Margaret River Pro: Finals Day
Margaret River Pro: Finals Day
Lopsided encounters in wonky 6-8ft Mainbreak defined Finals Day today, with the potential of juicy match-ups generally not translating into meaningful competition.
Event winner Gabe Medina looked strong from the opening ride, which was the first of the day, a three-turner for a 6.33. He sealed it with carves into the lip line for a 7.67 which defeated a hapless Toledo whose legs seemed to surrender like warm custard in the morning lump and bump.
It was Medina's superior leg strength which really set his path to victory - the ability to sit down on an extended bottom turn drive until the section presented itself. His preparation, two physical trainers from hometown Mareisas for physical conditioning and Coach King for mental/moral support is looking like an incredibly strong combination to take into the back half of the tour.
Gabe (Photo WSL/Miers)
Completely unrelated but the importance now of physical conditioning and strength (big turns win heats, especially at Margaret River) has changed my thinking about the potential advantage of PED's in pro surfing. You could literally see the advantage of holding a rail and turning bigger, withstanding the impact and G-forces of colliding with the end section and it would be no great stretch to imagine how even a tiny physical advantage gained by pharmacological means would mean heat wins. Not that I am suggesting anyone on tour is juicing, just that pro surfing would be no outlier as a pro sport where that would confer an unfair advantage.
Joao Chianca will wear yellow to Lemoore, but he did not look strong and in control. His points came from tail release and exuberance in hitting the end section against Connor O'Leary who could not find a decent wave to answer back. A common theme.
Joao (Photo WSL/Hughes)
Joao almost won his Semi-Final, engaging Medina in the old dark arts of hassling and unwarranted aggression scrapping for priority. They spent half the heat out of position, duckdiving sets, paddling back and forth trying to psyche each other out. Medina's ego and sense of wounded machismo has always been his Achilles heel, costing him the 2019 World Title which he could have wrapped up in Portugal if not for a massive error against Caio Ibelli. Eventually, the New Medina settled into surfing and with a minute remaining cooly iced the heat-winning wave.
We all wanted to see Ethan vs John. It was not a competitive heat. John picked better waves - mid-sizers on the bowl and lacerated them with huge turns. Ewing could not compete, turn for turn, caught crappy waves and had an “old” Ewing heat. One where he fell apart. I did detect a little more sting in the John John attack, perhaps a bit of wounded pride seeking retribution after the implication Ewing was now the man out at Mainbreak.
John (Photo WSL/Hughes)
If pride was restored for the main man at Mainbreak, then it was quickly humbled in his Semi with Griff. John explained later that the strategy was to get some mid-range scores on the board early and then attack. Which he did, although judges were suddenly hesitant at giving single turn waves more than a 5, which is fair enough. While we were contemplating the beautiful record and waiting for the fireworks, Griff spiked a set with three turns and a closeout hit for an 8.50. Eyebrows went up at the score. Minutes later he rode the biggest and bowliest wave of the heat with a big, clean carving top turn and a tail release, then an early hit on the end section. The 9 seemed an even bigger over-score to me and with John in a heavy combination the heat was essentially over, both by lack of waves and over-cooked scoring. Three Finals have been dominated by John: 2012, 2017, and 2019, while last years loss was a split decision. The only other thing to defeat John at Mainbreak is the dicky knee.
It was a shock to see him forlornly looking out to sea after being combo-ed.
Griff (Photo WSL/Miers)
“Like trying to run in a nightmare,” was how Ronnie Blakey described the often impotent attempts to outrun the end section convergence. It described perfectly Bronte Macauley's entire heat. She could not fire a shot and a conservative but solid heat from Carissa Moore was enough to progress to the Final.
Caz Marks did slightly better in her Semi against Tyler Wright, but an 8.50 dished out by the judges for a great wave but safe surfing also made the heat essentially uncompetitive.
Tyler (Photo WSL/Hughes)
Competitive integrity. Is that just a hopelessly naïve concept in pro surfing?
