Cult of personality...

Line up the press! Text your agent! Shmooze those sponsors!

Lots of personalities have passed through these haunts. To this day it's much the same. Not my homebreak, but a serious piece of our collective consciousness as surfers. "Hey Butch, what do you think of the lot getting ripped up?"

I'm a bit ill from all the politico-celebrity inertia. Once a pig with lipstick starts running it's hard to stop. It occurs to me that there is a certain cult of personality in surfing as well. We have our pedestal packed with shapers and, more recently, artists who through deed or reputation have been elevated. But we should consider ourselves lucky. Our celebrities are unknown to all others. Our geniuses go by nicknames and wear Chuck Taylors. "Hi Buzzy. Hey Skip. What's happening Kong?" Seriously, can anyone named Skip, Buzzy or Kong be taken Seriously? The last three weekends I've seen R. Presiendorfer paddling his atrocious stand-up behemoth through the lineup. "Hey Rusty, 're you still shaping?" Our next generation are not scouted by talent agents or groomed to play at their pac-10 university of choice. We say hi to our heroes at the beach. We enjoy their creations and admire their handiwork while still being able to access them as individuals. We are lucky.

Yet. Surfer Magazine et al. insist on publishing power rankings and determining a "hot 100". Don't they get it? It's surfing, an "elegant diversion."(M.Cunningham).

So. In honor of the differences that make surfing special, please say hi to the next surfing "personality" you see at your local. Then paddle into a nice wave, just like they're going to do.

Periodic Politics...

November will be important.
Thanks for the link, Mike.

Honestly...

Honestly,

-I like my job, but I don't like how my surf sessions per week go from 5 or more to two. Having an ocean view from my school doesn't help.

-I prefer not wearing a leash (leach?) but ever since I slammed my toe and took a header on the rocks down to a be-jeweled avian reef I have been less than confident and have worn my leash even in mellow beachbreak about half of the time.



-I love that Skippy Fish on a lined up wall, but I enjoyed a recent Beachy session much more after swapping the 6' keel for a 8' Frye Thinman for a few waves, courtesy of one of the most stylish Frye-influenced surfers you'd ever want to meet, John.

-I was cold today in my spring suit. Fall is coming!




-I have a board on order that I have been waiting for since I was in my twenties. My feet are itching to slide a few on it's smoothed laterality. Yes, I invented a new word.

-I had a skunk die under my house on the same weekend that my in-laws were visiting.



-I want to replace my 11' Frye Eagle . But Waves Forever, the Japanese outfit with a great stable of shapers, was asking way too much. More than 2Gs less than 5.


-I'm a little intrigued by the Greg Griffin Modfish 5 fin. But also a little suspicious. A lot of hype out there.