Kelly Slater is an Idiot!

[Clif]

Without commercialisation and promotion surfing wouldn't have evolved.

Evolved where, exactly? Into a trash dump? I guess it is some sort of 'evolution'.

A thought:

Slater and Duke are very very different.

Duke was from a colonised people who went out to promote and stand up for his culture and share the positive aspects of it in the hope people would be more understanding and give it the respect it deserves.

Slater is a product of a neo-liberal, evangelical, and colonising U.S. culture competing on a corporate sponsored 'world' tour. However difficult his personal background he fitted into the hegemony pretty neatly, or was/is used by it.

Comparing their motivations would be like comparing apples and oranges, I would have thought.

[TMC]

Without commercialisation and promotion surfing wouldn't have evolved.

Evolved where, exactly? Into a trash dump? I guess it is some sort of 'evolution'.

A thought:

Slater and Duke are very very different.

....Comparing their motivations would be like comparing apples and oranges, I would have thought.

Apples and Oranges:

They both have semi spherical properties

They both grow on trees

They both produce seeds

They both have a positive impact on your health.

Both produce nice juice

Both contain vitamin C

Both can be peeled.

Both come with stickers on them

Also Cliff, in reference to your trash dump reference; if surfing is so terrible now, then why are record numbers taking up the sport? why are multinationals pouring exorbitant amounts of money into it? and most importantly why do you still partake in the sport if it has evolved into something so terrible and vile that it warrants comparrison with a "trash dump"?

[Lucky Al]

because humans are stupid! (and smart)

[Clif]

With the 'trash dump' reference I was thinking about the amount of unnecessary products, energy, cost, development, and general waste that is a result of the evolution of the industry and commercialisation. The costs in other words of the 'evolution'.

I don't partake in 'the sport', as you call it. I ride waves for my own selfish reasons. As most of us do. The 'sport of surfing' is the signifier given to what we do by those who want it to be certain things and to achieve certain aims.

I am influenced by the industry/'sport', it is hard to escape. While influences trickle down to me I think that I would be no worse off if they didn't. I would still get a kick out of riding waves on whatever sort of equipment or without. eg. Body surfing is a f*cking blast.

I am guilty of producing waste and wasting energy (trash dump) too during my current pursuit of going surfing. I will give you that. But it is minor compared to the industry at large.

Why uncritically feed into the process that comes with so many costs? Maybe think about other ways of doing something for/with surfing? Worth thinking about when signing up to make a film to promote surfing, maybe?

Just some ideas.

[Lucky Al]

Surfers, give up your surfboards!

[The Mighty Sunbird]

I will watch Kelly surf any time.
On a mega screen? Hell yeah! Can't wait!
I don't think I've ever been to IMAX. I truly doubt that a surf film there will result in my local being more crowded than it already is, really.
And I agree: most chumps in the water give up after a while anyway.........

[Nick Carroll]

With the 'trash dump' reference I was thinking about the amount of unnecessary products, energy, cost, development, and general waste that is a result of the evolution of the industry and commercialisation. The costs in other words of the 'evolution'.

I don't partake in 'the sport', as you call it. I ride waves for my own selfish reasons. As most of us do. The 'sport of surfing' is the signifier given to what we do by those who want it to be certain things and to achieve certain aims.

I am influenced by the industry/'sport', it is hard to escape. While influences trickle down to me I think that I would be no worse off if they didn't. I would still get a kick out of riding waves on whatever sort of equipment or without. eg. Body surfing is a f*cking blast.

I am guilty of producing waste and wasting energy (trash dump) too during my current pursuit of going surfing. I will give you that. But it is minor compared to the industry at large.

Why uncritically feed into the process that comes with so many costs? Maybe think about other ways of doing something for/with surfing? Worth thinking about when signing up to make a film to promote surfing, maybe?