They sure weren't trumpeting the GOAT wildcard today on the webby. One single mention during the entire day. Even the most reliable sycophant in pro surfing, Joe Turpel, could not rouse any enthusiasm for the announcement.
The cornerstone of professional sport is fair competition. Aspirants work their way up through qualifying events, make the main tour and when they are no longer competitive, they retire - either on their own terms (rarely) or by failing to qualify at the elite level of competition. That makes way for the next crop to come through to compete at the elite level. People who have qualified via fair competition and deserve their crack at it.
Slater himself said, if they wanted his spot on tour, they would have to come and take it off him.
Well they did. A mild mannered engineering student named Liam O’Brien came and took it off him, fair and square.
Instead of respecting the competitive architecture of the sport which has given him a livelihood for thirty years Slater has chosen to make a mockery of it. And deny those below him who have earned their right to a fair crack at it. Yes, it's a private league and they can do whatever they damn well want, make up whatever rules they want as they go along.
They should keep a little eye over their shoulder though, especially at the taxpayers who bankroll the sport via government tourism funding. They are prone to long memories and vengeful attitudes to those who play them for suckers. Dispense with fair competition at your peril.
The Finals were not really competitive either, although oddly, despite being on the end of dominant performances both runners up had heat winning waves at their disposal in the last minute.
Griff was smoked really, by Gabe Medina's extended sat down bottom turns to lip explosions, even if some of the following turns were kooky and awkward. He stayed on his feet and forced judges to pay the high moments of the ride.
Needing a 9-plus ride Griff suckered Gabe into a wave and then stroked into a doubled-up blue wall, very remiscent of the double-up Carissa got against Lakey Peterson. It threw out perfectly and stayed open, but Griff dodged the tube and went around it, laying into a turn and getting smashed on the closeout. That was a 10-point ride if he pulled in.
Tyler's opportunity was less dramatic. The wind had finally swung southerly and in rapidly deteriorating conditions she only needed a 6.
She got the wave and only needed two clean turns for the score. She flubbed it and the reaction from brother Mikey on the stairs said it all. He jumped to his feet with his head clutched in his hands. She'd blown it. Carissa had won another heat, this time the Final, with essentially safety surfing. That's all it took.
Gabe is back, into “competitive mode” in his own words but the personal transformation is now complete. From old fashioned heel – loathed by many - to good guy. Loved by all.
Andy King and Gabe (Photo WSL/Hughes)
His presser speech was peppered with feel good words and phrases: “friends", "taking care of each other", "appreciating the journey", "feels amazing"” etc etc. And it all sounded genuine and not a bit corny.
Not at all like Slater's post-heat presser the other day when a sporting public sold on the (fake) drama of the cut watched a smug, grinning Slater who clearly knew he was exempt from the cut told us he might be at Surf Ranch because “he knew a guy”.
Weak sauce and, until he gets his shot, #JusticeforRamzi.
// STEVE SHEARER
Comments
Great to see. Tour’s a whole lot better when gabe’s surfing well
On a side note, can someone explain how the recent WSL rule change (ie only past champs collecting post-cut points) grants Kelly the season wildcard?
Great stuff FR. Interesting EE's coach advised the 'catch more waves' tactic as a change up for the JJF heat when he was smashing it playing the patient game. Time for a new coach.
Hey Steve. I’ve been on here for ten years but never felt the need to contribute to the comments.. your event summaries are epic! I just about enjoy them as much as watching the comp!
I'll go one step further.
I rarely enjoy watching comps. If I tune in these days, it's mostly so I will know what FR is going on about.
(No relation, I promise.)
Agreed. He writes very well.
That pic of Griff is pretty critical. Did he make it?
no, was very close tho
I'm pretty certain he did.
He made most of them. Almost became his signature finish.
I cant for the life of me see how Kelly can possibly make the Olympics as i guess thats what all this wild card inclusion is all about....as someone once said ..'Tell him he's dreamin '...
John John injured himself, Kelly goes half decent at is pond and in Tahiti. Seth bombs - done.
