The Surfer's Dilemma
"It's not a secret unless it hurts to keep your mouth shut." Judging by this definition, many surfers have a low pain threshhold.
After a low-key bank gets blown out within hours, Matt Gallagher ponders the idea of secrets in the technological age.
A fun hypothetical I've posed to a few mates and often ponder myself is this: What would you do if you discovered a world-class wave?
If I was sailing around a remote Pacific atoll and stumbled upon a six foot left peeling down 400 metres of fringing coral reef, throwing out spitting barrels into faultlessly-tapered sections for vertical whacks before speeding into the next grinding tube - which is my idea of the perfect wave, and most likely it's yours too. So, what to do?
The obvious response is to surf it! Day after day, sunrise to sunset, through sun-scorched skin and burning chafe. Surf it until the swell drops or reality hits and you're pulled back to the calls of everyday.
But the real question I pose - the surfer's dilemma - comes in the next step, once you return back to normal life. What do you do with the location and knowledge of this newly-discovered piece of perfection…?
I feel most people's response will fall into three broad categories:
- Tell no-one.
- Tell everyone.
- Tell only friends.
The first response, which would see you returning regularly to surf in solitude, is how most of us would like to think we'd respond. However, in actuality we probably wouldn't.
The second response has you (or whoever the lucky discoverer is) buying a nearby plot of land to establish a surf resort, giving you both lifetime access to the wave and an income. It also involves a Faustian bargain: You must share the wave with an ever-increasing number of surfers. Judging by the proliferation of surf camps throughout Indonesia it's not an uncommon response.
The third response is arguably how most of us would react. On returning home, you share the dreamy tale of your adventure to a few select friends, tantalising them with accounts of long barrels in Pacific-blue water. If your friends are like mine, plans will quickly be set in motion for the next trip, and before long seasons are spent chasing the dragon with anyone keen enough to set sail.
But here's the thing, now that the word is out, can your friends keep a secret?
While a fun thought experiment and easy way to pass time between sets on slow days, it's a dilemma that your average surfing slogga’ isn't going to ever face. But what if the conundrum was morphed into a more relatable scenario? What would you do if a local but somewhat off-the-path beachbreak had formed a punchy, hollow bank overnight, and the morning dawn patrol was greeted with an offshore breeze and sizey east swell.
What do you do then?
Paddle out alone? Call your mates? Or rip out the phone and throw up a quick post on the socials letting everyone know you are about to score?
Sadly, for right or wrong, the latter of those three options is fast becoming the norm and it was the scenario I was confronted with during the recent run of epic waves.
19.0760° N, 72.8777° E
As the sunlight parted the clouds on a cool autumn morning, the building east-southeast swell met a stiff south-west breeze and I was greeted with six foot lefts churning down a semi-secret stretch of sand. I did what I reckon most would do and messaged a mate, letting him know we were on. Some backstory is required: My mate and I have chased this spot since groms and well before the crowds.
Unfortunately for my mate, he never made it but I managed to score an epic session with just a handful of crew. We traded some insane bombs, cackling at our luck while screaming each other into well-overhead sets. Surfed out, starving, and shoulders screaming from the constant paddle against the rip, I retired to the beach for a feed and rejuvenation.
Life beckoned and I wasn't able to get back down til late arvo, hoping to score a sneaky sunset sesh. To my frustration, I was confronted with a carpark chockers to the brim, and a lineup teeming with frothers chancing their arm at the low tide drainers. I knew this spot was no longer a secret, but I'd never seen it like this with thirty or more surfers in the water.
Gutted at the sight, I called it quits for the day and headed home.
After an epic day of waves, it's always fun to relish in the hype. I try to use that as my only excuse to scroll through the social media feeds and catch up on swell events. That afternoon, doom scrolling away, I saw a handful of amazing clips from the day but devastatingly came across a couple of live feeds of people publicly sharing footage of that local bank, plus one particular post that had me seething. A video of a lucky bastard getting spat out of a nug, posted by an out-of-town surf photographer, who even went and named the location of the wave. Behaviour that's apparently no longer considered a cardinal sin..?
The thing is, that kind of behaviour isn't rare. Coming out of a swell-heavy East Coast autumn, I've discovered a handful of new waves without having left home, just by scrolling on social media. Every new swell event sees more and more low key spots being brought into the spotlight and I'd put money on each of those spots being busier next swell.
40.7128° N, 74.0060° W
Seeing those social media posts helped to make sense of the crowd in the water that arvo, but did little to help me solve the puzzle of the surfers dilemma. Do people like surfing in crowds?
I feel that I have somewhat of an old school surf mentality, a set of surf morals that seem to be fading away. I'm courteous to the old crew, I'm more than happy to share waves with whoever - as long as they are willing to share back - and I'm a firm believer of the less people in the water the better. Some would call this greedy, but we're all chasing the same thing at the end of the day and your odds of scoring increase with less people in the lineup.
Sadly though, scoring uncrowded waves is becoming a rare thing. The technological age is facilitating a new generation to live and share their every move online - a craze I've dabbled in, wrestled with, and since shunned. Compounded by an exponential growth of people to the sport since COVID, we are moving toward a future where those memorable sessions, the days of legendary waves, perfect conditions with just you and a handful of mates out trading rides and laughs, are going to become dwindling moments of times gone by.
