Former Super Girl Pro champ Caroline Marks and Jett (insert),

Rock ‘n’ roll loving surf fans pump fists after Joan Jett announced as headliner for the Super Girl Surf Pro

By Chas Smith

5 months ago

"I wanna be where the boys are."

Now, we all know that surfing has lost a little of its “cool.” maybe even a lot of it. Surf coach parents, Abu Dhabi wave tanks, magic wetsuits, Wavestorms, Bay Boy decimation etc. etc. and so it is completely understandable that surf fans, far and wide, joined in a collective fist pumping after Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were announced as headliners for the U.S. Air Force Super Girl Pro which is slated to run Nov. 8 – 10 at Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Cherry bomb.

The contest, deemed the “world’s largest female surf event in the world” Word Qualifying Series 3000 meaning that winners will obtain points for the Championship Tour.

As it so happens, CeeLo Greenn will also be performing. He was once partners with Andre 3000.

Love is pain.

The draw includes 96 of the hottest up-and-comers around including Zoe Benedetto, Nora Liotta, Kirra Pinkerton, Zoe McDougall, Kohai Fierro and more.

Fake friends.

Surfline is reporting current conditions in Jacksonville Beach to be “solid chunky wind peaks. Strong onshore winds and choppy conditions,” and projecting clean 3 – 4ft surf for the contest window.

You don’t know what you got.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts will take the stage Saturday night on Saturday, Nov 9th and be proceeded by Hello Sister, Hannah Wicklund and Artikal Sound System. The show is free.

I wanna be where the boys are.

The World Surf League has, of course, tried its hand at musical artists and Championship Tour competitions. Who could forget two years ago when…. a popular band played at the Surf Ranch Pro? With Abu Dhabi coming up, might the “global home of surfing” dip its hand back into that bag and invite a musical act to close it out?

I love playin’ with fire.

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Erik Logan giving feels to Jack Robinson, left, and two-time world champ Filipe Toledo in the now infamous "take your shirt off" romp.

Sacked WSL CEO Erik Logan posts chilling message 16 months after unexplained disappearance from surfing

By Derek Rielly

5 months ago

"What happens in a situation when an employee causes harm to the organization? How do you handle that?"

Almost two years ago now, WSL frontman Erik Logan, “a world-class media executive with a profound personal connection to the sport of surfing” was disappeared by the WSL mid-event at the Vivo Rio Pro.

No reason given, only a curtly worded press release that neither thanked nor exalted their high-profile CEO.

“Today, the World Surf League (WSL) announced that CEO Erik Logan has departed the company, effective immediately.”

Four days before the Soviet-sesque disappearance of its once exalted CEO, Logan was in Brazil and having a hell of a time.

He vigorously posted videos on his Instagram account and even wrote a passionate “love letter” to the same Brazilian surf fans who threatened death following several unfavourable judging decisions at the Surf Ranch Pro although he did write, prophetically, “Stay tuned for some exhilarating action.”

In the silence that followed, Chas Smith asked around and hit a wall of NDAs.

The lack of any information, whatsoever, from the World Surf League in the aftermath, alongside the “flabbergasting” lack of knowledge by those close to the levers of power, suggested an absolutely ruthless NDA.

A championship tour surfer had told me, directly, that Logan had made certain surfers “feel uncomfortable” with his behavior and by asking them to one-on-one dinners or drinks. He also, it was said, became “erratic” when he drank. The assertion of both troublesome requests and over-indulgent drinking was corroborated by at least two others, both with direct experience.

He was getting away with it for a while,” another with first hand experience told me. “Lots of reports the last few events that he’s been drunk and making inappropriate comments to the women.”

Putting pieces together, it suggests the sort of firing that would deliver no praise and require an ironclad NDA. One almost certainly concerning personal conduct and needing the head of human resources and the head of legal to take over at a moment’s notice.

One that forced him to “fly home immediately,” according to one source, directly following his ouster.

Or as the great Jen See said, “clean up on aisle five.”

Erik Logan has since re-invented himself as a motivational speaker and writer for Forbes. He self-describes as “an award-winning executive producer, the intersection of leadership, content, and culture is my passion.”

Given the mystery surrounding this disappearance by the WSL, today’s post on his Instagram page is staggeringly bold.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erik Logan (@elo_eriklogan)

“I wanted to jump on and touch on one topic that has generated a lot of emails and texts and some follow up on the social media platforms about what happens in a situation when an employee actually does something and causes harm to the organization,” says Erik Logan.

“How do you handle that? Let’s just go back to the Maya (Angelou) quote. ‘People won’t remember what you did, but they’ll remember how you feel.’

“You can terminate somebody and you have to obviously if they do something to cause harm to an organization even if they resign and they walk away they leave you in a lurch. I experienced this firsthand in my career when I was very young. I had a general manager at one time scream at me at the top of his lungs and threw a phone at me because I resigned from a job. I’ve never forgotten that. There’s a way you can handle all of those with dignity.

You can be, I’m very upset, I’m very angry, but I want to be clear about why we’re doing this. Thank you for your time and leave. You can handle it that way. Don’t project your anger onto the other person. People will forget what you’ve done for them, what you haven’t done for them, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel. It’s a great guiding principle from Maya Angelou.”

How did Erik Logan make you feel? Happy, sad or, if you’re Filipe Toledo, weird?

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Kelly Slater’s former paramour Gisele Bundchen announces pregnancy

By Chas Smith

5 months ago

"Gisele and Joaquim are happy for this new chapter and looking forward to creating a peaceful and loving environment for the family."

