Bobby Martinez Disqualified From NY Pro

He was fired. He can collect unemployment now!!!!!
On the real though, he makes some solid points - No chance in hell that anyone coming into the second half of this years tour will have any shot of winning. So it pretty much turns into a 16 man battle for the world title - Kellys winning anyway so it doesnt really matter

 

Maybe he was high thats why he coulndnt speak?

 

speaking like that pretty much guaranteed his firing. just like someone said a few posts prior to this, he is a professional. you cant speak like that, especially to your higher-ups and "employer" as a pro. people look up to you as a role model and nobody wants bobby to represent them after a tirade like that. i understand his points, but i dont agree with them. wild cards give new guys a chance, but they have to face much better surfers. the whole point of this is two-fold: 1) a chance to let nobodies show their skills and to have a small chance to move on and become noticed and 2) to give the veteran a large chance to move on to the next round by putting them against a nobody

cmon bobby

 

Perhaps there is room for improvement in the rules, but the surfer's got paid $11,000 just for showing up to the NY event. Is there really room to be all that angry at the system?

 

Bobby is right. the cutoff is to allow younger surfers in the sales demographic of theyre sponsors to gain exposure without having to take the time to qualify. Think of it as a fast track for people like kolohe adino at the expense of the bottom 20. The new half of people have no chance of a world title and are fodder for the top 20 while making the asp and sponsors a ton more money. The quick pro is in NYC b/c its the largest fastest growing sales demographic. They even refer to it as the million dollar contest! Bobby is also correct in that he doesnt work for the asp, he works for his sponsors and surfs asp contests. he is not the only one to feel this way. Bruce left and maybe dane too. The only difference is that they took the cash and walked without a word which is even funnier. I wish bobby had said in a way in which his wording and attitude didnt distract people from the points he was making. Right or wrong its the rules right now so do or not you can still surf and make money, and now that I think of it, it does seem a little like tennis.

 

seriously, f**k this guy. let him talk all the garbage he wants. people watch/follow the tour to see the best surfing in the world; at least i do. i can care less about sponsors, advertising, the "scene" and all of the other corporate influence that ironically makes the entire tour happen on the scale it does in the first place.

is he complaining about people like balaram being in the contest? i think it's a great thing that he was able to compete (although i'd personally rather see hammer in there). it brings the local community together and gives them a rooting interest in an event that the world is watching.

 

talk about biting the hand that feeds you...jeeze!

i agree w/ mOtion732...the guy's an idiot, regardless of his surfing ability. does he have a point to his tirade, though? yea, kinda. unfortunately, whatever point may have been buried in that rambling, disconnected rant is going to be lost beneath the rubble of HOW he said it. the guy had just won his heat & was asked about that...how was his response in any way related to the question he was asked? shouldn't he be happy? as i said to someone this afternoon while talking about this, if someone wanted to pay me thousands of $$$ to surf, i'd be all over it, even if they wanted me to surf in a rainbow clown wig & day-glo wetsuit! my only questions would be, "where's the wig?" & "do you have my size wetsuit?" Martinez doesn't seem to understand how good he has it...
personally, i think the ASP should go back to the old trials system that they used at the end of 80's & into the early 90's, pre-WCT/WQS...the one that allowed Curren to surf his way through the trials of every event & still win the 1990 world title.
i just don't understand how Martinez doesn't get the concept of marketing oneself...of presenting an "image". he's a professional surfer at a contest...he's on the job! whatever his private views on the one world ranking system is should be kept to himself. then again, his new sponsor is also involved in MMA, so maybe he's trying to portray the thug/tough guy image for FTW...

 

slim chance but the whole thing could have been premeditated to promote this FTW crap. they have a guy on the world stage come up and go against 'the man' in dramatic fashion - what better advertising?

everyone knew he was probably going to give up surfing the tour anyway, so, why not 'sell' his exit?

yeah, it's a bit of a stretch.. ha

 

What a ****.

Sure say it to your boys behind the scene, but for the world too see?

You just f**ked yourself.

Wildcards are great for the local scene, so show some respect for the locals you as*hole.

 

OK, so he dropped the f-bomb. Other then that, what is the problem? It is his choice. He has freewill, just as everyone does.

