An open question to Swellnet.

Hey LTGTR,

For about 7 years Swellnet ran bodyboard shots as well as stand-up shots. Then, about 18 months back, we started up Fluidzone (www.fluidzone.com) as a purely BB'ing site. Take a look at FZ, the colour scheme might be different but the info (reports, forecasts, cams) is the same as Swellnet.

Doc Lachlan - keenbert, frothing man-grom from Tamarama - is the head-knob at FZ and he posts some excellent features and photos.

Cheers,
Stu

You beat me to it Stu!

Hey guys, love the site, on it everyday! Keep up the good work.

I'm not sure if this question has been asked time and time again but I am curious.

I am a bodyboarder.

By: "letthegoodtimesroll"

Mate good on you, the first step is admitting you have a problem. Now you need to get in contact with your local Bodyboarders anonymous, so that one day you can stand up in the barrel and proudly announce that you are a recovering booger.

Hi I'm thelostclimber, I'm a recovering booger, its been 13 years since my last dickdrag.

I can proudly say that after learning to stand on my own 2 feet I have never once felt the need to lie down again.
Its truly liberating to not have to walk down the beach flapping like a duck.

LTGR - I have said it before on these forums, until you are standing up on a wave you are not really the getting the full enjoyment out of it.

So take my 2 point steps to revovery
1) put the squashy 1/2 board in the cupboard
2) and get a real board.

Just like ex smokers, ex boogers have no respect for those that refuse to give up.

Thanks for listening, its such a relief to be able to share my feelings and thoughts.

Hmmm, whats Dee Why point got to do with it?

let the good times roll, nice name.
sadly mate you knew the sort of feedback you would get from this sort of website.
but don't blame the punters who are looking at it, they can't help that they have been brainwashed by the corporate magazines which try and push this hero stand up thing being 'better' than lying down or kneeling on a wave. It is a load of coddswallop.
Lid riders charge super hard and anyone with half a brain knows that, you guys get more 'barrelled' than anyone!
SO, go and enjoy your heavy kegs and have a good laugh at all the fashion victims on their quad fins and SUP's.

I hate it when punters like 1963-malibu introduce logic and common sense into forum topics like this; it puts a wet blanket all over the fun.

Hey! I'm an ex booger and I just bought a bloody quad fin. So I've been sucked in by a bloody marketing campaign? dammit!

To admit my biggest problem, I'm still trying to top my "best barrel eva!" which happened to be on a lid some years back. This is very difficult but it is good to be able to admit that publicly.

Cheers Stunet, I also regular FZ but was totally unaware of the collaboration. Now that I think about it.

By: "letthegoodtimesroll"

Sadly, this is an easy mistake to make since Fluidzone is embarrassingly inferior to Swellnet. I have complained for years that FZ does not get the same resources as SN but have long ago given up the fight and nowdays I just frequent SN like all the other boogs for the forecasts and epic lolcows. After a while you don't even notice the lame pictorials featuring cutback after cutback on pathetic waves of no-consequence.

Hi Brian.

As these things tend to drag on, then great I will respond again,thats what forums are all about.
I have had tries of friends quads, fish etc but hate them. I will never buy one.
I really don't like to talk myself up, but having been accused of thinking DY Point is an epic wave, then will justify myself. If double overhead barrels around tassie, Indo and Fiji don't count as world class then what does. I don't post photos of myself on the internet, nor do I hang out with photographers. I just go surfing for the fun, so no I have no proof.
I have never bothered paddling out at DY point. Too many dudes, too many local egos.
Anyway, I still stand by my comments having once been a booger myself. Until you learn to stand up then you just don't know what you are missing.

For those that dare to think outside of the square, consider this scenario. You've been a stand up from the start, and suddenly find yourself in an unfortunate motor vehicle accident, and for the simple logic of just trying to continue enjoying mother nature at her finest, you do whatever you have to. If you can't stand up....then lie down. At least your still out there, and living the dream. Maybe it's not what you want to do,or used to do, but sometimes life sucks.
You can still get tubes, and maybe even put a bit of a smile on the face of someone who otherwise would prefer to just jump off a bridge. Don't be so hard on those that ride waves lying down. Sometimes there's a reason why they do that.

one of the main attractions of bodyboarding for me is that once you are familiar with the local reefs (wave selection, positioning in the lineup etc), you no longer have to go out on a regular basis to be able to ride quality waves. I know that as long as my fitness is maintained at a reasonable level from doing a few push ups and weights etc that i can blow the dust off the boog and head out any day of the year, even if i haven't been in the water for several months. I can only assume that standups would need to hit the water far more regularly to maintain the skills required to ride larger hollower waves - please correct me there if i'm wrong

Yeah standups have to surf more.