So now, the the surfer's dilemma is posed to you next swell. If the surf is pumping and empty, what are you gonna do?
// MATT GALLAGHER
Comments
Loose lips sink ships...
.
A dilemma indeed. I've always been inclined to keep places quiet, although for the places I stumbled on, most are well exposed now. One example was Balangan in May 1976 - found it looking for Padang Padang which had been publicized the year before (in Tubular Swells I think). I seem to remember there'd also been a b&w photo of Balangan from under the wave rock in Tracks before then, but with location unidentified. Anyway, with a few friends staying in the same losmon Degel in Kuta, we surfed it that year to ourselves, sleeping in the cave there. We agreed to not say anything about the place, but of course the word got out after a while, or other surfers may have stumbled on by land or jukung heading for Ulus. Also stumbled on the Umdumbi River mouth and point while hitching through the Transkei in southern Africa in 1978 - a great, if sharky, setup - there was nothing there back then but there's a surf camp there these days. Other side of the coin - word of mouth in Bali on Nias got me there in April 1978, but it was about to be exposed, first in Surfer and then in Tracks mag. Back then there were a lot less surfers, no social media, and back blocks travel was a hard slog - nothing like the FIFO fully catered surf camps and boat trips of today. Part of me wishes it had stayed as it was in the '70s, but that was never going to happen as entrepreneurial surf biz went gang-busters. No doubt those who first surfed other parts of Indo, NW Aus and many other places have similar stories
I wish I was born in that era!
This era is fine. Get on Google maps. There's still A-class waves going by unridden if you know where to look. Be bold. Yes you might get skunked but it'll be worth it if you luck out.
I can't help but think that the kind of people who feel the need to broadcast to whoever will listen a perfect wave going off, devoid of crowds, are fundamentally insecure and lacking the confidence to experience the world - even for a fleeting moment - alone. To any real surfer, the phone is the last thing that would come to mind when presented with something so wonderful. Instead, they'd be frantically waxing up and paddling out. What is it with kids these days?!?!
Reckon you’ve nailed it there. Insecurity and zero self confidence. Most of them can’t even read a beachbreak and wouldn’t know where to paddle out if there’s no one out already.
Sometimes it's the boomers that are the real problem, particular if they're still surfers at heart but rarely in the water in their older age. On a silly little local FB page of surf photos, it's always the over 50s that are posting pictures of surf the second they pull up to the car park, rather than a few days after the fact. Some do it with such enthusiastic regularity that I'll check in on their personal pages the morning of a swell to see if it's arrived yet or not.
+1
Take it to your grave, or theirs.
Wow, never heard that before.
My mates idea of a secret is telling one person at a time.
Ha ha
Ha ha yes!
The new “secret” apparently
Funny breed us surfers. Shut the F up. That photog should be flogged. I just hate hearing someone on the phone as I am walking across the road telling their mate its pumping and get down. Was up Surfers way on the weekend. Pumping and sizey but not a punter within kms of me and plenty of peaks I could see. After a few bombs - guess what. They all start to paddle out where I am instead of going to one of the other peaks - f'n useless selfish C#s. Man if I found that wave described in that article I would try to buy the land in front and rights to the break, build a home and tell 0
I was out at Kuta Reef in the early 80s and it was a bit crowded (maybe 15 or so guys) and I was looking over to what I think is called Airport Reef? and was wondering if it was worth a paddle over to get away from the crowd. It was my first trip and wasn't sure about the setup so held back but kept an eye on it. Before I made any move one guy in the pack started paddling over. He hadn't got far when a couple of other guys followed him then another few. When old mate got to the peak I had been watching he turned around to see about half a dozen sheep heading his way, felt sorry for him but it made the crowd more manageable where I was
Just reading this comment triggers me and I can feel the rage boiling up. The scenario you described happens to me almost every time I surf. I make the effort to hike into quieter beaches and, despite there being multiple banks to choose from, all breaking much the same, any surfers who arrive after me will always paddle out to where I’m surfing. You could bet the house on it. It’s like they can’t read a beachbreak themselves so have to follow whoever is out already. Total brain dead sheep. Also what’s with surfing in big groups these days as well? Are they just too scared to surf by themselves?
Drives me nuts - and they have no idea and get narky when they ask you how you are and you mention I was better when I had that quiet one wave every 5-10 minutes that is coming through to myself. Do they presume you are happy for them to dog you for that occasional one and you have to wait 15-20 mins so they can share. Absolute f'n sheep. How many times do I get either it's the only wave on the beach (um no it's not) or it's a public beach you don't own it/it's not illegal (um how about plain courtesy - and it's not illegal for me to nail your Mrs either but it's not the right thing to do).
Haha infuriating!
Keeping secrets, throwing off and outright bullshitting comes naturally to me after years in the fishing game.
Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.
Anyone else google those lat and longs?
Couldn't help meself :)
I got Mumbai
And somewhere near Asbury Park, New Jersey!
I think Matty is having a lend of us
Impossible.
