Tracks & ASL Mag Coverage of the June / July ECL swells

[bradad]

If the pull out poster of Koby is the best shot of 'Solander' over the 10 epic sessions I'll give it away.

Sure that's not another Koby but from another eastern suburbs beach ?

[Smolchy]

Im fed up with ASL and ive emailed em this time, seems like every month for the past 2 years theres a 6-10 page spread of the bra boys surfing either Cyclops, Shippies or Ours. Time for some new material or a new mag that caters for the general surfing public ur average digger like most of us on here, not trashy 40 pages of ads, Mark Mathews on the last 6 covers. For farks sake get out there and showcase some of the Aussie surfers that arent getting paid 6 figure salaries and do it cause they love it, maybe pay them something, rather than showing the same 5 surfers every month if i see one more pic of mark mathews , coby or Richie vas surfing cyclops Im gonna loose it. OK WE GET IT , its a gnarly wave that they stole from bodyboarders just like 'OURS' . I dont blame the lidders for being pissed they discovered it now they cant even surf it . Get off your ass and find some new material ASL.

[Sausage]

Surfing life is like one of those shitty gossip mags. Total Crap!

[Sausage]

Here is a good reason not to buy next issues Tracks or ASL.

http://www.coastalwatch.com/news/articl ... 3&cateId=3

[surfanimals]

Here is a good reason not to buy next issues Tracks or ASL.

http://www.coastalwatch.com/news/articl ... 3&cateId=3

It looks epic, the words make it sound surreal but in all honesty, how the fcuk does your average surfer actually comprehend and get amped about something they can't and would not want to surf ?

8 foot peaks and pits are realistic and give us dreams and the want to work and save to surf them, but this stuff....it is for a few only.

So, we now have teenagers covered with the ads and a handful of big wave maniacs on the trail of more deathwish waves....that now caters for maybe 20% of surfers.

My thoughts....LET'S KEEP IT REAL.

[macgreggor]

This thread is long overdue.

Ditto to all the above.

At 36 It's refreshing to hear other likeminded crew voice the same opinion.

After 20 odd years I now refuse to buy Tracks because I don't support the glorification of enforcing exclusivity through violence. I don't support the "industry", and I really couldn't give a f### about the pro tour, which really only leaves the ads, and 10 pages before you get to the content is a joke.

The electronic age has opened up vast opportunities to get a surf fix and I do support all the artists and photographers and underground web page officianados who do it for the love of it because that's where it's really at!

To all the crew at Tracks and waves and ASL...........go and get fucked!

[Beanpole]

"Lets keep it real" as my little man Toto says

Right on Surfsonanimals.

When I look at a lot of the Evel Kenivel stuff I tend to think of someone showing a bunch of fishermen footage of guys who specialise in coating themselves in burley and wrestling sharks. Its fishing but not as we know it.

[Sarge]

I'm going to start by stating that I am 36yo to paint a picture.

This morning I grabbed copies of both Tracks and ASL Mag given the covers promising me 'the best coverage' and the 'once in a lifetime' type quotes to sucker me in.

I have not bought either of these mags for a very long time. They both suck in my humble opinion. I'm a SW man, have every copy from the mid '80's til now...pure bliss every month when it appears.

The layout in both Tracks & ASL of the recent swells was worse than I expected.....basically it was crap. Hemmed in between ridiculous ads obviously aimed at impressionable teens and really not going into any detail about how good the swells actually were, it was patch work and Realsurf provided a far more comprehensive viewpoint on what went down.

Did the mid north coast not get swell ? What about all the photo's we saw on Realsurf of Cronulla Point, Shark Island, Windy Point southside and The Bower & Dee Why northside as an example - did Mark Newsham not take photo's of the Coal Coast......how about Snapper or Byron ?

I'm not having a dig at the photographers at all - the shots are awesome, more so the way they have been utilised - it is VERY disappointing and I feel completely ripped for paying $18 for the both of them.

If the pull out poster of Koby is the best shot of 'Solander' over the 10 epic sessions I'll give it away.

Lift your game boys. We are the one's with the money to buy the product and are not stupid. Aiming at 15 year olds is one thing but it is by no means the larger proportion of surfers and consumers.

YOUR COVERAGE OF OUR SWELLS HERE ON THE EAST COAST WAS CRAP

The pull out poster in the TRACKS I got was of some filthy blonde squelch in a red bikini............

Maybe they know the Vicco boys don't give a rats about Solander cause it was shithouse here in June.

