"Christian McCaffrey has some very unorthodox training methods."
The National Football League season is still months away from the opener, though players are all starting to gear up with organized team activities etc. Each other year, it seems, Commissioner Roger Goodell, acting in the interests of team owners, expands the seasons, adding games. The League is also trying to actively internationalize, playing in London, Melbourne, Mexico City and further afield. It all takes quite a toll on the players, who desperately seek new ways to thrive while handling the burden.
The 49ers superstar running back Christian McCaffrey is one who knows the importance of keeping extra fit. The now-29-year-old burst onto the big stage as a dynamo at Stanford University. He was selected 8th, overall, by the Carolina Panthers in the 2017 draft and made an immediate impact both running and receiving the ball.
Things were rolling right along, McCaffrey growing stronger and stronger each year until the 2021 season where hamstring and ankle injuries did him dirty. I would imagine it was here, in the dark hours, that he began to dream of Laird Hamilton.
The world’s most famous surfer has become a magnet for those looking for a physical edge. Hamilton and wife Gabby Reece developed XPT, a training system which “distills the holistic methods of the world’s most elite operators into a five-pillar system — breathe, move, recover, fuel, connect — designed to elevate performance across each facet of your life through a range of experiential offerings.”
I experienced the joys of controlled drowning, touching upon it here and expanding in the latest Surfers Journal.
Hamilton, I think, impressed with my verve.
Back to McCaffrey, though. The back is once more healthy and now plays for the San Francisco 49ers. In order to bring extra boom for the ’26/’27 season, though, he has made his dream come true and is training with Laird Hamilton.
Instagram fan account oursf49ers posted a small carousel of the workout, declaring, “Christian McCaffrey has some very unorthodox training methods.”
Most in the comments cheered, one even surmising, “Pretty sure that’s Laird Hamilton standing in front of him!!! Famous surfer, tremendous shape!”
Tremendous shape indeed.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Awful.
Actually trash.
But for real do your knees quake and ache.
No. I don’t run on roads
Was this comment before or after the bamboo incident?
Something to ponder https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Never grumpy but definitely cunty. New joint shares the same ocean with you, we get the same cyclones come across and shock horror wear board shorts in the summer. You’d know Jigga? https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Ewe can’t be serious.
This is the best comp report!!
https://youtu.be/_wvQMqHi6To?si=ek9wGHkwJFgCysWq
And fils been punching on with g.c.
meth heads https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Yeah, until he talks.
He seems well liked
Steph Gilmore and Zeke hugging broke my concept of reality
May i remind you https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
This is a good reason to put up with the cold.
( bograil/ deeks collab @
yeah him.
Negs is just trying to tear us apart SC
Got some super secret scouts on the ground that sent me a photo of Negs consulting with the locals:
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Legitimately chuckling out loud now in my office. Thankfully no one else is around and just have some tasty live Grateful Dead going.
More to come, better find your fins
Think they’re up Dogsnuts bum, but he won’t let me look.
https://www.facebook.com/RaglanWaves
I’m not optimistic. Hoping to be pleasantly surprised but have the cynicism shotgun has both barrels loaded.
Replaced J Bay, big shoes to fill
turns out that the expression “chink fade” that Barton used for Qiunoa Iggy wasn’t as new as I thought. Here’s. Derek Hynd using it to describe Frankie O, at 6:50 in the vid. Says that Curren got it from Frankie
Asked Sunny Miller (RIP) once who the best surfer he filmed/surfed with was and he said Frankie.
Legend. Can only understand one out 4 words he says but able to figure it out enough. Still absolutely ripping in his 50’s. Watching The Search back when it first came out, there were a couple waves where it took a second to figure out if it was Frankie or Curren.
Might be one of the best surfers ever. So centered, powerful, connected.
Fuck how mental are these clips that backside surfing from Curren is nuts
Long Tom’s mate Craig knows his shit WAY better than Surflie and it doesn’t look good fellas
“One final system on the tail of the frontal progression will generate a moderate-sized south-west pulse for Thursday afternoon. This will still be in the water on Friday morning, which is the first day of the waiting period. Surfers can expect waves around 3-4 feet with favourable offshore winds. The size will gently taper through the day.