Baron mamiya and Ian Gentiil have both made the cut and ranked above (obviously) slater.
Mmm good point. All the more reason this wildcard for Kelly is so unfair to the rest of the surfers who made the cut.
There surely must be strong feelings of resentment towards Slater from other CT surfers. The whole thing’s farcical.
Has to be for sure. It’s also not his first time being gifted entry. He has previously had injury wildcard (cough cough)
no more farcical than Sally 2 sheds getting one last year .....
GM's explosives snaps off the top (edit: in the final, didnt bother watching anything else) and his end section gravity defying closeout hits were unreal; may have been a bit wonky off the bottom, but can you blame any goofy for looking a little kooky dealing with the worble on the sets today..Serious power in that mans legs. Great to see the big fella back winning. Nice wrap up mate
Loved how you changed gears and got all salty. Smugly playing people for suckers can only go on for so long. Pride goes before the fall.
So good to see Gabe back in winning form.
Cracked the top 500 , usually sitting around 20,000 haha
FR, I think a paragraph or 3 highlighting the great fashion contribution Rabbit is bringing to the booth is needed. The eye game many of these surfers have also needs mentioned…..surely, Flicks dresses were on point. WSL is more than surfing these days. It’s a lifestyle.
FR , awesome words as usual . Your perception of the whole pro surfing circus and all its players is quite amazing .
It’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it …Kelly needs help , the GOAT ain’t well in the head .
Hard to disagree with you Steve regarding Slater's wildcard but I'm gonna try. I can see why they did it. What do you do with the guy who for three decades was probably bigger than the sport itself? Give him an ignominious exit in the mid year cut at Margies or give him a lap of honour? The guy that's put more bums on seats than anyone ever, that's beaten generations of the world's best and is still standing, still competitive, willing and capable of one more trip around the block. It's harsh on the other wildcard contenders for sure, but Slater is the exceptional exception. If they did it for Sally, how could they not do it for him? I'm pretty sure those taxpayer funded sponsors would feel likewise and not be feeling suckered, he's still a huge draw card and probably the only name they recognise instantly.
Giving a spot to Sally was mocking, a farewell tour for the GOAT is fitting considering the alternative. If I was Elo, God forbid, I would have given it to him. For all we know he gets on a tear and re-qualifies, or wins again at Chopes or Pipe, or makes it to the Olympics. Doubtful but I still like watching him try. I still try to catch all his heats, good or bad, been doing it for thirty odd years now, and willing to for one more. Pretty sure I'm not alone there.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Great write up as usual.
Agree with most of this and there wasn’t really another person who was below the line (and not injured) who was really putting in major performances.
The farce comes into play for the fact that he gets to go right up to Margie’s again next year and get cut again just like Sally. If he doesn’t compete on the CT next year and Ramzi gets a shot then it’s isn’t such a bad outcome.
When you look at it that way it's all true. That could've gifted him a spot in the last two events as a swan song but it is a business after all and do I ever need to see Ramzi surf again??? no....Slater? He actually had two of the most interesting turns of this comp which is wild for a 50 year old. I wonder if he will become surfing's Ricky Henderson toiling in some obscure contests until he's physically unable to surf still thinking he can make it back to the bigs...
Mick and Parko still surf pretty good - they meet the criteria of former CT winners - should they get wildcards into 23/24 ?
Morgan C was a previous top five finalist - he got cut last year ?
Maybe there is a longer form WSL rule somewhere…..must be former winner, be of shinny dome, over 50, over active on socials, have won 11 titles, been on Baywatch, slept with Pay…..
He can't get off the tour - thinks it is all about him. Over rated by a long way. Should have left the tour years ago. Get rid of wildcards - should have to be earnt not given. The WSL is crap now - I don't watch it anymore. Yanks stuff most things up.
Loved the write ups. Absolutely better than the comps.
Medina was too good. Not stoked with the slater wildcard , the instant qualification for the first half 2024 is BS. I’m sure they’ll edit the 2024 season too and it’ll be in his favour.
