Did pro surfing ruin surfing?

witihout reading anything more than the subject line I came here to say that exact thing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKkBYq7ZrtU

 

+1. Yes, now people are starting surfing in their 30s. These new 30 year old wannabe surfers and young groms will never understand how great it once was. I fell sorry for them. Catching a nice size swell by yourself in late spring doesn't happen anymore. They just check the forecasting sites and don't really understand buoy data at all.

 

Sounds like ya'll got some white people problems.

Nothing has ruined surfing. You can blame the pros, the internet, Lebron James, a few select forum members and cell phones all you want, but do you not get the same feeling when you're tearing down an open face? You can interpret surfing in many different ways, but the feeling is the same for all of us.

It's a beautiful Wednesday and everyone on here should paddle out even if the waves aren't up to your expectations. It might rekindle your childhood days when you went out every single day no matter what. Those days were the best, right?

[video=youtube;-MQrEwYxZW4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MQrEwYxZW4[/video]

 

I have seen many female surfers shred since then. Lot's more than before the movie came out. They keep the vibe in the water light and fun. Except when they are catching all the peaks (I've seen it happen a few times at the Jupiter Inlet during a crowded session).

 

I haven't read all of these responses so if I repeat somebody's sh!t...........sorry.

Pro surfing didn't really ruin surfing. Like, that Fiji Pro was on NBC last weekend. I don't think many dudes from Arkansas are packing their bags to move to Deal, NJ.

There's been little phases that have brought in new recruits: The Beachboys 50's & 60's beach movie era; the late 1980's surfwear craze: and I don't know when to exactly date this but the yuppie, "I'll add surfing to my list of pastimes" craze.

Better wetsuits allowed the more fair-weathered surfers to extend their surfing season which is why Ocean City, NJ has people out at every northend jetty mid-winter when it's two foot.

What's wrong with surfing in the present day is kind of contradictional. There's a new Hobbyist mentallity out there oppossed to the hardcore ethos that once existed. Surfing is now viewed as a sport or hobby oppossed to a lifestlye. Like on here, I debated about this stuff and NOT ONE person backed me about surfing being a special pursuit that transcends any "sport" or leisure activity. You guys were throwing compliments to rock climbing videos.

But in many cases surfers are a lot nicer these days because they aren't obsessed losers whose only gig in life is their spot in the local surf hierarchy. Yes, surfers should be societal losers. Ha, if you guys think there are meanies out there now, you should go back in time.

Ya see, that would never have happened back in the day - dudes hailing rock climbing over surfing. Surfers, epsecially east coasters, were dedicated. They were stoked. Like, besides EmassSpicoli, you don't even really see the stoke that all novice surfers should have.

Dudes, you just tapped into and discovered the source, man. The greatest thing this world can offer. Man, this ain't golf or riding a friggin bike. Man, this is stepping off the contenent, into a vast unknown full of intangibles, and tapping into the power of mother nature. And you people are hyping rock climbing.

Surfing is not ruined per say. But the actors have changed and attitudes have changed. But maybe, surfing has been bettered. Now instead of spending time at the local jetty with all of the dudes who pencil in a surf between tee times, this will influence the core to get out there, to some distant shore to experience their own hardcore version of what surfing should be for them.

Ah, I guess I am a moron because surfing is a personal pursuit. As long as you percieve it as such, no outside influence can determine what surfing is and they can't ruin it. Jeez, and I just typed all of the above for no reason because surfing really can't be ruined. Spots can be ruined, but as long as that adventurous spirit exists inside one tow headed Californian kid and he has the desire to travel to distant shores........surfing will always be just fine. Maybe.........maybe not.

 

PB&J's "Ode to the source" is now his most prolific post ever. Which says a lot. That was some good food, brah.

 

well put.

should have asked what 'ruined' means.

 

Pollution and a dying ocean will most likely ruin surfing.

 

Why would a "seasonal" surfer purchase a board that is only going to be useful at most two or three times a year during some of the largest hurricane swells? IMHO, if you haven't surfed all year, choosing the absolutely largest day to go out is not exactly the best idea ... Did they even realize what a semi-gun was for, or did they purchase it because it was long, slender, and looked really cool?

 

Its the dopers that have ruined it...dude.

 

Same with leashes on longboards. Keeps the old kooks in the lineup instead of swimming in for their boards every time they fall off.

 

No, it's not.....dude. The dopers made this thing what it is today. So you sit up there in Maine, during a summer session at Gooches, and give thanks to the dopers, the burn-outs and the smugglers that made surfing great. This isn't a pursuit for little boys on summer vacation.

Dude, what do you think financed all the great surfing explorer's trips? The one's that let y'all in on what was out there.
Dude, do you know how many surf shops and surf companies were backed by illicit funds? ****, in the 1980's pratically every, now defunct, LBI surf shop, had shady beginnings.

Man, you owe everything to these "dopers." Show a little respect, man.

 

It happens down here all the time. I think people just looking back to the old days need to move. There are plenty of empty spots still out there. You might look for areas not so close to major metropolitan centers.

