Medina and his gang of guy-pals in Bora Bora.

Happily divorced Gabriel Medina celebrates premature end of season with $2000-a-night Bora Bora vacay alongside guy-pals!

"Cold head, warm heart," writes the triple world champ, cryptically.

Four months ago, like a German tank crunching through straw huts on its way across a border Gabriel Medina stormed into title contention following a dominant performance at the Margaret River Pro. 

Ironically, it would be a misstep in Brazil, a seventeenth at the Rio Pro, that would leave him tantalising close to the top five,

Remember last week’s Tahiti final when Medina and Jack Robinson had a shoot-out for the last place on Finals Day? When Robinson sat in the windy Teahupoo lineup, watching as Medina collected six waves, accumulating fifteen points, even before he’d looked at one, only to coolly scoop up two near-excellent rides to win. 

With no need to traverse the globe to San Clemente where I believe he would’ve hiked Filipe’s dress to his waist and finished the reigning champ for good, Medina has celebrated his end of season with a vacay to Bora Bora with a very select group of guy-pals. 

 

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Staying at the Conrad, where the over-the-water villas cost around two thousand dollars a night, Medina shared a series of posts, shirtless in his little dunk pool, cycling with his guy pals, showering, looking pensive on deck with guy pal, also topless and with protuberances as indescribably magnificent as Medina’s, a buffet dinner, the hotel entertainer and so on. 

“Cold head warm heart,” he writes, cryptically on one page and, “Special days in paradise” on another.

 

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A post shared by Gabriel Medina (@gabrielmedina)

Medina, who turns thirty in December and divorced almost two years, is probably one of the most complicated men in surfing and the extraordinary fact is surf fans don’t know it. They think he’s simple, easy, a glamorous man in a handsome body and with an expensive house.

So be careful, as they say, when you lift the lid of the pot and look at what boils inside. 

Next year, he comes for Toledo, Colapinto, Ewing and a fourth gilded crown.

(Also, if you want to get onto the easiest pro boards to ride, a five-ten Johnny Cabianca-shaped Medina in my case, give ’em a hit here. Johnny’s wife Kelli will steer you into a life-changing new sled.)


"Surfer man" (pictured) bottom left.
"Surfer man" (pictured) bottom left.

Modern-looking “surfer man” captured in 1917 photograph registered as “proof of time travel”

"The long-haired man has seemingly attracted the attention of those around him..."

The world is changing, very rapidly, underneath all of our feet but particularly the tanned feet of surfers. Climate change has wrecked the World Surf League’s Championship Tour, California now gets hurricanes that don’t make very great waves, RVCA co-founder Conan Hayes is going to get mug shot for alleged election fiddling but to name only a few radical shifts within this year alone.

Wild.

On that note, might one of our kind decided to go back in time and try to fix some problems?

A resurfaced photograph, snapped in 1917 on Canada’s Vancouver Island, is causing genuine debate. Titled, “Last Picnic,” the image features a group of adults and children sitting on a hill. Everyone is dressed as one might imagine Canucks to be dressed in 1917, old-timey etc., except according to Microsoft News:

…some eagle-eyed viewers spotted one “surfer man” who wore baggy shorts and a large t-shirt and looked like he was straight out of the 20th century.

The long-haired man has seemingly attracted the attention of those around him as one man next to him appears to be staring at him, while a woman standing on the right of the image looks to be pointing in his direction.

The picture was shared online by YouTuber, Jamie D. Grant, who came across the interesting picture in Lester Ray Peterson’s 1974 historical book, The Great Cape Scott Story.

He questioned whether the image was “proof” of time travel, saying: “Notice the group, their clothes, their hats. Even how they sit poised for a photo.

“Now look closer. His head uncovered, his hair, his shorts. The man on the left stares in disbelief. Has a mysterious traveler proved the impossible and journey through time? What do you think?”

Well?

What do you think?

Also, if you had to travel back to a date to stop surfing from going so wrong, when, exactly, would you pinpoint?


Surfing (left) and Jiu Jitstu (right). The new peanut butter and jelly. Photo: Instagram
Surfing (left) and Jiu Jitstu (right). The new peanut butter and jelly. Photo: Instagram

World’s manliest boy Mark Zuckerberg combines love of fighting and surfing in one epic day date with BJJ champ Mikey Musumeci

"LOOK WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO SURF TODAY !!!"

The planned fight between South Africa’s Elon Musk and the world’s manliest boy Mark Zuckerberg appears to be off but that has not stopped the Facebook founder from “training for his MMA debut.” Zuckerberg, 39 going on 12, has not been shy about his falling in love with combat sport. His social media feeds constantly showcasing “rolling” with this or that fight star. He has a blue belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and appears to be learning the strike game these days.

Alas, there was once a time, and not long ago, where only surfing sparked the 5’7 145 lber’s eye. Dalliances with Kai Lenny, who described his as “super cool, super fit.” Admitting to tackling “big waves.”

Surfers, who had grown accustomed to and even fond of his attention, maybe taking it for granted, left cold and sad with his embrace of indoor gymnasiums and dojos.

But a glimmer of hope?

For just hours ago, Mikey Musumeci, a five-time International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation black belt champion, was taught to surf by Zuckerberg himself in what appears to be an exchange.

“LOOK WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO SURF TODAY !!!” the 27-year-old captioned his post. “So many hours of training today and also my first time ever surfing (my surf professor @zuck) !! Having so much fun!!!!”

Surf Professor Zuck responded, “You nailed wake surfing your first session! And thanks for the training.”

