As near as I can tell, “with the right eyes” it’s 1972 in the showroom…real fish, tiny single fins, and the increased interest in eggy shapes… Although on the other wall it’s 1966… Fortunately 2003 on the wetsuit rack… Certain parts of cyberspace and the odd (2003) progressive show showrooms carry boards which are updated versions of Shortboard Revolution '67-'69 era design phases… And then under that one rack of snowboard jackets there are these little finless soft flexible chunks of foam that practically lock up in a lunchbox - prefect to carry under the arm as one New Vespas down to the beach, or to toss in the back of the Mini Cooper. Choice of equipment at the present time seems limited only by finances and peer pressure - and somehow the surf magazines seem to have become the social arbiters of this era and dictate the peer group priorities. The Surfing Industrial Complex still occasionally flogs the bodyboard, but the crush of newcomers in the past 2 years easily bypassed bodyboarding and the learning steps in that endeavour to go straight to “retirement issue” longboards. The only thing which hasn’t kept up with the widening opportunities is the quantity of surfing venues readily available. Obscure reefs in obscure waters which once took explorers weeks to reach are now raked at every available opportunity by boatloads of First World surfers on someone else’s dime - the Free Ride of the New Millenium. Does it really feel better when you’re getting paid? Hmmm…one thing is for sure - this is pretty much a working class crew at Swaylock’s.
We old 60s surfers have seen it all. The respect from the younger “dudes” and the smirks from those who wish ability earned water space rights. Some things change, but the big picture doesn’t. Harrold Iggy touting his Skil 100 in Webber’s full page ads in 1965 Surfer Mags (no other planer would be worthy?), Hang Ten made us all believe if we weren’t wearing T-Band striped shirts we were dorks, a surfboard brand was in or out based on how cool looking the guy in the ad was, anyone who was from the east or gulf coast that said they surfed was a joke… The publications painted the culture. You either looked and acted the way the magazines suggested, or you were a “rebel” and did the opposite just “cuz” it said to do it that way. Either way, the mags set the tone as they still do and always will. Bottom line: read em for fun and ideas but find your own deffinition of surfing. We’re all in a brotherhood. Just like some relatives stink like old fish, so do some of our brothers at times, but so be it - maybe they’ll mellow too. There was a time when I was “out there”, now my deffinition is simple: if the waves are pretty and mellow, the sun is out, the gulls are flying, and the guys are smiling, I’m surfing. And oh yea, if I happen to catch a few waves that’s extra special! How do you define it? No matter what, let’s keep the soul of it all intact. Aloha!
Spoke of this with an old surfing friend…he had some observations. Reworded a bit. 60’s magazines were fairly INCLUSIVE, with hipper inside statements which generally went over the heads of the youth and those not in the know. More modern eras are rather the opposite, generally to benefit marketing forces. The Culture divided: to try to conquer the disposeable income spending. Is surfing 1. Riding the wave? or 2. Riding the equipment? There are no wrong answers…
Youve done it again, Nels. "Is surfing riding the wave, or riding the equipment? There are no wrong answers" Riding the equipment could mean any number of things, in addition to being performed on mediums other than seawater. On the other hand, riding a wave can only mean one thing. In its purest form, surfing is totally unencumbered and free… no wavecraft, no wetsuit or even swimfins, are required to experience its essence. But for many others, the most satisfying answer to this enigmatic question transcends both aspects of “riding” as wave, surfer and vehicle gracefully merge and become… one. (Pete Halworth at Rincon, early 1950`s - Photo by Bud Browne) 