[zingomar]

Look at the piccies in the newsagent, skim read the one or two brief articles while you stand there - free

The articles are too brief to bother buying to read.

So they put it in a sealed plastic bag to stop the casual readers - so you stop even bothering with 'em.

They are on a road to nowhere I reckon unless they add some depth to the stories

So much surf stuff on the net

[monkey]

Amen to this thread!
I bought my first copy of Tracks in 1982 at 13yrs old as I boarded a train at Central to head to Byron for a few weeks with the family.
I was hooked all the way reading great stories from competent, arguably great writers. I still remember Derek Hynd writing about surfing in Shikoku Japan - "sets wrapped into the point like Harriers in attack formation" When was the last time you read something like that in Tracks? "Three Cheers for the Cyclone" with pics from all over the east coast not just bloody "Ours" with it's pack of tools. Over the years, stories about the fires that wiped out Aireys Inlet in Victoria, or the classic "G-land news" and others from Nick Carroll during the Grajagan trip that spawned "All Down the Line".
What about Wayne Lynch's "Shark Encounter" or the Tall tales and True "To Live and Die in Kuta". Where are these great stories of our culture in amongst the dross that passes for monthly fare?
Tracks talked it up as one of the classic swells of the last 20 years; it got 11 pages of coverage and 6 of these were of "Ours". In the same issue, a promo photo spread of Quikky's "Young Guns 3" got 16 PAGES!
What's this on the "backpage"? Well whatdyaknow - "Ours" again!
Sad

[jfdi]

What a great thread. These mags have really lost the plot with surfing. Surfanimals is spot on and Macgreggor is dead right when he says they 'support exclusivity of surf spots through violence'. Its not a children's sport. Stastically, the majority of surfers are over 25, not aged 12-14 who want to hero worship tools.

I also agree with the comments that say that surfing is far more than riding gnarly or bigger waves.

The common theme I get is that they glorify thuggery, write boring stories about boring tools riding the same boring spots. Stories have conditions and situations way over exaggerated and photos full of the same boring tools who think the sun shines out of their arse when they surf and thats why they should be paid to surf. Its so full of juvenile localism its just sad.

The net just blows them away, for sure, as perhaps they are not overpaid by clothing companies who have money wasting ideas about the content that has to go in. The net is 'here and now', has photos of all sorts of surfers, not just those who are getting paid to for it and the video content is just getting better. If you are into the WCT, you can watch it live or see repeats. You can go to sites that specialise in surfboard design and manufacturing and find out the real truth about developments and vent your spleen on forums like this.

With all the girly style clothing advertising taking up 80% of the material, perhaps newsagents should put these mags in the womens section from now on.

[surfanimals]

It's really interesting to read that others are of the same mindset here. Phew, I wasn't the only one questioning these mags.

With all the electronic mediums available, we can watch the ASP events via live streaming, go direct to the ASP website or myspace pages to access a full list of results and how it all unfolded. We are not going to wait 3 weeks to buy a mag to tell us what we already know. I mean, Taj won JBay which we're all stoked about BUT we all know and it will be meaningless when the next issues are printed so why bother ?

I was planning a trip to Southern California earlier this year, my companion lives in the Laguna area so I new I was sort of near Newport and not far from San Diego.....it was a chance to surf unchartered area's for me.....I can't recall ever reading articles on the west coast of the USA, maybe I could drive to Mexico - who new.....these are the stories I want to read.....places we as average punters might actually travel to in our every day lives for work and/or play.

How about the Great Ocean Road....we read about Bell's but I was in Melbourne last month and had no idea about the hundreds of other spots south of Melbourne - yep, I can use the internet and talk to people but mags could actually use the opportunity to educate everyone looking at exploring area's outside their 'local' rather than not naming the majority of surf spots on fear of retribution...they have been more than happy to expose 'Ours' and 'Shippies' so why then not also show Phillip Island, Cactus, Black Rock, Redsands, The Bluff etc etc.....c'mon it's 2007 and none of these spots are a secret and 'locals only' anymore - that shit finished years ago ? I had just not done my homework but would have loved to have had the knowledge and Tracks / ASL and the like have the vehicle to provide it.

(I have always loved the guys claiming their spots as 'locals only' and then they pack up and travel to Indo or Hawaii and do exactly what they tried to stop others from experiencing at their home break.....prime dickheads.....so the next time you have someone have a shot at you for paddling out at 'their' spot, remember their face and you might just see them at 'yours' the following year ! )

We all can't take 2 months off to go off on boats and trek into the unknown to third world countries, some don't want too. We want to pack the car and head up or down the coast, pay $49 on a cheap domestic flight within Australia and maximise our surf time on limited time.

