Party like it's 2015.
Looking back, we can all see it. Professional surfing’s “Belle Époque.” Its golden age. The high water mark that stretched from, roughly, 2002 through 2019 and delivered us the highest of high and the lowest of lows. Andy Irons vs. Kelly Slater, Gabriel Medina delivering Brazil its first ever professional surf crown, four of five Carissa Moore titles and, maybe most importantly, the introduction of Wiggolly Dantas.
The powerful goofy foot from Ubatuba, Brazil burst on to the World Surf League Championship Tour in 2015 after placing 4th on the Qualifying Series the year prior and wowed audiences with his audacity and grit. His first name also impactful. As he shares, “My mom told me this story that when she was pregnant she was reading this book and there were a couple warriors in it. Wiggolly was the first warrior who would come to battle with a sword in his hand, so my mom decided to name me Wiggolly. I asked her various times why she named me that — she liked it, my dad liked it and they kept the name because the name was different than what existed in Brazil.”
Well, nostalgic surf fans are currently over the moon as Wiggolly’s younger brother, Weslley, is putting on an absolute show in South Africa, just now punching his ticket to the finals.
Hammer-town and for a brief moment surf fans can forget Erik Logan’s hiring as World Surf League President of Content, Media and WSL Studios in 2019 thus ending the Belle Époque like World War I ended France’s.
Happy days of yore.
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What a fucking punish it is to watch that cheese wizzing chop hopper, thank fuck he didn’t win that comp..
his style was so shockingly bad on that first wave of the final, that I found myself rooting for Cole for the first time ever.
Yeah, but how’s his paddling style?
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Ok gang surf content a little low on the ground so let me ask yous all this to try and drum up some convos and debate. If you could surf like anyone at the peak of their powers in the history of our wonderful sport who are ya going?
A lot of names popped into my head like Curren, Joel, Dane, Ethan, Jon Jon and so on but my vote is going to the late, great Andy Irons. I would just love to experience the feeling somewhere like Cloudbreak of coming fucking fanging off the bottom, way out in the flats and just absolutely belting the shit out of a section most cunts would be looking to pull into. Nobody has ever attacked heavy waves and sections like Andy.
Was also lucky enough to see him a fair bit surfing around here and it was just mind blowing. Absolute favourite was seeing him at big, pumping Kirra cuz the cunt was just on a different level to ANYONE I’ve ever seen. Just a fucking amazing surfer from 2ft beachies to heaving pits like Pipe and Chopes and even in proper big waves like Waimea and also had the sickest fucking style which is very important to me. Put simply the best surfer I have ever seen. RIP Andy ya fucking legend
Yep A. I. for me . All of the above reasons and… he just loved to surf so much. He absolutely fucking loved it
IMHO, Curren is the greatest surfer who ever lived.
Absolutely flawless style. I have to put him at top of my list.
Peak Occy and Potter were unbelievable though.
When I mind surf I mind surf like Josh Kerr in that Album video. Goofys probably mind surf like Machado for the same reason.
Bruce Irons in his heyday. Those huge barrel to massive air combos he used to do were so fucken sick!
Faaaaaaark yeh, sooooooo good. Had all the talent in the world Bruce just such a shame he couldn’t keep his demons at bay in the longer term ay
Andy’s passing really fucked him up. It’s always a wonder what would’ve happened with those 2 if Andy was still alive.
Has to be peak Curren, especially when he won Santa Cruz starting from the trials.
https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/secret-behind-tom-currens-historic-1990-trials-title-run/69514?cid=191063&utm_campaign=Editor%27s+Picks+070+%28Non-Premium%29&utm_content=Editor%27s+Picks+069+%28Non-Premium%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer.io&utm_type=newsletter
Brutus features above
I would be happy to surf as good as the younger me.
Seabass at the peak of his powers would be my choice, beautiful offbeat style, sickest wrap/snaps and wafty tail blows, and epic tube prowess..
Time to end your Vendetta and join in ya stupid idiot. Simple as that.
You also gotta read the room.
Do you always put yourself into places, to piss everyone off, where people just want you to fuck off?
Why?
You are quite capable of just joining in mate.
Why do you even communicate withe vile, racist dog of a cunt brother? We have always known hes a complete fuck up in need of serious help and now everyone else can see it too cuz of what he posts. Just ignore him like everyone else. I never block people through principle but fuck I’m tempted to by this scummy cunt
It is useless when dealing with PLC’s
It is a glorified Chatbot
NO MISTAKES
You are fine here Pinchy. No more Vendettas mate.
A new beginning for everyone.
Stop it with all your Racist Meme crap, and just be an addition, rather than a subtraction.
It is all on you
Redeem yourself.
Do you really enjoy being a “shit cunt”?
There are other places for your nonsense.
Stop with all the memes, and talk surfing
You are capable of some good comments.
But fuck off with your racist and Libtard comments
Be better
If you’re getting into allow a 17 year period to be the high water mark of pro surfing (?) start at 1989 (the Potter championship) and stretch it through to 2006.
A way better era, it includes all the AI titles too.