Hope the new crew send him packing for the rest of the year. What he is doing at 51 is amazing but still needed to qualify by himself.
Won’t be watching the pool comp but will read about it on here.
Can a write up about a comp be better than the comp itself, when the write up can't happen without the comp?
Imo…Yes
The write up is enjoyable to read aswell as these comments of members sharing their 2 cents .
The comp is frustrating when you just want to watch the pros tear the bag out of it but they cut to Shit interviews or an advert at the worst possible time.
The forecast is out of the WSLs control but what they do control they don’t do very well.
Therefore I find the write ups better than the comp
Up to your finest again FR.
I honestly think your contest reports are slowly sliding up into the upper echelons of pro surfing journalism that's ever come. It's honest and nothing can top that. And i've read many over the years.
So thankyou whole heartedly. It cannot be easy to put yourself out there as a target to criticism but it's so finely honed and fair. And you cop the criticism with aplomb.
My 5 takeaways from Margs:
1: People didn't move to Margaret river over the last 60 years for the Margaret River Right. You may have noticed all the closeout sets breaking on their heads all day today. Yep. Well they were the Margs lefts. Mind boggling how the left is ignored and discouraged by the pros and judges. Yes there's a right off the left...and it can be good....but Margs is a left!! FFS!!!!
2: Get a fucken bigger board!! There's nothing i saw a 6'2 do today that a 6'8" couldn't do better. Cover ground, catch waves, hold lines.....etc..or if youre not keen to go up in length....how about....
3: Gabbys Board: Anyone notice how Gabs boards are wider, thicker and how much easier it was for him to paddle in behind the peak in big bumpy conditions? His board allows him to make different decisions on how to negotiate a big bumpy unruly lineup because when he paddles in and stands up, they stay stable and don't get bucked around by the bump, hence plane better..more speed.. He won that final before he paddled out.
4: Carissa. She's been up around the top for a long time, and sometimes it seems the judges might milk her angling on big waves as opposed to critical turns, but.....she put in more time than anyone in Hawaii over the last Hawaiian winter. It was clear her confidence at Margs this year outmatched every single contender. Huge props to her for being one of the only women so far that i've seen on the world tour who has stepped up to the challenge of waves of consequence. She's a new favourite for mine thats for sure. Onya Riss.
5: 10foot set. It's 10 foot on the sets. Flick tells us the sets are no good and go fat, Richie tells us you gotta catch the in betweeners because thats where the scores are,....but then a 10foot wave rifles across the reef. That's because Margs is a big wave break. The biggest sets will always have one absolute smoker in the mix. But you wont catch them on a 6'2" let alone perform. And you won't catch them if you don't go sit 50m further out off the reef. It wasn't like it wasn't consistent. Most of the heats were spent watching a duckdive contest.
So many proper beasts went unridden but duckdived today. Surf fans dont want to watch the in betweeners ridden. Not at a big wave spot!
Sort that shit out. I'd rather see a biiiig steep drop and one or two big turns than this ridiculous 3 turn combination to the closeout just for the sake of getting a score. That's not how any of us surf..is it?
Anyway, that's my unqualified 2cents worth. :-)
Big green tick from me SR to all points
I`ll chuck in a tick too.
Good post.
check 3
And another one from me. Good stuff, SR.
Very good points made there SR.
Although I notice you let Steve off the hook for his negative comments about KS :-0
To play devils advocate:
a) Carissa has been juiced for so long. I agree she is probably has the most rounded skill on tour but surfs so safely, seems to rarely show her potential. I’d also argue that of course she’s spent more time surfing Hawaii as she is Hawaiian, that is her home.
b) I’d also like to see them taking off on the biggest waves but paddling out on big boards just to take a drop isn’t that exciting from a viewing perspective. It’s also not as great a skill, you see it all the time at places like sunset / Margie’s - older crew with their rhino chasers sitting way out just to take the drop.
The criteria forces the pros to do more on a wave. I do take your point about having a couple of extra inches to iron out the bumps, hold the rail etc .
c) I really like Flick’s commentary and knowledge. Agree with her mostly.