Not all were ecstatic at the union.

“You are an awful individual. How many lives have you and the rest of the lizards ruined?” Santbc commented.

“Stop buying friends Richie Rich,” dnymarban added.

“@zuck is the enemy @mikeymusumeci he helped censor licensed phd dr during covid. His part of the problem. Never forget what they did we can forgive them but never forget,” lilpaul84 hit back.

“This man helped contribute to your coach losing his gym – and now you’re surfing with him? Embarrassing,” littlechild.bjj threw down.

Tough crowd.

In any case, is BJJ and wake surfing in the same day the new snowboarding and regular surfing in the same day?

Think upon it.


Things sure did look grim for Ewing after his Teahupoo wipeout.

Ethan Ewing’s spinal injury “blown out of proportion” and he will surf for historic world title on Finals Day

“He’s playing mind games with the Brazilians.”

Yesterday, the beleaguered World Surf League came under fire for “passive aggressively trolling Ethan Ewing” after it posted a heat draw for September’s one-day grand final.

As y’know, the top five rated men and women will compete at Lower Trestles some time between September 8 and 16 for a one-day shoot-out that’ll decide the world champions.

 

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A post shared by EE (@ethan_ewing)

Ewing, as you also know, busted a couple of vertebrae in his spine while practising for the Tahiti Pro and the early prognosis was a three-month wait for surgery followed by six months out of the water.

Hence no Finals Day or swing at title for Ewing.

“Maybe they could use a nice picture from him in hospital.”

So why put him in the draw? Surf fans felt the same and lit up the WSL.

This is starting to feel like you’re just passive aggressively trolling Ethan

there is a WSL obscenity all over the post putting this up.

maybe they could use a nice picture from him in hospital.

So is EE going to compete as a bodyboarder or how is he supposed to surf with a broken back?

The word on the street now, if that’s what you want to call it, is the WSL were right to feature Ewing on their graphics as the world number three-rated surfer’s injury has been “blown out of proportion”, he’s “definitely mobile” and will, likely, compete at Lowers.

Already, half a score of surfers from Ewing’s island home, North Stradbroke, have booked tickets to California to watch their hero bring home the trophy.

Ewing’s own silence on the matter is, according to one observer, his way of “playing mind games with the Brazilians” in particular the reigning champ and small-wave specialist Filipe Toledo who is expected to easily retain his title in the consequence-free waves.

Ewing’s relationship with Brazilian fans has been strained ever since WSL judges preferred his velvet lines over Medina’s bag of tricks at the Surf Ranch Pro a few months back, one even threatening to murder the innocent Australian.

The shift in judging, from rewarding frenetic but unpretty airs to melting over smooth combos, suits Ewing whose surfing is so beautiful it excites the sensitive soul to tears.


Greg Browning
L-R: Benji Weatherly, Rob Machado, Ross Williams, Greg Browning, Taylor Knox, Shane Dorian, Kelly Slater, Donovan Frankenreiter, Conan Hayes. | Photo: @tsherms/Steve Sherman

Surf stars rally around beloved filmmaker and Momentum Generation star Greg Browning diagnosed with incurable motor neurone disease

“The nicest guy gets thrown around a lot but he actually is one of the most giving friends."

The creator of the beloved Drive-Thru series and former star of Taylor Steele’s Momentum rock-and-cock films, Greg Browning, is in the ring for the fight of his life after being diagnosed with the incurable neurodegenerative disease ALS aka motor-neurone disease aka Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The prognosis depends upon the person, and Browning is fit as a bull and blessed with an optimistic soul, but MND generally leads to increasing muscle weakness, loss of mobility, difficulties in speaking and swallowing, and eventually respiratory failure.

Kid rips, as they say. Greg on the cover of Surfing.

Surf stars, including Shane Dorian and Tati West, as well as his old mentor Taylor Steele have rallied around Browning.

“Hard to put into words how good of a human Greg Browning is,” writes Dorian.

 

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A post shared by Tatiana Weston-Webb (@tatiwest)

 

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A post shared by Shane Dorian (@shanedorian)

Greg’s pal Keith Brewer has created a GoFundMe account, this is America after all where the sick are left with two choices, bankruptcy or death, raising almost seventy k of a quarter-mill target.

Medication and therapy can slow ALS and reduce discomfort, but there’s no cure.

My brother and I grew up with Greg in the South Bay (Manhattan and Hermosa Beach, CA). We honed our surfing skills at 16th St, Hermosa Beach with the help of our good friend, Howard Eddy, who would film all of us, every day, twice a day. Not only did Greg out-surf everyone in the South Bay by winning multiple amateur contests, he went on to have a successful career as a nationally recognized free-surfer. He is a member of the Momentum Generation- with Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Shane Dorian, Ross Williams, The Malloys, and more. He had several segments in the most popular hardcore surf movies of the 90’s.

Throughout Greg’s surfing career, he was always interested in editing surf movies, after learning from Howard Eddy. He released several local underground videotapes featuring my brother and I, along with other local rippers. He worked with Taylor Steele editing and picked it up pretty well, creating the hit series Drive Thru!

Greg is one of the most giving people I have ever met and we would love to give back to him. We would love for him to live a stress-free life and have all of his future medical bills taken care of. Please help us in raising funds for one of the best Humans ever!

Taylor Steele, meanwhile, posted Greg’s section from his film GoodTimes.

 

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“The nicest guy gets thrown around a lot but he actually is one of the most giving friends,” writes Taylor.