Category Archives: ASP World Tour

Apr 16 71 comments
ASP World Tour, power rankings

Bells Power Rankings: 40-45

OK, kids.  The Power Rankings live on - on Postsurf, for now.  I'll be putting up a handful a day over the course of the next week.  Let's start with the bottom dwellers.

miky

Miky Picon

Bells Result: 33 Previous Result: 33 Rating: =39

Many cynics scoff that the ASP is poised on the brink of irrelevancy: a tour of tired monkeys that dance with less and less conviction despite the organ-grinding of their corporate sponsors. What has the tour come to? Where art though, AI? Why can’t we supply our best surfers with a potent cocktail of prescription and illegal drugs anymore?  Well, cynics, suck on this: under the new format, surf fans were treated to 30 steamy minutes of hardcore Frenchmen on Frenchmen action in R1:  Miky Picon vs. Tim Boal.  At times, the voyeuristic lens of pro surfing zoomed in so close that it was hard to tell whose body was whose amongst all those lithe writhing limbs.  Was that Miky Picon hitting it backside?  Was that Tim Boal caressing the face of his rival; man against sea?  Was that a bowling ball on an Al Merrick board, or were we treated to a glimpse of the Chupacabra’s dark frame? In the end it did not matter; for this was surfing through the eyes of Godard.

curran

Nathaniel Curran

Bells Result: 33 Previous Result: 33 Rating: =39

With a family pedigree unrivaled on tour, you’d think that Nathaniel Curran would be doing better than he is.  I mean, Surfline’s fact-checkers inform me Curran’s older brother Tim finished 6th in the world.  His even older brother Tom Curran won three world titles.  Brother Joe is a style master, cousin Lee Ann Curran is already winning WQS events… and family patriarch Pat Curran is on the shortlist for getting his face carved into surfing’s Mt. Rushmore.  Does surfing talent run in that family or WHAT?  But against Saffa blasta Davey Weare, Nathaniel only managed a 6.33 highwave with no second score to back that up.  This is a troubling fall from grace for last year’s WQS champ.  Particularly as he just squandered two opportunities in waves that suit him: right points.  It’s not like things are going to get easier for Nate at Chopes.

marlon

Marlon Lipke

Bells Result: 33 Previous Result: 33 Rating: =39

I’ll be honest here: I don’t have anything really insightful to say about Marlon Lipke’s surfing.  He’s an extremely solid talent who is stylish, tedious, and already adept at earning 33rds.  Under the new format of terror, Lipke was given one shot at distinguishing himself against Dayyan Neve.  He contributed a pair of threes and that was all.  Should Lipke’s ASP bid not work out, he always has one final solution to fall back on: the surf camp he runs with his family in Portugal.  Maybe it’s just me, but the little Larry David voice in my head gets uneasy when Germans want to round up all the beginners and put them in their surf camp.  And yes, their website has instructions for kooks taking zee train to zee camp.

aritz

Aritz Aranburu

Bells Result: 33 Previous Result: 33 Rating: =39

As the 33rds pile up, I become ever more confident that Aranburu should be a verb, not just a name.  What does it mean to get aranburued? Can you aranburu your bro? Is aranburuing a torture reserved for your worst enemies?  Can you aranburu a girl on the third date?  Does Chris Cote let muscular Aussies aranburu him after they consume a case of VBs together? Is it possible to aranburu someone so hard that they never walk again?  Perhaps I should just ask Aritz – he might be able to clear this up for me.  But I don’t want to bother the poor bloke.  He already bears the burden of being the Spanish Kelly Slater while also being the Spanish Ricky Basnett.  Aritz needed a 7.5 as time expired against Kieren Perrow.  He got the wave but not the score: 7.23.  It’s likely good style would have made up that .27.

