But is the union already troubled?

The raging surf media war, which has captured hearts and minds over an otherwise dull weekend, is sadly dying down. Though who could have seen a poorly conducted, though otherwise innocuous, interview with the World Surf League’s Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer on the premium subscription surf blog Stab exploding into mutually assured destruction?

“Mutually” referring to Stab and the World Surf League, of course.

Certainly not me, referring to the “seeing it.”

But let us review the past few days’ events.

On September 20th, Stab published the World Surf League’s 2024 Championship Tour schedule hours before any other surf outlet, chasing it, later, with a softball interview with the World Surf League’s Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer, where no tough questions were asked.

After a small bit of tweaking from readers and anti-depressive surf sites over the goofy softball business, Stab’s founder Sam McIntosh became angry enough to publish The Dickhead Index in which he, very white teeth flashing, defended the commercial art of being a pussy.

JP Currie responded with a fierce takedown which led to comment threads here and there with even more revelations, from Stab’s editor-in-chief Mikey Ciamarella, detailing that the aforementioned Jessi Miley-Dyer was only allotted fifteen minutes of chat time and required a North Korea-esque minder to be on the phone.

Now, Sam and crew could have easily let the Miley-Dyer interview slide, taken a few licks in the comment section and moved on. In trying to defend, their cozy relationship was spectacularly blown up in what can only be called an act of sheer editorial incompetence.

“Paid media” is never supposed to be obvious. The payer, in this case the World Surf League, is already struggling with legitimacy and, therefore, attempting to curry quiet favor through favors (“access” and footage). The payee, in this case Stab, was supposed to simply provide cover while accepting said favors.

Instead, Stab made the notoriously controversy averse World Surf League look thirsty then pathetic, and also the center of an unfortunate story.

No doubt McIntosh is beating himself up, tonight, over the disaster he created.

World Surf League brass, likely, quietly fuming and reconsidering the coupling.

Well poisoned.

Possibly.

Another casualty?

Stab’s Google byline.

It used to read “Trusted media of core surfers everywhere.”

Now simply “We are writers, video editors, and photojournalists. But mostly, we just like to surf.”

Goodbye, integrity. I’m flying over you.

"You, sir, are no Jack Florence."

Having been in or around “extreme sports” for the better part of fifteen years, I have seen some things while drawing some conclusions. Professional skaters, snowboarders, surfers generally respect what each other do and are often passable in their non-dominant pursuit. Every paid snowboarder I know both surfs and skates. Most sponsored surfers I know snowboard. A handful of competitive skaters I know snowboard though none of them surf.

Still, a general respect and understanding of specific nuance, which makes surf champion Italo Ferreira’s recent clip that much more amazing.

In a spot of Cariuma shoes, the Brazilian ditches his trusty surfboard for a little quarterpipe session. Having seen Ferreira do all manner of crazy surf air, I was expecting greatness, so was shocked to see him awkwardly pump back and forth before the camera cuts to a stunt double’s feet doing a “trick” before a model comes out and snaps a pic of Ferreira faking a “move.”

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A post shared by Italo Ferreira (@italoferreira)

It is truly like he’s never seen anyone skate before and might be considered straight satire but, with the obvious lack of any awareness, it simply falls into the accidental cultural appropriation bin.

Whew.

Art?

I’m going to say “yes.”

Stoke-ed.

Do you think you skate better than Italo, anyhow?

You, sir, are no Jack Florence.

"City Staff Sells Out to Kardashian!"

It’s all circling the drain, man. President Biden flubbing LL Cool J’s name, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner divorce getting nastier by the second even though she sits on the Iron Throne, Real Housewives of Orange County’s Shannon Beador driving into a house and copping a DUI after dinner at the very same restaurant that hosted this surf journalist and his brave friends after enduring “the weather event of the century.”

Pop culture really on the ropes.

The biggest blow, though, happening in the very town where “California surf cool” was born.

Malibu.

For it was there, on the relatively unremarkable sands fronting First Point, that Mickey Dora, Tubesteak et. al. defined what it should look like to pursue the surfing life wholeheartedly. Shack livin’, beer drinkin’, all singing, all dancing crap of the world.

But now look at it. A VALs paradise where not even the extravagant baby showers are real.

That last bit became too much for Malibu’s mayor, Shell Silverstein, who put Bob Kardashian’s girl Kourtney on blast over the weekend after the influencer pulled a permit in order to host a “baby shower” which was, instead, a giant pool party for her multi-million dollar cosmetics line Poosh.

[The] City of Malibu Continues to Place Celebrities and the Uber Wealthy Over Residents: City Staff Sells Out to Kardashian and Grants Emergency Expedited Permit for Large Event in a Vacant Single-Family Home in Private Neighborhood,” Silverstein titled his modern poem before getting down to the meat.

As an elected official, however, I am appalled by the situation, and it helps me understand what residents throughout the city are dealing with. Not a good look for the city – although it is a great ad to non-residents who want to come here and destroy the residents’ peaceful enjoyment of their homes. I understand that the event has been represented to be a baby shower that is being hosted by the owner of the property. Both of those representations are contrary to what the event planner told me – which was that the house is being “rented” for an “influencer event.” Obviously, one story or the other is false.

Imagine the moral vacuum that must exist in one’s soul to use babies as bureaucratic shields.

Diplo, anyhow, attended.

Playing turntables while the Titanic sinks.

Diplo, man. Is there anywhere that guy ain’t?

Miki Dora rolling over in grave.