With no new swell, Saturday will dawn a slow 2-3 feet with light winds predominantly from the south-east.”
High pressure fills the Tasman and it’s game over.
And here is the rub. There are waves nearby, but the clumsy tour infrastructure won’t support the move. Most obvs is Rua which is where all of us would go, first option. Cops heaps more swell, but vulnerable to wind. Other gems require boats and that’s not going to happen. Meaning, you’d make do on a surf trip, but the bloated tour will stay put.
Maybe Whanga is working? I dunno, but they won’t drive there either.
Poll Question:
Which pro will be featured on the NZ Tourism Ads that will play non stop during the comp? You’ll have the drone view of the points/headland, maybe Wainui peak shots, Raglan bar drone shots, def get the star some coffee downtown, hotel serves us a decent steak to enjoy on the Veranda…. I know, I should direct this commercial
Ruapuke (where I live) does get more swell, but;
there is ZERO room for infrastructure, a grom comp clogged the north end.
roads are not great
banks are fickle as fuck currently, but sometimes cooking
tide can fuck anything resembling a good time in about 30 seconds (rips can be utterly bananas)
anything other than sheet glass, or light offshore can be problematic (howling offshore is ok if it’s breaking well, and there are slightly sheltered spots along the beach)
what’s your take RQ?
Hows it looking now?
We got boots on the ground boys!
set up is going well. you can see it on this cam:
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
local facebook pages are 50/50. some people getting right out of their prams, others really looking forward to it.
busses will be a sticking point as (most of) the tickets are being sold online like concert tickets. so, they can sell out, and locals are not getting a chip shot in for access.
a few crew I’ve talked to are looking at walking in from the beach at sun up, with board etc, so they can surf during the warmups and then get a good spot.
not sure how they are going to manage acces to Whale Bay and Indies if it does pump. residents have passes.
I would usually drive around the front of the maunga via Whaanga Rd, but there is a ‘soft road block’ somewhere and you need a residents pass to get through. I am out of range for a residents pass, but may be able to snag one if I really get the urge.
I am niether here nor there with the comp being in town. I can avoid it or dive right in.
it will be GREAT for business in town, but not for every local, as there will be traffic issues right through at a guess, in and out.
2 caveats,
when the music festival ‘soundplash’ is in town, it’s buzzing in town until the festival starts properly, as they didn’t allow ‘pass outs’ and festival goers couldn’t leave and come back. not sure that was / is always the case though. local businesses were a bit pissy as they had been promised loads of people, and town kinda emptied out a bit as some locals avoided the area.
the WRC came through here in 2022, HUGE event. massive. but they will never be back as they treated a lot of locals (especially out this way) like fucking dicks.
I should mention, I’m not a ‘Local’ local.
So there are people that will know more and have more of an informed opinion.
But, I have been ever so slowly working my way up the pecking order at Manu* for the past 10 years, so I have good feel for the spot and some of the Locals.
*The further up the order I get though, the worse I’m surfing! hahaha
there’s a pecking order at Manu?
I thought it was a backpacker wave?
it can be pretty random, but the better it gets, the more the order comes in to play.
You just earned on-the-beach contest write ups. Strayan Cunt has handed over the baton.
hahaha, if I make it over I will break it down.
You’re gonna have to be on the piss and cumming. A lot.
oh man. big boots to fill. hahahaha
I got to see WRC in Wales in ‘03. That shit was so fun. I’d been a fan since I was a little gremmie. And Peter Solberg went mental that year.
But fuxk them if they do right by you’ll.
oh, it was sick here too. massively fun road to drive.
check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
who is selling the tickets and who gets the revenue?
Honestly don’t know. Not the WSL though at a guess. Local council? it’s a classic ‘got them over a barrel’ situation, 90% of punters will have to jump on the bus or dip out. not saying it’s right or wrong, just that the venue is unable to handle the numbers they are expecting.
the one with the big hair that beat Slater.
Maybe he could help Filipe take off on a 10fter.