gabekling

Gabe Kling

Bells Result: 33 Previous Result: injury Rating: =39

Recent research conducted at PostSurf laboratories suggest that a marketable nickname can add nearly 5 years to the career of an otherwise boring pro surfer.  For instance: who the fuck is Jason Collins? Did he play b-ball for Stanford?  Is he on the Nets or the Timberwolves or something? Is he that smug bald prick from Genesis? Is he a surfer from Santa Cruz? Who knows.  But Ratboy?  Old, irrelevant, yet still somewhat famous.  Gabe Kling’s nickname is Piggy.  Somehow Piggy hasn’t gained much traction.  Maybe Miss Piggy would stick?  Porky Pig? Babe? Spider Pig? Gabe better find a nome de pig that sticks cause his injured ass ain’t gonna find success in the ASP anytime soon.

luke_stedman

Luke Stedman

Bells Result: injury Previous Result: injury Rating: =39

There’s something vaguely Dickensian about Luke Stedman – perhaps if Charles Dickens were a Sydney metrosexual comfortable in the company of a young Oscar Wilde.  Like Pip in Great Expectations, Steds has been raised to a class far above his talent grade. The question is, by whom?  Pip believes his benefactor to be the fatally-nostalgic upper class Ms. Havisham, while in fact his guardian angel is the convict Magwitch.  Correspondingly, Luke Stedman believes that good’ ole fashion Aussie hard-work and a “can-do” attitude have landed him in the Top 16.  Really, in Luke’s case, Magwitch is God’s sense of irony, leaving Steds with broken toes and a 45th stamp of disapproval in the Power Rankings.

Apr 14 79 comments
ASP World Tour, Surf Culture

Don’t Fuck with Wizards

You know what Kelly Slater's problem is?

He fucked around with some wizard mojo without really understanding what he was messing with.

Now he's fucked.  Two contests, and two 17ths at the hands of wildcards.  His Wizard cutback isn't scoring anymore.  The Wizard's Sleeve 5'3" didn't work.  And now Kelly looks like Michael Jordan when he attempted a comeback with the Washington Wizards.

artist-unknown-wizard

Too many coincidences to ignore.  Me thinks that a real wizard didn't appreciate that Wizard's Sleeve board name, and now Mr. Slater is cursed. Cursed, I tell you!

Apr 07 87 comments
ASP World Tour, Personal, Surf Travel

The Art of Elimination

I've been pondering subtraction.  It's an appropriate subject for foreign shores - as Americans, we're raised to focus on what we can add to our life, instead of what we can take away.  We're a culture that's been adding objects and responsibilities and new lines of communication for years.  Now that the crises (as everyone calls it abroad) has reshaped our expectations, it seems like the right time to start considering what you really need in life to be happy, and what you could do without.

So I've been doing research - a little trial and error.  So has the ASP.

Will the ASP eliminate hot tubs next? Photo: ASPworldtour.com

Will the ASP eliminate hot tubs next? Photo: ASPworldtour.com

Initial Findings:
Bells started up yesterday - the first event to utilize the new format.  Sudden death round 1 heats, instead of double-elimination.  This amounts to a quick and painful mercy killing of surfers like Nathaniel Curran, who was executed about 30 minutes into the 12-day waiting period.  Back at the last contest, Nathaniel suffered through over a week of slow decline before officially being handed his 33rd place death certificate.  So perhaps this new format is more humane.

It's also most likely cheaper for the sponsor.  Bells started up on the first day of the waiting period, in suspect conditions, even though there will be one less day of surfing in the new format.  It makes me wonder if the ASP and sponsors are grappling with what they can eliminate, while still presenting a good contest.

Will we turn back the clock?  Like the 80s, could we see cheap and efficient 3-day waiting periods?

dsc_0503right

The jury's still out on whether the ASP's subtraction exercise will work.  As for my own experiment, I've rediscovered that I can be happy with just the basics: A surfboard, a pointbreak, and some clean groundswell.  And a firm mattress, and some fresh organic food prepared by an experienced American-trained cook.  And of course my iPhone, MacBook, iPod, and wireless (could anyone anywhere on earth really be happy if they had dial-up?) and good wine, and a nice car, and of course I need a cleaning lady cause I'm surfing all day and don't have time for the little things.

After subtracted needless luxuries from my life, I've learned to be happy with just the basics.  I challenge you to do the same.

