Riley Gaines tweets disapproval of Rip Curl's celebration of transgender surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson.
Riley Gaines ain't into Rip Curl's celebration of transgender, multi-div winning longboarder Sasha Jane Lowerson.

Riley Gaines slams Rip Curl after Instagram post celebrating transgender longboarder Sasha Jane Lowerson

Derek Rielly

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“Peace out Rip Curl. What a tragic end to an iconic brand”

The iconic wetsuit brand Rip Curl, once a brave little two-man company that kicked off the whole surf industry biz in 1969, flew its queer flag high yesterday with a post celebrating the transgender longboarder Sasha Jane Lowerson neé Ryan Egan.

Rip Curl joined two other Australian swimsuit brands in a pivot to the queer market describing their ambassador as, “West Australian waterwoman who loves the freedom found in surfing, disconnecting from the mainstream, and the feeling of dancing on constantly changing waves… It’s a state of mind, always being ready to try something new, curious to seek out knowledge and learn the rules – and break them.⁠”

 

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A post shared by Rip Curl | Women (@ripcurl_women)

Nine months ago, Sasha Jane Lowerson made history when she became the first transgender surfer to compete at a WSL event, the Manly Classic, a one-day longboard contest.

And, two years ago, she made history when she became the first surfer in history to win both the Western Australian men’s and women’s longboard divisions.

You’ll remember Sasha Jane Lowerson, of course.

She is a robust forty-six-year-old strawberry blonde with terrific arms who blossomed into chemical-induced womanhood in 2020.

Following news that Rip Curl had dumped the Christian amputee Bethany Hamilton, herself an arch critic of transgender gals in women’s sports, for Sasha Jane Lowerson raised the hackles of the American swimmer Riley Gaines.

Riley Gaines is a 23-year-old former competitive swimmer from Tennessee who has made a name for herself as an advocate for women’s sports.

She has been vocal her concerns regarding transgender athletes in women’s sports.

In 2022, while swimming for the University of Kentucky in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship, Gaines tied for fifth place with the University of Pennsylvania swimmer, six-foot-one trans gal Lia Thomas.

Lia Thomas, who used to be known as William Thomas, was a competitive swimmer on the men’s team but began the chemical transition to the sisterhood in 2019, and a couple years later joined the gal’s team.

When Riley Gaines saw the Rip Curl pivot she lit up on X writing,

“You mean to tell me Rip Curl dropped Bethany Hamilton for opposing men surfing in the women’s league then picked up male surfer who surfs in the women’s league. Crazzzzyyy.”

The post lit a fire.

Almost half-a-million views, 18k likes, 4k reposts and 1400 comments almost all supporting her posit that trans-gals don’t belong in women’s sports.

Ian Cairns, big-wave, gun-toting superhero, wrote: This is a slippery slope for Rip Curl,
@wsl and @ISAsurfing Haven’t they heard the news that DEI is on the way out? Glad I don’t have a daughter surfing in West Oz longboard events. Not cool.

Others wrote:

Guess I’m not wearing my Rip Curl rash guard anymore

Rip curl and all their sister brands are absolutely dead to me.

I’ll never buy another product from them under any circumstances.

Fatal marketing mistake @ripcurl. Won’t be buying your wetsuits or clothing anymore

No one with an IQ above 30 believes that it’s fair for biological men to compete in Women’s Sports, Riley. So, the question is, WHY does the “progressive”  Left hate women so much. And the deeper question, WHY aren’t Liberal women defecting en masse?

This is gross. Company owners need to control their urge to sell out to a woke corps and hold the ship with integrity. The people working at these companies deserve better than garbage being shoved down their throats by non caring corps pushing ideology.

How are the advertising team not getting fired for this , how many companies have been damaged and they still use the larping blokes in their campaigns. I thought they had to know trends , not watching hard enough

If true, everyone should boycott @ripcurl until they go bankrupt. No redemption for this.

RIP…RipCurl. You deny, betray and ultimately erase women with this gesture.

I’ll never buy any of your products again.

Bethany will always be the ambassador of women’s surfing in my book. The WSL is the new Bud Light. Go woke Go broke.

When Bethany made her stance on the trans-issue public, wise old Kelly Slater waded into an overflowing pond with some sage-like advice: “Make a trans division and we don’t have this confusion.”

Takeaways: Is this gonna be Rip Curl’s Bud Light moment or do you think the Rip Curl customer is thrilled beyond measure with the company’s bow to the transgender lobby?

You know my stance on she-dick.

Rip Curl surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson and Moana Bikini's Jake Young.
Rip Curl surfer Sasha Jane Lowerson, main photo, and Moana Bikini's Jake Young, inset.