Fairly sure that it’s the reef that scares Fil. The size don’t bother him, if the drop is pleasant and the water is deep.
are you ready for LLARDÈ ?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
LLARDÈ is ready for you
top quality deep fryer lard
by beache & grittana
Bit early , I read that as Trans Superstar
How’s this photo of Noosa from Swellnet.
Pretty
just surfed high tide windswell at the local reef and fuck me do I wonder why I surf in California.
I’d wonder about your tide book, high tide is around 1 am for most of the state.
Rising tide little sand lots of chunky deep spots, sorry babes
Did you cutback, though?
My only move!
That place is dreamy, until you stand on the beach and realize there are about 1,000 people out. Followed by a long walk up to TT and Granite with fingers crossed.
last time I surfed it was head high at Granite and no one out.
winter- no wetty required.
Holy fuck
a goofy nightmare
Everyone’s nightmare once you realize there are 750 VAL’s on mals and another 250 clowns trying to ride shortboards.
spent some time there back in the, swore id never go right again
My beach today, and considered a better rideable day. Heart rate will not be elevated paddling over these:
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
3 cans of double jack. A pinga. And lots of durries ( inc.some joints)
and this place is pumping.
Hah! The amount of brain power I’ve put into wishing “If only it were 2 feet bigger” over the decades, and I’d be Stephen Hawking.
Repugnant
Thoughts and prayers <3
where is this?
The worst place to surf in the USA after Georgia. Even the Great Lakes gets better. South Carolina, in all its overhead glory…
Hey at least you can trunk it in the summer.
I’d take a 5/4 with booties and gloves and head high walls over trunks and flat any day of the week, esp with how good wetsuits have gotten.
I was trying to make you feel better! You’re welcome to join me in NorCal, but you won’t need all that rubber.
Did a yr at HSU in 95/96 and did need that rubber. Big fucking waves. Big sharks. Loved every moment.
Well, you might up there. I’m in Marin County, and get away with a hooded 3/3 and no booties all winter, and a 3/2 or even short-arm 2/2 in late summer + fall. Water’s warmer here than on the Central Coast where I grew up.
one of the nicest places to surf in the world.
Donny Thompson is the genius behind the “inversion table” or upside down spiderman stretch. He learned it from Dick Hartzel who is a wealth of knowledge in the exercise and recovery space.
So happy for you people who’ve found spiritual solace amongst the likes of Jesus and Laird. As far as I’m concerned, religion can eat a bag of dicks. Spirituality is another thing entirely.
My personal belief is that everyone has their own solipsistic God who is simultaneously the creator and a product of our own spiritual being.
We are all living the momentary projection of our God. Like in the movie Conan the Barbarian where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gerry Lopez bicker about the difference of their Gods, your God and my God are not the same. How can they be when our Gods are a representation of ourselves?
Anyway….this is all relevant as I’ve been pondering spirituality of late. An injury which is preventing me from surfing, has prompted my usual all-In healing response; That being to Double down on the physical exercise I can still do, whilst eradicating every negative component of my life. Correct the diet. Stay off the piss. Lots of rest.
However my God , being as fond of ironic gallows humour as myself and most Australians , can’t resist twisting the knife of my suffering for a few extra giggles. So when I went down the beach yesterday to burn some energy by punching out a few kilometres on the soft sand, of course the surf was off its fucking tits. Four to six foot left tubes under a perfect offshore wind. Proper surfer’s day with grey skies. A tiny handful of local rippers getting their joy on whilst I walked the beach.
So I can’t surf and Huey puts on a show of pumping waves. Surely that’s enough to satisfy his sadistic humour? Of course not. Huey is also well aware of my love of a beverage . So as I trudge up this empty beach , a place that’s blissfully free of rubbish and pollution, an object rolling around in the shorebreak catches my eye. As I get closer it dawns on me what I’m looking at…it’s another one of Huey’s little jokes : A can of beer . As if that’s not enough, out of all the beers in the world it’s my very favourite beer. Huey has put a bit of effort into this one because the can is covered in barnacles and sea life, which tells me that he has foreseen my life’s path to this moment and manoeuvred this still-full beer can into my fate. He probably made a deal with some fisherman’s God to arrange the can to be accidentally dropped overboard on some boozy offshore fishing trip sometime in the past. Those Gods can be mischievous scamps when they get together.
