Freemasons & Kneeboarders
Last year I wrote a short and mildly facetious article about becoming a waterman. The gist of the piece - which accompanied a spread of kneeboarding photos - was that I could adopt a waterman persona by adding a kneeboard to my quiver. This, as opposed to the tired old fish/alaia/SUP routine that is so often trotted out.
Within hours of posting it I received a call from Steen Barnes - a prince of a man if ever I've met one - asking if I was serious about giving kneeboarding a go. I told him that indeed I was, I've always been fascinated by kneelos and the places they can go in sucky waves. He instantly made me an offer: I could borrow one of his kneelos and quench my curiousity.
Now, my curiousity was sincere but I must admit to also harbouring an ulterior motive when I said yes to Steen's offer. You see, I smelt a story. I planned to surf that kneelo and pen some words on how riding alternative craft had changed my surfing outlook. I felt like a scientist predicting the outcome of an experiment before it happened.
Thing is, after giving kneeboarding a decent shot, my surfing outlook did change, though not in the way I was expecting.
The following week I drove to Wollongong and picked up the board from Steen - a fluoro green number shaped by David Parkes. For those who don't know him, Steen is a central figure in the Gong kneelo community. He's an organiser and documenter of the kneeboard scene. He makes his couch available to any kneelo passing through town, photographs all the kneeboard happenings, and has an incredible collection of old kneeboards (including a Greenough velo). He's a passionate fellow.
And he has a passionate troupe of performers surrounding him: Chayne Simpson, Albert Munoz, Gav Coleman. The more I found out about them the more it felt like there was a movement, a push, a cohesive unit of like-minded individuals that is rarely found in surfing - stand-up surfing - these days.
My first kneelo session was a solo go-out in six foot closeouts at Green Hills, Cronulla. The attraction was instantly obvious; late drops were handled with aplomb, and it was easy to squeeze in and around the pocket. The feeling was new and I had a blast.
The fact I surfed alone wasn't accidental however. Call me insecure but I was reluctant to paddle out my local on a kneelo. In my defence, part of it was that The Point doesn't break that often so to make the most of it I needed to be on familiar equipment. But then I also knew what the reaction would be and I balked. Kneeboarding is yet to be accepted by the arbiters of cool and, to my surprise, peer pressure was playing a part.
My doubts on how a late-blooming kneelo would be accepted were confirmed a week later. After finishing a session I bumped into a mate in the carpark and showed him what I'd been riding. "What are you riding one of those for?!" he spat. The prejudice apparent, but you don't really notice it till you're on the other end.
The reaction from other kneelos was altogether different. Once, while surfing at Woonona, another kneelo sought me out and we had a chat like we were the only two in the water. It felt conspiratorial and reminded me of when I owned a Kombi and other Kombi drivers would throw a peace sign when passing them on the road. Like a secret society.
Surfers often talk of being a tribe yet riding a kneelo was one of the few times I actually felt part of one. There was a sense of camaraderie that the oldboys claim existed in surfing but which is altogether missing now, lost in surfing's inexorable cultural expansion.
A few months back I began surfing Sydney's Northern Beaches more often and I thought I'd begin riding the kneelo more often too. After all, I don't know anyone in the water there so I don't care what people think. Yet, aside from a few sessions at Winki (a great kneelo wave by the way), I haven't been riding the kneeboard much. Steen's board is slowly moving to the back of the rack and I had to wonder why.
It dawned on me that, despite the function of kneeboards and the warmth of their brotherhood, I quite like riding shortboards. I realised I'm content attempting to perfect my shortboard while making the occasional foray onto a fish. I'm happy to have given kneeboarding a shot, yet the result was my surfing focus narrowed rather than broadened. Importantly, I didn't feel lesser for it.
The same way that Steen has found his niche in the surfing world I guess I've found mine, and if it means marching with the pack then so be it. Still, if I ever see a kneelo in the surf I'm going over for a chat. And if that kneelo is you then humour me please: when it comes to a surfing brotherhood, I want a bit of what you guys have got.
Postscript: Steen is currently compiling a coffee-table book on kneeboarding. It's guaranteed to be top-notch so keep an eye out for it. You can also check Steen's photographic work here.
Comments
I am a 48yr old kneeboarder, been riding my chosen craft since I was 15! I bought s longboard a few years back, when my kids took up surfing and while I really enjoy it, kneeboarding will always be my passion. Just yesterday I bought my a new kneeboard a 'freak' design by legendary vic kneelo Neil Luke. I don't understand why anyone would prejudice against kneeboarders or any other form of surfing. Never really expeienced it myself, maybe I didn't notice it because I am always stoked when kneeboarding or riding my mal! Life's too short for such bs!
Cheers Chris (surfkneelo)
Something about the line "Once, while surfing at Woonona, another kneelo sought me out and we had a chat like we were the only two in the water." kind of resonates with me.
