The Outsider - Epilogue
Steve Shearer March 8, 2009
The circus has left town and the dust has settled.
Now we must consider answers to some of the questions posed through the course of the week, answers we concede are less than conclusive and still in a state of nebulous formation. We accept they are merely guideposts and hints along the way.
In terms of the generational change in the ASP ranks Dane has effectively set the terms and conditions on which contest judging will be set and hence the world title be decided on. The new criteria has established Reynold's surfing as it's benchmark. The rest of the top ten will now be judged accordingly. This, despite Reynolds being unlikely to play anything more than a spoiling role in the title race. He has a technical and performance advantage at every location bar Chopes and Pipe.
Slater will be forced to make more astute quiver choices if he is to maintain favour with the judges, Fanning will need to combat the perception that his surfing has become one-dimensional and predictable and Parkinson will need to increase his turn speed. Teebs will need to apply more power in waves over three feet. Rookies prepared to play with increased risk will easily beat established pros.
In the world of surf journalism as of March 7, year of our lord 2010, there is a clear move away from the dated and moribund writing that has characterised the genre. Comments now mean the conversation is inclusive and that can only be a good thing in these eyes. Defining any impressionistic writing as 'Gonzo' journalism remains a recurrent cliche. Defining reality by reference to generally agreed upon 'facts' has been shown to be nothing but an internal construct of the mind and thus open to endless interpretation.
The Outsider wishes to unreservedly apologise for comments attributed to Wayne Deane in the opening blog which could be misconstrued as the attitude held by Wayne and his family towards competitive surfing. Wayne has a distinguished record with regards to surfing competitions. A record his son Noa is proudly following. The remarks were tongue in cheek and not meant to be taken seriously.
Why would someone so deeply ambivalent about Professional Surfing choose to write about it? Why does a war correspondent write about war? Because there is something fundamentally human and thus flawed about it. Something fascinating about this need of humans to compete: for land, for ideas, for resources. Because in the Fog of War the truth is easily masked. Bought and sold for nefarious purposes.
Of course Pro Surfing is not a War, but it is a deeply satisfying sublimation of these ancient instinctual urges and blood murmurings. Ambivalence alone is no reason not to participate: Dane Reynolds has proved that toint with remarkable clarity.
The gold leopard skin pen is now safely sheathed and the next swell is incoming. Happy surfing.
Comments
Bell's then the world go son,go forth and report for all our sake's.
haha - awesomo! in this post-gonzo year of our lord 2010 its refreshing to see some interesting writing! take home point is this
1) this is good stuff that deserves are bigger canvas (maybe you SHOULD be a war journo) and the gonzo influence is there
2) you will be needing a fast car and an attorney down in lennox asap!
also, you eluded to a bovine enterprise. i am a vet student and i need to do 1 week of prac work (read free labour). think about it
my unpublished critic of surf journalism is: SW - some gold but too obviously in search of a target market that "believes" in rasta and machado. Surfers path - sickeningly hippy. Tracks - shoulda never gone glossy. ASL - editorially confused. STAB - Often Disturbingly pushing politically correct envelopes. Waves - shite. Monster Children - Good shit. This - unreal. Thanks for the new original angle. Could you Reference Ginsberg's Howl? That'd be boss.
Look, I can see why Dane Reynolds is so appealing to non affiliated reporters, mainly because Dayne doesen't 'believe' in competition. I think he really does but at 25 like most of us at that age its very appealing to want to be seen to be taking the road less travelled. I watched all of his waves in the finals and when snookered it seemed to me rather than centre himself and look to put together a more stable sequence of manouvres he just quit and went out popping crazy airs. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesent...sometimes you'll finish 2nd sometimes you'll finish 16th. I really don't see the ASP aligning their judging for 2010 to that. A great surfer but I think he will become dissapointed and bored with the reality of competitive surfing very quickly with his current mindset.