Bummer eh.

Darn, more logic in this forum topic this time from waxer. I have to say I like the line "At least your (you're) stil out there, and living the dream".

Yea Floyd, i would give 'ANYTHING' to turn back time, but that dream is not an option. So i do what i can, and have ZERO tolerance for the self declared Einsteins that boldly declare that only "stand ups" can truly appreciate surfing.
What an absolute load of garbage.
NUF SAID

Fair enough Waxer, if your legs have been crushed and are of no use to you anymore I can see your point.
As a youngster in the mid-70's , I had an enormous amount of respect for a goat boater that surfed Bells, he only had one leg. I was in awe years later when I met a guy a J/bay that surfed with only one leg.

There is no difference to the stoke if you are lying down, sitting up, kneeling or standing. It is all about the wave, and being on it, or preferably IN IT!
Go Boogers, you guys charge.

My vehicle of preference changes depending on the waves i am looking at.

there is a guy down here with only 1 leg. he still rides his long board as best he can.

But hey,

Don't take it lying down. You guys have a right to stand up for yourselves.

Yeah standups have to surf more.

Bummer eh.

By: "benski"

sarcasm noted, though my point is that i like to have the choice of how often i hit the water. Though there is no longer any enjoyment for me in shivering in crowded small lineups, i in no way am judging those that do get enjoyment from such situations as i was a teenage grom once myself. These days activities such as sleeping in seem far more appealing than getting up for the early when its 2 foot.

These days activities such as sleeping in seem far more appealing than getting up for the early when its 2 foot.

By: "scoopmaster"

That's where having a varying quiver helps.

Sometimes you get frustrated on your normal equipment if it's too big/small/fat/big/hollow if it's not suited to the conditions thrown at you, but if you have a good quiver, you can have just as much fun in 1-2ft fat surf as a hollow 4-6ft reef break.

A couple of knee injuries made me realise how much fun you can have in certain waves on different equipment, and it keep me frothing for the early, even if it is only 2ft!

Still haven't gone the boog but :p

Oh i get it. Why make the effort to stand up when you can get the same result with very little effort? Kinda like using a calculator to do math. Why do people climb mountains anyway,you could land on top in a helicopter and get the same result hey! Its great that people that arent willing to make the effort can get the same waves as me....silly me for wanting a challenge!

good point there craig re a full quiver. I kinda look at it a different way and over the years have preferred to go spearfishing/fishing/mountain biking etc when the surf does not meet my expectations, and then go bodyboarding when the waves are good. Why fight nature, it's easier to have alternate activities to make the most of whatever ocean conditions are prevailing at the time.

If my legs got crushed i think i would honestly rather kneeboard, much easier to paddle with no fins/legs, plus kneeboarders sit perfectly in the barrel, while on a booger your too low ya gotta keep ya head up otherwise you often get spray in the eyes.

I grew up on a fickle coast that had some quality super sucky short bare rock kinda reefs that rarely got over two foot, after knocking out a few fins and getting cut up and not really making the most of the waves, instead of not surfin I use to booger on them and stand up when there was proper waves, so i know what both are like and the only way i cant describe it is.

Riding a bogger is like masturbation its still good it will get you by especially as a grommet, but its not the real deal while standing up is like makeing love, and once you have experienced sex or standing up its hard not to want more but if you have no choice well yeah.

Hence why many guys go from being a booger to stand up but rarely if ever does a stand up turn to a full time booger.

My personal response to indo-dreaming is predictable, hence probably unnecessary, but the mindset associated with such comments can be sometimes hard to take. I really did not want to get into a situation/discussion where one's personal surfing preferences are seen to be more desirable over anothers preferences. You can have these strong emotions over what you prefer to do to enjoy Mother Nature (stand: boogie: windsurf/whatever), but at the end of the day, it's all about being in the ocean and being/feeling/enjoying the waves.