Learning to surf about 25 odd years ago along the Currimundi to Kawana stretch on the Sunny coast, there used to be this crusty kneelo bloke who at the time seemed quite old to me. He was always silent, kind of aloof and had shifty eyes. He always surfed alone and never acknowledged any other person in the water. He ALWAYS got his waves. He was kind of like the Andy Dufraine of Wurtulla.
Yeah, I think it`s fair to say, I liked Andy from the start.
"Kneeboarding: for surfing purists. Those who ride waves without the faintest hope of making a buck out of it" wrote Phil Jarratt. I grew up with mates who all wanted to be pros (none of them made it). But I always felt just a bit seperate from them because of that, and Jarratt's quote, however lighthearted, had an element of truth about it.
Good article BTW, come up and have a chat but unfortunately you cant have the keys to the city!
im a 21 yr old knello from vic . I took up Kneeboarding when i was about 15 borrowing a mates dads board. I bought my own board when i was sixteen with my first couple of pay checks as a dishwasher.i copped a bit of stick at first but loved it to much to change or give up . A few years later i purchased my first custom made board from neil luke the FREAK.I guess i tought my self to kneeboard from watching other surfers . I would put my own spin on thing a it just sort of worked for me . But as the time went and always surfing my local break i was more "excepted" i guess you would say. To be honest i like Kneeboarding the way it is as the non popular surfsport, but also i would love to see it grow to a popular way of surfing . I also enjoy the chat with the odd knello ill see out. It does feel like your in your own group or somthing. I loved the article and hope more people except kneeboarding in the future.
There's a few around here, including David Parkes, whos a stand-out in any size surf and plenty of underground regulars.
Love the way Kneelos surf with their low centre of gravity and full arcing turns.
Good to see 'em get some reco.
Always thought that i'd start seeing more kneelos about when surfing moved onto the heaving slabs (Ours, the Verge, Indys). After all, theyre the perfect craft for those sort of waves - can make late drops, and still generate speed like a stand-up. Was a bit perplexed not to see more around. Perhaps they're getting too old for those sort of waves? Or perhaps boogieboarders are filling that niche?
The old kneelos are too old to take off on the slabs, the young guys are are too conservative to try something different. Think thats why there missing Heals. Thats what you were saying anyway wasnt it??
best surfing commercial ever made used a kneelo(well at least on par with wayne lynch riding the chokito )
peter crawford ,(rest his soul) on a hot day , , hot older chick gives him a lift to the beach and picks him up after, one of the greatest vertical re-entries ever ,all due to a can of solo ....
nearly gave myself kidney damage drinking that stuff just in the hope!!!!(from a non-cripple!!)
I am a 55 year old kneeboarder...since I was about 20, in the mid 70's, Anglesea way. When I started, kneeboarding was beginning to grow in popularity and sor to fpeaked in the 80's, but now it has died off a fair bit. I agree with the brotherhood bit. No matter where I have been in the water, which is a few places over the years, the camaraderie is always the same when other kneelo's are in the water (well, mostly anyhow). A great chat followed by some mock rivalry for the waves. I found a nice old single fin Strapper and a single fin Crozier a while back, both made in the 70's, to remind me of some great early days . Great article Stu.
Thanks Stu
No problems Steen. When I get a chance I'll drop the board back to you. Perhaps there's someone else who's curious and could use the ride?
Hey Stu
there is someone else ready for the stoke, let me know when your coming through
i'm a kneelo too but between being a drummer in a rock band and my normal job i havent got the time to stand up, and because i have such skinny little legs, the kneeboard is my best vehicle to wave riding glory.
Hi Stu,
You are in the brotherhood. Remember a few months ago I was chasing some old kneel articles and you found them on your old server and emailed them to me. Thanks heaps
You are also prepared to cross the community road and have a.crack at kneeboarding. To many this may be frowned upon. Who gives a rats! LIFE'S to short. Get out and enjoy the water any way you can.
See you in the soup.
Mtrigg SA
The Title was certainly attention getting..but grossly misleading..no worry though.
A great man once said ,"The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.
John F. Kennedy
Kneeboard surfers are for the most very out going , inviting all to understand just what we do.(There is no Secret)
Many years I spent on stand up boardriding and loved it,but in the company of two very devoted kneelos.
Reflecting on what I had accomplished and where I was headed ,the challenge was on ..go Kneeboarding (try radical surfing,in situation that,which I may have frowned upon, standing up...)
I love the Sea , Kneeboarding, an especially my family Rels who opted for kneeboarding also ...
To all Kneeboarders,It is up to all of us to preserve the fine art that we follow ...ask yourselves what can we do for Kneeboarding ?
Glad to see Kneelo in the media .....