Mar 25 48 comments
ASP World Tour, Interviews, Surf Culture

Overly Dramatic

Despite their laid-back demeanor, surfers love a little drama.

On a rainy day in France last fall, CJ Hobgood and I discussed how dramatic surfing helped him get his competitive career back on track.  And on track it has remained - yesterday in Tasmania, CJ put up 18.57 points. Now, it looks like Parko may have caught the drama bug.

CJ gets dramatic. Photo: Robertson / ASP / Oneill

CJ gets dramatic yesterday in Tasmania. Photo: Robertson / ASP / Oneill

CJ Hobgood Interview

LS: Did you change your technique in '08?
CJ: It's hard when you're doing bad and things are frustrating to stick with a plan.  But if you stick with a plan, don't give up, you gain some insights.  I started trying to work on technique, become a better technical surfer.  And I got better at technique.

But then Gally and I sat down, and I was kinda like, "OK, we're getting better at technique, but that's not what the judges are into right now.  The judges are into flipping out, just, they wanted you to freak out, spazz out, throw confetti, hands everywhere, layback, grunt reverses, drop the wallet for a while, stand back up, big airs, and all that stuff.  That was good, that was great, so I had to find a balance.  I'd worked on technique, worked on one thing, gotten better in one area, but then you might not get any results.  You have to balance it with other things.

Me and Gally were like, "the technique we were working on, great, but it didn't work.  Let's try to find a balance.  I don't care how gross you look, I don't care how bad the form is, I don't care where your hands are, just go out there and freak out and fly around."

So... whether it works or not, it is a struggle.  I mean, what do you do? When Kelly surfs, he's such a great surfer, but he's so over-dramatic.  You see photos and he looks like a wizard half the time. (CJ strikes the Slater Wizard Cutback pose)

But he's the best surfer in the world.

Shazam! Slater strikes his Wizard Pose. Photo: Robertson/ASP/CI

Shazam! Slater strikes his Wizard Pose. Photo: Robertson/ASP/CI

LS: How would you compare that to Parko?

CJ: Parko's the exact opposite, he's so beautiful to watch it almost lulls the judges to sleep.  Fortunate for him, fortunate for the judges, they know what a great technical surfer he is, so they have 8's on stand-by for him the majority of the time, which I agree with much of the time.

LS: I've talked before about Benny B being too smooth.
His technique is so perfect, that there never looks like there's fire, there never looks like there's flash.  So someone needs to go out there and help him find that balance.  He should go out there and do twirly-birds, I want to see spinner-kicks, I want to see Clay Marzo, I want to see this, that... don't frickin' worry about the technique.  That's what happens.  That's surfing.

Mar 23 25 comments
ASP World Tour, Historical, Surf Culture

Dave Eggers Wiki

Why is it that so many child surfing prodigies never realize their full potential?  Each year the magazines proclaim a handful of youngsters to be the next Kelly Slater.  In reality, these pint-sized surf stars are just as likely to reach rehab as they are the Top 10.

Today I'm highlighting the inspirational story of David Eggers -- perhaps the most dominant amateur surfer in history, who joined the World Tour, only to succumb to drug abuse and mental illness.  Eggers descended into a dark obscurity, forgotten by the industry that helped create his downfall.

Amazingly, Eggers overcame his addiction and reinvented himself, gaining worldwide literary fame as the author of "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius."

Eggers' trophies circa '85. Photo: Chang /Swell

Eggers' trophies circa '85. Photo: Chang /Swell

Some highlights from Dave Eggers' Wiki entry:

David Eggers was born January 8, 1970, in Mountain View, CA (although it should be noted that in his purportedly autobiographical memoir, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," Eggers claims to have been born in Lake Forest, a suburb of Chicago).

Eggers was raised in Clairemont, CA, and began surfing at the age of seven despite his father's prejudices - the patriarch of the Eggers clan believed all surfers to be derelicts and drug addicts.  By age 8, little David already possessed a turbo-charged, functional style that allowed him to do then-futuristic maneuvers such as backside 360s.

