How to humiliate surf bullies with jiujitsu world champ Sandro Santiago

“This is the epitome of toxic surf etiquette"

“I wasn’t trying to hurt him. I’m not gonna lie, it did cross my mind. Because, man, after you get punched…I got assaulted. I’d been violated and the way I see it is like, man, now I have this poor guy in my hands saying sorry—but he punched me! If I didn’t have this kind of martial arts background, to have compassion for his weakness, I may have done something bad.”

These are the words of sixth degree black belt and Jiu Jitsu instructor Sandro “Batata” Santiago, who came on my podcast, Split Peak Soup, last week, to give an in-depth account of the drama that went down at Steamer Lane on the morning of Saturday, May 2nd. 

Two weeks ago, as you may recall, Derek posted a story here on the Grit about the confrontation, an argument over surf etiquette at Steamer Lane that resulted in fisticuffs in the water and a subsequent public humiliation at the top of the stairs. 

When I first saw the viral footage, which showed Santiago launch into a brutal takedown of his opponent followed by a masterclass in no gi grappling, I was impressed.

Here, if we are to believe Santiago’s words, one of the legion of entitled blow-ins who infest Santa Cruz finally got a forceful reminder of what can happen when you fuck with the wrong person.

In the roughly hour-and-a-half-long podcast, Santiago detailed his humble beginnings in Barra Tijuca in Rio De Janeiro, his choice to pursue martial arts over competitive surfing, his infatuation with American culture, his Pan-American and World Master Championship victories, and subsequent choice to move to California in 1997. He also was adamant about his position in the hierarchy at the Lane.

“How am I going to come over here thinking that I have priority over Daryl (Virostko), (Anthony) Ruffo, and Nat (Young)? Those guys always have priority over me…that will never change for me,” he told me.

The way he looks at it, he hassled the other surfer during that initial encounter because he wasn’t a regular and tried to take a wave immediately after jumping off the point, without respecting the priority of the surfers who’d been out the back waiting.

“People who live close to the ocean their whole lives, born and raised there, who surf there, it’s like a little family, a community. If you want to come to the community, come with respect,” he added.

While I grew up in Santa Cruz myself, I reside across town at Pleasure Point, and have never shared the lineup with Santiago, so I can’t really weigh in on how he composes himself in the lineup.

I do know a few people who do, and according to them, he’s a respectful guy with good etiquette.

In our interactions, he was kind, well-mannered, and level-headed, and after sharing 

my podcast on social media, most of the sixty-three comments were supportive of Santiago’s actions.

For example

I appreciate everything he did through this whole situation. I’ve never had the pleasure to meet him, but everything I’ve heard is that he’s an incredible human being…he used more control than most of us would.” 

And

“The guy was lucky. A less trained individual would have hurt him. Lucky for him that Sandro knew exactly what to do in a situation like that. OSS.”

However, others weren’t so eager to back the Brazilian

“I was not there and did not see the punches thrown, but his insistence on ‘teaching a lesson’ and forcing multiple apologies is not something I support.”

And

“This is the epitome of toxic surf etiquette. The ocean should be a shared space grounded in mutual respect, yet it’s seemingly governed by a fraternity of man-children who believe they hold the monopoly on who deserves a wave. Sandro is a textbook example: he routinely back-paddles and exploits anyone he perceives as an easy mark.”

Yikes!

While I am grateful for the lessons in respect that were drilled into my head as a grommet  cutting their teeth in the lineups of Santa Cruz, I can sympathize with the last commenter’s description of surfing’s “fraternity of man-children”.

Santa Cruz is infamous for fostering surfers of average skill-level who’s arrogance and propensity for violence earned them a place at the top of the pecking order. People who liked to demand respect without showing it in return. 

With that being said, surfing with clueless crowds, along with being frustrating, is really fucking dangerous and I’m not a fan of anyone, local or not, trying to take a wave without waiting their turn.

Plus, I think that Santiago showed restraint in the way he subdued his attacker. With his skill set, he could have easily put the guy in the hospital.

What do you think? Is there a place for violence in surfing? Was Santiago justified in his actions? Is localism still alive in your town? If not, is that really such a bad thing?

Discuss!