I don't feel like I missed anything, personally. I enjoy every day out on the water and every wave I ride. I have days where the beach is empty, and days where people are everywhere. I still have fun, and that is all that matters to me.

 

Exactly. Which is how Dalarast scored it on the cheap from the re-sell. The seller was sick of groveling attempts with a big wave board. Said seller: "You can have this thing. Surfing sucks."

 

So aggro man. Why? I wasn't ripping you at all, in any way. Was saying how the over-crowding isn't great but not the end of existence for the dude who really does want all the peaks.

You're arguing world geography on one thread, the dope game on another. I ain't exactly been here for years, but you just got here and have more psi backing your agendas than Starchy could dream of.

Take a deep breath after the woman just kicked you to the curb. Stop the surf forum aggro posts. Stop internet stalking your ex-lady. There are many other fish in the sea. Open mouth, insert chill pill. Brah.

 

Exactly. He got the used semi-gun first because he thought it was a longboard and then got the new one for his out of shape wife.

 

My reference point is skateboarding. My idols as a kid growing up late 70's early 80's were Tony Alva, Mark Gonzalas, and Cab. Yes they were "pro" skateboarders, but the lifestyle was not that of a professional skater or surfer today. More important, they were losers in the eyes of most of the population. But looking back now they were the pioneers. Without guys like Stacey Peralta there would not have been the evolution of skating into "normal" pop culture. The same could be said about pro surfers of that era, Lopez, Bertlemann, MR, etc. Now we have Xgames, pro tour surfing and lots of guys and gals making decent living being a pro. But I know a few pro skaters and a former pro skier, its not all fun and games, it's a real job and a harsh business.

But pro skaters and pro surfers don't ruin anything as far as the recreation side of the sport goes. I skate FDR or the new park in Philly in the morning all the time by myself. The thing about surfers and skaters is they want to be seen. I surf DP all the time alone. Summer and winter, in south jersey, in perfect conditions. The issue is there are no girls on the beach or dudes in the session to see the latest tricks. I can understand the mentalty, I was a kid once. I guess in a way I still am, I just got older and maybe a bit wiser. The jury is still out on that.

 

I think really all that pro-surfing does is make a grom or newbie surfer think it would be wise to waste their money on a thin high performance short board that they have no skill level yet to ride effectively and they waste their money and resell it on Ebay or Craigslist or trade it in at a shop. In golf if you buy the best gear to immulate the pros it does to some effect help you play better than buying a 1950's sportcraft golf set at a yard sale. Buying a pro shortboard doesn't make you a better surfer if you're just starting out for sure.

Internet - has crowded the lineups by allowing inshore people to know where the breaks are and when its even worth their while to travel to the shore to surf thanks to the forecasting features. Pre internet, it was usually only locals or vacationers surfing...not the day-trippers from several hours drive inland.

Wetsuits - Better quality/cheaper prices has allowed for the less die-hard everyday surfers to be able to make it worth their while to buy wetsuit gear even if its just to go out a couple of times a year. Also contributes to more crowded lineups in offseason

More affluent society today than past decades - more disposable income allows for more people to buy surfboards on a whim or as an infrequent hobby. Expensive costs of boards and gear in the past in relation to disposable income made the investments only worthwhile for the die-hard locals or wealthy.

I think all of these things are great, bringing alot more people to enjoy the sport/hobby/lifestyle of surfing, but I can see how it can frustrating for the local, everyday surfers to be invaded by lots of inexperienced newbies all the time.

 

Good post. They NEED to be seen. Without the notoriety, the buoyancy that allows them to be "pro" is no longer there - the marketability and subsequent dollars spent by the followers. I can't be sure that every pro surfer would rather it be this way, and that's why LOD and the Z-Boys documentary are such great films. You realize that they appreciate in the end the fact that the fame and fortune wasn't what they ever really wanted. They just wanted to surf/skate, brah. Lots of parallels with that and Big Wednesday. The "mentor" (for lack of a better term) figure in the characters of Skip and Bear is a dynamic and critical one to all of this.

 

what's wrong with surfing, well, I don't think it's the pro's. There were pro's back in the 60's when surfing was "pure" or whatever.

Here is what is wrong with surfing:

Surfing restrictions
leash laws.
Parking.
People who wear surf gear head to toe and don't surf.
People who think the board is the problem.
Surfshops with no boards. (looking at you 17th street...)
$40 surf videos. $8 surfer mags. Has anyone noticed the ad to actual content ratio? Pitiful.
$100 trunks
Laird Hamilton
Roy Stuart
Blue Crush
Car Commercials
Bethany Hamilton
Salt Life
Tourism
The invention of the gopro.
30 second intro's on 2 minute home movies.
Towing in to makeable waves.
Throwing "shockas" or the like.
Being sponsored by your mom.
Cost of Airfare (seriously has doubled in the last decade)
F*cking horseflies

That's all I've got for now. I don't blame the pro's at all. I'd do it in a heartbeat so would all of you.