“So all the worlds best surfers and the worlds most dialled-in designers are all dorks?”
The surfing world was drenched in terror sweat yesterday when the world’s most successful surfboard shaper Matt Biolos and three-time longboard champ Joel Tudor, two of the sport’s most hallowed names, thundered repeated salvos at each other on Instagram.
Joel Tudor, a forty-seven-year-old father of two but who still has the ethereal and angelic face of a child, opened with a post featuring a vintage technical drawing of a surfboard.
Crucially, there was no mention of the surfboard’s volume, a common and popular measurement in modern surfboards. Regular BeachGrit readers will know the story of how Firewire was the first company to introduce the measurement to surfers, writing it on their stock boards.
“No mention of dorkass liters in this conversation! All the OG’s kept it real!” wrote Joel, regarded as the father of modern old-fashioned long boarding.
“So all the worlds best surfers and the worlds most dialed in designers are all dorks? Sure, anyone who worries about liters on a log, is not getting the point, but fine tuned minutia of performance competitive surfboards,are universally being made more exacting by adding a “4th dimension” to the mix. It’s a very function method of measurement, when used the correct way.”
Joel Tudor quickly plunged the knife, forgetting even the rule for possessive apostrophes.
“Every one of you who cave to this trendy language are a bunch of Barney’s!”
A follower called purr_monster writes, “Joel’s a barn.”
Joel Tudor roars, “I will out surf all of you and fold you in your own clothes.”
Later, Joel Tudor writes to Matt Biolos, “Brewer , takayama & frye will laugh in your face if you say liters on any surfboard whatsoever……they’ve dropped more weed than you’ve smoked in regards to surfboards of all shapes and sizes …..also in the words of Donald to all small board shapers …don’t tell me anything until you can shape a longboard that doesn’t look like it’s been shaped my a axe awoooooooooo…”
Shortly after, “by a axe …sorry my autocorrect just took a bong hit.”
Biolos: “With all due respect to you and those other icons, none ever laughed in my face, when I met them. Skip was forever curious, Like Ekstrom and Brewer all forever inquisitive. If its a tool that gave them, or their test pilots an edge, they would prob use the tool. We use the tool to build refined racing machines, for the most astute surfers on earth. It’s that simple. Donald sold more Asian made SurfTechs than anyone. He laughed in all our faces. Then threatened me, physically, on voice mail, for trying to protect domestic board builder’s from his cheap imports and impose import duties on Asian built boards. Called me every name in the book. So I respectfully laughed in his face. Rest his beautiful soul.”
And so on.
Joel Tudor, of course, is a well-known star of blood feuds, the ultra-purist angle skewering all-comers.
You’ll remember his role as the protagonist in these classics, Blood Feud: Joel Tudor and Noa Deane in creative battle royale! Blood Feud: Joel Tudor vs The World, and Blood Feud: Kelly Slater vs Kelly Slater (part one), Blood Feud: Joel Tudor vs Kelly Slater, part two and Blood feud; Joel Tudor squares off with shaping icon Richard Kenvin.

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at least they clearly agree on aging-lesbian-chic being the ‘it’ look of 2024
They both need their apostrophe licenses taken away.
Volume of Tudors’ head can’t be under estimated
Shows how well the last head judge did. But yeah 100% up against it in the marginal conditions they keep coming up against. Needs to be more accountability at this level. Mic up the judging room! More drama more controversy! That’s only good for the WSL
Oh, I was joking. 😁
More judging explanations from judges after heats would be helpful for everyone
This.
It would help the surfers, make the sport seem more legitimate, and improve our attitudes.
List of prior Blood Feuds for the win
https://cdn11.bigcommerce.c…
ha. an overnight stay in Long Beach with business partners wired to the gills. paraded into a bar feeling loose and lucky. cracked the entry door and headed thru the crowd and straight to the bar. turned ’round and noticed ‘all these guys…’ high-tailed it back outta there with two of the other guys.’ the fourth guy was missing and later admitted: he came out…and that’s OK…BTW…we got the contract!
A mile is 1.609344 km. Just figure it out in your head while you’re watching. 🤣
Biolos is a man who speaks, thinks, and designs in a precise, calculated manner. The man is no slob.
“Sure, anyone who worries about liters on a log, is not getting the point, but fine tuned minutia of performance competitive surfboards,are universally being made more exacting…”
Bingo.
Standing wave surfing in rivers or pools, skimboarders riding deep and long in the barrel, wakesurfing, and tow in big wave riding have all taught us the same thing. You can surf on a tiny, thin board IF you don’t have to paddle in. You can surf really well on it, and people with the specific skills can do crazy skateboard or snowboard style tricks you can’t do on a regular surfboard.
So, to win a shortboard contest today, you have a real advantage if you have the least extra foam to slog around when you’re riding. But if you can’t catch a wave, you get zero points.
Comp shortboards, then, are shaped to have just enough buoyancy to allow a very fit surfer to get into the waves at a given spot. For that, volume does matter. Biolos, being a precise thinker, uses that number along with many other variables in a board design.
Now, as far as the average surfer knowing what volume is best for them? I have to agree with Joel. There’s a difference between a pro given many similar boards to test and report back on, and those of us whose experience with huge quivers is limited by budget and time. I, for one, would let Matt Biolos tell me what volume I’ll like in a certain design, rather than pulling some number out of my ass. What is the likelihood that I’ll know better than Matt does?
So yeah, there are dorks and barneys out there. Matt Biolos isn’t one of them.
we are all in as bozos…getting on the bus…all Dave’s & Jethro’s. for example: in ’69 I bought a used 8’6″ rectangular-shaped Noll with a plywood laminated fin that had a pyschodelic outer glassing. took it to a PCH surfshop and had them overlay extra gloss for a baby blue finish. I think it was Dewey that said “aren’t you concerned with volume?”
Joel is no intellectual heavyweight…or even featherweight…but for Matt to take the bait tells me he’s prone to doing pretty stupid shit too. Although Joel’s texting skills and addled metaphors push him over the edge to be the Grumpy Old Fuck of The Day.
Rabble rouser
people who identify as longboarders are fundamentally imperious assholes, at least on both US coasts.
What about translongboarders who nose ride a 6’0″?
Less posting more surfing
Hahaha!!!!
Grateful surfing has these two humans keeping surfing interesting with honest opinions, if the WSL had their way, surfing would be whitewashed with perpetual ass kissing and positive noise
interference.
This is why we bash the WSL and most continue to do so.
“the shaper with the sad liquid brown eyes, Matt Biolos.”
Yup
I don’t think Joel would outsurf as many people as he thinks…
he’s not even the best surfing Tudor for chrissakes…
Dammm 112 comments… was this a Live thread??
Interesting one makes a living making boards and one makes a living riding them , I tend to lean towards the one that put the effort into learning how to make em.
I told ya Linvlads better than yew. 🥺🥲