Eggers in La Jolla. Photo: Don Balch/Swell

Eggers in La Jolla. Photo: Don Balch/Swell

Surfing Career:

Eggers had a nearly-unbeatable aura as an amateur, winning 225 trophies and 4 U.S. National titles.  In 1985 Eggers dropped out of 10th grade, signed a lucrative pro contract with Gotcha, and set out on the raucous world tour, nearly unaccompanied.  Although he easily beat some of the top surfers in the world and rose to #34 in the ratings, Eggers was mercilessly hazed by older members of the surfing fraternity, and he quickly succumbed to the temptation of drugs.  By 1987 Eggers had quit the tour, lost his contracts, was nearly-homeless, and freebasing cocaine.

a_heartbreaking_work_of_staggering_genius

Literary Work

Throughout the 1990's, Eggers struggled with addiction, turned in some legendary underground performances in La Jolla, and was finally diagnosed as a schizophrenic in 1997.  With the support of his family, Eggers received treatment for his addiction and mental illness.

Although never again a factor in professional surfing, Eggers amazingly channeled a previously unknown literary talent into the sensational 2000 book-debut "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," which masqueraded as a factual memoir of his parents deaths' due to cancer.  In the best-selling book, Eggers goes on to describe the challenges he faced in raising a 14-year-old younger brother, Toph, in Berkeley, California.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is usually classified as a memoir or autobiography, and its foundation is certainly laid in true events. However, Eggers takes great creative liberties. He often writes wild, tangential fantasy scenes (and makes no mention of his previous surfing career).  Thus, this influential work probably falls into the category of creative non-fiction.

800px-dave_eggers_by_david_shankbone

David Eggers Today

Eggers is married to the novelist Vendala Vida, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and continues to have great success as a writer, editor, publisher, and philanthropist.  He is a founder of McSweeney's a literary journal.  In addition to penning a number of novels, he helps run 826 Valencia, a non-profit writing center for low-income youths.

Although David's brother Scott is a fixture in the San Francisco surf community, David either surfs in seclusion or not at all, having focused his energies on literature.  Occasionally, he is rumored to be spotted surfing alone, at dusk or dawn, turning in mind-blowing performances in waves of heavy consequence.

Mar 19 16 comments
ASP World Tour, Personal

More Media Fuckery

Surfline.com just put up their "Power Rankings."

What a fucking joke!!!!

picture-12

Who the fuck writes this piece of shit article every month?  I don't have much time to write because unlike some people I actually have a real job, I don't just spend my time watching surf contests on the computer and then acting like it makes me an authority on surfing.  But I just wanted to put up a quick post saying "suck it, monkey" to the moron who writes this shit.

Kelly at 17?  That's so disrespectful.  The guy who wrote that isn't any pro surfer that I've ever heard of.  So he has no right to express opinions like that.  Plus sometimes I feel like he's saying one thing even when he means another thing, which I don't like.  I don't like flip-floping and I sure don't like double-talk.

We're men of action, not words.  I just wanted to speak towards that point.

Here's some comments that people who agree with me left on Surfline.

Phil Ayshio 03/19/2009 05:47 AM

I hope the cpmments on Kelly were done purely out of jest. Otherwise they're disrepectful and a very fickle opinion. I think they were a joke though becuase anyone can have a bad day and sacrifices are always made by those trying to pioneers.

Andre (BRASIL) 03/19/2009 05:47 AM

I´m still stoked of how could you guys of such a good surf channel (the best one) can still have prejudgement with the brazilian surfers, first of all you compared Jihad Khodr to a special olympics athlete, and then you are asking yourself if the world is changing because of the best brazilian performances, why did you guys from the best former opinion channel of the surf still judging the brazilian CT´s ? please take it easy guys! wait for more brazilian actions on the next event!!!!

andrew 03/19/2009 05:03 AM

This" power ranking" is so American... dane,hobgoods, jordy, slater aways at the top and the rest "who cares " , right ??? Who would know how it is on tour exept the surfers ? nobody....especialy not Lewis Samuel...who's that ? by the way.... Who knows how the surfer is feeling in some events (personal family problems,injurys,money problems )....I think it sucks talking bad about a guy without knowing nothing about him ! Its sad....you guys should be a shame