6'8s wont turn the same for sharp direction changes and gabe is very strong
Geez gonna have to completely disagree with you there.
A good 6'8" will put you in way more critical positions on a big heaving wall than anything under 6'2" could do.
Fark, i'd be happy to see a 7'4 thrown around in those waves.
I can't imagine a good surfer from any generation would have trouble putting up big turns on big sections on a big board in those kind of biggish waves.
Wholeheartedly agree Mr southernraw
I agree with Griff being overscored against JJF.
The scales seemed consistently out of wack. Griff was overscored against John. John was overscored against Ethan (not that the final results in either of those heats were wrong, but it ruins the contest when the score needed by the losing surfer seems unreasonably high, but the quality of the wave needed is not so high).
Gabby was just overscored.
I agree. Lots of over scoring. For example, John vs Griffin. I'd give John's 1st 5.5 scoring wave a 4 to 4.5 max and 2nd 5.77 wave 4.5 to 5.0 max. Griffin's two 8.5 & 9.0 waves were 6.5 & 8.0 (max).
Lots of good points there SR . I first surfed MR in 82 and when we pulled up it was slightly onshore and nobody out which made it hard to judge how big it was . We paddled out and it was a pretty solid 8ft and we were only going left . Too hard paddling back out if going right as it was really consistent . It will be great if they keep going at this event and get a consistent 12-15 ft swell , might see a few go left then . Lots of better waves around but keep it at mainbreak and let the locals enjoy those other waves .
On the left v right point, my eldest grom suggested they're all going right due to the jetski ride back out. You would not want to go right and have to paddle back out through that close-out section.
Sure you could go across the reef and paddle around the left...
You're wrong about steroids. If you're on steroids you're a lot heavier, would have to use a bigger board and burn much more oxygen to feed that muscle. None of that translates to better surfing.
Being strong whilst staying at a natural weight definately is advantageous, but you're not going to see any 100kg freak athletes light up surfing ever.
I'm an everyday surfer now and physically I'm way less athletic than when I surfed less and went to the gym as well.
Don’t think he said steroids?
PEDs means performance enhancing drugs so not specifically steroids.
HGH and other peptides for example. Blood doping and EPO etc
In the context of the article the author was referring to 'leg strength'. EPO will not make your legs more powerful, blood doping either, steroids will and have since 1950. HGH and peptides to a lesser extent but the same thing, you'll gain weight which is counter productive to surfing IMO and experience.
As others said, I think he's not necessarily talking about drugs that make you look like a hulking buff. There are other types of enhancements.
Like putting boobs on Slater so he can get his 12th?
I shouldn't laugh but did.
Gold Soggy.
oh shit i haven't giggled like that since my first hash cookie
thank you soggy
The pointy end of the competition is sharper than sea urchins, apex predators circle each other looking for a sign of weakness, a lapse in vigilance, turning the screws on the top5 pressure cooker. Legit sporting gold.
Where are we off to next? Samesames oh good grief.
Onya Steve
`the most reliable sycophant in pro surfing, Joe Turpel,` ha ha!
These write ups have been such a great read.
It’s interesting to read people complaining about Ramzi not getting a shot but most have never seen him surf.
We’ve all seen Kelly and will continue to watch him, as we should, as he still fucking rips.
He is the sport and retiring after a gold at the next Olympics… who wouldn’t want to see that?
It was a great viewing event at Margaret’s and my bet on Gabby to win this years title now feels pretty likely.
I've watched Ramzi's efforts to get onto the tour for the past few seasons. At the end of last year, seeing him get on was a highlight of the whole thing. He rips.
Kelly will not surf in the Olympics.
Well done Fr 76. I also spend more time listening to you speak from the pulpit than watching the action/ getting bombarded by ads. I've been getting Google Chrome to speak the entire page and listening to the comments is suprisingly bearable. juegasiempre's name is pronounced in another voice too which is cool.