Cheers Huey….you funny piss-taking bastard.
jeezus, must be a hell of an injury to keep you on the beach w/ those conditions
and your god is a spiteful ass
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… https://uploads.disquscdn.c… https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Fuck how good is a Coopers green.
Appreciate the descriptive approach to the God question you explore here. I do think there is God that is one degree removed from our ability to perceive and define, so what we functionally end up with as a society is everything you laid out here. And it’s often shit.
I rememeber a mentor saying to me that when it comes to God, having a major sense of epistemological humility is paramount, but in order to get anywhere or have some sort of north star, it’s worth having an ontological conviction about who God is as a being, and that ends up defining your actions more than anything. Whole other can of worms, but I have gone towards God existing most in that balanced connection you feel with yourself, your community/relationships, and nature.
Keep moving Blowy. You’ll be back out there.
This mentor business. Tell me more.
Fuck, you just beat me to that comment. A bit scared of the answer though.
Having a mentor is essential
https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/490388
I’ll have to bank that novel for later.
Depends on if the mentor is a cunt or not.
Fun read. Should write an article with all the time ya got
That’s a great read. Warm fuzzies.
I signed Com Turren to a 3 year deal just last night Negs
Will be booking his surf travel, reviewing his training videos and adjusting his mechanics, but most importantly I will be ordering his custom surfboards. Pretty comprehensive service I’ve come up with and glad to have my first client as committed as Com.
I’m available as a guest coach to work on being a bigger arsehole online.
Def Neg
I see you running our online life coaching platform. Can’t spread you too thin, but maybe guest speak at our seminars.
you’re too nice now Negs, best work long behind you.
Whereabouts on west coast you going?
SC doesn’t know how lucky he is not to have to deal with the old me.
Very originally named place called Westport. Losing the easy access Points, but gaining some sick dry hair paddle out beachies, bays, river bars that fire over the summer months when it’s dead flat here.
A bit cursed by rain and massive swell, but water and weather is considerably warmer than here. Real green subtropical feel to it, Less tourism, more unemployment and like stepping back in time in a good way. That part of Nz is one of the last frontiers for cheap real estate and uncrowded surf. A few “secret” spots that require some work to get too a few hours South.
I’m ready for a change.
Sounds perfect
it does
You going to be moving that way at some point for permanent retirement? When can I show up with my gear and claim the master bedroom?
My gal owns a shoebox sized house. Bring a tent!
Agent for elder, non-professional surfer is quite the gig.
Accepting new clients Barrelled…. guarantee you a 6% improvement in the first year, quantum leap
I thought he already followed your advice before and got a model you recommended made for people that weigh two hundred and fifty pounds.
Com getting abused for his board post going on two days now, haha.
Maybe just give him a summary on design/color theory?
he should be able to play Eruption with that spray
English, OxBridge accent. International lawyer, is partner to a professor at the uni I went to.
Wicked smahrt. Devout Christian, evangelical intro then ended up in Eastern Orthodoxy. Everything you imagine American Christians to be, he is not. More spiritual than exegetical.
Nice Good Will Hunting reference you slid in there.
Hows your bog rail cutbacks going?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… Still bogging
SC won’t like this. Apparently he’s the best surfer on BG
I know what you’re trying to do…
And it’s working.
Slicing
Jesus.
You don’t like left tubes? Not grey enough for your Scottish sensibilities?
He wakes at 4am and does this. Imagine this effort put into sports betting at that time. Dude could be a millionaire.
He could always short oil at that hour, like Donny’s boys.
Or have gone all in on Intel (which has quadrupled in the last 18 months)
I just finished reading your 3-year old review of Stab’s HSGP and the mountains of shit you took below the line. Good times.
Quite an ornery bunch.
Got a link? I need to see what the fuss is about. Derek loves his stuff. I’m not so convinced.
Likely you won’t find it as entertaining as i did. But here it is nevertheless.