Mar 16 17 comments
ASP World Tour, Cutting Room, Interviews

Powers that Be

I'll be honest here.  My limited wit is otherwise engaged today, trying to finish up the Power Rankings.  Writing for PostSurf doesn't pay the Vodka bills -  therefore it's rather low on my list of priorities.  So I'm posting an interview I did with Roy Powers way back during the Mundaka contest.  This is the rough equivalent of rifling through your kitchen cabinets instead of going grocery shopping, and then settling for a meal of  canned artichoke hearts and Matzoh that's past its expiration date.  Enjoy!

Roy Powers. Photo: Hodgson

Roy Powers. Photo: Hodgson

Lewis: How does it feel to watch the same guy win over and over again?
Roy Powers: Kelly? He's a Fag!  No, I'm joking, I'm joking.  Ultimately he deserves it.  Every heat he goes out there and he blows doors.  Crappy waves, good waves.  Fact of the matter is that guy's the best surfer in the world, and he's definitely proved it, and that's why he's getting another world title.

Seems like some of the guys are not taking it too seriously at this point in the season.  What's your take on that?
If you're not doing the events, it's a disrespect to the people who are doing them, taking them seriously.  And then there's the fans - they want to see their favorite surfer, and he's probably not here.  But everyone has their own reason they don't want to be here.  I'm enjoying myself, still learning, I'm still trying to learn this whole game.  I'll be at every event, just try to get up in that top league.

Do you see Mundaka as an event that shouldn't be on tour?
Bottom line, what we're surfing right now, this is not a CT event.  It's ridiculous. I was definitely a person who voted not (to have this event) just because there are other good waves in the world.  What are we doing here?  200km away, France is probably a lot better than this.  Why aren't there other CT events there, or Portugal?  It's like having the Pipemasters in August, but knowing you're gonna end up at Sandy Beach.  No disrespect to the wave, it's an incredible wave, but it's too inconsistent.  We don't have time for that.

What would you say to Spanish fans who would perceive the pros as being spoiled?
That's what we qualified for - to surf perfect waves.  Do you think race car drivers want to drive on a bumpy road?  Do pro basketball players want to play in preschools?  We qualified to surf in the best waves - that's what we signed up for, that's what we put our hearts, souls into. No disrespect to them in any way, I'm totally grateful we're here, being able to surf their premier wave, but if it's not breaking what are we doing?  Just sitting around taking up their parking stalls.  If anyone says we don't deserve to surf the best waves in the world, tell 'em to call me up, I'll meet you anywhere.  That's bullshit.  What I did, to qualify, to get to this level.  It took a lot, not only for myself, but for my family, everybody.  I take it really personal when people say we're spoiled.  Fuck you.  It's bullshit.  We work too hard for people to criticize us so much with that.  They think this job is a lot easier than it is - it's not that easy.

Some fans think everyone is making millions in surfing.

We're not all millionaires.  There's probably 5 millionaires, maybe 7.  The reality is I'm not struggling, But I still think about every month, making heats.  We have families - I don't come from a wealthy family - my main focus is supporting my family, put food on the table, to be able eventually to help my parents retire.  That's my main goal.  It might be different for other guys but that's my main focus and I won't stop till I accomplish that."

Roy Powers at Mundaka. Photo: Kristin CI/ ASP

Roy Powers at Mundaka. Photo: Kristin CI/ ASP

Mar 10 12 comments
ASP World Tour

The Needs of the Many

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.  At least that's what Spock said when he died at the end of Star Trek II.

The few in this case are Taj Burrow, Mick Fanning, and in particular, Kelly Slater.  If any of these three had won the QuikPro, the many (us) might have suffered through another boring world title race in which one surfer held the lead for the entire season.

Victory crouch. Joel Parkinson. Photo: ASP/ Kristin

Victory crouch. Joel Parkinson. Photo: ASP/ Kristin

By scoring his first victory in 26 events to kick-off the season, Parko has virtually gaurunteed us a dogfight of a title race.