Totally agree on S-later and Medina. Actually all of it. Everybody seems to be on "great let the goat keep surfing". should've got a wildcard to chopes or cloudy whatver the last comp is and that's it.
The only turns I remember from the comp were slaters vertical ones then johns and then ummm, what’s their names again?
Italos air
Medina was cracking
Griff had some crazy finishes
Joao getting tubed
E Ew rail game
...pay attention it was kinda great until the last day
A gift 5th spot to Slater at Trestles possibly..
Re Slater's wildcard and general preferential treatment, I get what some of you are saying: it's a business, and he's the drawcard; he's earned such and such; the GOAT, etc.
However, once you start being a little dishonest, tweaking the rule book to fit your business plans, the rot sets in and it all start getting a little seedy.
When those that played by the book and did a ton of hard work get left behind, while the Woz shrugs its shoulders, the game is up.
The truth will set you free, and dishonesty will definitely leave you foundering diminished.
That ship sailed long ago.
You might have missed it, the World Championship is now decided in a single day at Trestles. the whole thing is a farce.
The Tour has no integrity. Slater getting a wildcard is a long long way down the list of problems in terms of legitimacy/integrity.
Well aware of the points you made. My words were aimed at those who support Slater's wildcard without considering the deeper implications.
How low an IQ does a person need to actually follow this tripe.
It’s a tiny step above pro wrestling.
The unfortunate reality is the goat is a bit of douchebag and doesn't care about giving some else a go.
Yep
Feels like that was the worst Margs finals day in years.
Hope they push it back to the first week in May next year.
Feels like that was the worst Margs finals day in years.
Hope they push it back to the first week in May next year.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Weird un-researched rant and mention of performance enhancing drugs and surfing at the start of the piece. Bit of an unwarranted uneducated mud sling . What kind of seed is trying to be planted here and why ? . I suggest researching PED’s , resulting muscle growth, effects on balance and rigidity ; before promoting their use for our sport.
promoting them?
The Woz was saved further scrutiny and judgement of their decision making for the wildcards when Liam O’Brien just went out and requalified after his injury. Probably won’t get the same outcome again after they completely dismissed a valid injury wildcard for Ramzi.
An indictment on their woke PR equality campaign if I’ve ever seen one.
Anyone suggest he may have been more successful if he wasn’t an older journeyman from a marginal growth area country? Imagine a Chinese 19yo…
ELo wouldn’t be able to resist.
Should do an article on Ramzi, great surfer that has been hard done by imo by the wsl.....
He'll get next year's Injury Wildcard.
Or at least he better...
Slater is less contentious that Defay this year or Sally last year, strangely Sally is surfing better this year
I don't know about everyone else but i preferred pro surfing in the day when boys were boys and girls were girls.
When the season ended at Pipe
When the triple crown wasn't decided on social media
Fiji was apart of the schedule
Points accumulated determined the world champ. Not decided at onshore slop in Trestles.
No mid season cut
No wave pool
And when they had the balls to run it at The Box when it was firing.
Not too hard to work out
These days i only watch selected highlights of heats on YouTube and read the write ups on Swellnet
I'm not going to waste my time with what Elo is turning pro surfing into
Wandi - straight to the pool room with those observations .
Selection changes this week - Out ELO , in Wandi !
Missed the comp yesterday, just watched a few heat analyzers, looked solid but funky and pretty boring surfing even in the finals.
Can someone tell me why Defay is undeserving?
Was she not injured all year and clearly on her form from last year you’d think she would have qualified had she been fit if?
Yep she was injured.
Defiinitely deserving of her place.
Congratulations for everyone's fav Comp Guy Steve on making the Cut...
Crew are also hootin' that Freeride76 got The Wild Card...Yew!
Freeride76 : "Just in case Steve accidentally on purpose presses full flush at the Wave Pool Comps!"
Cue a few middle of the road Official Comp tunes to celebrate...enjoy!
Official WSL Cut Breakup Tearjerking Anthem
Official Cut Wild Card Anthem
Official WSL Kooks Cut loose Anthem
Great write up again Steve!
