“Unless you can do it on a stage we want to see…you’re a very one-dimensional world champion.”
The small-wave wizard Filipe Toledo, whom you know well from these pages, is, as Chas Smith once wrote, “surfing’s ultimate conundrum.
There have been glimmers of hope, of course, little moments snatched and flung prematurely into lights by BeachGrit in the hope it might encourage the boy to push even harder.
This, again from Chas Smith, reporting from the Paris Games.
Now, a new front for Toledo, after Kalani Robb, Momentum-era surf star and the surfer widely considered to’ve completed the first-ever 540 or “Full-Rotor”, also the founder of the Palm Springs Surf Club, launched an extraordinary spray at the validity of Filipe Toledo’s two world titles, both captured in weak Californian waves.
Speaking on the L8 Night with Choccy podcast, a popular surf-focused podcast hosted by Jay “L8night” Larson and Lyndon “Choccy” Cabellon, the almost fifty-year-old Hawaiian was his typically frank self.
“I gotta say, look, there’s many different levels to the bezel, right, I fricken love, and I’ve talked to his dad before, I told him straight… it’s Filipe Toledo.
“Dude, he’s untouchable at Lowers, untouchable at particular places…untouchable… untouchable in a wave pool as far as I’m concerned…that guy is untouchable, right?
Lest Toledo might take offence, Kalani added, “No disrespect because I love Filipe Toledo”.
Etc.
Two very brief questions.
Do you agree with Kalani Robb’s summation, no respect and so on, and, two, do you think Filipe Toledo will be offended by his hero’s line of reasoning, disagree or take it on the chin?
First impressions count and fil has a lot of work to do to shake this pussy narrative. Backing out of 4ft pipe due to ‘food poisoning” and hiding behind mental health issues and his dad doesn’t help his cause.
for example, Kelly knew that to be a world champ he had to be a pipe master, not because the pipe masters decides the world title, because mastering pipe means you have the minerals of a true world champ. Kelly thus spent hours in the pipe line-up, battling locals, getting scraps, getting cleaned up etc, until he knew how to master the wave. ADS has a similar story by asking JOB for help. Mick and joel realized backhand surfing was their weakness and worked on it
That is the mentality of a world champ. FIL is a bloody great surfer but he does not have that mentality, that’s why it’s hard to regard him as a world champ.
His opinions might have more revelance if the dumb cunt had won a world title.
Far from a Kalani fan but does this mean that unless you have won a world title you cant comment on sports? How many soccer fans have won the World Cup and so on…. Pip is the only world champ surfing has ever had who has completely turned his nose up at improving in waves that weren’t to his taste and simply lied about the reasons why he won’t
Remember the year Chopes was big and pumping and before the swell arrived Wilko openly and publicly admitted to be shitting his pants and not sure how he’d go? No cunt laughed at him, or took the piss and when his heat rolled around everyone seemed genuinely stoked for him when he packed some solid nugs.
Pip is too cowardly to even admit he has a problem and hides behind excuses like food poisoning or bad mental health. When it’s small he stomps around beating his chest but when it gets solid he goes scurrying off and hides behind his old boys legs like a fucking pussy. Cunts fucked
This is so myopic.
Off the top of my head, a few world champions who have question marks over their titles:
Felipe Pomar
Fred Hemmings
Rolf Aurness
Jimmy Blears
PT
Damian Hardman
Barton Lynch
Derek Ho
a few (but obviously not all) of Slater’s titles
CJ
Adriano
Not saying these guys squibbed it, and some of them obviously charged dangerous waves. What I am saying is that these guys all have world champion after their name and nothing will change that. And by the way, good on them. Not one of them was a kook.
If you’re going to single a guy out for squibbing it at one of the most dangerous waves in the world (where people have actually died), well here’s a medal for being obnoxious. May as well single guys out for “couldn’t surf on their backhand”, “couldn’t surf on their forehand”, “only won it by pure ass” and “only won it because the other guy fucked up”, “only won it by nefarious means”, “only won it due to being pushed by the judges”, etc.
I can only speak to the 3 x recent champs on your list. There is no question mark over these guys, they all got it done in waves of consequence and showed real heart to get their titles. Not to mention all 3 come from small wave home towns.
Just to be clear, I’m not here to argue about the question marks being justified. Just that there are question marks over all of them (some more than others).