Mar 10 18 comments
ASP World Tour

An Earnest Word

Most of the write-ups for yesterday's QuikPro action will focus on the usual suspects: Mick, Joel, and Taj - who all made the semis as scripted.  Remaining paragraphs will be thrown Dane Reynolds way.

The first conest of the year has that first day of school flavor - everyone is anxious to see who grew up over the summer.  Again, most pundits will tell us how much Dane and Jordy have matured competitively, despite 9th place finishes.

adriano de souza. Photo: Gio

adriano de souza. Photo: Gio

The real stepping up was done by Adriano de Souza, who surfed with monumental power while taking down Bede Durbidge and moving to the semis.

Dane's surfing is the obvious result of freakish natural talent, and he seemingly emerged onto the playing field fully-formed in terms of ability, with his power greatly benefited by a large frame.

Adriano, on the other hand, has improved each year.  The power he's showing in his surfing is a new development, something he's cultivated in spite of his stature instead of because of it.

For those who have trouble following my tone, this is not supposed to be an ironic post.  Adriano deserves immense credit for starting the year as a title contender.

Mar 08 17 comments
ASP World Tour, Surf Culture

JIHADapalooza

Big news from the QuikPro!  Lady luck finally caught up with the best surfer in the world - that's right - Jihad Khodr exploded for 18.26 points.

Jihad's personal story is an inspiration - an against-all-odds, love-will-conquer-all account of an athlete who's overcome poverty and discrimination to rise to the top of the game.  Jihad hasn't exactly gotten a fair shake in the surf media, with self-proclaimed pundits (who are really nothing more than glorified kooks) declaring Jihad to be the worst surfer on tour.  Today Jihad silenced the critics and powered to his best ASP result ever!!!

jihad1

Here at PostSurf, intolerance is simply not tolerated.  We'd never stoop so low as to judge a surfer by his name or religion.

So congratulations to Jihad!

After his historic heat win, Muslim Surf Fans the world over took to the streets in joyous rallies of celebration.

jihad-wins

Mar 07 7 comments
ASP World Tour, Surf Culture

OUTBREAK

This topic is a dead horse.  If you want to debate the double grab, might as well go to Jimmicane's Surfing mag diatribe and leave another comment, or check out CJ Hobgood's take on the double grab debate here .

But looking over the photos from yesterday, it was interesting to consider how the double grab epidemic started... it all comes down to Patient Zero, who's been doing them in heats for years.  Why?  Because double grabs win heats, and Patient Zero knows how to win heats.  The proof is in the pudding. Witness the spreading plague.

All photos ASP / CI / Getty.

Mar 06 13 comments
ASP World Tour

whoa there guy.

dane_grab

Waves and radiation.  One of the rawest, most imperfect perfect 10s in ASP history...

and I'm not saying it was undeserved....

But after some now-sober consideration, maybe it was undeserved. As was Jordy's win over Dingo and Jihad's over Tim Reyes.  Hey, we all get caught up in the moment. The judges are losing their shit over any air or slide. Including double-grabs, which drive Mr. CJ Hobgood BANANAS.  Click here for CJ's take on it.

Mar 02 25 comments
ASP World Tour, Cutting Room, Interviews

Bobby Revisited

I interviewed Bobby Martinez last fall in Mundaka, at one of the least-attended events in ASP history (not counting every Brazilian event, of course.)  I already posted the first part of this unused interview - here's the second part of our discussion, which centered on the apathy that swept through the ranks  as Kelly dominated 2008.

Bobby somewhere in Mex. Photo: ASP/ Sean Rowland

Bobby somewhere in Mex. Photo: ASP/ Sean Rowland

Lewis Samuels: Seems like a lot of top guys are pretty over it right now.

Bobby Martinez: Almost all the guys in the Top 10 have been here for years.  I don’t know if they’re over it or not, I just hear that from you guys.  For me, no way.  I’m not gonna quit, not gonna give up, I’ve worked too long and too hard to give up.  I’ve struggled for years while these guys were up on top, so I’m never gonna quit.