Love it mate and that statement has really got me brain whirring. Really bad with years and I loved the Andy domination era but my favourite was when we had Mick, Joel, Taj and Julian on tour. Just look at those Strayans and compare em to the crew we have today. We even had guys like Wilko, Ace, Hog and Ottz backing em up
What the fuck has happened to us??!! Well I’ll tell ya what’s happened, we’ve turned soft as fuck and lost that classic Strayan mongrel spirit we used to have and were famous for. Get these new age softcocks on the fucking juice is what I say hahahaha
relax bro
Julian was the best of the 3, but too happy to win. Not hungry
And that may be Australian’s problem. Too happy, too easy a life
Happened in seppoland too, phone replaced testosterone
The internet was so great at first, but it has really stolen our existence
Took the words right out of my mouth. My 2 oldest girls were born in 98 and 00. Just as everything was exploding. It’s hard to believe how it used to be growing up in the 70’s and 80’s. Glory days
My Tertiary education was Information Technology, Networks
From PONG to MS-DOS to Networks, to programming PLCs in industrial and manufacturing plants. One company which I stayed with for a long time.
All that learning is a fuckn joke now
Everything is moving very FAST
Say Cunty, are there less kids taking up surfing ? I agree with ‘turning soft’. I see it in the US. Now we’re the older guys out there. Hopefully that stoke, the surf life will make an impression on some, at least that’s my hope brother.
Na mate theres still fucking heaps of talented young surfers round here but most just can’t see a way to afford to have a crack at the tour. I have to point out too that most don’t even bother watching it anymore either cuz its just so gay and cheesy haha
Well it all depends on when you were a grommet. This is why Chas and Derek are completely ignorant of anything that happened pre 1992.
I was commenting specifically about the state of pro surfing. It was absolutely huge in the late 80s, fluoro, surf mags about an inch thick. I tend to think the surfing standard was not so great up until Curren/occy era. But that coincides with me being a little grommet kid. But say 1986 you still had Rabbit and Shaun and Cheyne on tour trying to slug it out but way outclassed and their style was pretty shit. Same thing happened when slater arrived in 92 of course.
I reckon late 80s had probably the biggest talent pool ever though. Occy, Curren, TC, Hardman, lynch, potter, Elkerton, Ho, etc. That era was stacked.
Kelly’s era until AI arrived was way off the pace due to Kelly being so far ahead. Gotta pay credit to that.
I dunno what happened to Aussie dominance (but I don’t really care either). But it does coincide with the industry cratering and the Brazil QS being stacked with a lot of mid range surfers.
Don’t forget from Rabs era…Simon Anderson/Dane Kealoha ( best of all of them)/ MR /Michael Ho….a lot more who didn’t compete fully…different days……
Kelly did have some Aussie nemisis’s , Like Powelly/Davo/Herro/Margo..best of them all!
But, there was a few more party’s going on for the Aussies….while Kelly and the Momentum generation cleaned up the image of surfing as it blew up commericially…..
How fucking good was Margo? I fucking love him. Would appreciate an answer from you sir to the question I have asked up top. Interested in yours and everyone else’s opinion
Solid
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A girl you don’t bring home to mama… but fuck it
https://youtu.be/9QX4bQPw-_w?si=sXWYj02RkoIoHj_c
https://youtu.be/zb5Ja6V4OeY?si=9WFnUeF6-DXR-0Oh
Cunt surfs like an even more spastic Eatalo. Pump, pump jump, rank style and arms flapping about all over the place, fuck that
keep it surfing related clown…not everyone cares about political bs
not everyone is a downvoting whitesuprem cunt…
well good thing for free speech huh?! cunt
He was in the parking lot. Gabe had just won the event. I told his mom “You birthed a beautiful boy”.
One time after a Lemoore pool comp I ate In n’ Out with Travis Logie, the Medina family, and the Dantas bros. I spoke with Medina’s mom and sis and they were lovely. Trav had a lot of napkins ready and ate with precision. The Dantas bros consumed Double Doubles as you’d expect.
And what did you have Jack?
Double Double. No fries. Diet Coke with a lemon. And a great time.
Exactly a month since Negs was unceremoniously dumped from his moderators role, and then disappeared to the fatherland of his German girlfriend to drink away the pain, he’s been spotted sliding along a few North Sea combers.
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Showing his inimitable Kiwi plumbers style whilst embracing his new homes national costume…
what luck being right in the spot to snap the photo!
He is missed!
His girl is greek, try to keep up
@disqus_MtijWZ4p3o:disqus
Surfing in Wisconsin.
the edmund fitzgerald!
Doing Chicken Joe proud! They make the most of what’s on offer.
@Longtom. It might just be talk, but so far he says all the right things. No valid criticisms as yet, except from people who are not independent.
He says that he’ll reject a salary raise, as any smart politician would do so early in their career.
The state of surfing in 1990. First section is Matt Hoy and Luke Egan fully ripping, presumably in Newcastle.
https://youtu.be/rjXxOrqFHo4?t=248&si=hWtLwO9P3CLG_1RM