Of course. Fkn idiots! Im already on skyscanner checking out flights to bombay. Hopefully not too many locals
India has great surf, and uncrowded. Islands off the west coast are hard to get to but have some incredible waves.
No dilemma. Total silence.
About 15 years ago I was on a trip in PNG. Me and a mate travelling on our own via PMV, to look for waves in a reasonably remote part of the country. We wound up in a small village with a great wave out the front, with plans to surf for a few days and keep moving. It was so fun we stayed for the rest of the trip.
This place does get the odd surfer passing through, and about 8 years before someone had given the chief's son a board. It was beaten up but of course, he ripped. We surfed with this fella the whole time and had an awesome trip, even heading to a couple of nearby waves he reckoned hadn't been surfed before. I chose to believe him on that :-)
Anyway, on the last morning we were waiting for the PMV to start the journey home and the chief of the village was waiting with us and told us to tell people about how much fun we'd had and how beautiful it was etc. A few minutes later he wandered off so we asked his son....do you want us to tell people so that more surfers come here? The reply was an immediate "no!"
I reckon we should all relate to that, and respect it! So I've hardly told anyone about it and it feels off to even write this vague story online.
I've also never had the chance to get back there so hopefully it's still off the radar for our old mate.
So I’ve HARDLY told anyone about it. Haha, there you go , & they hardly told anyone & then they hardly told anyone………….
Hhaha yeah fair point! :-)
To explain myself I'll clarify that I haven't told any surfers about it and haven't pointed to a map with anyone. I hope that's been enough to keep it quiet!
i asked some Moroccan locals a few years back if they'd like their spot exposed and they unanimously agreed they did and thought it would be great. I didnt expose it, inevitably it was and by all accounts not for the betterment of all (or anyone?)
and what do i see on youtube last night? high budget production on the best right in Africa...
Plenty of uncrowded wave out there if you can get your head around not being on top of the food chain.
Become the owner of the newly discovered waves Surf Resort . Derr !!!
Great piece, but not a dilemma as others have pointed out.
You simply don’t say a thing.
The only dilemma I’m feeling is managing the urge to rip the blabbermouth’s head off.
Must be a generational thing. Maybe the dividing line is those who were born without a smartphone in their hands or a Facebook feed to embed the dopamine addiction to likes.
Here’s a little advice - the hit of revealing a secret spot is fleeting - and no one will respect you in the end, because they’d be looking through you, and out to the endless pits.
That's something I can totally relate to. Raglan is known for its points but there are world class sand set ups on the beaches too in the right conditions. So important to not let the cat out of the bag when you find a good bank either north or south. I've got a couple of mates that i won't take on my boat anymore. Couldn't stay quiet and it was crowded the very next day. It's a small world with social media. Post a picture if you must but never say where
This is the way.
So where's this spot then.. asking for a few friends who surf right foot forward..
"After an epic day of waves, it's always fun to relish in the hype. I try to use that as my only excuse to scroll through the social media feeds and catch up on swell events. That afternoon, doom scrolling away, I saw a handful of amazing clips from the day but devastatingly came across a couple of live feeds of people publicly sharing footage of that local bank, plus one particular post that had me seething. A video of a lucky bastard getting spat out of a nug, posted by an out-of-town surf photographer, who even went and named the location of the wave. Behaviour that's apparently no longer considered a cardinal sin..? "
Is this what it's like to have Facey or Insta?
"Behaviour that's apparently no longer considered a cardinal sin..? "
Same with dropping in. As a grom looking up the inside thinking there's no way old mate will make it but still not daring to take-off, just in case.
Now it seems there is no shame and no fear of burning someone. I see it almost every surf and new learner/intermediates are learning this is normal surf culture. Just like the social media boasts, is it a Gen z "its all about me" thing or just naive?
I’d also like to point out the related infuriating phenomenon of big groups of “surfers”. Since COVID the size of the groups people go surfing in has ballooned to ridiculous proportions. A few years ago you’d rarely see more than a couple of mates going for a wave together, maybe 3 max. I regularly see groups of 6 or 7 blokes going for a wave together now, like it’s some kind of team sport. They’ll blindly paddle out to a bank which already has a half a dozen surfers on it and completely destroy the experience for everyone, including themselves. I don’t get it, particularly when there are empty peaks down the beach, which the rest of us reluctantly have to vacate to, only for the cycle to continue with the next squad of ignoramuses. Maybe it’s the social media age, everyone’s in group chats and can easily rouse up half a football team to destroy a lineup?
Not sure if this whole ‘post COVID’ thing is real…..crowds have always been a thing.
Group chats are probably the worst thing IMO.
That all being said, I never surf with more than a handful of people. There’s no need, paddle down the beach. Zig, zag and care less about ‘quality’.
Oh, and avoid points and reliable reefs.
The post Covid thing is real. Where I surf it was always crowded, but since Covid when everyone got a lazy $750 and went and bought Chinese mal, it's gotten out of control. The learners during that period have stayed and formed little reach-around social media groups, none have any surfing etiquette, and all think its team sport to share online and paddle out in large groups
Well I think surf cams are a massive contributing factor to crowds and the fact most humans are morons.....was the surf pumping if it wasn't on social media?
