Core surfer-snowboarder becomes odds-on
favorite to win heart of “Golden Bachelor!”
By Chas Smith
Hint: Filipe Toledo
If you are not on absolute pins and needles
leading up to the final rose ceremony of the Golden Bachelor then
you, likely, do not have a heartbeat. ABC re-spun its much loved
Bachelor and Bachelorette franchises for geriatrics. Older folk
finding love… again. This year’s single star, Gerry Turner, is a
retired restauranteur from Indiana lookin’ for love in all the old
places. I don’t actually know how he’s going, as I’ve never trusted
men named “Gerry,” though am happy to report that a core
surfer-snowboarder is currently the odds-on favorite to win his
withered hand.
But let us meet Leslie Fhima, a 64-year-old personal trainer
with a need for speed. The two will head into the “Fantasy Suite”
this evening but, it is important to know, Fhima shreds.
World Surf League paralyzed as massive
TikTok audience embraces slain Osama bin Laden
By Chas Smith
He's baaaack.
The World Surf League has not had many wins
during its eight year run as the “global home of surfing” (circa
1976). The then-Association of Surfing Professionals was purchased,
for free, by billionaire Dirk Ziff back in 2015. Then, a wild
bullishness filled the air. Surfing, the first CEO Paul Speaker
declared, would soon be bigger than football.
Alas, one series of goofy mistakes followed another all leading
to a silly unicorn named Erik Logan taking the reins. The Oklahoman
with a magical wetsuit of armor gutted both credibility and
viewership. Surfers revolted, the audience was revolted and
everything turned into a pile of wet mush.
Somehow, in some way, the League grew its Chinese group dance
application to a massive 2.1 million followers. Millions upon
millions of “likes” and “shares” followed. World Surf League Chiefs
of This and World Surf League Chiefs of That sat back in
animalblood-stained
chairs and felt good.
Except.
The Global War on Terror Home of Surfing
That one bit of success is turning very problematic for them
now. TikTokers, you see, are embracing a
letter the slain leader of Al-Qaeda wrote to the
American people some twenty-odd years ago in the thick of the
“global war on terror.”
In his note, Bin Laden writes about how jihad is a form of
worship for Muslims, how the West keeps meddling in Middle Eastern
affairs and how it will continue to be problematic moving forward.
The message is resonating with TikTokers and it is being widely
shared amongst them. The Guardian newspaper, where the
letter first appeared, has even disappeared it off their website,
noting, “The transcript published on our website 20 years ago has
been widely shared on social media without the full context.”
The Guardian became accused of censorship. Others,
then, became aghast,
shocked that young surf group dance enthusiasts are rehabilitating
the mastermind behind 9/11.
While the ideological battle rages, the World Surf League simply
worries its TikTok will be lost, taken away by governmental forces,
and that will be that.
No more Joe Turpel doing hand jives to camera.
No more “trends.”
Sad.
Well, I went to Yemen, post-9/11 to surf those Al-Qaeda waves
and, must say, the World Surf League should have shored up that
audience sooner. Oh not the TikTok one, they are fickle, but the
radical Islamic one. Imagine Finals Day in al-Mukullah instead of
boring ol’ San Clemente.
Era-defining surfing photographer Mike
Moir, dead at 77
By Preston Murray
Without Mike Moir, the Echo Beach era may never
have even happened.
Mike Moir is gone.
We lost a good one.
If you haven’t heard, legendary Southern California-based surf photographer Mike
Moir has passed on. Apparently Mike had been
struggling with some health issues of late, but this still came as
a surprise to the local surf community.
Before anything, Moir was a surfer.
He grew up surfing during the longboard era of the late fifties
and early sixties before starting to mess around with a camera
pointed seaward, primarily in and around the Huntington/Newport
wave zones.
Moir’s understanding of surfing made for an easy jump to surf
photographer and he was soon being published regularly, primarily
in Surfer Magazine where
he later became one of the publications hardest working “Staff”
photographers.
By the time the mid 1970’s rolled around Mike Moir was
conveniently positioned in Orange County just as things began to
dramatically change in surfing.