A lot of guys follow the Dane/ Kelly “I don’t care” attitude whereas you’re pretty focused on every event.  Is it hard to see the top guys have that attitude? Do you think it’s disrespectful to the sport?
I think they’re lying to everybody… I honestly think, deep down inside, if you didn’t care, why would you be here?  The QS is the worst tour, why would you go through that if you get here and don’t care.  I think it’s all bullshit.  Personally from what I’ve experienced I think you go through the hard yards to get here for a reason.  If Dane didn’t care, he wouldn’t surf a wave and try a backflip twist every wave.  He cares.  I don’t care what he says. I look at him, when he needs an 8, he’ll surf a wave.  When Kelly needs a score, he’ll surf a wave.  That’s bullshit to me.  I honestly feel like why would you be here… I do look at it as kinda disrespectful, because people work so hard for this.  You know, people in these other countries, Brazil and stuff, where it’s third world and they don’t have anything, this is their life.  Same with me, I don’t have nothing, this is my life.  To hear people come and say they don’t care, for some of us who maybe have a different mentality, I kinda look at it as a let down.  For people who have struggled for a positive way of life, come out of bad neighborhoods and shit… I could never say I don’t care, cause I do care.

Bobby in Chile. Photo: ASP / Sean Rowland

Bobby in Chile. Photo: ASP / Sean Rowland

Do you ever feel like you’re coming at it from a perspective similar to the guys from Brazil?
Yeah, I do, I feel like I have more of a connection to those guys as far as where I come from, it’s different - the school I went to, the neighborhood I grew up in, there wasn’t one kid who surfed.  Brazil, you go there, there’s so much poverty, the people are struggling, that’s how it was where I’m from.  There would be like 15 people, families, in a 2 bedroom house, struggling, just trying to make a better life.  I’ve seen that, and they don’t quit, so I don’t understand how people can go through this tour and act like “I don’t care.”

Fans kinda feel cheated when those really good guys don’t give it their all.
I think heart succeeds sometimes more than talent.  If you grow up in a neighborhood where shit happens, and you want to leave where you’re from, you give it your all when you have that opportunity. People are striving for a better way of life.  That’s why people who come from nothing, and strive to succeed, sometimes that heart is worth more than talent and an “I don’t give a fuck” attitude.  If you live where everything is all good, why would you care?  If you’re striving to get more for your family, which a lot of guys on this tour are, it means more for you, it’s deeper, more meaningful.  This tour is our life – it’s how we make money, how we survive.  I’m not writing Kelly or those guys off if they don’t care.  I mean, Kelly, he’s done his job.  He’s in a position not to care.  It would be great to be there but it’s not where I’m at.  Cause he’s the freak of our sport, it’s understandable if he doesn’t care.  And Andy, he got 3 titles.  They’ve got their titles, accomplished their goals, where a lot of us haven’t got there yet, and we might never get there, but at least we’ll know we tried.  But the people who haven’t got there, and already don’t care… it trips me out.  How is that possible?  It trips me out, it’s weird to me.

Feb 28 13 comments
ASP World Tour

Truffle Shuffle

A couple weeks ago I claimed Kekoa Bacalso in my rookie preview for Surfline.  I'm a big fan of Kekoa's surfing - he has a unique approach to both power and fitness.  With this in mind, I compared Kekoa to Chunk from the seminal 1985 classic The Goonies.

Kekoa "Chunk" Bacalso. Photo: Sean Rowland / Surfline

Kekoa "Chunk" Bacalso. Photo: Sean Rowland / Surfline

So I was quite pleased to see Kekoa "Chunk" Bacalso absolutely murder his first heat at Duranbah.  "I had my back against the fence and knew I had to pull out something special," Kekoa said after the win.

In this case, "something special"  meant two of the Top 10 wave scores of the day.

Of course, I expected something special to be the truffle shuffle.

But perhaps Kekoa is saving the truffle shuffle for when his back is against the wall, instead of against the "fence" as it was in R1.

kbtruffle1

Check out Surfing Mag's backstage photos from the legendary Steve Sherman (he shot the Kekoa portrait above), and Surfline's exclusive action shots from the rising Sean Rowland.