Used to be your "mate" who works in a surf shop.......never tell them about that newly formed sand bank around the next cove.
Now they put it on the shop's Insta.
Does my head in when I ride my bike to my local (definitely not a secret) in the morning, and a bloke is there with his phone giving a run down to his mates.
Happens way to often.
Then a group of new faces....
A bike rider is always going to have his head done in trying to discover uncrowded waves on his bike.
Have you got a bike rack?
There’s an idea
I have a car also, just before work at the local.
Do not have time to venture elsewhere and quicker to local on pushbike than driving ey.
I guess in the age of mobile phones that’s always going to happen.
I think these problems only relate to crowded places. On the gold coast you'd stumble across a good bank and the next day it would be chokkas. Now, there's frequently people texting to see where to surf and even when everyone congregates, it's still good vibes and fun times. Why? Because it's out of the way and crowds are reasonable.
The only caveat is when nice swells fall on the weekend or public holidays, like happened this Easter Saturday but you just eat the loss, let the touros go nuts and it's back to normal come the weekday.
Big Australia is being forced down our throat so these problems will only get worse.
Funny you mention weekends, public holidays,
Probably the least times I surf throughout the year nowdays.
A lot of beaches can have no banks for miles on one day, but when things change there can be good banks everywhere,
It helps to keep an eye on it yourself.
Agree.
5-6 years ago I came across a few pics on Insta of a big right hand slab in Vicco that looked like an epic set up. I was able to figure out the location from the headland in the background and some aerial imagery research, as i'm sure many others have too, but i'm impressed that it has stayed a secret. I don't even know if it has a name. I put it down to location though. Seems even less accessible than Luna Park, so only the most core of surfers are heading there... and they're the ones who are probably best at keeping these things close to their chests. If this was somewhere between Point Lonsdale and Lorne, we'd know all about it and there'd be people there all the time.
There were a bunch of pics of it around that time, but I haven't seen anything since either. So I wonder if the people who do surf it fired off some warning shots to those who shared even those few pics.
Funnily enough in my neck Friday is the new Saturday. Wednesday not far behind. Never used to surf weekends and just left it to the mob but often Saturday at certain times is fairly uncrowded. Post covid working from home. Big Australia is right Jueg - and they keep wanting to pump more into an already overcrowded suburb.
Mobile phones were the first step in exposure to the masses before social media.
I remember looking onto shore from an isolated fickle reef and seeing multiple people calling their mates. Only saving grace was that by the time they had spent a few hours getting there the wind and tide had shifted and it was all over.
That was more than 20 years ago and now you can check the forecast for that particular point online. Laughable given it only breaks a few times a year.
It depends a lot on where you live,
Even crowded, world class waves can have uncrowded waves not far away,
And world class waves can be packed one day, and relatively uncrowded another day.
But somewhere like Sydney , where you’re more closed in , might be harder to escape.
I'd keep evidence of surfing it for naming rights in case someone decides to give it a dumb name like "bob's right" or some bullshit haha, otherwise I don't tell anyone anything anyway, people always fuck things up so I keep my cards close lol
Social media and message groups are the main downfall of flukey banks or under the radar scores. It might not even be surfers themselves, local community pages usually have lots of images of the surf if it's pumping and doing something it usually doesn't.
I've got a ton of images with revealing headlands or other giveaways but most never make socials and if they do, it'll be after the event so people can't correlate the swell and conditions to the current setup.
The urge to claim pumping, empty surf is hard to overcome but is par for the course in the current social media environment.
also some waves, especially in Indo only work on the low tide
The first and most important step in secret keeping is not letting anyone know you have a secret.
I think there's nuance in the reasons that motivate people to tell people about banks and secret spots. Most of the time it is clout chasing, reactive moves for attention and authority, and in many cases attempts to somehow turn a secret little wave into something they can profit from.
On the other hand, if I know old mate has had a rough trot of late and that he doesn't work Tuesday and Wednesday and a neat little southerly and offshore winds are lining up for a bank on an island off an island off an island, then he might get a message saying "xxxx has good banks at the moment on the mid tide, enjoy but you didn't hear it from me". It's not me bragging that I scored it before him, or me simply broadcasting to the world and cheapening the experiencing for everyone else, but a gift from me to someone who will appreciate it for what it is. That said I am much more likely to part with such a secret after I've surfed it for a week and can see that the sand won't last much longer.
I think this is very different to exposing a spot entirely. A corner of perfect reef in an Indonesian village without a surf camp (god what a novelty in 2025) is something I'd not tell a soul about for the rest of my life.
Sharing surf conditions by mobile phones potentially reduces
driving time and greenhouse gas emissions,
from a non local’s perspective.
Happens all the time on the tweed coast
At the end on my street there is 6 kilometers of open beach, often it is one long gutter, but
the banks change all the time, and rarely stay good for long as are very dependent on swell direction
Last Friday was pretty good all day - as was most of the north coast, and mostly surfers from the neighborhood on it.
Saturday morning its offshore everywhere and 3 - 5ft everywhere
by 8am there were cars parked down the street and around the corner and 30+ out on one section. Yet no one 200 metres to the north or south
Most guys were parking, waxing up without even walking down to take a look!
