Are you there, Dirk Ziff? It's me, Charlie.
You might have missed it, because the “global home of surfing” had already lost you, but weeks ago, the Word Surf League’s newly appointed Director of Athlete Relations Chris Heffner ripped a line straight from BeachGrit in declaring the mission was “no more chasing the mythical ‘surf fan’ that doesn’t surf,” adding “New management, along with ownership, is leaning into a ‘surfer first’ strategy…. and I’m here for it.”
And yet, even with the exciting pivot, the whole enterprise seems like it’s…. over. The biggest names fleeing the tour in their primes, or injured. Engagement cratering. I know that Portugal is a difficult timezone etc. but a measly 100 comments on the “Live Chat?” I don’t recall such low numbers since we began.
The wild swings back and forth seem to have ejected simply too many of the already very few surf fans.
Once champion of diversity, the WSL scrubbed LGBTQIA+ Pride Progress flags of singlets in Abu Dhabi. Once on the bleeding edge of equal pay between men and women, the WSL has zero reaction when one of its young stars, Cole Houshmand, highlights his wild-eye’d love of the self-described woman hater Andrew Tate.
The product, in the water, can excite from time to time (see: Jack Robinson) or provide comedy (see: Filipe Toledo) but, overall, seems listing. Like, really, really hard to care about.
Or maybe it’s just me.
So, question: how do you feel about competitive professional surfing right now?
Bullish or bearish?