Just some ideas.

clif, if it's all so utterly pointless ... if the efforts that've been made by so many different people to make better boards, to shoot photos and write about it, to improve their feel for surfing through equipment of various kinds, to share their discoveries with others in the sport, even to teach other people to surf just 'cause it's a cool thing to do, if it's all such a worthless and wasteful and selfish exercise ... what exactly COULD anyone do "for surfing" that wouldn't just be a big fat wank? In your opinion that is.

In that framework, it seems to me there is absolutely no room to move. You can't do a goddam thing for fear of being wasteful or pointless or something.

I don't believe for a split second that your surfing experience owes nothing to anyone else. As you say, you'll have been influenced in so many ways by so many different people it'd be impossible to pick it all apart by this point...to pretend otherwise is surely a bit of an affectation. But to say none of it's been good or worthwhile, that none of it has added to your surfing, is just silly. It puts you above everyone else in the surfing world. But you're not.

[Clif]

jeez. that's a bit harsh.

But since you decided to have a go at me, I will retort:

Surfing is all a big wank.

That does not mean it is not fun and enjoyable

Surfing is not some higher state of being or purpose doctrine to preach to the world.

I never said none of it has been worthwhile, I just said remember to include the costs of all this 'evolution' and promotion and production and progress.

I made a point of saying my surfing is influenced by all this, and that I am influenced as much as anyone and guilty as anyone. So I am not above everyone else, and would never think I was ffs. That's you projecting and talking down to me as a high priest of the surfing industry/media because I happened to question the benefits and progress of what you and your sphere of influence deemed to have given the world.

F*cked if I am going to go out yelling to people "go surfing (buy into the promotions, buy all the products, etc.)" without also saying "there's more to it ... and think about the consequences of your choices and how you are going to go about it".

[kreepykrawly]

Natural progression without the need for any individual or corporation to make loads of money is possible.

F-ck my mates and I use to experiment with different board designs using Dion and Midget seconds (blanks). We even tried different fin shapes and placements.
Now I see fat cats walking down the road with Thai pop outs under their big fat hairy arms with their stupid hairstyles adorning their stupid faces

In the past when a leash snapped we used to fix it. Now as soon as the pin pops out we get a whole new leash. More material for Kimbriki tip. Surfing = Macdonalds culture.

When we think we are going forwards we are actually going backwards!

Progress…pu…lease !

Pass me the Orchy bottle and spark me up Scotty.

There’s no life down here… just plastic fantastic City Beachoids infesting the world.

[Trev]

Do you ever hear golfers walking around the course saying "ohhh that tiger is a greedly little ****, he has brought so much money into the sport that he has ruined it's natural earthy vibe"? No instead people like your slaters, federers and woods' are pushing their sports to a new level. They are bringing new sponsorship into the sport which leads to junior development programs, and better facilities for all. (Eg. Jordy smith and Nike).

But if Federer and Tiger are successful and attract more players, they can just build more courts/ links. Not so easy to add extra surf spots.

[Beanpole]

What a fastidious bunch of greedy old farts some of you lot are.

Thank you for that. Being fastidious makes being greedy harder but more satisfying.

Comparing golfers to surfers is one of the funniest things I've read here.
I'll agree when they get KS to design a few reefs.

[Spoon]

I reckon golfers and surfers are very common. Both sports have above average freaks ruling at the moment as in Slater and Tiger Woods. Golfers play alot of average courses regularly like surfers surf city beaches. Yet on good days they will get great waves like a golfer has a great round. There are lots of hackers in both sports around on weekends.
The breaks and courses are quieter during the week. You can travel overseas to experience great waves and great golf courses. Going to stop now starting to scare myself.

[Lucky Al]

May I say something about golf? I hate it: ptooee! (Spelling? I was trying to represent the sound of myself spitting in anger and disgust.) Here in Vietnam fat cats pay off provincial officials for bogus permission to steal land and water from farmers so they can build golf courses for other fat cats to play and make deals on, then they lie loudly and clearly about the effects golf courses have on farming communities (calling them 'economic benefits' and 'development'), and if the farmers don't like it and cause a fuss then they call the uniformed and un-uniformed thugs in to crack heads and drag arses out back. Come to think of it, golf is the perfect sport for a totalitarian capitalist society like this one is trying to become. Now, having said all that, I hate golf even more.

