My friend is a cheater. He is tall, athletic, an excellent paddler, a phenomenal natural surfer, and he insists on riding 9' longboards like they are shortboards. Yes, he occasionally nosetouches, but mostly just pumps, jives, floats, and bashes. When I used to be a diehard sponger he would give me a bit of a hard time because it was "easier" to ride prone than standing. Now he justifies his cheating. "Surfing is about catching waves and having fun." Simple. True.
Is riding a fish, log, mat, kneelo, glider, funnyboard, toothpick, or boogie cheating? Is surfing most valid when it is done in a more difficult manner? Who is qualified to judge which is the most difficult of wave riding arts? Surely someone who is accomplished in all disciplines. Is that you? It's not me.
I've been burned and snaked a fair share of times for bouncing about on a Neumatic. I've had rocks thrown at me for riding a boogie at good barreling waves. I assume the fact that prone riding is viewed as an easier surfing art justified the perpetrators' malicious acts.
The wood ancients are all the rage partly because they're difficult to surf. The MSurfica/Hynd cult is partly validated by the perception of difficulty.Why isn't the West Oahu ripper pictured above (Danny Kim) a modern hero? He is doing what few others can do and doing it well.
And those A.P.E.S are the biz. If you have a pair send them to me. I prefer the green.
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