Hayes (right) and the big time.
Hayes (right) and the big time.

Influential political writer lists former top Hawaiian pro surfer and RVCA co-founder Conan Hayes as one of 30 mysterious unindicted co-conspirators in Trump election saga!

"Minor celebrity" turned major.

Former top Hawaiian pro surfer Conan Hayes is, now, clearly the most interesting man born in our world. The onetime Momentum Generation star and co-founder of RVCA who sold his share to PM Tenore for $7.5 mil then became erased from the brand’s history, has been on a Kafaesque tear since spreading his wings and leaving the surf industry nest.

In 2015, Hayes was hit with grand theft charges by the Orange County DA, who alleged Hayes had committed short sale fraud against the Bank of America “by providing Bank of America with false information concerning his financial net worth, which was in the millions of dollars, in order to qualify for short sale relief.”

The charges were dropped two years later “among a myriad of scandals following the prosecution.”

Later, he opened a warehouse in Los Angeles that imported children’s toys.

Then, two years ago, he was introduced as a player in the Donald Trump election kerfuffle of 2020.

Per Vice:

In recent years (Hayes) has become somewhat of a minor celebrity in election fraud conspiracy theory circles, under his anonymous Twitter handle We Have Risen. He has worked on an election audit in Antrim County and has suggested on social media he was in Phoenix where the Arizona audit is currently taking place. He also has links to Doug Logan, the Cyber Ninja CEO who is currently running the sham audit in Maricopa County.

Further evidence that Hayes was the person who captured the images was provided by cyber security experts tracking this situation, who found Hayes’ initials in the downloaded files:

Clevenger confirmed to VICE News on Thursday that it was in fact Hayes who had provided the data from Mesa County to Watkins. What Clevenger, who represented the Seth-Rich conspiracy theorist Ed Buttosky, was not able to say for certain was if it was Hayes who also provided the video clip to Watkins, who Gerard Wood was, or if, as some open sources investigators tracking this situation believe, that Hayes and Wood are in fact the same person.

Well, that “minor celebrity” title has expanded over the years which includes costume changes, being on Trump’s legal payroll, using a fake ID to copy election software and other such star turns.

Now, it appears, he has arrived in the upper echelons of Trumpian fame. The influential political writer Seth Abramson, Harvard grad, former attorney, has dug through open source media and guessed the thirty formerly unnamed unindicted co-conspirators in the federal case against Trump and his election tampering.

Conan Hayes is either number 21 or 22.

The big time.

But where did it all turn for the man who once had it all?

Quite possibly Teahupoo, where our current crop of championship tour surfers find themselves at this very moment.

Per the Encyclopedia of Surfing (subscribe here):

Hawaii’s Conan Hayes got a pair of 10s in the (1988) final, and a 7 (it was best-three waves back then), but one of his 10s was so much better than anything ridden in the event that the number was meaningless. Koby Abberton meanwhile got two 9s and a 9.1, and won the event. People who were there still recall Hayes’ loss as the single most wrongful call in ASP history, made worse by the fact that Abberton (below), having necked a half-dozen Hinanos between the final horn and the presentation, galloped onstage, took the check, and bellowed out to the still-stunned gallery “Whoooooose the man?” Silence. ‘Whooooose the man?” Still no reply, so Koby helped out. “Me! I’m the man!”

Professional surf judges planting the seed of conspiracy.

On the plus side, and according to Vanity Fair, there is worry in Trump’s camp that one of the unindicted co-conspirators could flip. Per the piece:

The possibility that one of Trump’s former advisers could turn state’s witness and testify against either him or his aides or close associates is already apparent to the twice-impeached former president. This summer, Trump has asked some of his political and legal advisers to name who—especially among those investigated or questioned by the special counsel’s office—they believe to be the most “vulnerable” and likely to crack under pressure from prosecutors, according to two people who’ve heard him ask about this.

What do you think the Justice Department would offer Hayes for some damning testimony?

Quiksilver?

A major come up.

More as the story develops.

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Breaking: All four Australian surfers missing near Nias in Indonesia found alive!

An Indian Ocean miracle!

Sources close to BeachGrit and the family of the four surfers feared dead after their boat went missing in a storm near Nias have reported the group has been found alive and floating on their surfboards, although the fate of the Indonesian crew is still uncertain. 

The four surfers, Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short had been travelling through northern Sumatra to celebrate Foote’s thirtieth birthday, a gift from his father. 

The boat went missing on the fifty click trip between Nias and the island of Pinang in the Bankyaks, separated from another boat carrying eight other friends, during a storm.

The missing charter boat.

Even as the hours ticked by, Foote’s father Peter remained optimistic his son and his friends would be found, telling Today, 

“They have food and water on the boat and the boat has a roof so it should be all right,” adding, “It is going to be a long, long day for them. I don’t know how long their supplies are going to last for. Every minute counts.”

Peter Foote just wrapped an interview with Sky News this afternoon when he received a text from his son.

“Hey Dad, Elliot here. I am alive, safe now, love you. Chat later.”