Rip Curl joins Australian swimwear companies in heavy pivot to growing trans market

Derek Rielly

By

"It’s a state of mind, always being ready to try something new, curious to seek out knowledge and learn the rules – and break them.⁠"

The Kathmandu-owned former surf icon Rip Curl has joined a conga line of Australian swimwear companies in pivoting to the growing trans-woman market.

In an Instagram reel on Thursday as part of Rip Curl Women’s Meet the Local Heroes of Western Australia campaign, Rip Curl Women featured the inspirational T-girl Sasha Jane Lowerson.

Lowerson, as you know, was one of Australia’s leading male longboarders, even winning the men’s longboard div as Ryan Egan, before transitioning three years ago and joining the women’s side of the draw.

The beauty of the Rip Curl post is its complete acceptance of Lowerson into the sisterhood. ie. no transition talk.

Meet Sasha – a West Australian waterwoman who loves the freedom found in surfing, disconnecting from the mainstream, and the feeling of dancing on constantly changing waves. When we were adventuring through Western Australia recently, we were keen to know what The Search means to the surfers who crossed our paths. These surfers live on a wild stretch of coast where there’s always a new wave or campsite just a little further down the road or off the beaten track. It’s a state of mind, always being ready to try something new, curious to seek out knowledge and learn the rules – and break them.⁠

“Sometimes it isn’t even the actual surf, it’s the journey itself, the chats that we have in the car on the long straight roads here in WA and the campfire afterwards,” Lowerson says. “Friendships grow on the search and I love that.”

Rip Curl have turned off all comments on the post.

*With a commitment to maintaining a positive space for all, we have disabled our comments. Thank you for your understanding.

 

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Other Australian swimwear companies pivoting to the gender-bending market include Sea Folly, who collaborated with non-binary influencer Deni Todorovic and Moana Bikini with Jake Young looking fab in a white string one-piece.

Jason Momoa (pictured) standing in water.
Jason Momoa (pictured) standing in water.

World Surf League partners with Hawaiian hunk Jason Momoa ahead of 2024 championship tour

Chas Smith

By

Get thirsty.

The second most famous scene in 1967’s legendary film The Graduate is, certainly, is when Dustin Hoffman’s Ben is making his way around a well-heeled house party, guests asking him “what are you going to do with your life?” etc., when Mr. Maguire approaches and says, “Ben, come with me for a minute. I want to talk to you.”

The two make their way outside where Mr. Maguire delivers the iconic line. “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Plastics.”

Well, as it turns out, Mr. Maguire was very wrong. Plastics are, now, everywhere destroying the world and our collective health.

Thankfully, we have the World Surf League. The “global home of surfing” is many things, including crowner of Lower Trestles champions, but, mostly, the earth’s best greenwasher. Where would we be without the two bushes planted in Western Australia? Or the reef polyps planted in Tahiti but then destroyed by Olympic committee organizers?

Real trouble is where.

Enter Jason Momoa and his new canned water offering Mananalu. The Hawaiian hunk has signed on to the 2024 Championship Tour as the League’s “official canned water” sponsor.

Per the press release:

As an Official Canned Water Partner, Mananalu will be the exclusive canned water onsite at the World Surf League’s North American events including the US Open of Surfing, WSL Finals, the Lexus Pipe Pro, and more. Mananalu will also be an Official Partner of WSL PURE, the league’s 501C3, which runs an annual grant program to support global credible non-profit organizations focused on improving the health of global ocean ecosystems.

“We are thrilled about our partnership with the World Surf League this year,” expressed Lindsey Fischer, Mananalu’s Vice President of Marketing. “Our shared commitment to ocean conservation is at the heart of this collaboration. Together, we aim to significantly reduce the use of single-use plastics, safeguarding our oceans for future generations.”

Cherie Cohen, the World Surf League’s Chief Revenue Officer, added, “Jason’s is a hero who lives his mission and this brand is a reflection of that. We are proud to partner with Mananalu to raise awareness and action around ocean protection. This water tastes great and our athletes, VIPs, and fans will benefit from their support of the sport.”

Does it get cooler?

Shut your face.

Chas Smith hates surfing!

Chas Smith reacts to Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore quitting tour!

Derek Rielly

By

"Were these two greatest of all times pushed out to pasture? No they chose to go out to pasture and leave pro surfing behind."

So many tears and I told you so’s after pro surfing’s most endearing icons, Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore, quit the tour within three days of each other. 

Five-time champ Carissa Moore, thirty-one, told the New York Times she wanted to peer over the edge and see what life looked like “out of the jersey.”