What is all this bulls#*% about standing up being SUPERIOR to lying down, or windsurfing or whatever????? Just get over it, and put your energy into a more productive mode.

I don't know about superior, but I can't help but look at someone body boarding and thinking to myself 'That is the most boring thing I have ever seen.' Sure, some bodyboarders get out and surf waves that are just insanely stupid, but most of the boydboarders I see are surfing the same waves I am, which lately have been long and fun but by no means of consequence. For example, a series of points down this way lit up a while ago on a big swell and produced some truly long and exceptional rides, despite only offering the rarest of cover ups and generally being quite fat. There was a few bodyboarders in the mix who were quite apt at ignoring etiquette who continued to snake the crowd on the inside. After watching them a few times and letting it slide (pun??) I couldn't help but notice that all they bodyboarders could manage was to take off, grimace, and just bounce down the line. The repertoire, if I may be so pompous, of their surfing was miniscule with little to no challenge present (at least to my eyes). This is not to say that surfing needs to be challenging, but one of the reasons I like surfing is the constant engagement with the wave, cutting back, moving forward on the board to find trim, etc etc etc.. All things present in bodyboarding I am sure, but to a much lesser degree.

Dont get me wrong waxer...I think boogers have there place, in real heavy shallow crazy reefs or shorebreaks, but i totally agree with what dandandan has said in everyday waves there just not suited to the conditions, just like a fish isn't suited to 10 foot kegs (unless your Tom curren) or a mal isn't suited to short one turn kinda waves.

Im just telling it as it is and unless you can ride both a booger and stick to a decent level where you can compare the two you will never know.

Im actually all for the ride what suits the conditions thing and am even planning to add a kneeboard to my Indo quiver purely for surfing indo barrels, after seeing guys on them get deeper and longer tubes than ive seen any stand up or booger.

No dramas indo, and no offense taken. All good. Just enjoy the ride.

Yeah this is a pretty pointless discussion that has been had in person about 1000 times a year since Tom Morey hit the scene and another 1000 times a year web forums, but I will engage with a fairly typical reply.

Firstly, it really doesn't matter what someone rides and if you think it does then you seriously need your head read. If someone chooses to ride a booger over a standup, seriously who cares. You might as well criticse tennis players because they play with a raquet instead of being real men and using their barehands like the kids playing handball at school. It's just as ridiculous.

And the other thing, is that fun can be had in a variety of ways. One of the funnest things on a booger is getting out when it's big and fat and clean. The glide you feel on a booger when it's 8 foot plus and fat is totally different from a standup, your entire body is more engaged in it because you're using your entire prone body to drive your turns. It's not challenging of course, but it's a wonderful speedy feel carving arcing turns with your entire body. I can tell you, it's also bloody fun doing it on a short board and a long board. They're all good fun and all completely different. I appreciate them all but these days prefer standing up. Others prefer lying down, but seriously, who really gives a shit what someone else does to enjoy themselves?

there is only 1 way to have fun lying down, and sometimes even thats better when standing up.

Yes, true, we shouldn't care what others ride. I am a big believer in that surfing is just a bit of fun (a soul destroying, relationship ruining, all consuming obstacle to everything else in life bit of fun) but sadly I can't help but be of the opinion that bodyboarding is just a bit.. something... boring is probably the best answer. I feel a small sense of shame in saying this, but when I see a bodyboarder cruising along a fat long pointbreak I feel I am somehow more deserving of the wave than they are. I'm sure it's the same way alot of better surfers feel when they see me get wave of the day, flailing my arms about like I'm sort of air traffic controller and turning what could have been a ten second barrell into the tiniest of cover ups. Still, if you are a bodyboarder who dreams of surfing the points down this way, I apologise in advance for all the burnings you will receive.

I'm just gunna throw my mat in the ring.Can't get airs, rupture ensues, but for a high speed barrel run, yeeeeeeha concave convex whatever bottom profile I want I can get and change as I surf.
You can't play golf with only a putter change your sticks as you change your wave!
An ignore the critics, Do what you want to do be what you want to be.
And keep your personal limitations and opinions off me.

Man you guys are so mean to boogers...they are so styley, my favourite moves to see are thats spinny mcflurry 360 thing down the wave face and those awesome elbow backs (like cutback but with yr elbows on the rail) siiick, gets me frothing everytime haha