"It's him! It's really him!"

With the landmark study revealing the average participation age, in surfing, to be 45-to-49 years young now officially part of the canon, wave sliders near and far are celebrating things they love publicly and without shame. Totems of this surfing life that were once hidden so the “youth” wouldn’t see and point mocking fingers. The musical stylings of Pennywise, for example, or the 1987 film North Shore.

Oh, any and every middle-to-upper-middle age cis white male has seen the classic multiple times. First on VHS, later on DVD, lastly streaming. It tells the story of Rick Kane, an Arizona surf standout who wins a contest in a pool, a drawing kit, a belt buckle and enough airfare for a trip to Oahu’s fabled North Shore. Once there he is treated to a heavy wake-up call via the powerful waves, sharp reef and serious local justice. He falls for Sam George’s ex-wife, is taken under the wing of a Pyzel-like surfboard shaper and eventually beats Laird Hamilton by discovering his soul.

Powerful.

And while surf fans have long been aware of Turtle, played by John Philbin, regularly popping up on the scene, Rick Kane’s Matt Adler has been harder to glimpse.

You can understand, then, the explosion of prepubescent glee when Adler was recently snapped on what was identified as the North Shore holding an expertly waxed mid-length and looking resolute.

Examining the photos further reveals he is nowhere near the North Shore, likely California, which lightly diminishes the joy.

In any case, the Daily Mail discusses Adler’s career in depth. How he rode from Michael J. Fox vehicle Teen Wolf into his North Shore role then alongside teen heartthrobs Corey Haim and Corey Feldman in Dream a Little Dream. His career later stalled but, apparently, he is friends with George Clooney and also much-loved by 45-to-49 year old male surfers the world over.

Beautiful nostalgia.

Speaking of, what do you image former World Surf League CEO Erik Logan is up to these days?

Home eating tubs of ice cream or is he preparing a crack legal team to challenge his ultra-harsh dismissal? He has stopped “liking” photos of Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer.

Smoke or fire?

More as the story develops.

Dark days.

The World Surf League is on hiatus, currently, with various professional surfers and staff en route to South Africa where event number nine, the J-Bay Open, is set to kickoff shortly. Jordy Smith will be there and so will Kelly Slater, who has miraculously recovered from spinal meningitis. Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer will be there, likely in a fancy swimming pool, but Chief Executive Erik Logan will not because he was fired for… well, let’s just say more as the story develops.

Six days without professional surfing can seem an eternity, though, and surf fans were very much looking forward to the World Beach Games, hosted in Bali this year. Over 1,500 athletes from 100 countries were set to compete in the “youth-focused tournament” featuring sports including beach soccer, surfing, sailing and beach volleyball.

While organizers may not know that surfing is no longer “youth focused,” it doesn’t really matter because overnight Indonesia has withdrawn as host thereby cancelling the fun.

The government cited budget issues though savvy geopolitical thinkers think Israel’s inclusion is likely the true cause.

Three months ago, FIFA wagged a finger and removed Indonesia’s right to host the U-20 Men’s World Cup after the predominately Muslim nation objected to Israel being invited. The country has no diplomatic ties with the bravest Middle Eastern apartheid state and anti-Israel sentiment runs high amongst the population.

Indonesia National Olympic Committee spokesperson Raja Sapta Oktohari said the World Beach Games were cancelled “with a heavy heart,” but that did not stop the Association of National Olympic Committees from angrily declaring, “It is with great surprise and extreme disappointment that ANOC has learnt that the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) has withdrawn from its commitment to host the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly in August 2023.”

Though I am no sporting body governor nor diplomat, I would suggest something a little stronger. Something like this:

To the WSL community,

I want to address the conversation that happened in our community following the recent Championship Tour event at the Surf Ranch. As you likely know, a small number of athletes made statements questioning the judging of the competition and the final results.

I want to respond directly to those statements, however, we first need to address a much more important issue. In recent days, a number of surfers, WSL judges, and employees have been subject to harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence, including death threats, as a direct result of those statements. Those things should never happen in our sport or any sport, and we’re devastated that members of our community have been subject to them. It is an important reminder to us all that words have consequences. We hope the entire WSL community stands with us in rejecting all forms of harassment and intimidation.

In terms of the statements made, we completely reject the suggestion that the judging of our competitions is in any way unfair or biased. These claims are not supported by any evidence.

Firstly, the judging criteria are provided to the athletes ahead of each competition. All athletes competing at the Surf Ranch Pro received these materials on May 20th. Every athlete had the opportunity to ask questions about the criteria at that time. None of the athletes who made these statements took advantage of this opportunity at the Surf Ranch Pro.

Secondly, our rules allow any athlete to review the scoring of any wave, with the judges, and receive a more detailed explanation of how they were scored with the judges. This process has been in place for a number of years, and is the direct result of working with the surfers to bring more transparency to the judging process. It is not acceptable, and is a breach of league policy, for surfers to choose not to engage with the proper process and instead air grievances on social media.

A number of athletes at the Surf Ranch Pro received points for elements such as progression and variety, so it is simply incorrect to suggest these are not taken into account in the judging criteria. Furthermore, our rules have been applied consistently throughout the season, including at events this season that were won by athletes who are now questioning those same rules.

Surfing is an ever-evolving, subjective sport and we welcome a robust debate around the progression of our sport and the criteria used to judge our competitions. However, it is unacceptable for any athlete to question the integrity of our judges who, like our surfers, are elite professionals.

No one person or group of people are above the integrity of the sport.

Sincerely,
Erik Logan
WSL Chief Executive Officer

Powerful.

Goodbye horses.

“Life is like a box of chocolates,” the famous thinker Forrest Gump once declared, adding, “you never know what you are going to get.” Former World Surf League CEO Erik Logan certainly didn’t. The Oklahoman with a million dollar smile and a magic wetsuit of armor was riding high. After slamming those who dared put themselves above “the integrity of the sport,” the big boss traveled to Brazil in order to revel in victory while living his best life.

Alas, something happened (more as the story develops), and Logan was suddenly and brutally sacked in the most terse way possible.

Simply “no longer with the company.”

Rabid surf watchers immediately swung to Logan’s much-loved Instagram account, a place where he took followers on special tours and ordered his employees to take their shirts off, in order to find clues or, at the least, comfort.

Their dreams dashed, slowly, by days upon days of silence.

Though a small devastating shift has, just moments ago, occurred.

While not posting a topless massage of Jordy Smith ahead of the J-Bay Pro, Logan quietly disappeared the phrase “CEO World Surf League” from his biography.

Before:

After:

The fact that Logan continues to live life “one wave at a time” certainly provides some comfort but what is his new “passion” and how will he remake his life around it?

If he would speak, I imagine him saying,  “I see you rise.” But, it always falls. I see you come, I see you go.

He say, “All things pass into the night.” And I say, “Oh no sir I must say you’re wrong. I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say you’re wrong.”

Won’t you listen to me?

He told me, I’ve seen it all before. I’ve been there, I’ve seen my hopes and dreams.

Lying on the ground. I’ve seen the sky just begin to fall.

He say, “All things pass into the night.”

And I say, “Oh no sir, I must say you’re wrong. I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say you’re wrong.”

Won’t you listen to me?

Goodbye horses I’m flying over you.

Logan’s Linkedin still, thankfully, lists him as CEO of the World Surf League.

Hope springs.