RealSurf Surfers' Forum

Slater's to be respected, no doubt, but I reckon Parko has been demonstrating a real capacity to deal with pressure this year. His consistent results this year show that. He was never in the final against JJF in Brazil, but he just got unlucky against Mick in Chopes and his heat strategy that made h...

Parko has made a few Pipe finals, beat Slater there last year in the semis, came second at Chopes and could easily have won, was one of the form surfers in Fiji...I don't think there's any reason for Parko to fear Slater any more than Slater should fear Parko. In any event by my calculations Parko s...

I had a Zap circa 1981/82. It was state of the art. It didn't have the drive of the newly invented thruster but in all other respects it was superior. In all honesty though I'd characterise a Zap in 2012 as a nostalgia piece. That's not to say it wouldn't be a very good board but as a performance bo...

Yep, he couldn't be more clear he's retiring.

I agree on the Taj/Perillo heat by the way. Perillo seemed way underscored. Taj won the heat no dramas but Perillos waves were scored too low IMHO.

I agree it all seems really strange. Were the rights sold, or just given away? What was the price? I don't get it. Surfing though will have an attractive demographic for certain sponsors, and those sponsors don't necessarily have to be aligned with the surf industry. I actually have no idea of the d...

It's a bit rich, with respect, to be comparing Slater's skill as a competion surfer with Picasso, hemingway and Van Gogh. Even if you assume they are apt comparisons the ones you raise reveal people with a broader range of interests than Slater. Picasso explored a range of artistic styles through hi...

I think there are a number of surfers who perform around the same level. KS, Mick, Parko, JJF, Owen, Taj, Jordy, Dane. Medina, JW etc are maybe a touch behind, but not by much. What KS does is compete consistently well. He doesn't get nervous or flustered. The only ones consistently matching him in ...

^Are you fcuking kidding? Doesn't being able to surf some of the best waves in the world with only one other/a few other people in the water appeal to you? You don't think he's rich enough and sufficiently supported by Quiksilver he could do that without having to compete? He competes because he lo...

I just reckon its a bit weird he can't seem to think of anything else to do with his life.

You'd think Darren Rogers would be entitled to shape a nugget.

I can't see that link. Could you copy and post it again? Sorry.

I'm really not sure if there's a way to fuse Geoff's ideas with younger shapers, for two reasons- concave and hard rails. Modern boards pretty much all have variations of concave and some hard rails, and Geoff's dead against them. I just see Geoff's design ideas as being a branch all of his own. I h...

Cheyne Horan was surfing a nugget at the Quicky Pro at Snapper earlier this year in front of the cameras for the legends event. He seemed to go as well as any of the other old pros. His board did noticeably have more volume than some of the others but then again Mr X, for instance, was surfing a boa...

I actually liked the NC articles. I didn't think the point of that article was that NC became Australian champion at all - I thought it was a very nice short story. I can't remember the Su Nettle story off hand.

I left the mag overseas but I thought it was pretty good.

Sadly I haven't learned much about surfing notwithstanding decades of application. But it was interesting to read your article on the passing of your surfing obsession. My obsession first ended in my early twenties (which was pretty common then) and later reactivated as I hit my early 30's. No doubt...

Nick Carroll, my memory might be failing me but I distinctly recall you writing an article for one of the surf mags in the early 80's, probably Tracks, and your thesis was to do proper turns you needed to train on a single fin, and then move on to a thruster. You, my friend, are responsible for me g...

Well, we know that when Fanning turns on his competitive focus he can match Slater competitively. Fanning doesn't seem to be able to maintain that focus for as long as Slater though. What I'm saying when it comes to Fainning is if he does what he has demonstrated twice so fas is that he can do what ...

Very pessimistic there Steve Shearer. If Parko surfed the entire event like he did on R3 he would have won the event or at least matched Slater. Same with Owen. If Taj had continued to surf like he did in R5 against Parko he would have pushed Slater. To me the issue isn't talent, it's consistent app...