What the hell is wrong with surfing alone?
This is my main beef. The blokes who paddle out where everyone else is, despite there being empty peaks just along the beach. It's mind-boggling and infuriating. I just keep moving, but there's definitely something wrong with those who can't surf alone. Fair-weather surfers most likely.
Safety in numbers. We're all scared of sharks.
Maybe you should stop surfing if you’re that scared.
So communication tools have improved - we are a long way from verbal-only communication, which then progressed (in some places) to written text and now, to ubiquitous hand-held devices with always-on social media applications and high-resolution satellite images covering the entire surface of the planet.
Still plenty of secrets out there, if you have the time, the energy, the inclination and most of all, the money to go out and find them.
You sir, are in no position to comment on this article ....
This article appearing in a profit driven,
surf information, sharing site, telling us where and when to surf today , around the world..
Which has featured many travel destinations and articles around the world,
Including recently El Salvador and Margaret River,
Who also promotes JS Callahans work.
I guess it depends on your own specific definition of the words secret and exposed.
And in your case monetize it
It's one thing to spill the beans on quiet corners to your mates or for a bit of clout, but to do it for profit ought to be so embarrassing that people wouldn't put their name to it.
How much is a swellnet subscription these days?
Outrageous isn’t it .
The surf site you subscribe to, are going to be promoting his book,
Embarrassing isn’t it,
You have no other ethical decision, than to cancel your subscription and never rely on their cams and forecasts again.
Well, I’d tell one or both of two good surfing mates, if they were in the locale.
But these would be beach breaks that change like the weather, and knowing something is good today does not mean it will be good tomorrow.
Of recent times I have been regaled by crowds of 100’s at the Sydney local every day of the week, all day. Equally I’ve been up and down the coast and had to wrestle with the question of whether to go out on my own, knowing that there have been some sightings of large sharks in recent times. Neither position is overly appealing to me these days.
A few places I go to have recently sparked up after the big storm swells moved the sand around. The local boys know and we are all just grateful that the sand has lined up again.
As for posting to social media, damn man, get a life. Get off that shit and start living.
Really depends on location now, even margs region has enough surfers a new secluded bank will get crowded after a day, if your in a city or somewhere like Surfers or SoCal your screwed. Best strategy is to get off the beaten path, I see people joking about Mumbai but India has some unreal waves, especially some of the islands off the west coast. Angola, Cape Verde, Phillipines, Palau. All great surf but to get there is hard so they will stay uncrowded until access is improved.
Hopefully access won’t be improved to all those countries mentioned ,
Consistency is also another issue when it comes to crowds
Angola starting to pop up on the net more...going to be the new Namibia.
And as for Margs, the whole area is a complete shit show these days. Too much money has moved in down there. Vibe has been ruined, feels like Perth but with good waves. Actually feels more like a cold version of Byron with heavier and better waves.
I can't blame the young crew cause they've grown up with a total saturation of social media & they're on it all the time. I'm guessing if you're not in it you're a throw away & not validated. Posting very viewable content maybe becomes a badge of honor & lifting oneself into fig jam territory. Surfing has a lot of fig jams, I was one of them, maybe still a bit. In my salad days I couldn't contain myself, I'd be telling the world everything I wanted them to know, albeit when we'd congregate back at the pub. I'd venture to say early secret spots were passed on via super 8 film nights when one of your mates came back from a trip. After said movie had finished was the line "I've been instructed to not give away this location". After some follow up medicinal encouragement the to not sort of gave way
I hate lying to people when they ask me where I surfed the other day. But when it's a secret spot it's a necessary evil.
It helps if you're in a closed loop with the people you regularly surf with.
This is true. Both parts.
A few of yours and my old spots are still holding up, thankfully.
True on all counts.
Thankfully 'that' spot is still secret.
It's partly due to the rocks. A few randoms have turned up over the years, but we generally only ever see them once.
I am guilty of sharing a spot once to someone and a horde arrived next day .. tbh. Swore never again. Thankfully, around here the fickle nature of many secrets - still waves being found - mean they can’t get busy. The fickleness is the best cure for this malarkey.
Ran into a local surf reporter/contest frother at the supermarket once during a flat spell. He looked at my sunburned noggin and said, "you scored, didn't you?" I told him where I'd surfed down the coast mistakenly thinking he was core enough not to blab. Next morning he named the EXACT location during his morning surf report and the place was overrun in an hour and a half. Fuck head.
Hahahahaha
I think the dilemma is somewhat diluted if you surf mainly in the winter months below 40° South.
I remember a few FM radio surf reporters in the 90's that needed a major lesson in discretion, which they duly received.
Thankfully, most of them seem to keep it fairly vague these days.
We can blame the introduction of the mobile phone for their proliferation as well.
Apologies. I've got the weirdest internet connection this evening.
The human animal.
What a strange, peculiar and curious creature it is.
But pretty simply, at least 90% of people are born with Sheep Syndrome solidly engrained in their blood and their psyche.
Can't really think for themselves, fully explore their mind, or apply that to life and existence.
Surfers are no exception, as a collective.
Follow the leader, follow the trend, ride this, wear that, and..... find comfort in surfing around others.