Cheers
Those pics in the old Surfing Worlds of Neil Luke and Peter Crawford certainly had some influence. Got the longboard for the babyfood but it has to pretty small not to get the David Parkes 4 fin out. In the 70s and early 80s there were more kneelos than women, mals and boogies in the water but not anymore [nothing against the above]. The only thing I dont get is doing the dropknee on the boogie board. I often feel like telling them, here try this, I think it is what you are looking for.
Kneeboarding is what we do, I started to kneeboard 30 years ago. I loved it then and I love it more now, as I have converted my son. Down here in vic it's great to see other kneelos out there doing there stuff, and where a friendly bunch of blokes. I look forward to seeing the world titles in 2011. By the way I will have a collection of kneeboards from the 70s 80s and 90s at the titles that any kneelo can take for a ride.( cheers for now)
I've been surfing since 1962, well before kneeboards - modern kneeboards at any rate.
It was in about 1968 I happened to be surfing at Rincon California and saw George Greenough riding a spoon. Blown away! I was hooked, my friends never understood it. I rode both kneeboards and surfboards all through the 70's and 80’s.
People never understood it - riding both stand-up and kneeboards.
I constantly got comments like 'stand up you cripple'...
I'd say ‘ok, let’s swap for a few rides’, and they were usually blown away that I could stand-up surf (they had no idea I had been competitive stand-up surfer). Usually they would ask ‘why do you ride that thing? It's not surfing!’.
The answer was simple – ‘deeper, longer tube riding and sensations I have never experienced standing up’.
Funny thing, I ‘temporarily’ gave up kneeboarding sometime in the early 90’s converting to all sorts of longboards.
Now in my middle fifties I am returning to the pleasures of kneeboarding.
I’ll never give up longboards, but I have rekindled a passion for the pocket and parts of waves there are not really possible on a 9 footer!
Surfers are surfers, no matter the equipment.
We all can do with more respect in and out of the water!
Keep your eyebrows salty!
Great stuff Jan, and love the quote - "keep your eyebrows salty" - I'm gonna have to find somewhere to use that in the future!
I'm pretty sure there are more Freemasons than kneeboarders, though they don't carry wide boards so its hard to prove! Ive been a 'cripple' since '74 and apart from some very isolated instances 'stand ups' have been very accepting though I think some harbour secret resentment of the fact we can take off deeper and later! The mateship amongst kneeboarders is very different to any other segment of surfing and suspect thats because only a kneeboarder knows the feeling. Besides we have to look out for each other in the face of the marauding hoard that is the rest of the surfing community :-)
Have been kneeboarding since mid-80s - I suspect I was amongst the last batch of groms to take it up before bodyboarding took over as the 'alternative'. Have loved it - had some of my best sessions with deep barrels in conditions where surfboard risders were struggling to fit inside! At my local, there are a couple of regulars, but I don't get any hassle, and never have - I'm just one of the regulars who happens to ride a kneelo. Perhaps I'm seen as an oddity!! Biggest issue in WA is the dearth of shapers - on my 1st visit to PI a few years ago, walked into Island surf to see over a dozen kneelos on the racks - something I'd never seen before. I was in heaven!
I have to agree with your comment Milney. It seems younger generations often opt for bodyboards or mals. I've even had some kids ask me on the beach what sort of board I have because they've never seen a kneeboard before. I had a rare experience at my favorite Surf Coast break earlier this year where kneelos outnumbered standups - 4 to 1. We all had a good laugh about calling our annual conference to order. Only time I ever really copped serious disparagement about being a kneelo was at Banzai Pipeline from a bunch of Yanks 20 years ago. Very happy to read how other contributors on this thread are also still savouring the joys of kneeboarding - even in advanced years. A few are also riding Neil Luke's `Freak', which I rate as the best kneeboard I've ever had. Neilo, if you see this note, I hope you're enjoying the warmer water at Byron and please don't abandon the `Freak Mark 2'. P.S. Looking forward to your book, Steen.
Great article after riding a kneeboard since 1976 I have been on the end of alot of cripple! jokes. But the general feeling in recent years is no where as bad as it used to be, most surfers do now accept that there are now many types of surfing from goat boats to shark biscuits but they are still out there and getting thier hair wet. I live in Wollongong and there are heaps of kneelos on the south coast but you are right about the society thing all kneelos will always have a chat to each other no matter where they are surfing.
Kneeboarding for 35 years I have seen it all and herd it all.
There seams to be a general feeling of bretheren amongst us and it is always good to see other kneelos in the water. Other than a couple of big heads from the Northern beaches of Sydney. You know who you are.
I am stil in awe of the likes of the late great Albert Whiteman (R.I.P), Simon Farrer, Mick Novakov, David Parkes, Mick Discassio and Zazz (Where are you Zazz?).
I surf at Phillip Island the home of the kneelo. It is always a buzz to see young Boogie board riders watch intently you can see there minds ticking over questioning weather they should go to the next step and join the fold.
It,s time for a revival I think. Although anyone who is thinking of taking it up. The long term effects on the knees can be very painfull. But it is worthe the pain.