"Get non-surfers out of the game, they ruin it every time."
It ain’t a secret to anyone, let alone the Hawaiian-born big-wave world champ Makua Rothman, that the surf industry is on its knees force fed the transparent viscous goo of hedge fund money, faces buried in corporate America’s moist thicket.
The season began with Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore, thirteen world titles between ‘em and more star power than the men’s and women’s tour combined, quitting the tour within days of each other.
A men’s world champ that refuses to surf, in any meaningful way, the two most iconic waves in the world.
Commentators, CEOs, all disappeared without a trace as if it was Stalin’s Great Terror.
And, so, Makua Rothman, the thirty-nine-year-old son of North shore strongman Fast Eddie Rothman and winner of the Billabong XXL award for riding a sixty-six footer at Jaws when he was eighteen, has asked his myriad fans a real simple question.
What do we do?
“I want to reach out and see if I can challenge you folks,” says Makua Rothman. “See what you think, what solutions you might have.”
Makua Rothman adds:
“Surfing is at its weakest point it’s ever been, huge fun money, loss of control over the companies and the real culture, the people that started the brands. It’s a real turning point in surfing and I think there’s some really great minds out there and we can definitely change the way the surf world is forever and for the better.”
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Given Makua Rothman’s status, let’s say, the comments came thick and fast and from the best in the game.
From John John’s mama Alex, “A league that supports the actual athletes and an updated judging system..👍🤷♀️ not a tv show! And well ya know no men in the girls etc…”
Shane Dorian: “We need to protect women’s sports.”
Pipe legend Liam McNamara: “How can we have a world champion decided in head-high little cobblestone, California beach break.”
Dustin Barca: “No mid season cut off . End with the triple crown . Without it ending in Hawaii , it’s dead.”
Master surfboard sprayer Drew Brophy, “Go back to the basics, support real surf companies, shapers craftsman, designers, artists, shop owners, surf community, etc. Take care of the waves and places where they are, get non-surfers out of the game, they ruin it every time. Surfers should have to compete in all conditions biggest to smallest, everyone gets to shine doing what they do best. Always remember the waves are the star every time.”
Makua Rothman finishes his piece to camera with a throat-slashing motion. Very theatrical!
Do you think surfing is at its weakest point or do you see a juggernaut of competitive sport and fashion storming the runways and television sets?
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Portofina…
Big Wave of Money, End in Shallow Tide Pool of debt – Polynesian proverb
Was the tour ever profitable when surfers were running it? Also ya, now the surf industry competes with a million other sports that all have their own clothing brands and cultures. Surf clothing was leisure clothing for mid America years ago, but now they’ve got their own stuff going on.
Surfing also has to compete with cell phones, with Mark Zuck’s addictive algorithms. Hell kids I work with watch other people play video games online, not surf contests. Last week I asked a kid who had headphones on, “what are you listening to?” At work he was listening to someone else play a video game. He said the guy was funny, and he was playing some game he use to play a few years ago. No wonder Incels exist! But seriously tons of guys in their 20’s are more interested in watching someone else play video games than doing something that takes effort and has real world feedback like surfing.
Should we boycott the licensed brands? Sure. If they’re not paying pros like rockstars, if the pros are groveling to make a buck, that looks lame, what kid dreams of that? The lowest paid NFL player make nearly a million bucks a year. If hedge fund owned “surf brands” aren’t investing in it, boycott em’. Hell, Rip Curl does one social media post with a trans person and tons of people are claiming they’re throwing away their wetsuits because they want to protect women. Lisa Anderson gets cut from Roxy, where’s the intense backlash from these people that proclaim they’re protecting women’s sport by getting pissed about one trans post? Is Shane Dorian scared to bite that hand that dishes out the crumbs now that Billabong, Roxy, and Quiksilver are all the same hedge funds pawns? Sure he is.
Hurley sold Hurley & now Hurley is Florence. Florence was Hurley but now Florence is Florence which is a Hurley
Hurley is Toledo & Toledo is shit & now Hurley is shit as it’s now Florence which is good but Hurley.
This is surf
Clearly Makua’s supporting the NFL. But the 49ers? I don’t care what pop star loves the Chiefs, F$&k the 49ers. I hope they lose the Taylor Bowl next weekend.
It’s all rigged! Only an idiot cares about football
What exactly does he wants us to save, I could care less that pro surfing is failing and that the industry needs surfers to run it, yeah were not surfers running Quik, Hurley and the rest when they all cashed out? He wants us the general surf population to save them all and give them money what a crock. And I could care less about the trans created angst just more click bait.
mink?
Burn it to the ground so that some kids can build something awesome out of the ashes 10 years from now. Because if something drastic doesn’t happen it will wither and die soon as the surfing population continues to age with less and less groms see surfing as counter culture and interesting. We don’t need pro surfing. We enjoy it when the surf and surfers are inspiring. Surfing should never be a vehicle for entitled kids to make a living. And the olympics only speed up the death of surf culture.
Moist thicket……mic drop
Who is holding the auto cue off too his left he keeps looking at?
The cut is good marketing, keep it but have it after comp 8, cut to 16 male surfers, 8 female, last 2 comps will be 1 day events easly packaged and the locations will be trestles then pipe, stay in USA territory and keep chasing the us sponsorship. Back 30 surfers will have to go to final cs events of the year to qualify for ct , cs’s will have Haliewa and sunset reincluded ensuring surfers know how to surf heavyvwater before they make the ct.
So the Future is just be a Gay Ben Gravy and you’re on top of the industry! No thank you!
Makua would be better off explaining why they have let the North shore turn into such a shit show in general .
Gentrification and rich white Californian * locals * everywhere
The wsl is the least of the problems
And the blow in crims from Philadelphia.
where is that not applicable today?
Sadly nowhere
I say we sacrifice Ben Gravy
the french handballers have been world champs on and off for years, fuck they are fast and fit and talented, and sick to watch, most of them have jobs, maybe that’s the solution
There’s Business Surfing and Fun Surfing…i’ll take the latter nowadays.
An average swell lasts about 2 days. With a 10 day holding period to hold a 5 day event the tour is set up to be held in crap waves. How often do we get 2-3 epic swells in 10 days?
that’s one reason the tour has sucked the last few years.
The tour needs to be held in 2 days, strike mission style.
Get rid of the mid year cut and just start with less people.
Non-elimination round is a waste of good waves
All they need to do is cut 4 surfers from the men’s tour and two from the women’s and they instantly save two whole days.
Or go to 4 man heats, which I am an advocate for, because more waves will get ridden and that’s what they need to make the telecast interesting.
SHHHH, don’t tell anyone I’ll skin up a mtn today wearing my Dakine surf hat. You know the ugly camo one with the bill and flaps that prevent my ears from getting fried. I wonder if I could cut out the Dakine logo?
may just be a subliminal thought, but Birdwell?
Honestly if I’m not the world’s biggest fuckwit!.. Then I don’t know who is! Aside from the B club..musk,zuck,bozos and T rump..even though he’s just a millionaire…heheh…we are all tossers!..
Surfing is great.
Pro surfing, not so much.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
turn on, tune in, drop out...it’s just an acid trip; you know, The Trip!
Hes obvsly never surfed snapper