saw some surfline ads with that guy, thought it was a pretty stupid ad. thumbs up on that guy sucking
I like watching a local guy get good waves and have a good time. Never saw him insult or trash talk anyone. Ben Gravy is a good guy just doing what he loves. Same for Bret Barley and Rob Kelly. Good people making good content.
Wow... funny thing is I just literally watched one of his videos. I'm pretty much in agreement with what LBcrew mentioned with social media... in fact, this is about as social as I get on media- SI lol personally I just don't have the time and I think it's usually all just about painting the perfect picture of who you are, when in fact it's not really who you are... ANYWAYS- back to Ben Gravy. Never met the guy although have seen him around. At least he seems like a nice guy. I can't really say anything bad cause I never met him and don't know him. Although, if it true he doesn't work and makes all his money off his YouTube thing... then idk what to think. That's really lame. As far as his videos- I have seen maybe 4 or 5. What I do like is being able to see some footage of a recent swell that I also just surfed- and seeing how it broke at other spots and seeing other guys rides etc.. he does seem to be a pretty good surfer and holds his own in bigger surf. And he didn't really blow up any spots. And from the few that I saw, he posts the videos pretty quickly after a swell This is kinda old fashioned; BUT I'm not really into a lot of the foul language and stuff actually, knowing that a lot of young kids would be watching and looking up to him... I really think that has something to say about giving back to the surf community- your example for the grommets. Great example recently was when Kelly Slater showed up here - afterwords he spent time on the beach talking with the kids, signing stuff, taking pics with kids etc.. just being a good clean friendly guy. Someone they could look up too. Anyways, just my scattered thoughts ...
I don't really know if it's supposed to mean somthing. But him and a few other guys had this thing called NUB tv. It was basically like jackass. Stunts and stuff. Guess he carried it over to his own thing. I do agree that he seems like a good guy. He's positive and all. Not saying he's a bad guy. I just don't glorify what he's doing like his fans do. But as far as kids looking up to him. Let's be real. Do you think kids see his videos and say "hey man, that guy doesn't curse so i won't either!" OR "hey this guy does nothing but surf and post his daily routine on YouTube for a living. I can do that to". I think it's the latter. And i don't really think that's a good thing because that's not a real job and shouldn't be what you strive for.
Very good point, especially in this modern culture of entitlement The swearing thing is more of a personal conviction for me, I could understand if you don't agree. But it's not that they would notice a person who doesn't swear and want to be like them- it's noticing a person who does and then justifying it in their own minds- "well if he talks that way, then it's ok for me to talk that way"
Based on everything you all post above, Ben Gravy will be your Senator soon, and all you suckers will vote for him, and even give him all your money, all your children, to help elect him. I am ashamed I know you (internet wise, that is.....).
Breaking away from the Baby Boomer mentality for a minute, it's downright amazing how the interweb has redefined what a "real job" is. Society as a whole appears to be slowly breaking away from work requiring manual labor. Just an observation, I'll reserve my opinion lol
I remember reading skateboard mag in the 70's and dreaming of being paid to skate like Tony Alva. Or making money vlogging about surfing like Ben Gravy. A few people can....99.9% will realize they can't and move on. I guess i don't see what he's doing as any kind of new concern that kids will have unrealistic expectations about life and jobs! Getting up at 4:00 in the morning to go surf shitty waves breaking inside bays over rocks in 6 inches of water sounds to me like manual labor....haha...maybe just not in the traditional sense. He seems like a cool guy but I can't really get motivated to watch his VLOGS either. If he would collect video and do a truly well produced 5 minute one every few weeks as he actually stumbles across interesting adventures then maybe. I feel like at some point he became obsessed with hunting down novelty waves (i.e. horrible looking waves that pop up in places people don't normally surf - for a good reason) and kind of went down a rabbit hole.
It's not like Ben Gravy is banging on your front door like a Jehovah's Witness, or sending you spam emails or robocalls to watch his vlogs. Why all the hating? If he can live the slackers life of blowing up spots and surfing all day err day and scam a few $ponsor$ along the way, I say God Bless America. He's OK in my book.
I'm talking about the fact that he's tortured by not getting the recognition he thinks he deserves (and may well deserve, for all I know). Although he claims he's ok with it, he's clearly not. It's sad... and it's a demon he's created for himself through social media. Working with kids, I see it constantly... people actually get distressed... depressed... angry... demotivated... by what is or is not happening in their cyberworld. For many, it becomes a real problem. And I'm not even counting the online "bullying" and shunning that happens on a daily basis... which in itself is a whole other set of serious issues. I'm only talking about how many likes people get... or don't get... How man friends and followers somebody has vs. somebody else. I'm talking about the amount of TIME it consumes out of young peoples' lives... time that could be devoted to something REAL. And I'm just getting started... LOL.
My ninth grade niece came to live with my wife and I for half the school year because according to her mom (my wife's sister) she had reached a point where depression/anger/constant drama had made her unable to learn or even function at school. At first I wasn't able to grasp what was at the root of it. I knew it wasn't boyfriends, drinking, drugs, fighting, learning disability. That drama you describe was consuming ALL of her time day and night, and most of her mental energy. She was emotionally exhausted by it, and at a very high stress level. Once she was physically removed from the environment (by two state lines) more importantly removed herself from the online world that was the real drain on her being, she reverted back to being a relatively stable 14 year old within a month or two, but she remains scarred by it, and affected by that whole experience, like a kind of weariness.
Well, I am glad you describe that as you did. It will be something I can then look out for with my granddaughter as she matures into teen hood. That is still 11 years away, but I will not forget your assessment. I am told I have a great memory, for an old guy. So thanks for taking the time to post this.
interesting insight with the above posts... and I totally agree... Im wondering what its going to be like when my kids are teenagers with technology and social media etc.. As for now, I long for the day prior to all the constantly 'connected' world via social media and even with work and email and stuff... like the days when all there was to do was to just go outside and play as a kid... till the streetlights came on...