Core surfers are different and don't fit the mould. But the mould doesn't really fit with changing modern times and technology either...
So whaddya do?
No magic solutions really. Can't get angry and piss & moan. Can't stop change.
Reminisce?
There's still gold out there if your willing.
And don't be a sheep.
100%! Just gotta look a little further and a little harder
what a brilliant piece, Matt. You nailed the heartbreak and the friction that every old-school surfer feels watching the soul of surfing slowly unravel in the digital age.
Back in the 1980s, localism was law, and remote surf trips were rites of passage. Travellers were fiercely tight-lipped, not out of ego but out of reverence. There were no Insta stories, no drone flyovers—just whispered directions, paper maps, and a kind of unspoken pact. You earned your waves. If you blew a secret spot, you didn’t just cop stink-eye—you were out. Period.
Even today, Hawaii still guards its secrets. Sure, the big name breaks are in every magazine and webcam feed, but talk to the uncles, the true keepers of the land and water, and you’ll find there are still hidden gems tucked behind lava fields and cane roads, protected not just by geography but by deep cultural respect.
These were (and still are) sacred spaces—not for clout or clicks, but for connection. Maybe the true surfer’s dilemma now is less about whether to tell your mates or post online—and more about whether you’re surfing for yourself or the approval of strangers.
Couldn’t agree more. I wish I was surfing back then haha
Paddle out in the dark
Get a few with yourself or a small crew
Go in if it get too crowded
Surf when conditions are not perfect
Go against the grain
If everyone is surfing a spot go surf another
Play the game
You will score uncrowded perfection
Never even take a friend
Solo surf
Never take a photo unless you can disguise any clues if your going to show people
Well said. That should be the Magna Carta of surfing that everyone lives by. I still can’t wrap my head around why people have to surf in big groups, it’s beyond comprehension.
Like Tubeshooter I'm coming from a fishing background so it's ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.
Ask me where I caught it and you're likely to get sent on a wild goose chase.
Even my own mother doesn't know where I catch jewfish.
But there is no secret.
90%+ of my surfing and fishing now is done hiding in plain sight along a heavily trafficked coastline, sometimes under cover of darkness, more often just finding little nuggets of uncrowded fun that people, for whatever reason, have overlooked.
Some of the local crew here know what I'm talking about. Little text message here or there if there's no-one out and you don't want your legs to be the only ones dangling down and appreciate a little between set chat.
Amazing how many b-grade days at a-grade spots can be lightly or fully unattended.
I accept pumping days will be crowded and trust I'll have sufficient general wave count that I can be patient and rely on positioning to nab a few set waves. Otherwise you take the L and move on.
Keep the fishing even more on the down low and it's amazing what you can catch right in the heart of the village.
I drove out of the bottle shop on a long weekend, saw terns circling and diving over a feeding frenzy and ran home to grab a rod.
Massive bust-up right on the beach in front of everyone with a fish every cast.
It's sometimes happening right in front of everyone's nose.
Agree FR
Fishing is even worse -few weeks ago I caught a significant fish at a fairly public place that doesn't produce great fish that often. I am not on Social media
This week I walked down a bloke who was with 3 mates sucking on cands of bourbon, rods eskies and bait everywhere yell to his buddies "Hey that's the guy that caught that Jewy I told ya's about! "
I turned around and went home the place was going to be a circus for a while
Some of the cloak and dagger shit that goes on the commercial side is next level.
You often have to do it, or you'd go broke. The motivation in this case is strictly financial, you're basically trying to stop others taking food from your plate. It's a strong motivator.
Like surfing though, small alliances are made, and all info is expected to be kept on the down low. Break this rule or you don't reciprocate info, you will find yourself dealing with bad blood.
There are those that fish, and those who follow. Same as surfing these days.
It's also a peculiarity of western cultures that an activity like surfing is best done alone or with as few people as possible -
Other cultures, notably in Indonesia and The Philippines, find the white westerners who demand to surf alone to be quite strange, as surfing is a social activity, best done with friends.
Surfers in those countries and others like them, do not regard other people in the water as a negative factor and are far more social in their overall behaviour.
I don't believe that. I mean, I believe that the approach to surfing could be viewed more as a social activity. But I highly doubt it's a more the merrier situation. 500 people in the water is frustrating no matter how you approach surfing. It's not surfing if you aren't catching waves. It's a swim.
The damage is done john,
Any other article have a comment,
This one with your years of constant exposure
It probably best you sit on the shoulder and observe what you may have created.
Time for reflection, look at the damage done.
Hardly - who are you to pass judgement on my activities?
Just another random punter with an opinion, means absolutely nothing.
Good luck!
we have had a thorough look at your activities.
you are validated to pursue your own activities.
you are not validated to comment on the activities of others.
that is all.
Hmmmmm - actually, I am imminently qualified to comment on the activities of others in this particular genre, having just finished a book on this very subject, all 624 images and 56 928 words in 28 chapters of worldwide surf travel adventure in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Steve Shearer is scheduled to write a review for swellnet -
https://a.co/d/87FzyLK
When you have done the same, then you can make a few comments - until then, best you keep your mouth shut.