She wants to extract herself from the loose structure and warm cocoon of her sport’s global tour, to redefine success on her own terms and in her own mind. She wants to be challenged in a different way, even though the easiest thing might be to stick around.

“All those wins, the competitive part that’s so much of my identity, I’m taking that away, and I’m facing myself this year,” she said. “And that’s scary. Like, who am I? Am I going to be OK? Will I be able to love myself and think that I’m worthy without this?”

Eight-time world champ Stephanie Gilmore quickly followed Moore into the sunset. 

(The zenith for Stephanie Gilmore’s career came in 2022 when she dominated Finals Day, starting in fifth place, mowing through all-comers before beating Moore in the winner-take-all surf-off.)

Carissa Moore surfs her last WSL event Pipe but will defend her Olympic title at Teahupoo in July. 

And while all that was going on, Lisa Andersen was quietly exited from Roxy with the reclusive world champ Martin Potter breaking his five-year silence to slam the company. 

With the forthrightness that made him a beloved member of the WSL broadcast roster, Potter, who won the world title in 1989, wrote:

“I saw this coming years ago, why do you think I disappeared from something we helped build. Surfing or should I say pro surfing is dead. So sad.”

Between 1996 and 2006, Lisa Andersen’s golden years, Roxy grew from 20 mill to 650 mill in sales.

All of which makes Chas hate surfing even more.

Ian Cairns and Shaun Tomson
Ian Cairns and Shaun Tomson, both as sexy as can be but with such diff opinions!

World surf champs Ian Cairns and Shaun Tomson in wild courtroom battle after leashless board injures surfer

Derek Rielly

By

"His use of a sharpened and deadly fin was reckless and displayed a wanton disregard for the safety of others.”

For the first time I can think of, or remember, US courts have been asked to adjudicate on whether or not dropping in on a man and belting him with a leashless log is grounds for damages.

In the case of Olson v Saville (2024), Mark Olson (belted) and Patrick Saville (no leash) were surfing at Mirimar Beach in Montecito, a town described as “a dizzying combination of old wealth, new wealth and outrageous physical beauty that has begun to attract an ever-wider range of dreamers.”

Olson caught a wave, Saville “appeared out of nowhere” and dropped in forcing Olson “to make a fast turn correction to his left toward the beach.”

Olson then “grabbed both [of] his board rails (aka sides) and pushed himself and the nose of the board slightly down and into the foam pile of whitewater toward the deeper water and away from respondent.”

Saville was still riding towards the beach but soon wiped out and his leashless board “propelled backwards and struck Olson’s torso and back.”

Olson sued for negligence.

“(Saville) intentionally entered the wave and intentionally cut off (Olson’s) path of travel, thereby forcing (Olson) to exit the wave.”

Further, Saville’s “failure to use a leash to control [his] longboard” and his use of a “sharpened and deadly fin was reckless and displayed a wanton disregard for the safety of others.”

Saville used the assumption of risk doctrine as his defence. As far as excuses go, it’s a doozy.

“An individual is barred from recovering damages for an injury sustained when he or she voluntarily exposed him or herself to a known danger.”

Now here’s where it gets good. Saville called in Ian “Kangag” Cairns, the testosterone-squirting big-wave icon who said that surfing is an “extreme sport with many inherent risks…Because ‘wipeouts’ are so common, it is a known risk that a surfer may collide with another surfer, or another surfer’s board.”

Kanga, a baseball-bat swinging, send-the-king-of-the-Hui to jail hell-raiser, said surfing is underwritten by an etiquette although “violating this surfing etiquette is common among surfers.”

Kanga said that “many longboard surfers particularly enjoy the challenge and freedom of surfing without a leash” ‘cause legropes “interfere with their footwork and speed.”

He also added that fins “are very sharp and can inflict significant injury.”

How could a court not be swayed?

But here comes Shaun Tomson, Kanga’s old sparring partner from those fabulous mid-seventies Hawaiian winters, on the side of Mark Olson.

Tomson disagreed with Kanga and said that Saville’s conduct was indeed reckless.

“Over time, the sport of surfing has adopted the Surfing Code and Rules of Etiquette,” Tomson told the court. “Surfers have a self-managed obligation to observe the Surfers Code and Rules of Etiquette and not increase the risk of harm to others in the water.”

Tomson said that Saville’s disregard of surfing’s rules was a “conscious and wanton reckless disregard” for another surfer’s safety.

On and on it goes, read it all here.

Anyway, who do you think the court sided with, Kanga or Shaun?

Kanga!

Leashless boards ok!

Good news or have the gates to hell just swung open?

Jon Pyzel and Matt Biolos by @theneedforshutterspeed/Step Bros
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