I agree with your comment that integrity in sport is of the utmost importance. WSL will have to wear that one. Slater isn't the evil one here. He's just doing what he does, getting the best out of any situation. Just like everyone else on the planet does.
Slater has always been elusive and cryptic, why would you expect him to change? Probably one of the most competitive guys on the planet so you know he is always playing the game. I respect his reluctance to give away his intentions and secretes, as he has every right to do so without criticism. He doesn't need to explain himself to anyone, (nor does anyone else for that matter.)
Regarding your statement that Slater has made a good living from Surfing for the past 30 years.
I would say Slater has provided Surfing with a living for the past 30 years. The guy IS pro-surfing.
He not only pushed the competitive side of surfing to another level, he made it a truly Professional sport. All this, many times over, in the last 30 years.
Every surfer today owes Slater some gratitude for what he showed is possible on a wave. [Even those who like the idea of surfing a door!]
and yeah, he is getting old but I he is still doing things today that no other pro surfers can do.
Like the Vertical Reo at 1.30 he did at Margies last week, I didn't see a single reo close to that.
Slater is bored with standard surfing...that is so fucking obvious. He is still looking at drawing new lines on waves that most people can't comprehend. He needs to ride weird boards and do crazy lines just to get excited. Makes sense as he has mastered well....everything.
One more point on him being too old. Pipe master win last year? How many pros go their whole life without ever winning a CT comp? Well most of them to be honest. Slater wins one again last year so that kills that too old statement. He would still be in the top 5 if the comps were held in big heavy surf as proven by his yearly performances at Pipe and Teaopoo.
Slater is too old for 2-3ft mushburgers but is that we measure the best surfers in the world?
I think the failure to deal with/ make sense of Slater is not uncommon. You either love him or hate him and that's fair enough. Either way, NONE of us truly know what it's like to be him so how about we cut him some slack with the constant negative judgments??
Although it seems to make it sound a bit ego driven - It's best to say " If I were in that position, here is what I would do" as judging others for their actions without living that persons life is just not that straight forward.
Same goes for ELO. Personally I hate where he has taken Pro Surfing but he is still a human.
Have a look at the event recently where Kaipo was talking to ELO about mental health. It was straight from the heart and was done very well.
Elo has to toe the corporate line to keep his job. Maybe he likes this job and despite everyone hating on him, he may actually be trying to do his best under almost impossible circumstances. He has certainly tried a bunch of ideas and even though they all failed, it means he is trying. No other Surfing CEO has helped surfing cross the line to the big-time so I can't see him as a failure in that aspect.
Ok Ratso, you make some good points, Kelly must laugh when they pull 'innovative moves' he patented decades ago but my counterpoint to you is, if he's such an inspiration to the generations of Surfers that follow him then where are mainland USA at for competitive Surfers? Well stacked on the ladies side clearly but aside from world class Griffin it's a vacuum on the men's not much talent banging for Olympic selection and this whole wsl circus is built for that market.
Strange conundrum, Kelly's legacy is a pro surfing wasteland?
Anyway that's it from me on this subject it's done to death now
Every elite athlete in every sport will gain an advantage from PEDs.
Lean muscle mass, faster recovery, more fitness, ability to surf more leading to improvements in your surfing.
With millions on the line for the elite and not much for anyone outside the top 10 and with no drug testing regime you’d be an idiot not to use them.
Nice to see Medina with a genuine smile on his face, really like his backhand
But wow isn’t he one of the fittest guys on tour
Nice to see Medina with a genuine smile on his face, really like his backhand
But wow isn’t he one of the fittest guys on tour
People who use steroids and train and eat like bodybuilders will grow to resemble bodybuilders
Depending on your diet and training regime they can also make you strong and lean, which is what you want
Marion jones was 1.78m 68kg and on the juice.
I’m not an advocate and have never used them but when your 14yo is well informed about who uses them at the gym, safe to say their usage is widespread
What was North Point like when Margs contest was running? A better spectacle?