Thanks!
(Self) qualified doesn’t equal validated.
'imminently'? I look forward to when you are qualified then..
I assure you my mouth is always shut when typing, often with my tongue in my cheek.
Have to agree that different cultures have different priorities, Some Asian countries have way more social communities,
like knowing everyone in their street or town, and while some people are struggling to survive, they can’t see the point in catching waves ,
Maybe should be catching fish?
Like the group of 10 people I saw, all paddling out together, and having a great time yahooing and dropping in on each other,
Asian weekenders .
"Some Asian countries have way more social communities"
Thank you - at least SOMEONE has not only the travel experience but the intellectual heft to recognise Asian cultures are more socially motivated than individually-motivated western cultures.
The entire "must surf alone and never, ever tell anyone where I surfed and keep secret spots secret so I can enjoy them alone or with a few friends" is entirely a Western cultural conceit - it does NOT apply in places like Indonesia, The Philippines, Japan, China, Taiwan or Korea, among many other countries.
Their culture is much more communal and to want to surf alone, by yourself, and NEVER share any information about new surfing locations with anyone; including you friends, would be considered intolerably selfish and downright strange behaviour in any of these non-western countries.
John I think it's a bit rich you trying to justify the stuff you post and publish based on our cultural differences. If being selfish and strange is part of our cultural behaviour then it is what it is, and you are part of that culture. The problem you have is you are trying to monetize your products using that cultural audience which most of us don't agree with. Is your book available in Bahasa, Tagalog, Japanese, Cantonese or Korean. If not maybe target those more communal cultures and you'll cop less criticism.
The Publisher is talking about non-English editions, thanks -
Again: maybe you should withhold judgement on my book until you have actually purchased a copy and read it?
Rather presumptuous to assume ANYTHING, until the book is actually in print -
Plenty of people have written books and made films about surfing and books or films about surf travel - it seems your negative view of "monetising content" is a minority view, not the majority.
Bruce Brown did well out of "Endless Summer" didn't he?
Nothing but a home movie, using the info he got from Dick Metz, exposing surf spots worldwide.
At least I do original research for surfEXPLORE: Discovering New Surfing Locations Worldwide, not using info some random punter told me -
With all due respect John, your schtick isn't good enough to get away with being this much of a nonce on the internet while still expecting people to buy your book. Giving real Roy Stuart vibes.
Maybe - just maybe - you could READ THE BOOK before passing judgement - that might be a good idea.
Let me know when I can get a copy of your book, that should be a great read!
Who is Roy Stuart anyway?
I've read enough of your work and seen enough of your photos to know I am personally not interested in your perspective on surfing or your travel stories John. I am sure someone somewhere is, but again, have a think about your marketing strategy here: "I may be rude and arrogant, but maybe you should still buy my book and see if you like it" is hardly endearing, and I can't imagine anyone reading your comments here beating down the door of your website to put money in your pockets.
Good luck with it.
I’ve found that off the beaten track surfing, exposes you to completely different cultures and empty wave zones,
away from the Ozy Ozy Ozy , follow on mantra.
"I’ve found that off the beaten track surfing, exposes you to completely different cultures and empty wave zones, away from the Ozy Ozy Ozy , follow on mantra".
Yes, exactly -
It is a tendency of Australian culture to pile on the negative criticism - once one person does it, MANY people feel justified to join in,
It is a profound weakness of Australian culture as a whole, and one of the main reasons Australian culture is so uniformly mediocre - few people have the balls to put out an original or different opinion, exactly because of this pile-on, "cut down the tall poppy" cultural defect.
I don't. I don't care if random punters want to criticise my book before they have read it - it's my book, not theirs and has my name, John Seaton Callahan as the © copyright holder, not theirs.
They can say whatever they like - I did it, I wrote every word and I shot 623 of the 624 images in the book. They didn't.
These people that criticise my book without having read it - what have they ever done?
Pulling 20 cones before going for a surf or putting 20 schooners of piss down your neck doesn't count as "accomplishments" outside of Australia.
Robert Hughes discusses this pile-on, cut the tall poppy down tendency of Australian culture extensively in "The Fatal Shore", which is all you need to read to understand Australian culture intimately.
And yes - it DOES come directly from convict culture, being in prison with your mates for decades, where conformity is essential for survival and there is no room for individual thinking or actions.
Hughes was an Australian citizen who lived most of his life OUTSIDE of Australia, and for good reason - independent thinkers are not tolerated and quickly ostracised, leading to more cultural mediocrity.
That's exactly why y'all don't like my opinions and choose to judge my book negatively, before having read it - it's entirely typical Australian behaviour.
Nah, you’re just coming across as a bit of a knob. Australian, Korean, Mexican what ever… no one likes a knob.
Read the room brother.
Is there much snow on Mt Wellington yet ?
Good way to ostracise a country
Those poor keys on that key board.....
" colonial Valor "
Bravo john .....
"It's mine it's mine it's all mine to exploit" ........
Other cultures will understand your need for your capitalistic values .
Self appraisal needs no recommendation.
Imagine if nobody ever revealed a surf spot they had found . Indo would be nearly empty, only those that went exploring would be surfing there . Cactus would have a handful of people. Meanwhile the city breaks would be even more crowded.
