Mick Fanning invests in new Gold Coast wave pool development
MIck Fanning and an incredibly realistic artist's impression of his new Gold Coast wave pool.

Surfer-turned-developer Mick Fanning invests in $300 million wave pool resort set to open in 2027

"It was really exciting to catch 150 waves in four hours. That was out of this world. Surfers will travel anywhere to catch a wave."

The three-time world surf champ Mick Fanning, whose real estate, beer and wellness investments can be counted in the tens of millions, has thrown his name and and an undisclosed investment into a $300 mill wave pool and golf resort on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the biggest tourism development there in over forty years.

Developers are gonna turn the old Parkwood Village into the The Palm Valley Gold Coast Resort, dressing the landscape in an upgraded 18-hole golf course, a brewery, two hundred apartments and a wave pool featuring Endless Surf tech, the same tank that just opened in Munich.

The development is at the far northern end of the Gold Coast in the otherwise dreary suburb of Parkwood, back off the ocean and inland from down-at-heel Labrador, which is also the home of Peter Drouyn.

The managing director is the former golf pro Luke Altschwager.

Mick Fanning, said he was made an offer too good to refuse, as they say, by Altschwager, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the other Australian wave pool developer Andrew Ross.

“Luke is from the golfing world and knows how to do the hospitality side. He wanted some credible people on the surfing side,” Fanning told The Australian Financial Review.

Fanning had a swing at the Munich pool recently and said, “The [tech] is probably the most user-friendly and that it just doesn’t stop it, just wave after wave. It was really exciting to catch 150 waves in four hours. That was out of this world. Surfers will travel anywhere to catch a wave. We jump on boats, we chart tiny, dodgy planes and sleep in the dirt just to get a good wave.”

The pool is gonna be the first thing built, followed by the upgrade of the golf course then the brewery, followed by the apartments.

Money is being raised now for the build.

Mick Fanning joins his randy pal Paul Fisher aka DJ FISHER in the big development game reshaping the Gold Coast.

Fisher recently revealed his plans for a gorgeous nine-storey tower comprising six three bedders and a four-bed penthouse with a rooftop terrace. Two houses, including a 1950’s beach shack, will be demolished for the build. 

Click here to see Fanning and co’s website! 

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Surfline completes amazing VAL makeover with new surf etiquette portal!

"Who has priority?"

Surfline, the largest swell forecasting utility on the planet, has unveiled a remarkable makeover, virtually overnight, pivoting its entire business away from crusty ol’ surfers seeking to “know before they go” into a vulnerable adult learning paradise. The new “surf etiquette, simplified” portal breaks down various topics for those just dipping a toe into this Sport of Kings, illustrating them in a pleasing palette of blues.

VALs learn…

Who has priority?

What’s the best way to get back out?

Where do I paddle out?

…amongst many other tips and tools.

To quote the great Derek Rielly, essential.

But do you wish this resource was available when you were learning the ropes or did you masochistically enjoy getting yelled at by grouchy elders?

 

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Sam Corlett (pictured) charging. Photo: Vikings
Sam Corlett (pictured) charging. Photo: Vikings

Kevin Costner flick “Headhunters” shores up surf bonafides by casting “hard-charging Australian surfer with friendly, approachable nature”

"A friend anyone would want at their side."

When news that Kevin Costner’s next film project was to be a surf-themed thriller, surfers around the world felt a jolt of excitement but quickly tried to temper each other’s expectations. For every Point Break, you see, there are ten Point Break 2s. Movies that so butcher the very idea of this surfing life so badly that it becomes embarrassing to be seen anywhere near the ocean with anything resembling a board.

Headhunters, in any case, follows Costner’s Lazer “a washed-up American ex-pat with a mysterious past who finds himself living in Bali, Indonesia. Lazer recruits a group of surfers led by Bima, a local photographer, on a journey to an uncharted island to pioneer a ‘perfect wave.’ To their surprise, the island is home to an ancient tribe of headhunters guarding the land at all costs. What ensues is an adventure turned survival story of epic and bloody proportions on a tropical island which once seemed to be paradise but is actually closer to hell.”

Promising and yet things seemed to have already taken a turn for the worse with a real bitchy mole on the Hawaiian set sharing, “He’s been quietly trying to get in the surfing community for years and hasn’t even got a foot in the door because they think he’s lame and a Hollywood star who should stick to dry land. Surfers don’t like these amateurs infringing on their waves. Plus, he’s locked in this ‘I’m cool in my new life’ mode, and they’re saying, ‘Who does he think he is?’”