[Nick Carroll]

That's you projecting and talking down to me as a high priest of the surfing industry/media because I happened to question the benefits and progress of what you and your sphere of influence deemed to have given the world.

F*cked if I am going to go out yelling to people "go surfing (buy into the promotions, buy all the products, etc.)" without also saying "there's more to it ... and think about the consequences of your choices and how you are going to go about it".

Well we're gonna have to agree to disagree here, cause I don't reckon there is a single thing wrong with encouraging people to surf. And the urge doesn't spring from a desire to prop up the supposed Surf Industrial Complex...and it seems pretty clear that it doesn't for KS either. Hell he's quoted as saying he's a bit torn over it.

What pissed me off about your post was a sense that it sprang from a desire to place yourself apart from the rest of the surfing world, like none of what all these other surfers had done within the realm was of any real use to you.

Like pretty much every other surfer with a long term experience of it, I question the benefits of surfing's progress. But I'm not thick enough to think it all sucks.

[Beanpole]

I reckon golfers and surfers are very common.

Not at the Woollahra Golf Club old sport.

[Buff_Brad]

Natural progression without the need for any individual or corporation to make loads of money is possible.

F-ck my mates and I use to experiment with different board designs using Dion and Midget seconds (blanks). We even tried different fin shapes and placements.
Now I see fat cats walking down the road with Thai pop outs under their big fat hairy arms with their stupid hairstyles adorning their stupid faces

In the past when a leash snapped we used to fix it. Now as soon as the pin pops out we get a whole new leash. More material for Kimbriki tip. Surfing = Macdonalds culture.

When we think we are going forwards we are actually going backwards!

Progress…pu…lease !

Pass me the Orchy bottle and spark me up Scotty.

There’s no life down here… just plastic fantastic City Beachoids infesting the world.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Fluvoxamine
Luvox 50 - 300mg Faverin, Movox, Voxam
Fluoxetine
Prozac 20 - 80mg Lovan, Genrx Fluoxetine, Fluohexal, Zactin, Auscap 20
Sertraline
Zoloft 50 - 200mg Xydep, Concorz, Terry White Chemists Sertraline
Citalopram
Cipramil 20 - 60mg Talohexal, Genrx Citalopram, Celapram, Talam
Paroxetine
Aropax 20 - 60mg Espar, Oxetine, Paxtine, Genrx Paroxetine
Escitalopram oxalate
Lexapro 10 - 20mg

[elbows]

progress!?!?!?!?!
such a loaded word. On one hand you gotta accept that everything changes, on the other most of us know that much of what is proclaimed as progress is usually just arse.

one mans progress is another mans debacle

sharing surfings a tough one, one or two is OK i guess

[AlbyAl]

NC and Clif are actually closer in opinion than posts suggests: they both have come round to accept that thinking surfers actually wrestle a bit with how far they accept the gross promotion of surfing, how far they reject some aspects, how far they remain skeptical of 'progress'. And there's usually some self-reflection involved: what am I doing?

And we should have views on it, and even if we cannot change surfing to fit our desires, not passively running with the banal view that "we should just support it - and stop asking questions..." is really valuable. NC's views on design advance being woven within commercialisation is also worth a think.

Surfing ain't golf, because lots of surfers don't fit the molds and keep letting off bits of steam here and there. (golfers just select from BuffB 's list of seratonin re-uptake inhibiters and blandly play another round - just like the last) KK and BB will never bland out onto the greens - I hope.

Keep having opinions and grizzling! Otherwise we're reduced to automatons!

I'd like to grizzle at LuckyAl for opening this can of worms.