"Who made this list?"
The surf world shifted on its axis, yesterday, after Kelly Slater, the world’s greatest competitive surfer, raked Sam George, the world’s most important surf thinker, with a vicious online takedown. At issue, the “10 most influential surf spots on the planet” as decreed by the aforementioned George and published upon The Inertia, the world’s most “definitive voice of surfing and the outdoors.”
After dismissing Slater’s Abu Dhabi facility as irrelevant, George declared, “There is a quantifiable list of global surf spots that over the decades have significantly affected the direction of the sport. Perhaps not the most ‘perfect’ waves, or hollowest, or prettiest or most famous. But based on any reasonable standard, certainly the most influential.”
The list.
10) Sebastian Inlet
9) North Narrabeen
8) Killers (Todos Santos)
7) Ala Moana
6) Peahi
5) Cape St. Frank
4) Malibu
3) Honolua Bay
2) Steamer Lane
1) Waikiki
Taking to Instagram, Slater responded in the cruelest, most dismissive way possible, simply writing, “Who made this list?
Sam George certainly unable to hold the damn back on bitter tears. Not only was his eminence questioned, but his whole person apparently unknown.
Slater wasn’t alone in the demolition of the monument the self-appointed guru has made to himself. Conner Coffin chimed, “Bell’s Beach ! Snapper rocks!? Lowers!? Pipeline!? Random ass list!” Kolohe Andino added, “Whoever made this list should be fired. No pipeline?No lowers?!Hahahahhahahahahahahahhaha” Kelly Slater came back for seconds, filling out his initial eye poke with “I think a case could be made for that as it helped foster multiple world champions. Most people are probably caught up on what is best today but historically places like Ulu, J Bay, Pipeline, even Huntington played various influential roles in surfing. You’d likely have to have some yardstick as to why or how they did but Waimea would be there. Maybe even Bell’s as far as competition and history. But there are some glaring omissions and strange choices here IMO.”
Sam “Strange Choices” George.
Wellness check on him, please.
I’ve never heard of any of these spots
If engagement is the sign of a successful article, then Sam George nailed it. Influential spots aren’t necessarily the best spots, or the most impactful spots.
Sam George thinks Sam George is the best. No HamSammish!
that is a shit list I must say, no J-Bay, not one Mentawais spot, Sam George is so out of touch, should hang up his boat shoes
Fuck, I had to endure the 80’s reading this blow-hole and his ‘World of Surf according to Sam’. I thought he died a few years ago?
Once again, the pedophilic mustache wearing, useless wanker, Chaz Smith has to inject Slaters name into an article because nobody reads Chaz’s shitty word salad.
I get it someone like Slater will always have critics including fuck sticks like Chaz along with the cry baby bitches commenting the same way.
Fuck off, Slaters comments are spot on.
Cry bitches, cry
ouch, his moustache is pretty suspect though
feels like Sam is trolling Kelly/BG or just needed to put himself out there again as a force in surfing ‘s journalism stakes……..it has to be trolling as nobody would seriously believe his top 10…
Puntahs punt. Sam has an opinion on everything to be sure. Kelly can name his 10 favorite surf spots but not his 1st born son…. I wonder how Tyler’s airway is? Will she be publicly stoned to death poolside in Abu Dhabi? Must see T.V. indeed! Can’t wait….
“Kelly can name his 10 favorite surf spots but not his 1st born son…. “
🤣
We know for sure though, that his kid won’t be named ‘Sunset’.
If you were a dentist/lawyer/accountant yes, you would generally hide that you surfed if possible.
In college in the early 2000’s I mentioned I was in a program that required higher test scores. I had a girl respond “YOURE in [x] program!?” The implication being surfers are dumb lazy bad students with no prospects. If I was in school today no one would have that reaction.
20+ years ago most people who learned to surf were children who lived near the beach. Now it’s someone in their 20’s/30’s with a job in programming, marketing, or finance. This has impacted how people see surfers and surfing.
Kirra for sure mid 70s short board boom.
At the time the most competitive surf spot on the planet.
Where’s my commission
I’m from south oc but I live in the South Bay.
need a broadway show? go home~~
It wouldn’t be my list but few people care what Slater has to say and the number is shrinking. Slates has lost the plot doing business with human rights abusing UAE and his idiotic politics. Plus he let Gary Chappy Chapman pay the tab after his Waimea win after-party cuz he was too cheap to pay it! Historic! And So lame.
I understood Sams point.
“Sams point” good name for a surf spot.
he retroed to canoes as have a lot of my partners…pricks
love from Tampa Florida Suncoast ((:
What no trigg’s , the home of high performance surfing birth place of flick n jack and Mitch n Macca.
What did Santa Cruz do exactly? Besides having O’Neil and some minor notoriety in the late 70s early 80s. May as well flip it for Bells.
I mean fuck you could make a good case for Noosa or Byron let alone the three most famous spots in Hawaii, none of which are on the list.
Really?
In the summer of 1885, Three Hawaiian princes being educated at a local military academy, David Kawananakoa, Edward Keli’iahonui and Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole introduced surfing to the world beyond Hawaii.
They rode Santa Cruz waves. Crafted surfboards from our redwood lumber. When the brothers returned to Hawaii, they took their boards with them.
Waikiki not famous?
Really?
Uh i never said waikiki isn’t famous.
Just that they should add pipe, waimea and sunset.
Santa Cruz, because of leg ropes? big fucken deal. May as well have Bells because of thrusters.
You could prob make the argument Santa Cruz was influential for airs. Could also have been important for spreading the gospel of cold water surfing. But dunno what SG says, refuse to give them my click.
Nice way to blow out secret spots, kook!
What would Bens gravy say?