Some fella named piss brohoff was slinging his piss and vinegar at ol’ JP.
Always interesting to see comments from folk who were regular below the line but have since moved onto new pastures.
https://beachgrit.com/2023/09/stab-surf-surfing-how-surfers-get-paid/
I am a newbie as the badge doth proclaim, and it’s funny to see who were old regulars vanish
also, fuck running
Yes, thst was really good. My (faded) memories are self indulgent tales of wallowing in avoidable woe guised as contest wraps. Perhaps that was the nadir of his interest in Beachgrit?
The whole quit-lit thing also struck me as self defeating. Like a man who abandons a beautiful women because he can’t get an erection.
Listen, I don’t know who the fuck you are and I don’t really care. But you’ve clearly got a chip on your shoulder and think you can write (as evidenced by your embarassingly long, tryhard, and yes, self-indulgent, comment above).
But I stand by the years of contest reporting I did here. Every heat, every day of competition, not a day missed for three years. Maybe even four.
I did this whilst teaching full time, juggling family stuff, watching comps through the night at ridiculous hours, and all because I liked the BG vibe and DR was and always will be a star.
My reporting was sometimes tangential to the point of obscurity, and sometimes pure shoegazing, but I did that to keep it bearable and as a creative challenge. Because – and I don’t know if you know this – but professional surfing is really, really fucking boring sometimes.
And you know what, when it was good I reported on it straight, without any of the fluff, and by all means you go and look out those reports and do your best to criticise them. The sheen won’t be the same, because the moments are gone, but I was capturing something of those moments, and once again: I stand by it because I know the hours I put into them.
So crack on, mate. Crticise away. You know fuck all. And the only reason I’m actually rising to this is because writing is a fucking noose round my neck that I hate right now. And I didn’t hate it at BG because I was having fun, people enjoyed it, and it felt authentic and liberating.
So get fucked.
As I said…Thought it was great !
Great writing but do your knees hurt
I sent you a little diddy of my homegrown writing style and you called me James Kelman:
James Kelman b1946 won the Man Booker Prize with his novel, How Late it Was, How Late. The novel was criticised for its use of profundities and the local, difficult to understand, Glaswegian language. In hindsight it is now highly praised for its unique style and its postmodern techniques.
Grateful, DSS&S
lol, that was a funny trip down memory lane.
Truly. I also found a contest thread from J-Bay 2019 (I think) and people were still trying to make up their mind whether Kanoa was a future champion. Heady times.
Also, it’s quite interesting, although understandable, how little has changed since then. Thankfully stupidity like “the cut” is gone but the discourse was almost exactly the same as now. Just no LT and JP delivering their opinions.
Ha. I’ve just gone back and read it. Had entirely forgotten that. Along with thousands of other “conversations” I’ve had here no doubt
Thought it was great !
Do you sometimes, while up in the mountains, miss piss brohoff? Just a little bit?
Just kidding. I enjoy your writing, and don’t have infallible expectations from any writer. You’re allowed to be wrong sometimes and even contradict yourself occasionally if that’s what it takes to create entertaining content. That makes you human.
And HSGP and SITD are both highly entertaining for me, having followed surf media since the mid 90s in the ‘Merican mags, and only ever getting fed the polished version of the industry.
I hope that you start back writing here one day, if I’m still around. If not, then upwards and onwards.
The discourse was a little more elevated in some past eras.
Speaking of, I got a tattoo in our honor!:
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
🙂
The man himself, emerges from the depths. Thanks for the entertainment.
Was reading some old Rory Parker content and came across the comment when Chazz Michael Michaels first let the crew know that he was JP; and it blew Chas’ mind so much that he immediately wanted to get in contact with JP. Great times.
for the record, I’m a JP fan and miss his write-ups even if I sometimes disagreed with his intermittently half-baked conclusions and felt that his outsized ego and tendency toward condescension occasionally overshadowed his formidable talent.
for example, I still specifically remember his piece on the Abu Dhabi comp: sublime and brilliantly pointed, full of beautifully figurative language. and in general, his unique ability to transform real-life struggles and observations into metaphors for professional surfing’s inherent absurdities typically resulted in some interesting insights.
unfortunately, there just ain’t much to engage with around here anymore. above the line, it’s a careening clown car piloted by Israeli govt apologists, jiu jitsu fanboys, Zillow surfers, and sharknado chasers. and knocking back the rife right-wing balderdash and mouth-breathing misogyny below the line loses its luster real quick.
now I mostly turn up just to witness mapski skewer the proceedings.