From the HB pier, down through Newport and even occasionally
posting up at Salt Creek, Moir began to take notice of these
changes and sensed the obvious movement at hand.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say without Mike Moir, none of that
may have even happened.
Mike Moir was old school in the sense that much of his best work
came during a period of time when photographers were hand winding
and hand focusing within the every limiting confines of 24 or 36
exposure rolls of Kodak.
Digital was a long way away so every click was money ether
coming in or going out and Mike was one of the best at maximizing
his time and effort. It’s easy to assume that when one of Mike
envelopes showed up his photo editors knew that they had some very
usable photos included.
More recently, Mike Moir had discovered social media and to the
delight of most of us he regularly posted some familiar work but
also many of the b-roll stuff that may not have made the cut. Which
usually including some unseen gems.
Up until just a few weeks ago, Mike Moir could still be seen at
local events with a camera around his neck. From an
Alex Knost art show to
a book signing to a HB Walk of Fame presentation, he was
omnipresent.
Unfortunately, the platforms which at one time supported him are
no longer around to publish his work as print surf media
disappeared a few years ago. Mike Moir didn’t care he just loved
pointing his camera at something he saw as compelling.
Which really brings to light the very real compassion Mike Moir
had for his craft.
Up until the day he left us, he did it for the love of the art,
not the money.
You will be missed Mike Moir, especially by a bunch of young
groms from Newport, but your impact on surf culture will never be
forgotten.
Safe travels Mike Moir.
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New Surfer Magazine spits on only rule of
surf journalism; misidentifies Nathan Florence as Nathan
Fletcher
By Chas Smith
Shocking.
There are not many rules in surf journalism. It
is, generally speaking, a literary Wild West where there can be
spelled their, roll can be spelled role and Selema Masekela can.
Now that I think upon it their are no rules, save one.
Thou shalt not misidentify professional surfers.
A photo of Ace Buchan marked as a photo of Jodie Cooper, for
example, would have required the head of the caption writer. Him
being paraded out into the parking lot, stripped of Billabong shirt
and guillotined in front of cheering editors, associate editors and
editors-at-large.
While print publications have all but died, along with their
editors, associate editors and editors-at-large, fidelity to
knowing a Conner Coffin from a Parker Coffin has remained.
Or remained until the re-animated corpse of once-proud
Surfer Magazine was jumped to life by The Arena Group and
turned into an Inertia-inspired house of horrors. The
“Bible of the Sport” might have been forgiven for hiring a Tennessee
resident who enjoyed “strong coffee” to cover surfing
from the shadow of the Smoky Mountains.
It cannot be forgiven for calling Nathan Florence Nathan
Fletcher.
Literally.
Nathan Florence Nathan Fletcher.
OMG Surfer. Pull it together.
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Influencer Kaz Sawyer plays dirty surf
prank on presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy
By Chas Smith
"To teach a man poo stance is rude no matter how
much one opposes his politics."
Now, we all know that wake surfing is not
surfing, though the mainstream media does not know that. I
suppose various non-surf journalists must not be blamed. Kelly
Slater, the world’s greatest surfer, made one giant wake surfing
pond and called it Surf Ranch. He made another one in Abu Dhabi and
called it Surf Mazraea.
In any case, Orange County influencer Kaz Sawyer just played the
dirtiest of surf pranks on Republican presidential hopeful Vivek
Ramaswamy.
Sawyer, who can often be seen on his social media channels surf
checking with a Slater Designs board, took the tech
entrepreneur-cum-politician out in Miami.
Ramaswamy, though trailing in the polls by a wide margin, has
made a name for himself by being a plucky li’l fella on stage. He
happened to be in Miami, in fact, for the third Republican debate.
Pundits called his performance “unhinged.”
Sawyer, maybe wanting to rub dirt in the open wound, decided to
take Ramaswamy out on the waters. “Teaching the future President
how to surf,” he wrote.
The gag, on the surface, was to have Vivek Ramaswamy “surf” in a
business suit. The dirtiest of surf pranks, though, more
subtle.
“First I taught him some of the basics,” Sawyer voices over.