Prior to boarding the ill-fated vessel, Foote, who would be the last of the surfers found, had posted a series of photos on Instagram and wrote of the “kind people.”

oho gulah Sorake … so good being back in Indo after so many years. Sharing waves with mates and the queen 🙌

Starting the trip off with hiking in the North Sumatran jungle and seeing Orangutan’s was an amazing experience and something that I look forward to doing again for a longer time and going deeper. Bukit Lawang is a beautiful spot with such kind people.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Elliot Foote (@elliotfoote)

An Indian Ocean miracle, sure, but three Indonesian crew members are still out there.

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Grave fears held for group of four Australian surfers and three Indonesian crew missing after charter boat disappears near Nias in northern Sumatra

All boat skippers in the area, charter operators, pilots, are being urged to join in the search. 

Four Australian surfers and three Indonesian crew members have been missing since Sunday night after their little wooden charter boat hit a storm after leaving Nias and failed to reach the island of Pinang in the Bankyaks, fifty clicks away.

The boat became separated from another vessel with eight of their other pals on board in the night as the weather went bad.

The missing charter boat.

The four surfers, Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short had been travelling around Nias to celebrate Foote’s thirtieth birthday.

The day before boarding the boat, Foote posted a series of photos of him tearing hell out of the joint on Instagram and writing:

oho gulah Sorake … so good being back in Indo after so many years. Sharing waves with mates and the queen 🙌

Starting the trip off with hiking in the North Sumatran jungle and seeing Orangutan’s was an amazing experience and something that I look forward to doing again for a longer time and going deeper. Bukit Lawang is a beautiful spot with such kind people.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Elliot Foote (@elliotfoote)

Foote’s Dad Peter, who paid for the trip to Nias as his son’s birthday present, told the Sydney Morning Herald,

“They have life jackets on board, they had food and water and there is shelter on the boat. It has a roof/apparently the waves weren’t that problematic. It was just the visibility in the storm. We’re all hoping they’ve either run out of fuel or they got lost and missed the island or more likely there may be an engine failure on the boat, which unfortunately doesn’t have any GPS.”

On Monday night, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade chartered a plane to join volunteers and the Indonesian police and military in the search.

All boat skippers in the area, charter operators, pilots, anyone who makes their coin ferrying surfers to and fro through the islands is being urged to join in the search.

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Surf Equity (pictured) at war with women. Photo: Barbie
Surf Equity (pictured) at war with women. Photo: Barbie

Surf journalist comes under heavy fire for “deadnaming” rabidly anti-feminist Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing!

Down with women.

The Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing, has been on an important warpath of late, dropping Barbie-esque bombs on “Puppets of the Manosphere” while focusing most of its heavy arsenal on women. Big wave legend Keala Kennelly, inspirational hero Bethany Hamilton, the World Surf League’s Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer, pioneering extreme sport agent Circe Wallace each leveled in devastating attacks and those are just to name a few.

That ire directed at women, tinged with incel dogwhistles and open misogyny, was surprising though a Scud, whizzed straight from the Committee’s forward operating base in a secure and wooded location, landing in surf journalist, and PotM (Puppet of the Manosphere), Chas Smith’ inbox has shed some light.

The Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing has, apparently, lopped “women” from its name and now goes solely by Surf Equity.

The word “women” scribbled out with such rage that even Andrew Tate would be impressed.

“Stop deadnaming SURF EQUITY” added for good measure.

So there you have it.

As much as I disagree, if you feel that women are getting to uppity, in the lineup, and need to be taught a sharp lesson, sent back to the kitchen etc., I guess there’s a new group for you to join.

In the spirit of surf equity, I hope you enjoy your time there.

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"Greed is good." Photo: Wall Street
"Greed is good." Photo: Wall Street

Damning assessment from Surfline whistleblower declares forecasting giant gripped by toxic monopolistic greed!

Prices up, services slashed.

Surfline has long been the gold standard for forecasting. What began as a humble call-in line for California, based on National Weather Service buoy data in the middle 1980s turned into a juggernaut featuring wave cameras, detailed analysis, a worldwide presence and even the odd bit of reportage as the internet grew. In 2020, the company raised $30 million from The Chernin Group and bright skies all around for hard-working wave watchers, weather decoders, Marcus Sanders.

Dedication to craft paying off.

Except.

Reports from inside the Huntington Beach-based Surfline suggest evil monopolistic greed has taken over. A whistleblower has shared with BeachGrit, which presents its ultra hard surf candy free to all, that the Indian Ocean has been abandoned, no more of the aforementioned detailed analysis, cut backs in California, Europe, Australia. Forced quittings, shredding the marketing department, slashing hours and positions with “changes to the website” coming Sept. 1

Rumors floating suggest low subscription growth in the United States plus the need to keep up with higher returns to service the multi-million dollar investment are, mostly, to blame.

“The cams keep the base happy and there is no competition. They ate it all up. So it is capitalism 101,” our brave source, who is hanging on to job by thread, shared via robotic voice. “Dominate at any cost then up prices and reduce services and beat off any start-ups with dominance and market share.”

Nasty.

Now some questions.

Will the changes in service and/or upping of fees encourage you to flee?

Are there enough Covid-era adult learners aboard who don’t care about actual forecasts but just want to look at El Porto from their Century City office?

Can former World Surf League CEO Erik Logan be hired and turn the ship around?

If BeachGrit began a surf cam service that featured periodic song and dance numbers starring principals Derek Rielly and Chas Smith with guest ditties from Jen See and JP Currie would you enjoy?

Thank you.

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