Surfing has arrived.
It is not Christmas, yet, but as things go, the mainstream media is already churning out “best of ’24” content like New Year’s Day is but a few second hand jives away. Spotify wrapped came out weeks ago, Time Magazine’s Person of the Year was dropped right around that time and the august BBC just released its highly-anticipated “12 of the most striking images of 2024” list.
Can you believe our Gabriel Medina’s Olympic kickout made the cut?
The now-iconic image, which mirrors Donald Trump’s “fight, fight, fight” snap, which, as it happens, also made the bigs.
You know that one, too, and i
Now, I have heard some harsh opinions about the Medina image from many in this our surf community. Surf folk entirely unimpressed with an aerial wave ejection as it is one of the few things any surfer can do. Heard rage, in fact, at “dumb people who like dumb photos.”
It is an arresting image, though, mostly because Medina is in his “model handsome” years, his control and command impeccable, his panache clearly on display. If I am not mistaken, the Brazilian bad boy is the most popular surfer on social media and rightly so. He is not, however, a Pipe Master like Kelly Slater, Jamie O’Brien and now Nathan Florence.
That aside, I’m projecting big things for Medina this year. John John gonna be off tour, Pip’s li’l tail still between his legs and Erin Brooks is on the other side of the draw.
World title number three in grasp?
David Lee Scales and I almost discussed surfing today but ran smack dab into the middle of a conundrum tossed out by a ten-year-old listener. Is the phone-wallet acceptable?
You know the sort, an iPhone or Samsung case which can also hold credit cards. I said absolutely not and set the young man on the right path of keys, wallet and, later, spectacles all being essential elements for the xy set.
Prove me wrong.
phone wallet keys sunnies shirt lunch ipod matches – checklist pocket contents before leaving the house. and a bonus i’ll leave a cortazar poem below:
This river leaves the sky and settles in in order to last
pulling the sheets up to its neck, and sleeping
right in front of us who come and go
The river of silver is this thing that by day
soaks us with wind and gelatin; and it is
the renunciation of the east, because the world ends with the lanterns of the Costanera.
Don’t argue the point closer to us, read these things
in cafés preferentially; a tune of coins,
where you take refuge from the outside, from the next
workday,
harassed by dreams, by the river’s spittle.
Almost nothing’s left; yes, shameful love
entering mailboxes to weep or walking
alone on street corners (but being seen just the same)
putting away his sweet objects, his photos and watch
chains
and hankies
storing them in the region of shame,
the zone of the pocket, where a small night whispers
amid bits of fuzz and small change
For some people everything is the same, but I
don’t like Rácing, I don’t like
aspirin, I resent
the return of days, I tear myself apart in hopes,
I curse sometimes, and people say to me
what’s the problem, friend?
North wind, damn it.
Do you keep the poems in your wallet or your phone?
wallet i imagine… what do you think Gabby keeps in his pockets
Rubbers..
Just as forgotten as his JBay win.
And allready 3x WC.
Chas is the Joe Biden of surf
I have had it up to here with the lack of respect my little gabby gets on this site.
I happened to stop by the BBC website today and saw this. It’s Very interesting to see how the world rated this photo, which to us seasoned surfers clearly didn’t hold the same level of revery. Laird’s millennium photo was 10x more interesting than this one.
Maybe it’s a case of us being too close to separate the trees from the forest, and maybe it’s because surfers tend to be much less religious than the average news reader (read the caption of the photo on the website).
Nevertheless, congrats to Gabe and the photographer for doing something unique that interested the mainstream.
BBC!? pommie, or penis?
Gabs Mirrordina.
Rogan is peak blast furnace. He blows out Austin every single podcast. Would be interesting to hear how the Austin locals feel about it. Covid redistributed so many kooks. They all share the same trait of having to tell everyone how great the new place they live is. Particularly on social media with geo tags and all.
Gmed,2018 pipe master
Fair call. If I think about 2024 in images, Gabby’s big Olympics kick out and Trumps ear clipping “fight” pose are probably it. Oh and Raygun spinning around like a spastic on the floor, or doing a Kangaroo pose in a generic 90’s Aussie One dayer cricket team kit. Those pictures reduced our nation to a batch of try hards at sport. Which by default makes her very un-a-strayan.
I leaves the crib, I checklist in order – Mobile, vape, shades, keys. All essential and none should be coupled in any way. Wallet phone is very 2021.
Do we really consider Nathan a Vans Pipe Master…considering before it was a CT Pipe masters?
Are Gabs fins on backwards , asking for a friend of mine who’s name starts with B?
Van’s Pipe Master has an asterix attached to it. That’s not casting a shadow on Nat, He charges but getting through a full draw of CT Surfers is way harder than Vans team riders and friends of Vans.
You still sitting in a Hospital bed?
Also a way different comp format than the old ct comp. This one seems to give everyone more chance to make the final with no elimination and top two scores of the event getting you into the final.
ah no but it looks like I will doing a lot of hospital visits in the next few mths…dman Mr C round 4,LOL!
Arghh hope it goes as well as it can!
I don’t place this title up there with the winners of the past. Real pipe masters win the contest against all the current top surfers on tour at the time, with wildcards of the most in-form locals thrown into the mix.
Obviously Nate is capable of beating anyone on his day and qualifying to the main event through trials. He just didn’t do it in this contest format.
Maybe my view on the tournament format is antiquated, but someone would have to convince me. Really stoked for him to get a win out there, nevertheless. He’s, seemingly, a good fella and an amazing surfer.
Nevertheless, the event presented itself as it was, and he fucking picked the eyes out of the horrid finals line up to get shacked like no other competitor on the day. Deserves the win and I don’t think any asterisk is required.
Your comment gets an asterisk. The doesn’t watch any contests, watched first one in a while and gets overly excited asterisk.
So the opposite of porn-watching asterisk?