If the latest and greatest thing to have was poop in a bag, I dare say most of the people in this country would stand in line to get theirs if they had to.

Point is,...stop being so weak. Think for yourself. Life is short. Stop being afraid about stuff that means next to nothing in the grand scheme of things. So many weak and scared people walking this earth. Many of your reading this post......

Bobby is not the only top tour pro saying the same thing,... ASP was scared to death when King Kelly suggested a REAL PRO TOUR. Hell yes it is great to move the young rippers up in the ranks more quickly, but the way they are doing is not as popular as it is made out to be.

"The only way to fix it is to flush it all away. Any ****ing time. Any ****ing day. Learn to swim,.... Fret for your figure and Fret for your latte and Fret for your hairpiece and Fret for your lawsuit and Fret for your prozac and Fret for your pilot and Fret for your contract and Fret for your car. >>>>>>It's a bull**** three ring circus sideshow of freaks....<<<<<<<<<<The only way to fix it is to flush it all away. Any ****ing time. Any ****ing day. Learn to swim,... Some say a comet will fall from the sky. Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves. Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still. >>>>>>>>>>Followed by millions of dumbfounded dip****s.<<<<<<<<<<< Some say the end is near. Some say we'll see armageddon soon. I certainly hope we will cuz I sure could use a vacation from this Silly ****, stupid ****... One great big festering neon distraction, I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied. Learn to swim....Learn to swim...... **** all those gun-toting Hip gangster wannabes. Learn to swim. **** retro anything. **** your tattoos. **** all you junkies and **** your short memory. Learn to swim. **** smiley glad-hands With hidden agendas. **** these dysfunctional, Insecure actresses. Learn to swim. Cuz I'm praying for rain and I'm praying for tidal waves I wanna see the ground give way. I wanna watch it all go down. I wanna watch it go right in and down. I wanna watch it go right in. Watch you flush it all away. Time to bring it down again. >>>>>>>>>>>>>Don't just call me pessimist.<<<<<<<<<< Try and read between the lines. I can't imagine why you wouldn't Welcome any change, my friend. I wanna see it all come down. suck it down. flush it down.

Kind of, sort of,... what Bobby, may be trying to say. You know,...FTW!

 

I think you mean YOU'RE blule collar, counselor.

 

my issue has pretty much NOTHING to do w/ what he said or how he said it. could it have been phrased better? absolutely. but i honestly care not at all about the world tour. my issue is that he's an entitled moron. there he is, flushing away an opportunity to SURF FOR A LIVING, something many of us on here would likely kill or die for...what? you mean you want to actually PAY me to go surfing? what line do i sign on? martinez is throwing that chance away like it's nothing & i don't think he even realizes how lucky he has been. all his sponsor trouble...it's never been his fault, it's always the corpo guys screwing him over. oh, please! he's so self-entitled that he doesn't even realize where he's screwing up. martinez is NOT trying to say what you said. he's whining about how, even if he weren't planning on quitting the tour, he was going to get bumped anyway. he's ranked 40-something. buh-bye bobby! & there was no chance in hell that he'd win the contest, either. he drew slater in round 4. i think he was scared. he talks about how the "old guys" who are pushing 30 are scared...the hobgoods, et. al...hell, slater's pushing 40 & still kicking the asses of kids half his age. knox had a good run but is likely off after this stop. he's also pushing 40.
bobby martinez is a tool. end of story.

 

wow, some attorney you must be. "Sorry that your...." Let's try *you're* mr. attorney bossman. And what a PRICK statement that was anyway.

 

Brick wall, waterfall, Bobby thinks he got it all but he don't, and I do, so Boom with that attitude. Peace, punch Captain Crunch, I've got something you can't touch. Bang- Bang choo-choo train, Wind me up I do my thing. Reeses Pieces, 7-Up. You mess with me, I'll mess you up.


....thats all i gotta say

 

"Kind of, sort of,... what Bobby, may be trying to say. You know,...FTW!"

No one But Bobby knows, what Bobby was really trying to say, or thinking for that matter.

a professional way to stick ones foot in ones mouth, it was not,..that is for sure.

But what is up with all this talk about the money, we even have some flake lawyer, <<<<(second post ever mind you),,,trying to start some class warfare. Not the mention of the stealth PC attacks.