The point being that surfing pundits expect every world champ to be an Andy Irons / peak Slater / Nat Young / Tom Curren phenomenon when very few were allround superstars.
Hell, I probably should have put some of Mick’s titles and Parkos (and Possibly Occy ’99) on the list as well. I mean Occy is an absolute legend but ’99 had no Slater.
Adriano only won it because of that shark incident and the points getting split the way they did.
CJ won it due to 9-11 and in fact didn’t even win an event that year (nor did PT in his year)
Slater was not the first, nor last of the wunderkinds to get pushed by the judges. There Aussie press was all over this early in his career until they reluctantly agreed that he was simply too good. But there were incidents of rules being bent on his behalf (including one of the finals in France where they restarted the heat because it was huge and stormy and he couldn’t make it out the back).
The Derek Ho thing has been written out of the narrative because the poor guy passed away and it’s churlish to repeat here and look like a cunt.
On reflection, maybe i’m talking asterixes rather than question marks. But I think I have made my point and i’m not having a go at you.
I don’t think your point stands at all – those question marks you evoke are largely made up.
Apart from Dooma Hardman maybe- everyone else figured out the skill set and the cojones to get the job done when it’s heaving.
Much realer with Pip where the failures of nerve have been far more catastrophic and the subsequent “cope” has made it even worse.
Dunno, there was no “ heaving” venues on tour other than Pipe and plenty of people had challenges there.
Yadin beat Mick, btw.
Occy and Sunny were awarded lifetime acheivment awards in Kalani/Machados prime, just sayin…..
Gotta add PT’s name to your list Low Wide. Chump didn’t even win a contest in that season
Of the champs stinkbug referenced in the modern era, only Dooma Hardman couldn’t manage to develop a competent skill set there.
And he certainly never pulled out with “food poisoning”.
Chopes wasn’t on tour at the time.
Dooma was the odd duck that couldn’t surf as well front side. Didn’t matter, it was a small wave tour other than the triple crown
Didn’t hear a peep out of you when Andy looked like a duck in Puerto Rico claiming to be on an IV for Dengue. Or Dane at Lowers after a 30 minute heat.
Should everyone retire like Gary Green if they dodge a venue?
Wasn’t it Eggers that retired too?
You seen Medina at the Eddie? I don’t recall.
Sorry that makes no sense. The Eddie is an invitational and old boys club and every time it runs legit guys miss out. Gabe fucking charges and for me is the best ever at Chopes so he sure as fuck isn’t going to scared of some late drops and making it to the shoulder at Waimea
missed the point strayan
they can do what they want- but with the traditional surf media gatekeepers retired they have to face the music a whole lot more btl.
Twatter is a gate keeper now?
Everyone reacts to social media which is self produced.
The industry talked at us, now “us” talk about ourselves. Self promotion is now ubiquitous. No regulation. Branding of oneself.
I watch Felipe and see the master class of performance surfing.
I only see master class when it’s small and fun. There have been heaps of better surfers than Pip even in mid size waves of all shapes and directions. The main thing is I have never seen such a talented surfer and world champ make excuses and lie as much as little lion chest
And he manned up and punched on with Jonny Boy when required haha
All good mate — I get where you’re coming from. Every title in history has its context, its quirks, and its “asterisks” if you want to call them that. No world title has ever existed in a vacuum, and conditions, politics, judging trends, rival injuries, format changes — they’ve all played a part at various points.
But for the three recent champs I mentioned, whatever outside noise existed, they answered every question in waves of real consequence and against full-strength fields. That’s why I don’t personally see asterisks next to their names. They earned it the hard way, far from the small waves they grew up in, and showed the kind of heart and adaptability you simply can’t fake at that level.
And yeah, history is full of weird circumstances — from Adriano and the shark , to CJ and the post-9/11 schedule, to the Slater/France restart, to Occy’s ’99 run without Kelly in the draw. None of that takes away from what those guys achieved, but it does show that context has always been part of the sport.
So I hear your point — not every champ is an AI, Curren, peak Kelly–style phenom. But for mine, the recent three proved themselves in the most traditional way possible: big moments, big waves, no shortcuts.
well said Trev.