I'd say the most popular issues of mags are the 'Australian' issues, showing the amazing coastline in our country....right ?

So, let's put it too them to focus on real surfers, realistic adventures and spreads on oversea's locations that are not always the outposts but cities themselves such as mainland USA, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand etc etc rather than the overload on Cape Solander and The Mentawai's and our great country itself...the places your sons, brothers and mates actually can get too each year with families and in their cars.

[Karlos]

About 10 pages of Ad's in Tracks and ASL just to get to the index - like looking through a chick mag it was !

Only 10 pages? We've got it good with Tracks & ASL. Have you ever flicked through one of the US mags, Surfer or Surfing? You'd be lucky to find the contents 20 or 30 pages in.

[channels]

A few years ago, the ASL crew came out with a mag called "Deep". It only lasted a few issues but it had to be one of the better surf mags I've read in the last 10 years.

When Tracks used to be the old paper style it took me a couple of days to get through. The last time I read Tracks it took me 1 hour.

[mattyd]

Good thread.

Have to agree with the sentiments. I'm 37 and rarely buy ASL or Tracks, despite being a Tracks subscriber in my teens and early 20s. (Just an age thing maybe? Maybe they have chosen to target an audience who are happy with the current content?)

For "real" surf journalism, I used to find SW way out in front. Had that well-balanced mix of escapism, good interviews and sensational photography that made me want to get out there, go traveling, surf more secluded breaks, camp on a point down the coast for a few days... Has lost that edge a little in recent years I think, but still way out in front of the others.

Whatever happened to "Deep" and are they going to have another stab at it? Bought maybe 4 editions then it stopped being published. Best Australian surf content on paper I have ever come across.

The Surfers Path is OK, but isn't "Australian" enough for me to buy it regularly.

Internet is great, but when you're on the road, or spreading out on the lounge or hammock, it's easier to read a mag.

And every now and then a classic edition comes out that you'll keep forever. Who remembers that Eagle Island edition of SW in mid 80s? Or the one with Munga cruising through a perfect overhead emerald Burleigh barrel in the late 80s?

[2nd Reef]

Pulled this from another thread where I asked NC about Deep (he was the editor):

2nd Reef wrote:
Any plans to resurrect Deep NC?

The few issues you brought out sit comfortably in my bookshelf next to The Surfers Journal and The Surfers Path. You had a good thing going there. Why'd it get pulled?

Lack of advertising support. Here's the cold reality of publishing -- you can make the best mag in the world, but if you can't cover costs with advertising, you're f**ked.

Unless you're like Pezman, who had a lot of people covering his arse behind the scenes in the first few years of the Surfers Journal.

In Deep's case the major advertisers who we'd counted on for support couldn't see the point in spending money to target the skilled committed surfer...which is a shame 'cause there's more of them per head in Australia than anywhere else in the world.

I've moved on from that. Books are the go.

[WANDERER]

perhaps what is needed is an independent online zine, surely with all the contributors and people who know people on here we could get this rolling? to quote one of my favourite bands: "we gotta take the power back!"

I was thinkin the name could be a pisstake on "the 'bra boys", instead of bra we could go 'bar' as in spendin too much time at the bar... I looked for a domain, but:

www.thebarboys.com is taken
www.barboys.com eeekkkkkkk!!! :? ummm also taken hehehehe

good idea or what.

[surfanimals]

A few years ago, the ASL crew came out with a mag called "Deep". It only lasted a few issues but it had to be one of the better surf mags I've read in the last 10 years.

When Tracks used to be the old paper style it took me a couple of days to get through. The last time I read Tracks it took me 1 hour.

Deep and Aust. Surfers Journal were VERY good mags.

They both went under which would maybe explain why the others stick to the target market of teenagers ?

That does not help us though does it. Deep had about 9 issues from memory and Aust Surfers Journal maybe 15 ? The quality was superior and costs would have been high for printing but these are the stories, pictures and mags we want.

Imagine being a pro surf photographer and having a 20 page spread in a quality mag rather than a quater page shot surrounded by ads - surely photographers would also like to ses change ?

I'd love to see a reply or counter from one of the mag staff.......?

Where's Ben Horvath ? Remember Underground Surf ? Lots of ads for teens too (paid the bills) but at least the surf was relevant and what you saw was what you'd surfed and seen.