Yes, there is 'a clear move away from dated and moribund writing'-Stu Nettle a good example-but sadly it seems there is always room for the pretentious, overblown, swallowed-a-thesaurus, faux "Gonzo" piece. Worst seen since Ces Wilsons' mind numbing tripe in Waves mag in the early 90s.
"A great surfer but I think he will become dissapointed and bored with the reality of competitive surfing very quickly with his current mindset."
That's when he takes his bat and ball back to Ventura, sits on his millions, surfs at a level higher than anyone else in the world earning further millions as a 'free surfer' using his mug to peddle shit in mags to gullible consumers that they don't need but slurp it up because it's Dane (which in turn earns corporate billions), reads Fante & Bukowski drinking a cold beer in his huge lounge overlooking his local and laughs at how he's hoodwinked pro surfing and managed to do it his way ... somewhat.
Hey, more power to him...again though, I notice the phrase 'surfs at a level higher than anyone else in the world' in your post Mical. Can you explain that for me please? Everyone keeps telling me that.
Does he really not care about pro surfing? Really?!
Wouldn't there be better things a young man of 22 could be doing than following a rigid travel criteria stopping to surf contests he claims he's not interested in.
I don't buy it...
Thought one of the better moments of the Quik Pro was when Martin Potter, talking in the webcast booth, implored Dane to settle down in his heats. Here's Potts, someone who walked in Dane's shoes 20 years ago but reigned in his explosive but risky surfing at the start of the 1989 season. Boom world title!
If Dane can also reign in his surfing a tad, just surf a bit smarter and not rely on emotion as much, then I think we'll see at least one world title also. and despite the nonchalant post-heat interviews I reckon that's what he is really after.
"I notice the phrase 'surfs at a level higher than anyone else in the world' in your post Mical. Can you explain that for me please? Everyone keeps telling me that."
Longy, go check out the Marine Layer site, watch a few clips of him surfing anything from 2' onshore slop to perfect 6' A frames and decide for yourself.
It's all really subjective though isn't it?
To me, Dane's pushing the limits of what's possible on a wave more consistently than anyone else, and doing it well.
THAT QF, did Joel look to be in the same ball park? I love Joel's surfing, but to me Dane made him look redundant in that heat and he was a world title contender not 3 months ago.
"Wouldn't there be better things a young man of 22 could be doing than following a rigid travel criteria stopping to surf contests he claims he's not interested in."
Perhaps it's sponno pressure? They are paying the bills after all.
Personally, I'd like to see him off the tour and going the way of Bruce and Co.
"Surfs at a higher level"
Dane was surfing faster, with more risk and spontaneity, than his opponents. I think the clearest example was the QF against Parko and Steve summed it up well observing that Dane's arc's contained many more degrees than did Parko's.
That's my explanation.
It's a bit sad when you have to reign in your surfing in order to be the best in the world isn't it.
It's a bit sad when you have to reign in your surfing in order to be the best in the world isn't it.
Sorry about the double post. The Whip was trigger happy
"It's a bit sad when you have to reign in your surfing in order to be the best in the world isn't it."
Rather see a turn done at 95% than a rail bogged at 100%.
"It's a bit sad when you have to reign in your surfing in order to be the best in the world isn't it."
Correction:
It's a bit sad when you have to reign in your surfing in order to be the best COMPETITIVE surfer in the world isn't it.
Big difference.
Dane won't reign his surfing in.
He's consistently demonstrated that in word, thought and deed.
Will he be able to string together enough brilliant performances to win a contest?
Almost certainly.
To win a World Title?
Probably not.
After talking to him and seeing him in action I'm convinced this isn't some kind of Ali style rope a dope ploy he's running......where he's suddenly gunna surf smart and collect world titles one after the other.
He doesn't care about winning contests or world titles but he does care about his own performances....big difference....if he wins it'll be on his terms and not because he's moderated his surfing to fit the format.
Steve
"He doesn't care about winning contests or world titles but he does care about his own performances....big difference....if he wins it'll be on his terms and not because he's moderated his surfing to fit the format."
And that's a big part of his appeal to me Shearer.
It's the stuff surfing was built on!