ADS was fully deserving of a world title and I was pumped for him. He had one of the best bottom top turn combos going both ways of all time and like Mick and Joel knew solid backhand pits were a weakness and put in the hard yards and got it dialled over the years. Pip has been going to Pipe and Chopes for over ten years and gets “food poisoning” when it gets over 4 feet. Things have to go for you to win a world title but for me the harder ya work the luckier ya get and Pip hasn’t done a fucking thing the cunt
Having a world champ who was too big a pussy to have a dig at even mid sized Pipe or Chopes was embarrassing as. Cant stand the cunt
As Pips Puss, I wholeheartedly agree. What a cuuuuunntt.
Will this undercurrent of questioning his courage in heavy water always undergird Filipe’s titles?
I’d say yes, even moreso now the Final 5 concept has been axed.
That fact will make them seem even more an historical aberration- permanently asterisked.
He’s the most talented, smooth and radical surfer in this generation hands down. More than that. Master class for the masses.
He doesn’t charge open ocean reefs. Neither does Steph, Steve. Do you ever mention that? Chas?
She couldn’t win a title in waves over head high on lefts. Wouldn’t even qualify.
Toledo is a fucking ripper.
I mention Steph all the time.
Disagree with your assessment too- he’s a master in small waves- nowhere near JJF or Medina when it’s solid.
The allie oop in well overhead running Supertubes and thegrinding low tide sand bar rights on the south end of that beach near Rio were emphatic performances
Dooma won 2 titles with less challenge and no one wanted to surf like him, nor did he drive board sales
Curren was no charger of Chopes level, neither was Martin and neither was Barton. Thing that illuminates Felipe’s weaknesses are, his struggles were at the end season and fresh in our minds as he subsequently won at Lowers. Blame Erik for that
All this blaming Erik is letting Prodan off the hook.
Good point
You should move to VB mate you’ll fit in well 😉
Nah man, our dude hates Fil
Better to be a one-dimensional World Champion twice than never to be a World Champion at all – just saying
Yes and yes.
it’s a bit like saying , any big wave rider who uses a blow up vest is a coward as RCJ is nearly 60 and doesn’t wear one……..???
Pip , entertaining, best smaller wave rider we have ever seen……yes we the people have and will be entertained by Pip…….even if Pipe and Chopes are in his head……and Gabs is no slouch in the pool……..all relative carry on…..as we all love to do here on BG….
Pretty sure RCJ uses a blow up once in a while, just for the hell of it…
nah he’s never used one!
Not talking about the vest🤣.
haha….I actually thought blow up dollies….I think he’s more of au natural kinda guy,LOL….
Great surfer in conditions that suit. Getting manhandled by a sons of anarchy bloke. No wonder Fil looks a little concerned.
If he would just put out one edit of him surfing solid teahupoo or pipe getting solid ones and looking confident I’d say otherwise but until then he’s not as well rounded a surfer as seemingly all of the world champs before or after him. He won his titles in a weird format but he won them I guess. No one would say he’s not a world champ but surely there are those amongst us who consider him undeserving of all the respect that that title previously demanded.
Exactly, to be a true world champ you need to surf the world. Until he does he will always be the world champ but…
Im not a fan of Lowers and probably will never be. When I think of Felipe’s world title performance or ability to perform at that level his J-Bay performance does it for me. We’ve had a few world champs that couldn’t get their balls out of their throat. But that doesn’t get him off the hook for super low heat scores in Tahiti when women a knifing the same ledge..
If he returns to prior form, he can put the title to bed before Pipe, extra points be damned. What will we complain about then?
The Romans for one. “What have the Romans ever done for us ?”
The aqueduct…sanitation…roads…
When I was was growing up, charging was held in higher regard than ripping.
We want our champs to do both , it’s not too much to ask.
Who is the most famous charger who does not rip?? 🤔🤔
Kai Otton
Rough. Kai won a WSL event, the Portugal Pro. Hard to not be considered a ripper and win a WSL final??
He had plenty of other good results and was on tour for 10 years or so.
What about the other Kai? Kai Lenny. He charges and has done some insane things on a surfboard but he isn’t at the level to be on tour.
True, but I always rated Kai otton as a charger but not really a ripper. He managed to stay on tour for by doing well in the events where charging heaving pits made him win heats. I don’t really recall him doing well flick-flacking around on mush burgers.
Kai Lenny and laird Hamilton fit into this category too.
He did better than a lot of other highly paid pros. Kolohe for example.