He was wrong for choosing and using the words that he can not take back,..ever, now. Many young people do in fact follow the web casts, so he was out of line. But if he wants to give it up that is his business.

"something many of us on here would likely kill or die for" <<<<<<<<<this one statement is far worst then anything BOBBY said. But like Bobby I am sure you did not mean it the way it came out, right?

 

I think you capture it best.

My thoughts:
1. I respect his frustrations (and agree with most of them), but this whole episode reminds us that all the pro's are pro SURFERS, not public speakers. If there was any doubt of that before... Kelly and the others who have 'done it right' realize how important the public relations thing is. I'm sure he's just furious sometimes with who knows what, but he keeps his cool. Maybe that just comes naturally, but I doubt it. Bobby, on the other hand, let his anger get the best of him and looked like a fool. It's sad to see such a guy go off the deep end, but I think he'll be fine. If Tiger Woods can still play golf after his antics, I don't think Bobby has shut too many doors other than the ASP tour itself.

2. I agree with the prevailing opinions about the FTW website. I'm sure they offered Bobby a lot, but they seem to lack substance. It's all just clever marketing that any non-teener bopper can see through in an instant. I hope things works out for the guy, though I think the FTW enterprise will flop pretty soon.

 

It seems to me like his shenanigans was some how tied in to promoting FTW.

The more I think about it, I think this was a pre-meditated, organized plan. Look how much viral exposure they are getting out of this...

Will it work? Are there that many disgruntled youth out there, that want to FTW?

 

I really liked the prior comment someone made about bringing the asp back to the trials era. Everyone has to requalify every event. If you surf like poo or its not your spot or the locals are ripping then see you next stop. That way the best surfers at that spot on that day compete. Solves all this mess. The problem is a conflict of interest between the asp and the major sponsors who fund these contests. it is not about the best surfers when you watch these things on webcast. its a surfing infomertial. there are great surfers all around the world and locals who rip but will never get into an asp event. i think the trials would bring some honesty back.

 

Im not the biggest Bobby Martinez historian, but I have read a few articles and seen some interviews with him over the past decade... So, this all KIND of makes sense to me... Here is my take, and its a shot in the dark...

Bobby was born and raised in the Ventura, Santa Barbara Area... Not sure exactly where, but his friends and family refer to it as "The Ghetto"... He grew up inland.. He didn't live by the beach... His interviews from the early 2000's show him being a soft spoken guy, who was glas to make it "out of the hood"... He basically said that all his friends are still gangsters, cause they grew up together. If you saw any old pictures of him and his boys, it looked more like a mexican mafia picture than anything related to surfing...

So, when bobby started being successful on the tour, they basically said look man, you have a niche that could be HUGE for marketing... especially in CA. He, for some time was the only mexican, maybe just hispanic pro surfer on the tour... He represented a culture and a lot of people who are not associated with surfing.... So, that was his niche... He was the non-surfers surfer.... He came froma rough upbringing, and the surf media capitalized it...

So for many years, all Bobbys sponsors, and teh tour and everything put a lot on his shoulder... Dont lash out bobby, you represent all these people... Dont yell Bobby.... DONT EVER GET VIOLENT, becase you have already admitted being a "gangster"... So he played the cards that they told him to play.... He had some success... and its over now. He was never THAT talented. He was GOOD. He couldnt keep up with the curve. His airs arent huge. His barrels arent either. He has a pretty sick backside hack, which this day in age doesnt qualify you as tour material....

So after a decade of listeneing to "the man"... He is losing sponsors... He is about to be released from the tour... He has had to "Fake it" for 10 years..... So I think all that pent up anger, mixed with this obviously trashing new MMA sponsor was the perfect time for Bobby to actually be Bobby. Bobby is a thug. Bobby is a gangster.... Bobby can't articulate himself because he never cared about school or furthered his education. He has stated that himself....

So its a shame to see, but I think this rant actual shows who bobby is deep down... He is another oppressed minority, who listened to the man, and stepped into the same cookie cutter surfers that all the rich kids from Malibu and Orange County are... and he just doesn't fit that mold. He is the only surfer (american anyway) from the streets....

You can take a dude outta the streets. You can't take the streets outta the dude! BOOM!