"On Friday, October 13th, we will close our doors for the last time and bid farewell to all of you."

Tears in Byron Bay, Los Angeles and across the Pacific and slightly to the south in Tokyo after the shock announcement that Banks Journal had closed its famous brand after nine years in biz.

“I’m writing to everyone who has lovingly supported Banks Journal since we embarked on this journey back in 2014,” writes Rama McCabe, whom we’ll talk about shortly, and who created the brand along with his Byron Bay pal Tim Cochran and some Japanese investors. “We started this project to merge style and function with a sustainable approach to design and development. We were fortunate to have a unique perspective on coastal living, inspired by our Japanese and Australian heritage.

“We’ve come a long way from our original office in Bondi Beach, Australia, and we wouldn’t have had this opportunity without each and every one of you. From the incredibly talented individuals we’ve had the pleasure of working alongside, to the retailers who always believed in us no matter what, our factories that went above and beyond to provide us with beautifully made products. Last but not least, to all the people who have one of our products hanging in their closet, you’re the friends, family, and supporters who have turned the dream of creating Banks Journal into a reality.

“On Friday, October 13th, we will close our doors for the last time and bid farewell to all of you. Our hope is that you will continue to support our incredible retail partners until the last Banks Journal products have left their shelves, and that you will find an everyday journey with our brand in your life.”

The chisel-jawed nymph Rama McCabe started off at Rip Curl, swung over to Globe, then O’Neill, Critical Slide for a while before joining a Japanese-Australian gang to form Banks Journal.

I remember in 2006, in Fiji, when the then-famous surfer Nathan Webster described me and Rama as Big Dez and Little Dez.

I was thrilled more than Rama, he better looking and dazzling in the water, me, shark-nosed, thin-lipped, flamingo legged, belly fat, but thirty pounds heavier and maybe six inches bigger where it matters. (Height). Sorta same haircut gave us a vague similarity, which I milked.

Over the years I got Rama to design various surf trunks, the high point being our Bill Cosby and Black Enuch trunks, short in the leg, gentle on the hips, grippy on the thigh. Works of art, I think, through sales were slow.

It’s a been wild couple of days for Rama.

His brother Pritamo, the head judge of the WSL men’s tour for the last five years, has just been replaced by Brazil’s Luiz Fernando Steffen Pereira following the near mutiny of Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira and Filipe Toledo after they weren’t gifted victories in every event on tour.

“Kelly Slater has Charlie Goldsmith, Italo Ferreira has god.”

Four years ago, the surfing world was introduced to the faith healer Charlie Goldsmith, Kelly Slater’s “secret weapon”, in an episode of the excellent WSL series Sound Waves filmed at Slater’s Surf Ranch.

Goldsmith is very famous, at least in Australia, for his ability to cure the sick with his personal electric vibrations, as well as tap into the wellness zeitgeist with various business start-ups.

In a three-month study carried out by the Australian television show Sunday Night viewers were privy to the miracle of Goldsmith who “claims he possesses a mysterious energy that can cure the sick using just his mind…he can end chronic pain, cure crippling arthritis, even save lives.”

Goldsmith was eighteen years old when he “first felt a strange sensation between his hands. He says he soon discovered this energy could heal people. Worried about exposing himself to a world of doubters, he wanted to keep his gift secret until science supported his claims.”

Two years later, Goldsmith appeared again, this time in the Kelly Slater produced series Lost Tapes.

It is the 2019 season and Kelly is at Jeffrey’s Bay. Forty seven at the time, something the commentators keep reminding him of, the champ is even more introspective than usual.

“I’ve had a lot of days and time on the road where I’m not enjoying. And, it’s not pro surfing it’s my own life, my own personal issues, family stuff, relationship … sometimes you go surfing and forget about and you don’t think about it. Surfing becomes that drug that covers it up for a while.”

Goldsmith tells Slater, “The truth is, you’ve had so much success that if you didn’t have one more bit of success you’d have had more than anyone else.”

“(Charlie) gets me not-thinking,” says Slater. “I’m a heady person…even up to the minute I paddle out, I’ve had him on the phone.”

Around that time, I spoke with Matt Warshaw on surfing’s great Svengalis, men, always men, who come into the lives of great surfers offering success, happiness, friendship and just a little fairy dust.

“All athletes at that level, I’m guessing, are looking for any kind of edge or advantage they can find, mental and physical. Kelly has Goldsmith, Italo has God,” said Warshaw. “If putting your faith in some person or entity gives you peace of mind, relaxes you, distracts from the pressure, then it works. Goldsmith laying that New Age hoodoo on Kelly makes more sense than his girlfriend telling him again and again to ‘have fun.'”

Shock today, therefore, when Goldsmith, who is forty-three and the nephew of Grease star Olivia Newton-John, was charged with the assault of kid who was mucking around with golf clubs near his house in New Brighton, just north of Byron Bay, and allegedly belted a rock into his cleaner’s car.

Police allege Goldsmith drove to the scene, grabbed one of the kids and then “demanded they all sit while he berated them.”

Cruel!

Goldsmith denies the charge.

“I was made aware of a group of local youths using golf clubs to hit rocks, resulting in damage to a passing car,” Goldsmith told the Daily Mail. “I assisted the individual whose car was damaged. I am deeply disappointed that I have been charged with one count of common assault. I deny any violent conduct or physical contact with the teens. I strenuously deny the allegations and have instructed lawyers to defend the charge.”

He ain’t hanging around New Brighton for long, either. His joint there, with its barrel sauna, gym and hot tub, four beds, three bathrooms, five-car garage, pretty as anything, is currently listed for sale with offers around three million dollars sought.

"This will go down as one of the best days of my life. Surfing with family and sharing memories that will live on forever."

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

The outlook ain’t pretty for Browning. He is fit as a bull and blessed with an optimistic soul but MND leads to increasing muscle weakness, loss of mobility, difficulties in speaking and swallowing, and eventually respiratory failure.

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

Now, thanks to his old pal Kelly Slater, Browning, along with his son Parker, Benji Weatherley, Keith and Derek Brewer, got a taste of the famous Lemoore tank where the hospitality is as good, personalised lockers, chilled wine, excellent tapas, as the long, clean walls. 

“This will go down as one of the best days of my life. Surfing with family and sharing memories that will live on forever,” wrote Parker Browning.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Parker Browning (@parkerjbrowning)