And also, “This is the way Kevin does things. But he’s got a long way to go, and he may never reach his goal because, let’s face it, he’s a lousy surfer.”

Well, in a likely attempt to shore up Headhunters surf bonafides, producers announced, today, that up-and-coming Australian star Sam Corlett has been cast as part of the adventure-seeking surf group as Sam, “a hard-charging Australian surfer with a friendly, approachable nature, who has a fearless edge, especially when it comes to tackling heavy waves. While he may seem rough around the edges, he’s grounded, quick to crack a joke, and easygoing — a friend anyone would want at their side.”

Corlett burst onto the scene in Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla. As an out-and-proud vegan, he was uncomfortable wearing leather on the Irish set but was “provided with Desserto based body armour, a type of artificial leather made from cacti.”

More importantly, though, he hails from New South Wales’ central coast and does surf.

Sam Corlett (pictured) surfing. Photo: Instagram
Sam Corlett (pictured) surfing. Photo: Instagram

Mick Fanning-esque, no?

Will Corlett be able to shut down naughty “Kevin Costner is a kook” talk on set with his languid style or will the film continue to devolve?

More, certainly, as the story develops.

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Jamie O'Brien not invited to Vans Pipe Masters.
"When I heard that JAMIE was given an ALTERNATE spot in the event, that’s when I felt something has to be said. How can you leave out arguably the greatest Pipeline surfer of all time? To suggest that he doesn’t deserve a spot in an event he has helped define is baffling to me."

Vans Pipe Masters plunged into controversy after failure to invite wave’s best surfer Jamie O’Brien

"How can you leave out the greatest Pipeline surfer of all time?"

The Vans Pipe Masters, not to be confused with the used-to-be-prestigious Pipe Masters of yore, has been plunged into controversy after the wave’s best surfer Jamie O’Brien failed to make the invitee only event. 

Pipe local Josh Moniz posted a scathing take on what is, however you slice it, a terrific injustice. 

I usually keep my opinions to myself, but I’ll speak up if no one else will. This isn’t about me trying to get a invitation—it’s about what the Pipeline Masters represents to surfing and the respect that this wave and event deserve. Even if it means I may never surf in this event at Pipe again, I’m okay with that. I’ve had my moments winning events at Pipe, and I’m grateful for all of them. If speaking out helps even one person who deserves a chance but might never get it under the current system, then it’s all worth it.

I remember growing up and watching only the best Pipe specialists and world tour surfers go head-to-head. That’s what made this event so special. It’s shocking to see how, in such a short time, Vans has nearly ruined what it means to be a Pipeline Master. The way this event has been handled in recent years, since Vans bought the rights to it, feels disrespectful to one of the most iconic waves and events in the history of surfing—right here at OUR home in Hawaii. Excluding a significant number of local and international surfers who have put in the time year after year to earn their spot in the lineup doesn’t sit right with me.

When I heard that JAMIE was given an ALTERNATE spot in the event, that’s when I felt something has to be said. How can you leave out arguably the greatest Pipeline surfer of all time? To suggest that he doesn’t deserve a spot in an event he has helped define is baffling to me. Many surfers who have barely surfed Pipe have been given spots over the years, which feels like a slap in the face to the locals and internationals who show up season after season without ever being invited. It’s nothing personal against these surfers—they are simply accepting an opportunity that any surfer would take. But the way these decisions are being made feels unfair to those who have truly earned their place.I understand that with invitational events, it’s hard to make everyone happy. However, making sure that the spots go to those who deserve them and have put in the time is all anyone can ask for.

Jamie O’Brien, who is forty-one, and so damn comfortable at Pipe rides a soft-top out there, responded. 

I’ve been processing how the Pipeline Masters has become a joke. Whoever is making these decisions clearly doesn’t understand what’s happening in the water pipeline on the day today! Or season two season It’s long overdue to speak out, and trust me, they won’t hear the end of it. It’s so sad see such a prestigious event mishandled like this, with no regard for the athletes putting in the work every day, has completely lost my respect. It’s time for a change – this event deserves to be taken over by someone who truly understands and respects the sport and the surfers 

 

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Now, a little history about the Pipe Masters and how the WSL and Vans wrecked it. 

