florence, Ivan Florence, Shayden Pacarro, Eli Hanneman, Makana Pang, Koa Rothman, Eli Olson, Jamie O’Brien, Matt Meola, Noah Beschen, Imaikalani deVualt, Jackson Bunch, Kala Grace, Kaulana Apo, Tosh Tudor, Eimeo Czermak, Kauli Vaast, Balaram Stack, Nic Von Rupp, Joao Chianca, Al Cleland Jr, Crosby Colapinto, Riaru Ito, Rio Wada, Eithan Osborne, Josh Moniz, Shane Sykes, Craig Anderson, Mikey February, Harry Bryant, Noa Deane, and Rasta Rob

Women

Carissa Moore, Moana Jones-Wong, Coco Ho, Zoe McDougall, Betty Lou Sakura Johnson, Tatiana Weston-Webb, Pua DeSoto, Bethany Hamilton, Aelan Vaast, Caity Simmers, Sierra Kerr, Tyler Wright, Bella Nalu, Vahine Fierro, Maluhia Kinimaka, Luana Silva, Sophie Bell, and Laura Enever, Gabriela Bryan, Molly Picklum.

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Cast of The White Lotus Season 2 (pictured) toasting Kelly Slater. Photo: The White Lotus.

Surfing credited in success of smash hit The White Lotus!

The 25-year storm.

There is a very great chance that, while patiently waiting for the World Surf League to get its 2023 Championship Tour underway, you are watching The White Lotus. HBO’s sneaky smash hit highlighting the fortunes and foibles of wealthy folk on vacation has taken the globe by storm with both critics and average folk hanging on every scintillating turn, each tension-packed moment.

The show’s debut featured Hawaii’s Valley Isle in starring role, with a death being revealed in episode one only to have viewers attempting to discern who it was who died, and why, as the storytelling flashes back.

Its second season takes place in Sicily, off Italy’s boot, with a similar early death exposed, same flashback, duplicate intrigue in discerning which character it might be.

Of interest, the program’s creator, writer and director Mike White has credited surfing in relationship to all the wild success. White has had a long history in Hollywood as both and actor and writer, crafting Jack Black vehicle School of Rock amongst others but none coming close to The White Lotus acclaim.

In a recent interview, the possible albino declared the secret to success was introducing death at the beginning, declaring, “When that first season became such a water cooler show [that] people were talking about, I was like, had I only known if I’d put a dead body at the beginning of Enlightened, maybe people would’ve watched Enlightened. You realize these kinds of hooks do actually get viewers.”

I never watched Enlightened.

But back to surfing, White added, “I just feel like I’m like a surfer who’s been in the ocean for, like, 25 years and suddenly caught a wave.”

The whole business may be taken as odd and out of context except the internet is littered with White throwing appropriately loose shakas.

Like, legitimate ones.

Has he, in fact, been a surfer in the ocean for 25 years, or thereabouts, who just caught his first wave?

If true, World Surf League CEO Erik Logan should certainly take note, pocketing his inappropriately tight shaka and refusing to catch waves for the next 25 years, or thereabouts.

If he did the work maybe just maybe all his bullish (read: false) predictions of success would come true.

8 million (and counting) viewers materializing?

Dirk Ziff? Are you reading? Tell your boy to hang it up?

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