The future of surfing

Inland...seriously. I think the wave pool concept will catch on...as for boards...tomo type of boards and newer composite glossing tech.

 

This?

[video=youtube;k80UQWWUIYs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80UQWWUIYs[/video]

 

Def more popular.... evidence:

[video=youtube;HQ13z7JxYyg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ13z7JxYyg[/video]

 

More evidence:

[video=youtube;v2Zdm3CkxVg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Zdm3CkxVg[/video]

 

It got way more technical in my lifetime. Dudes are doing kickflips now. Who knows--maybe the board shape will change and that will lead to new tricks and styles.

I do second the notion that the indoor wave pool thing is going to get bigger too.

 

More
[video=youtube;OvuS_-YFoCo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvuS_-YFoCo[/video]

 

Kinda both. It's a scene where they have relations without touching. All mental. With the trend toward making surfing easier, more accessible, etc, was thinking it could eventually go there. Everyone could surf. No risks. No water. No swimming. Kind of an old fart response to all the new stuff.

But seriously... More popular. Maybe in a bad way. SUP armadas.

 

Ya I feel like someday lib tech may take over every board sport including surfing, with all surfboards being in the general shape of skateboards to have the ability to do "more"

 

After a 30 yr hiatus from surfing, I'm still figuring out THIS future. I see 2 main things compared to "then." 1st, risks are being eliminated. Leashes, foamie boards, etc. 2nd, the boards are WAY more agile, thus more aerials.

If the trend keeps going that way, they'll keep lowering risk, fitness requirements, etc. Have a ski lift like setup on the beach so you don't have to paddle out? Ferry boat rides to the outside? Boards that come back to you WITHOUT a leash?

Hard to imagine the boards getting even more radical, but I'm sure that's gonna happen too. It oughta be fun to watch happen. I'll be on my geezer board though. Y'all kids have at it.

I don't like the SUP armadas though.

 

Just because they do commercials doesn't mean more people will start surfing. Those kind of things appeal to the SaltLife crowd. Surfing has always been accompanied by a perception of "cool" so it makes people feel better about ordering a Meat Lovers pizza from Papa Gino's while they sit on their keester, playing Call of Duty for hours on end.

 

I definitely think the inland wave pool technology will catch on. But it is hard to imagine people straying away from the aspect of taming mother nature that comes along with surfing. To me personally that is one of the best things about surfing. All the science and components that go into just a single wave, and each of the unique breaks around the world are what makes surfing such a different sport. I don't think Pipeline, Teahupoo, and breaks like that can ever be mimicked with as much appreciation and beauty if it were being generated by a machine. Maybe it's just me, but I know many surfers who feel very connected to the ocean and water when surfing. Being in a pool would be fun, but nothing like sitting in the ocean waiting to see what nature sends your way, and then attempting to tame it.

 

I'm thinking the wave pool will catch on because it's a controlled environment, completely consistent waves, no currents, and the waves will be much less powerful. I hope this doesn't happen because then there will be guys who can surf a pool, and think they can transition from pool to ocean, which will become a dangerous situation.

 

With the way things are going, like shorter boards for example, I think things will eventually regress. Like how short can you really make a board? Boards will get shorter but eventually shapers will hit that wall where it's just not possible anymore. Board length it's just an example, but this applies to everything, not just surfing. Humans are smart, look at the past 10, 20, 30 years and the advancements in technology. I feel like eventually advancements will slow, there's got to be a limit to what's possible, right? When we hit that limit, then where do we go? That's when things will get interesting.

 

I hear you dudes about the wave pool thing but in my opinion the wave catches you, you don't catch the wave and the wave pool takes that away.
As far as the natural art of it all , nothing can compare to all the changes that can occur during a typical sesh like , fog,wind,rain,swell,marine life etc.... I hope surfing continues to evolve ,but as for me ima do my thing.

 

Hey Bubonic. Didn't mean to get silly on you man. Hope you ain't offended. Just thought about somethin...

Fins.

Back in the day, I don't think we even thought about fins. Shoot, lots of em were glassed in. Now I can have 2 or 3 different boards by swapping fins.

How about... fins that move while you surf? No, seriously. No joke. Not sure whether that would be fore / aft or angular movement. Could be either manually controlled by the rider, or even more awesome, controlled by accelerometers / strain gauges automatically. Fins that adjust to maximize your ride on the fly.

Gaff... We need to get in your lab, dude. Gaffco self trimming fins.

Y'all heard it here first. Don't laugh. Back in the 60s we thought those dudes with movable, or TWIN, fins were nuts.

 

Agree about the nature piece wholeheartedly. Waiting for waves is like playing slots. Its the looming anxiety over the flat light abyss. Its pure.

But in 30 years, tell that to a kid in Indiana and he wont know what you mean. He will be HUCKING airs before he ever sees the beach. And when he gets there, he will learn a few lessons about real waves, inconsistency, the purity and connection to waves, etc... but he will get the hang of it and shred... and its not a bad thing. Its good for his soul, bad for the line up...?

Respectfully, people throughout history have constantly been saying that... and then some new thing comes along.

I can look at a Phillipino girl rub one out on a cam online on her 18th birthday while she is still 17 in my timezone----technology is amazing.

 

LMAO

Dude, you ain't right...

 

Tech IS amazing, U2B. I'm tellin y'all. Movin fins are comin down the pike. I need to figger that one out.