DOWN THE LINE Surf Talk Radio

JULY 13, 2011 Surf Industry News — Hearing lots of chatter…

Dane Reynolds. He admits it, he’s Lost Interest.

1) Kelly Slater setting up a Jeter-esque type 2nd half performance; missing JBAY a no-brainer due to huge Cloudbreak but… ALSO gives the guys on tour (Adriano de Souza, Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Parko) a false sense of security before KS10 pulls a Slater sweep at Quiksilver Pro NYCity and Hurley LOWERS PRO. KS probably wants to own Manhattan for the week, he’s surfing’s celebrity– after all. All this sets up a climactic showdown at PIPELINE.

2) What does four years of hideous economy mean. Downsizing and a serious look at ROI. WPS surfers as well have been chiming in that they’d like to go to G-Land for an event. Sorry guys, no ROI. Be happy with North American beachbreaks. The Dream Tour is now the Lean Tour. Most of us don’t have any emotional connection to any of you. The world Tour could be trimmed to 16 and fans would be happy.

3) An industry insider is telling me to look for changes in management at Billabong USA.

4) This may be old news to some… hearing that SWATCH was ready to blanket sponsor the ASP tour but they were shut out but the Surf Industry old boy giants on the ASP board. Too much ‘timeshare’ to lose. They have watches too.

5) Dane Reynolds sells more board shorts in North America than numbers 1- 10. Except perhaps Kelly Slater. And Dane has LOST INTEREST. Over-it-itis has become marketable.

6) PUMA, Converse, Nike, – Specialty retail is screwed. My kid saw Kolohe Andino, and suggested we buy some NIKEs. We went to Sports Authority so my kid could look like Kolohe. John John Florence is a way more interesting surfer.

7) Most surfers are embarrassed or simply don’t care to wear “surf clothes.” The individuality is gone. BTW: Saw Rip Curl POP segment at Sports Authority too. Specialty retail is screwed.

X ASP X cloudbreak X dane reynolds X jbay X Kelly slater X quiksilver pro X surf industry surfing industry news tavarua

Sunday, July 10, 2011, California– History was made at the ASP PRIME Mr Price Pro Ballito, the ocean producing flawless four meter (8-10ft) barrels that had surfer’s calling it some of the best waves they’d ever surfed in or out, of competition…

We also talk about the upcoming J Bay Billabong Pro surfing competition which starts July 14; favorites, goofyfoots, underdogs.
Plus, Surf Stronger! Stay fit with surf stronger DVD series, we talk with Coach about crunches, not crunch berries; and the top ten most UNDERRATED Rolling Stones songs. Plus tons more; Search for us on iTunes keyword: DOWN THE LINE :

Side 1

1) Prodigal Son from Beggars Banquet
2) You Got The Silver from Let It Bleed
3) If You Can’t Rock Me from It’s only Rock n Roll
4) All About You from Emotional Rescue
5) Sweet Virginia from Exile On Main Street

Side 2
1) Monkey Man from Sticky Fingers
2) When The Whip Comes Down from Some Girls
3) Lovin’ Cup from Exile on Main Street
4) Dancin’ with Mr. D from Goats Head Soup
5) Moonlight Mile from Sticky Fingers

Somebody call Pat Gudauskas and tell him we found his missing FROTH, it’s on his upperlip. Hideous mustache.

http://www.mrpricepro.com/VideoHighlight.aspx

J Bay looks simple enough: a perfect point break. To get from Point A to Point B and make it look good, well, only the most polished get the job done correctly. JBay doesn’t just uncover weaknesses; it shines a bright light on them. Those flicky little fin-check top turns make some pro surfers look like WSA district 6 participants (or USA Team members). The most hideous of surfing styles are disrobed and some pro surfers stand naked and shriveled for the entire world to see. Spectators forced to turn away in disgust.

J Bay requires full-rail, turn-to-turn connections, which demands strong legs, which in turn generally results in an outstanding surfing style. Think about the good ones: Terry Fitzgerald, Shaun Tomson, Tom Curren, Occy, Irons, Slater, Fanning, Parko and Taylor Knox. All of them smooth as a baby’s bum and as strong as a middleweight.

Taylor Knox has one of the best styles on tour. It’s no secret or big reveal. I use the kid factor when assessing a surfers style. Would I want my kid to surf like that? When I watch Taylor Knox I say to myself, “hell yes!”

The greatest thing about good style is that you’ll more or less have it forever. When you get old; you are going to lose your ability to do aerials. I never had that ability so I see this as a plus. Sorry to break it to you, but you won’t be punting airs when you are 50 years old. You will however be holding your arms and hands and body posture basically the same way you are now. Style doesn’t leave you. It’s like the IRS, it stays with you for the long haul. Look at Skip Frye or PT or Rabbit or Pottz or Gerlach. They all have the same distinctive style they had in their prime.

Who has the worst style on TOUR? Which pro surfer makes you cringe? Watch the JBay event and it’ll become very clear. I won’t call out any names because that’s not cool. Bad style on the ASP tour used to be easy to call out. The ASP top 32 have risen. Bad style in 2011, in my opinion, not so easy to spot. When the surfers are too technical, and the dance isn’t apparent, when they don’t look like they are having, dare I say it,… fun, their styles suffer.

Curren danced. Slater dances. Fanning dances. Others are trying to score points. Not good. Bad style. Certain names pop into my head: Durbidge, Ross, Davidson: not the greatest style. They don’t have panache. They don’t dance. They can score points though. They are sporting. All opinion of course. Internet is full of it. Shit and opinion.

Taylor Knox surfs like a Sidewinder: smooth, powerful, deadly. Body positioned for a buried rail strike. Aesthetically perfect. When J Bay is six feet, deadly to competitors. A few years back, in perfect J Bay, Knox crafted a symphonic 19.70 out of possible 20 points. It was beautiful. Knox’s wave dance earned him single wave scores of 9.9 and 9.8 out of possible 10. I think he threw away a 9.0!

J Bay really brings out the best and worst in styles. Watch some of these heats on the Billabong Pro website and you’ll see the best and worst of it. This event could be Taylor Knox’s swan song event at J Bay. Hearing rumblings that T Knox will retire and become Padres pitcher Heath Bell’s personal trainer.

Terry Fitzgerald clip with Jay Adams crossover transitions. Great J Bay at the end, and insight from provocateur Derek Hynd.

ED NOTE: I wrote most of this fours years ago when I worked as an Editor for SURFER magazine. I spit out articles on a weekly basis at SURFER for 10 years. In many cases spit was more palatable. Nevertheless, for some reason SURFER magazine doesn’t put my name, or any writers name for that matter, on archived articles. I’ll be posting up some old stuff soon. Hard to SEARCH when they don’t give you credit for your work. Is that too much to ask? Rant over.

billabong, surfing styles, jbay,jay bay, j bay, jeffries, jeffreys, taylor knox, kelly slater, billabong, derek hynd, terry fitzgerald, asp, asp tour,