Riding The Wave Trailer
Poached from the fine blog, nereukinesis.
UPDATED WITH RANT:
Does anyone actually believe Bob McNight when he says, “It wasn’t that the surf industry did anything wrong, it’s just that there are so many more poeple in the water today…”?
I’ve stayed away from rants against commercialism for the most part. I like that we have warmer wetsuits, I like the fact that some of us get paid to push surfing as far as it goes. But this quote pisses me off. This quote makes it apparent that Bob McKnight thinks you have the IQ of a patch of rotting kelp.
Hey BOB, why does Quiksilver sponsor surf schools? A: To GROW it’s consumer base. Hey BOB, why does Quiksilver create viral videos geared towards non surfers? A: To make surfing look cooler and GROW it’s consumer base. What happens while you are making surfing look cooler to the masses (the marketing equivalent of naming a secret spot) and poping new surfers out of camps? A: Our lineups GROW.
Hey BOB, newsflash: You are the crowd problem, but I think you know that. Don’t worry, it’s not just you. Its also every other publicly owned surf company who’s sole mission has changed from scoring uncrowded waves to making more money for the shareholders. I can take the crowded lineups though. It sucks, but I can take it. What I can’t take is your bullshit.
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September 28th, 2007 at 7:39 am
You can see an interview with Riding the Wave film maker Chris Cutri at Phoresai.
http://www.phoresia.org/?p=167
September 28th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Yeha, forgot to link to that. Nice interview.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Great video, I was laughing out laud when Bob McKnight started complaining about crowded Newport. That guy could afford to spend the next sixty years floating around Indo in a yacht and he is complaining about having to to surf trestles with the monster he helped create, classic.
Aside from all the commercialization and 12 year corporate drones it is still possible to have an authentic surfing experience. Before I left North County 18 months ago you could still dawn patrol an an empty peak up the beach (ed: removed due to location sensitivity) on a Wednesday or surf a good swell at (ed: removed due to location sensitivity) after then angries had gone in. If you just can’t stand the SoCal scene any longer you can always go Gerry Lopez, there is nothing more authentic then surfing in Oregon.
(Sorry for editing your comment Jake, but I still surf those breaks. :D)
September 28th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Hey, how come (self-edit of location) didn’t get editted by ED?? spot namers!! ha, ha, ha. Not uncommon to see 70+ guys at Gerry’s favorite (self-edit of location) spot in the summer. It’s not all peaches and sunshine up north! Thanks BOB?!
“Think about it…it’s called ‘surfing the internet’…pretty cool!” -b. hurley
wow.
This is a great vid. buy, borrow, steal, copy yourself a copy!!
September 28th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
We apologise for the fault in the spotnames. Those responsible have
been sacked.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Wind And Sea! Mwuahahahahaha!
September 28th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
We apologise again for the fault in the spotnames. Those
responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked
have been sacked.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Ha ha my bad. I forgot that the aforementioned breaks were secret spots. I think it is so funny that people still think they need to protect spots that are mainstays of guys from (city names omitted for fear of offending someone on the planet).
September 28th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Hey bro, anything I can do to make sure I get a session with less people at a fun break I’ll do.
Pointing out where an uncrowded break is in the first place will also get more people there. But what has really happened here, is you just happened to point the way to a spot I frequent. That’s definitely going to get edited.
If it had been an Orange County break, I would have posted a map. HEH.
September 28th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Got it, no spot naming except Orange Country HEH.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Jamie B. hit the nail on the head…”other people see surfers, snowboarders, etc (fill in the blank) and they are attracted to that individual because of their zest or passion.”
For this fortunate soul, still being able to track swells and chase them with my sixteen year old son means heaps more that the latest fashion rave. This I know will be my “Golden Balloon” later on in my life.
I’m still bummed H. Miura closed doors in Haleiwa. Enough said.
I’m still bummed H. Miura in Haleiwa closed doors!
September 28th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Solid rant!
I think there is alot to discuss here that isn’t really being talked about as much as it should be. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out once the “10 year cycle” hits and shareholders aren’t getting double-digit growth numbers anymore. Look at Pac-Suns financial issues, I can only wonder if they are a leading economic indicator for the “action sports” lifestyle. Once the middle-America gold mine has dried up and moved on to the next flavor of the week, and you’ve alienated all your core board-riding customers by homogenizing your brand to mall-stores and discount outlets, where is there left to go?
September 28th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Oregon is a secret spot…shhhhh!
September 29th, 2007 at 5:52 am
surf schools are a good thing……….its the quick way of introducing
the masses to the sport. they soon find out that in stead of paddling out, its easier to shop and wear the clothes. this fast pace life, quick connect world most of these students and graduates of
surf schools are what we called hodaddys. they perferred to drive around with their boards on top of the cars and talk the talk. they really never get the true surf lifestyle they just try to mimic it.
it is “true what goes around comes around”
October 1st, 2007 at 9:13 am
I think the bottom line here is that surfing is not a t-shirt. The big industry guys claim that the modern shortboards and warm suits would not exist if the commercialization of surfing had not happened. We all know that’s a crock of shite. There’s guys on Swaylocks miles ahead of the curve making super high-performance shortboars in their garages without commercial sponsorship. Advancements in the sport will always happen as long as there are people involved and committed to furthering their own abilities.
Boycott multinational “surf” industry. Support small business and keep your money in your local economy. You win twice.
October 1st, 2007 at 9:34 am
“What’s the craziest place we’ve been had?”
“Well, that’d be in the butt, Bob”
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:30 pm
I bet the commercialization and the increased amount of people in the water has ruined surfing for a lot of people. I bet he really meant what he said. Luckily, for those of us who can still get our stoke on, we’re not him. Sure it sucks to be in a crowded lineup, having people drop in on you or paddle straight into the lineup, blocking your line with that deer in the headlights look, but then you catch that wave. That set of seconds that compresses and slows down. It could be a turn or a just a great drop, but it’s all back. You’re 12 or 25 or 37 or 79. It’s all the same. I hope he can find his peace with the reality of surfing today. It’s unfortunate but a reality that at some point on our lives, we can only see how things are different and not how they are. And i like my warm wetsuit and my new birthday fish, so… I have no point…
October 5th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Great point lawless…”Once the middle-America gold mine has dried up and moved on to the next flavor of the week, and you’ve alienated all your core board-riding customers by homogenizing your brand to mall-stores and discount outlets, where is there left to go?” It happend to McKnight (Quiksilver) the last downturn in the surf industry cycle…they had to layoff some of the core people who helped get the company started. Quiksilver has learned from that mistake and bought Rossignol, Cleveland Golf, and other companies to diversify their product line-up.
Hurley & Nike partnership…etc. etc.
Those who don’t follow suit will dry up……..BUT most of the large publicly held companies we may want to wish away are not going anywhere anytime soon..
October 6th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
rob,
hmm… yo bro. solid rant, and one huge hug – in a solid bro-down way. of course….
warm wetsuits = +. better boardies = +. organic shit = +. Surf(nazi) corpos = superbad.
yo, um, BOB, what happened to the garage soul of quik, from Oz broheim? what happened to just wanting to get wet with your bros, and not take over the world?
Oops, it’s the STOCKHOLDERS, oh yeah, not your ‘soul’ bros….
damn it sucks to be you(sponsoring the Crossing, and all those other vids to find ‘new’ spots to plunder)….
70% forever!