Once upon a time, the most prestigious surfing contest in the world was the Pipeline Masters, a tuberiding event held at Pipe on Oahu’s North Shore. 

The Pipeline Masters was created in 1971 by the wonderful Fred Hemmings, one of the pivotal figures in surfing whose contribution to the game was largely ignored ‘cause of his conservative bent, and won that year by Jeff Hakman, followed by two years of dominance by Mr Pipe Gerry Lopez.

The Pipeline Masters was a contest whose crown was almost as gilded as a world title. Slater would win it seven times, as a twenty year old in 1992, and aged almost forty-two in 2013. Andy Irons won four times, 2002 through 2008, and it hosted multiple world title showdowns, the most precious Andy v Kelly in 2003 and Italo v Gabriel in 2019. 

In a wild and fitting last breath, it gifted victory to John John Florence in 2021. The Hawaiian took his iron hard-on and blew the achey pressure in his balls into his first, and only, Pipe Masters crown. Fitting that his little brother Ivan, who also grew up at Pipe and who looks like a roughed up Mason Ho, scored a ten in the event and finished third. 

Then, and as you may recall, a hammer was taken to this precious cultural relic when the WSL, and Vans who own the intellectual property rights to the Pipeline Masters, couldn’t swing a mutually satisfying agreement with Billabong for ‘em to continue as naming sponsor of the event. 

See, because the WSL’s wanted to start the 2022 season in Hawaii and end it at Trestles in September, they had to run the 2021 Pipe Masters in January. Therefore there couldn’t be two events in the same year so the usual December slot wasn’t used. 

This meant that for 2022, the WSL had to juggle the events and come up with new dates and names.  

The Volcom Pipe Pro got dropped in favour of Billabong taking over that slot, renaming it, awkwardly, Billabong Pro Pipeline. 

The Pipeline Masters still runs on its usual dates, December 8-20, 2022, but it’s an invite-only event with a focus on Vans-sponsored surfers. Cash is good, broadcast is fun, the gals get their share of the waves and loot, but it ain’t no Pipeline Masters. 

Problem here is the confusion the switcharoo brings to surfing history. A week before his fiftieth birthday in 2022, Kelly Slater, looking like an old-school bull dagger with his thick neck and shaved head, won the Billabong Pro Pipeline.

It should’ve been his eighth Pipeline Masters title, and plenty of newsrooms were labelling it as such.

Between sobs Slater said, “I committed my life to this.”

But it wasn’t a Pipeline Masters title.

And, despite Wikipedia being edited to include Billabong Pro Pipeline titles, it still ain’t and never will be.

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Kelly Slater (pictured) bald and beautiful.

Surf star Kelly Slater ranks 4th on “top 10 sexiest bald men” list!

The winningest ever professional surfer adds yet another accomplishment to his legacy.

Surf fans around the world stood and applauded, yesterday, after Kelly Slater added yet another accolade to his sagging mantle. The Florida-born, worldwide-bred regular foot, almost 53-years-young, has won 11 world surf championships, 3 Triple Crowns, 7 Pipeline Masters, 1 Pro Pipeline, 1 Eddie and near countless event wins.

One plaudit, however, has eluded him. Cracking a “top 10 sexiest bald men” list.

Well, all that changed when The Makeshift Project podcast unveiled its 2024 addition. Surf fans around the world holding a collective breath. Swinging it at number last, Vin Diesel, number 9 went to Stanley Tucci, 8 Thierry Henry, 7 Samuel Jackson, 6 Danny DeVito, 5 Terry Crews, 4 Kelly Slater…

… and it was at this moment surf fans, blue in the face, rose to their feet as one and cheered.

A small few were disappointed that the surf great was bested by 3 Shaq, 2 The Rock  and 1 Prince William but there was an overwhelming feeling that Slater could climb the Bailey Ladder in 2025 possibly knocking Shaquille O’Neal or The Rock down a rung.

Heady days, either way, and David Lee Scales and I lightly touched upon during our new Noble Rot chat. I was mostly concerned with People Magazine naming John Krasinski as its Sexiest Man Alive for the year. I have no doubt that The Office star is a hardworking fella, good husband and father but sexiest man alive? I feel People Magazine really damaged the whole notion with this pick. You can, and should, listen here.

Back to Slater, though, major congratulations to him and many more happy days to come.

Huzzah.

P.S. who do you think would win the “Sexiest BeachGrit Commenter Alive” award for ’24?

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