As a grom in South Oz the early-mid 70's there was a legend about Moose sitting atop a certain headland at a certain spot, taking potshots with his 303 at some non-locals to scare them out of the water. haha!
Back when the west was wild. A much looser time!
I heard that same rumour at Margaret’s,
Or was it around a campfire at Cactus, ?
Bit of a blurr now.
Might have been Moose.
Here's 5 people you do not want to see in your area
Jamie obrien
Nathan Florence
Koa Rothman
Dylan Graves
Ben Gravy.
Add Tim bonython to that
Tim's only there for the rave !
Add Tim bonython to that
Haha
The irony of surf information sharing site subscribers. , complaining about sharing information on surfing.
You sir are also using the same website ?
I'm confused at your statements also.
Even "Wave Of The Day" is guilty every now and then!!
Maybe I can confirm that swellnet can keep a secret.
A mate a I were Google mapping an area, clicked on a accommodation icon to read a comment left by a backpacker surfing the beach out front.
" The wave out of town is for experienced surfers "
Some Googling found a photo of that wave, now we were really interested.
Seeing a Website the corner , so put that into youtube search resulted in a 20 year old grainy video of a much better wave.
In the credits was a website a search gave me a number, it answered ol mate was cagey at first but liked my story told how they found the wave years earlier. I told him my location of the wave he said I was warm. I've since pin pointed it now.
Then one day it popped up on swellnet's home page, I screen shotted and sent him " that's it "
Just that shot no story, so I assume you guys know where it is.
A seconded shot has appeared with no additional photos.
There is another out there as well which I'm guessing you would know also.
The motivation is the interesting thing to me.
For some people it's obvious, they've got money to make, they don't live there, they don't actually surf. These make it easy to shit the nest. For most everybody else it's ego, one upmanship and the inmate desire to brag. I guess it builds the idea of status for some people. Sometimes it seems almost pathological but it's so hardwired into some people they can't see anything wrong with it.
I for one stand firmly against posting pictures with no locations. This sort of stuff is like crack for some surfers they are driven to work out the puzzle.. Look at what happened with Mick Fanning and "the Snake" the frenzy that caused
Photographers are sometimes driven by the same thing the likes, the adulation and the comments. Sometimes they don't even surf and seem surprised if you ask them not to post shots on social media, which I often do. I know I can't stop them posting but I often ask politely if they they could refrain from posting. It often works and have even had people take down sets of images if I DM them. Damage is often done but it helps stem the reach.
When you get that little prick of desire to publish, skite or boast, just don't do it. Be bigger. And if your profiting from it then we all know who comes first.
I think there are a lot of good waves out there that are known, but don’t necessarily get surfed that often because of difficult access, consistency, accommodation, . security etc
I hate these influencers who can barely surf who drive all around S.A. in their 4x4's filming every spot like they are the first humans to ever go there. Then you see all the comments from all over the world telling them how great they are. All you need is a 4x4, Google Earth and a girlfriend with a hot body and away you go. Instant fame and fortune.
Whether it’s surfing or 4wding or bushwalking or whatever, I hope all these vacuous kooks get over themselves and/or this awful culture fades away.
I won’t hold my breath though.
I hear bolt guns are cheap
Same has happened here in WA, north and south. Cannot stand the fuckers.
I have no problem with certain breaks being promoted in indo . I came to Lembongan in 1980 as an 18 yo and have brought over many a friend since then . People say to me it must have been paradise back then . HA ! If children going hungry and dying from a variety of diseases is your idea of paradise then you are a sick fuck . Today’s Lembongan is so far removed from what it once was . Families that were once dirt poor now have such a better standard of living and survival. What would you choose if it was up to you ? Secret surf with a low survival rate for the local population or by promoting the break and bringing in a much better standard of living for the locals and those that stop in to test the waves ? I find surfing to be a selfish sport for many and all about ME .
I never reveal any new banks, secret or semi secret spots I surf to anyone. They might show up and see how much of a kook I am.
In order to not bring more attention to this spot I’m going to ignore using names of the people and exact days but those that read this…. If you were that group of 4 Torquay groms the other day, that put up the YouTube video up of that spot we surfed together and are thinking of doing it again from that surf. Please consider how special that wave and place is for where we live and how lucky we are to be able to share a session like that together. Everyone’s welcome to go discover it themselves but really think about the consequences of sharing footage from that session and what about that spot makes it so special for you to drive all that way. Have a look at the change happening all around the world, places that were once uncrowded for decades can easily become unsustainable from many different perspectives with crowd being the least important such as the destruction of local communities such as
. I know it might seem ridiculous that place will ever get crowded but that’s how it felt for the people to first started surfing in Torquay they wouldn’t have ever imagined it to turn into what it is today. So If you value your own ego to show the nice waves you got to your followers more than the fragile environment and local communities then post as many clips that fills your cup. Further the takeoff spot is only 1 m wide and we were already brushing shoulders with 5 of us out. If you were to add anymore it’ll just be dangerous and ruin the magic you came to enjoy in the first place.https://m.
Hey psst....... can you guys keep a secret ?