Laird is on the list for sure. He charges but has horrendous style.
I’d put Koa Rothman up there too
Billy D’bag Kemper
Caity Simmers vs Filipe Toledo at 8ft Pipe that should put the issue to bed.
Don’t make it so hard. Give him Siqi Yang. She charges.
Kalani’s life story (as it was told in Surfer in the late 80s) from grom to pro is an interesting one… a star in the early Taylor Steele flicks… don’t know exactly what happened from there… good or bad for Kalani, other than all of us here in the BG comments, this will not register beyond us here with anyone else… not even Pip’s daddy…
I started listening to Choccy’s podcast last year and then I got to a Kalani episode (which I had been looking forward to).
It hurt my ears and brain so much that I have not listened to a surf podcast since. That man should not ever have access to a microphone….although he has a very sane, and empathetic, take on this particular issue.
He’s got a point, but I’m finding it harder and harder to take the guy seriously after his many-week Facebook wave pool sob story campaign. Just put out a statement and let it go bud, you seem desperate. No one gives a shit
Definitely do not take him seriously. Many of his takes ares batshit crazy or infantile. But he’s right about this one.
Why are you reading Kalani Robb’s Facebook post? Seems desperate.
not one second!
Did Kalani make top 5 during his prime?
He lost Malia too.
Knowing he left so much on the table probably kills him at night, but the pool sob story is pathetic. You got fired and easily replaced IF he even had a job to do
Nailed it.
News flash.
Guy who never won a pro level event criticizes guy who has won plenty.
Still he ain’t wrong though.
Sounds like he showed the appropriate amount of respect to Fil. Said that he was untouchable at Lowers and in pools, which is overstating it.
So he’s trying to Robb him of his titles?
Omg
You could save a little embarrassment by just deleting this now.
Ok dad!
Btw edited book going through final proofs with an international press and a journal article through review since we last chatted. Another press asking me to pitch an idea. How’s your writing doing?
Shots fired.
Mr. narcissism over there in scotland has trigger itch.
Now these are the blood feuds that make BG what it is.
Dude thinks a comment may be embarrassing…that we’re all here and that BG exists is all embarrassing. That he thinks he’s above us all is even more embarrassing than that, and as Slater said, is character revealing.
Loved every minute of this exchange.
Glad someone did. I didn’t. Dude makes JSC look funny and witty.
Just curious what’s your book gonna be about?
Edited with some old students who are analyzing the sustainability of Singapore, given that country’s reputation for being a sustainable green city of the future. Proud of their efforts and for taking an old man colonist like me along for the ride.
Nice….
Utterly riveting.
So in honesty I did have another article rejected. Happens, as you know. Pretty top ranked journal. Was a reach for me, given my expertise. Was titled “A political economy of cheapness: A comparative study of things open 24/7 to generate customer satisfaction.” They liked two of my case studies–your mom, and your asshole. The third comparative case study they didn’t accept though as meeting the bar of even being cheap. This third thing was your running blog. The editors said it has no value whatsoever, so they didn’t accept the submission to send out for review.
It’s so funny what you consider humour to be.
No wonder you only attempt to write staid, eyeball-gougingly dull academic pish.
You know what, I take back what I said about engaging you. You’re not even good sport.
It’s like kicking a rabbit with myxomatosis to death.
Now come on !
Yeah, maybe being a bit harsh. JSC has his own little BG corner, unique to him. Swellnetters have a go at him, even. Takes a special skill for that to happen.
You started this with your low-brow trolling, inc trying to swing your dick as a writer, despite the fact what you do isn’t actually writing in my eyes, you can’t even get an article on BG, and your subject matter is SO BORING you have to self-publish your books.
If you think any of this bothers me you’re very much mistaken. But I do think you’re a prick, so I will continue to engage and make you look stupid.
But please: don’t try to strike up any more friendships with me and offer to have email exchanges or conversations away from BG, because that’s just fucking weird.
Yawn…..Zzzzz……
Tower 9
He actually scares me. Like, in real life.
Didn’t think you were able to embarrass yourself more, but well done.
Oh bless your heart, it’s not going well. Feel free to overcompensate by trying to troll me if that helps! You know where to find me. Especially since it’s four more months before you can write about yourself for another surf contest write up. The withdrawal must be hard.
THat’s pretty funny