You ain’t wrong.
I quite like the real estate articles. Must be the dreamer in me. I was going to say “aspirational” but I don’t try to accumulate enough wealth to ever live in a nice, coastal home.
I wish that DR was into Costa Rican, coastal real estate so I could marvel at some of those homes from afar. But the abodes of Byronshire are a close second, so I’ll happily accept that. An old BG article talked about having Byron-based kids dressed in beige clothing. I quite like beige and other earth tones.
I’m just glad you came back to say Hello! and give JP some much needed love.
Another brilliantly penned review by JP was the Trestles final that Slates co-anchored in the booth with turps. His breakdown of the GOATS commentary was top notch stuff.
They were good times. Bit disappointing that we need to trawl the archives though.
It’s not disappointing to me.
I’ve only been here since 2023 and had no idea that this site (or even this form of surf media) existed. (I never even knew who Lewis Samuels was despite me following yank surf media since ‘95)
So even if BG was currently in its golden age , with the best content ever, I would still enjoy seeing its evolution. It also gives me a bit of perspective on the madness that goes through the minds of us users (and that dozens, if not hundreds, of regulars have gotten their fill over the years and gave the big “Adios!”)
Just only recently got into the mix below the line. Bummed I wasn’t here before as I had been perusing the site for years but something clicked recently. Mostly the lack of genuinely fun surf talk that goes beyond the loud mouth vocal fry of most lineups. Also a bit of a quiet person myself unless I’m one on one so the writing format is perfect for me.
I look at our ancestors though and am happy to be here right now as the current batch of BG. Yeeeeew
Saves, Saved? Anybody?
My god this was a long fucking comment.
Are you on your phone
Nah, they just dislike each other extensively.
Not true. I like DHMF’s comments and attitude. I’m from this crazy world where you don’t throw a person out with the trash just because you have different opinions on some things.
Hey asshole, caffeine isn’t until for 6AM!
4AM caffeine spike .
Ive got a rule of thumb which is if i can’t go surfing and still need to go to the beach (kids/whatever reason) i actively seek out the place with worse conditions. Kind of a reverse ‘The Search’.
That’s what I thought I did yesterday. I thought another nearby place was the spot, which it probably also was. You’d have more than likely been surfing that other place alone though. Great if you like having four metre fish to help keep your loneliness at bay.
I’m not sure that I follow.
Are you saying that the Christians from 33AD are wrong, and that Jesus is not coming back next Spring to save us from the Romans?
Almost nothing on earth as sweet as a light jog on the beach, although I’ve never done it with firing waves in the background. Hope that your detox goes well and that you heal up. Try communing with Wim Hof; I hear that he’s heals the sick and the wicked alike.
was hesitant to answer this one….as anybody who is starting to discover spirituality , in on the start of a journey…a great life adventure…….and one where there is a promice of peace and joy.
So one side of spirituality is worshipping yourself , and it all starts with Me and My…needs/wants/desires………which I see a a false God…and so do Christians
/muslims/Jews.
then there’s the idea of a God creator as your spiritual base…..where there is an almighty who created us and the world…..and we are bound by the Laws of the Bible, old and new covenant…….which means not me first…it’s clear, do what you can to help others , especially those who are disadvantaged and in need……
of course there are the perversions in religion , creating cults and actually worshipping self….we are seeing this at the moment on a daily basis with the various cults of Christianity being used to justify hate/wars etc…..
For example blowin….you have been following my post on a lot of this….and have asked the question….what happens when the me/my physicality can’t surf whare do find what you have lost….or do you just stay lost??
The awnser is blowin’ in the wind.
That’s a sign to get on the piss. Fully get on the piss. Not half arsed