Has Surfing Become Too Commercialised

[BB]

Maurice my background is very similar but a big part of taking up surfing was the character of the people I met doing it. I don't go for the notion that surfing is somehow the supreme human experience, it's great...so are a lot of other things in life. There was also a real creative, vibrant scene in the broader surfing culture in those days that was reflected in the magazines and movies.....all very dated now perhaps but new and exciting at the time. So I pursued surfing as much for the social side of things as anything else. I make no apology for this, if anything human relationships are the supreme value and far exceed anything to be gained from surfing.

My point is that I don't see those sort of people in surfing today and it brings me into contact with a lot of shallow aggro idiots who I have no desire to know.......so I'm considering moving on...there's a big wide world out there above the high tide mark and I'm taking a long hard look for something to replace the role of surfing in my life.

Oh and pot smoking bums? I was one of those....and all I can say is that if you were one of the straight arrows......you really missed it! The trick, then, as now, is knowing when to move on.

[BB]

Hard to ignore what you're paddling around in !

[Nulla Billie]

Earlier posts have stated that the bodyboarding brands have a very grass roots commercial approach and though this might be wrong i beleive this was somewhat similar to the approach of surfings commercial operators in the 1960s. This lead to surfers just surfing for the reason of riding waves nothing more nothing less. This grass roots commercialism means the sport actually benfits and not just the shareholders. Note i do love my wetsuit on cold winter mronings. Also captislism is good in some ways as one has the opportunity to earn a decent wage if they are prepared to work for it. So there are two sides to every story and though captalism is powerfull it will never defeat the purity of the ocean.

[baldric]

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[Meataxe]

shaddup balders

[baldric]

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[macca202]

shaddup baldpric

[Meataxe]

Well mah mama always was handy wit those chocolates but yer too much of a fatty ta be me father so dun even go there girlfrien

stop pussyfooten aroun Baldric, it ain’t seemly or sanitary

[Nick Carroll]

Hey everyone, really enjoying reading all the views on this all time classic surf morality question.

To me it seems as if the commercial exploitation of the surfing image is kinda the price of being involved in modern human society. It's a very thick web and we're all tangled up in it, and trying to make hard moral judgements about it, well, you can if you like, but ... it doesn't work, if you know what I mean. It's self indulgent thinking. Apply the same moral standards to your own behaviour and see where you end up. We're all human beings, none of us are perfect.

I work for several surf magazines around the world, among other things, and like many humans I could name, they're rife with compromise and full of bullshit, some more than others ... but that's not their whole story. Good writing and excellent photography can be found in almost all of 'em. (Yeah, I do say only "almost"...). And thus it also is in the surf industry, along with the ludicrously overpriced boardshorts and pissing away money on embarrassing marketing schemes, there's also really nice wetsuits and completely beautiful surfboards being made. And thus it also is in the water, while some days are crowded and shitty, other days are glorious and big and expansive with just a few other committed surfers to share it all.

Is it worth perhaps stopping and considering that these self-same patterns are reflected in almost every area of worthwhile human endeavour? Not just our little wonder world?

I spose the thing to do is focus on the good and try to put out as much of that as you can in your own way ... encourage the grommets and let them know their stoke is appreciated, and tell 'em a bit about history along with the rest of it all ... don't glorify the violent or the stupid, because it just encourages them ... and when it comes to nurturing surfing's Soul or whatever the hell it is, pick your own battles with care, and don't give in!

[zzz]

When I was young there was a river near our house, with a tree with a rope hanging off it.
all the kids hung out down there all the time in summer - having fun etc.

All of them swang from the rope. Some got quite competitive about it and learnt tricks like somersaults etc. off the rope, swinging from higher spots up in the tree to get the most height etc. Diving and somersaults from surrounding rocks and high branches in other trees etc.

Other's used to take it less seriously and just muck around, sometimes everyone would jump on the rope at the same time etc. and push each other off and the competitive ones all participated in this sort of fun mucking around as well.

Some days it'd be competitive - there'd be like an informal one on one contest - who could get the highest in the tree, get the highest swings on the rope, could you do a double somersault, open layout, forwards plus dive etc. etc. pushing each other a bit further - jump from higher up, dive from higher up etc.

Other days everyone would be there just mucking around and having a laugh.

All the kids had a go on the rope, some could do more than others, some were more competitive or daring than others etc. Some were obviously gutless or uncoordinated. Some just didn't really get it. Some got angry if someone else took their turn. Some took more turns than they should have without letting others have a go.

Some days some older kids would come along and just tell the younger kids to piss off. Other days the older kids and younger kids would all muck about on the rope together.

There's never been a magazine publised called 'tree rope jumper' or a t-shirt called 'no fear' with a photo of a tree and a rope on it etc. Yet the kids still do it.

To me surfings the same. Surf is something thats there that will be attractive to any kid that grows up near it - regardless of whether its commercialised or not. Kids will always be playing in it and competing in it.


So what and how does commercialisation change this?

Commercialism puts that tree onto the world stage. The whole world is now watching those kids jumping out of the tree. It does make rock stars out of surfers. The social rewards of fame, money are higher. The stakes are higher so the competition is higher. The standards get pushed higher as well driven by competition. The number of 'fans' and hangers on also increases - those that do to be associated with. The drivers are similar for everyone involved, but the competitiveness is higher. To 'succeed' people have to be pushier, better competitors. The emphasis on succeeding is higher as well - its no longer a game - its a competition with high stakes and rewards. People get selfish - take more turns than they should, aggressive behaviour is more likely to win over. Form cliques, play unfairly.

So it takes away a lot of the fun, the carefree aspects of it, the sponteneity.

It becomes a means to an end rather than an enjoyment of now.

[BB]

Nick, the argument that the faults of the world are all simply the result of human nature and therefore inevitable is not only shallow and unperceptive but also profoundly wrong, as you get around to pointing out later in your post. When this issue was raised in previous decades the representatives of the industry ( being you, whether you like it or not) would at least attempt to justify their behaviour, now the dominant response is pretty much what you just said......that's the way of the world, get used to it......none of which goes anyway at all to justifying the rampant greed and exploitation which overtook surfing in the seventies and on which the entire industry has feasted ever since. Small beer on the stage of world issues, but if we're going to talk about it at least let's be honest....I've watched too many hands being washed over the years for it to sit easily with me.