The surf world was alit, last summer, and not because World Surf League Finals Day was going to be held at Lower Trestles. No, the frenzy came from Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen announcing the end to their seemingly perfect union. Brady, winningest quarterback of all-time, and Bundchen, a very famous Brazilian supermodel, called it quits after multiple years and whilst the surf world tried to mourn the demise, hope began bubbling that Bundchen and her former BF Kelly Slater might relight their flame.

Yes, the winningest surfer of all-time and Bundchen were a couple during the aughts and a fine couple indeed. Alas, their reunion was not to be. Slater and his longtime girlfriend had a baby boy and Bundchen just announced she and her partner, Brazilian jiu-jitsuist Joaquim Valente, are expecting a bundle of their own and soon.

TMZ is reporting that Bundchen is “five or six months pregnant.” It will be her third child as she has two with Brady.

A source close to the couple told People Magazine, “Gisele and Joaquim are happy for this new chapter in their life and they’re looking forward to creating a peaceful and loving environment for the whole family.”

Very nice and whilst surf fans may have dreamed of a love match, might we be satisfied enough for a playdate? It could be hoped that Slater’s son will have a name by the time Bundchen’s child is of taking-to-the-park age and imagine how cute it would be?

Do you have any candles left over?

Light please?

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Evidence that surf great Kelly Slater has actually retired grows with release of sensual new photo book

By Chas Smith

5 months ago

"From his famous morning pancakes to strumming guitar with his friends."

It is certainly beginning to feel that Kelly Slater might be retiring from professional surfing. The 11x world champion has been on a “best life tour” of late, popping around Europe, golfing, attending college football games with famous friends. Of course he is taking some time to surf his various tubs, also with famous friends, and generally seems to be in a good mood.

That easy life.

To cap off the overall sense that the greatest competitive surfer of all time is moving gracefully into his golden years, a retrospective photo book by the legendary Todd Glaser has just hit the shelves. Forwarded by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Kelly Slater: A Life of Waves “celebrates fifteen years of Slater’s exhilarating adventures, from 2008 to 2023: Slater’s most iconic surf sessions including the first-ever wave ridden at his Surf Ranch, as well as behind-the-scenes shots inside Slater’s home, from his famous morning pancakes to strumming guitar with his friends.”

The tome has raced up Amazon’s best-seller charts and is currently the #1 new release in surfing (#5 overall) and #5 in celebrity photography.

There are currently no customer reviews but the whole business certainly does have the essence of finality, no? That 2023 is, officially, the end even though Slater surfed through 2024. So, will you be sad, come Pipeline Pro, when he is surfing as a wildcard, also surfing as a wildcard in Abu Dhabi, J-Bay, Tahiti and a smattering of others?

The end of an era, certainly.

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Beach fight between Julian Wilson and Kolohe Andino, as imagined in the movie Point Break.

Surf Olympians Kolohe Andino and Julian Wilson square off in wild online blood feud

By Derek Rielly

5 months ago

“Surfing’s fun brother. Stop spraying your negativity.”

Former tours surfers Kolohe Andino And Julian Wilson, two men who are popular, admired, celebrated and let’s face it, erotic artifacts for any breathing homosexual man, have squared off online in a wild blood feud.

Two days ago, on the Instagram account of Rivvia Projects, Julian Wilson’s start-up clothing label famous for a style which suggests the sex kitten look meets New Romantic, a clip of Wilson surfing Lowers, Kolohe’s home wave, was posted along with the caption:

“Straight from the cobblestones of Trestles to the social media internet. A very recent clip of the boss himself, Julian Wilson, giving the Lowers lineup a bit of an education in high performance surfing.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rivvia Projects (@rivvia.projects)

Lowers, of course, is the high-performance wave that gifted Filipe Toledo two world titles and Kolohe has long been associated with the wave.

Kolohe shot back, “Sick wave. Fucked caption.”

Since leaving the tour Kolohe has discovered a fine candour in his work. When launching his own clothing label, 2 percent, he stunned surf fans with a profanity laden screed on Instagram.

“Surfing culture, big time surf brands and the ‘surf lifestyle’ are FUCKING dead,” wrote the thirty-year-old Daddy of two. “You got every FUCKING up and coming kid thinking they are one of the Paul brothers. Trying to gain cloud in any way, shape or form, with no gumption, no backbone, or no idea. These kids are not leaders, they are followers.”

The short message on the Rivvia account launched a cavalcade of stunned responses, some for, some against, the Californian.

“Surely this isn’t the real Kolohe? No way he could be this big a wanker.”

“Fkn sook. Have a listen to yourself.”

Brother’s a bit neggo now he’s washed up.

Then, this exchange tween Kolohe and Wilson.

Wilson: “Surfing’s fun brother. Stop spraying your negativity.”

Kolohe replies, “Tell your IG intern to get a grip. Trestles don’t need no education on high performance surfing.”

Wilson retorts, “It’s called tongue and (sic) cheek. Lighten up kid.”

And the intern himself,

“IG Intern here. Really sorry if I offended anyone. I was just trying to keep the boss happy so I can hopefully get a full time job. Julian Wilson told me if this post gets 1000 likes I’m officially hired.”

BeachGrit has always held Kolohe Andino close to our hearts. I knew his daddy Dino during his wild nineties epoch and first met the boy prodigy, then sixteen, on a holiday to the Canary Islands where he exhibited what were then exotic flavours of aerials. Kolohe’s sense of humour is light and legendary.

My favourite Julian Wilson moment came some years back when I was commissioned by Surfer to do a Hot Seat interview with the kid. Without any responses to my questions that deserved ink, I made up the interview using quotes from George Hamilton, Adolf Hitler and a few other notables.

Crazy thing? No one noticed.

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