Pretty simple really... count the number of pages, count the amount of ad space and immediately conclude there is no need to spend one thin dime on ads masquerading as a magazine.
I don’t think or know if Bruce is into shooting up. I wouldn’t think so since he seems fit and surfs well. I know the ad and it was a play on addiction. Something like Addicted to surf. Next time you see him ask him about it.
I agree by the way. Some ad executive that would come up with that is a sicko, but frankly when I look at Reef ads and some of the other garbage used as ads…surfing " the business side " already " rightfully " has a black eye because none of that trash has anything what so ever to do with going surfing. Just made up B.S. to sell rags and such. Like I said, it was controversial when it came out and it got pulled. Maybe Bruce told them he was not comfortable with it.
i've never seen the Bruce add but i do remember reading something explaining the photo in the add. it may have been an apology too if i remember correctly. they explained the photo as medical. apparently Bruce was on a boat trip somewhere and was doing his own doctoring. might have been antibiotics or ??? my memory is kinda blurry on the details but for sure they were saying that Bruce wasn't shooting (recreational) drugs but rather injecting medicine of some sort...
a google search of "Bruce Irons controversy" came up with THIS as the first response...
i never new Bruce was so multifaceted!
It was an ad. No insinuation what so ever that Bruce shot up drugs. " surf Addict " like the old term " surf Nazi " It was an ad done in poor taste like most surfing related ads. That’s all.
Here is one version of the ad and you must listen to Bruce describing cry baby parents. How old is he?? I remember him from some of the trade shows also in the Volcom tent. Great surfer. Not to wild about the image. And…he knows he is pushing the envelope with the ad, though there are times when in your face is best to get your point across. I’m the furthest thing from a prude, but I don’t care for hardly a single ad put out in the kiddie mags. I thought one of the best and most subtle was the old FCS tee shirts that said…screw the system and had one of their screws as as a letter.
Did you click on the Bruce talks about his ads link?
What's odd about TransWorld is that everybody who puts on any kind of surf related event GIVES it away. Go to Sacred Craft next weekend and for your admission price you will get a free subscribtion to TransWorld with your admission. Join Surfing Heritage Foundation and you get a free subsribtion with your membership. Unlike Pezman and the Journal Transworld obviously does not live off of its subscribtions. It's all about the Ad dollar$$$.
All those mentioned in your paragraph are the same… ad $$$ or admission ticket $$$ it’s all about being " the hipster " Looks like Sacred is going the way of all other institutions. Self perpetuation and business. Nothing wrong with any of it really as long as you know what you are dealing with…but their ain’t nothing sacred about any of it either. Transsurferingcraftagefoundations: Golly Gee.
Print is dead.
I agree mostly. The abundance of really interesting websites and blogs is great. Way better than magazines every were. You can actually read numerous different opinions some of which are written really well. Unlike some, I never thought any of the surf related magazines had any consistently good writers.
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Print is dead.
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I agree mostly. The abundance of really interesting websites and blogs is great. Way better than magazines every were. You can actually read numerous different opinions some of which are written really well. Unlike some, I never thought any of the surf related magazines had any consistently good writers.
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I agree as well; the caliber of 'surf writing' in general isn't too good. We haven't produced our own Brautigan, let alone a Hemingway, a Conrad or a London. What you do see is in the main appropriately sophomoric, and I mean high school sophomoric, or else gushing hero worship and barely rewritten ad copy. An exception was Burdick's excellent The Ninth Wave , but that deals with surfing only peripherally.
One wonders if those writing about surfing want to reach the intellectual level of most of their readers.
doc...
I don't consider myself stupid or smart, but I'm intelligent enough to know most surfers are not intellectuals so in general don't demand the level of litteracy of renowned writers. The surf media takes full advantage of that.
Most people here know, surfing is fun and making boards is fun. Reading the mags is way less fun than looking at the pictures.
I think those that surf are a mix of all sorts. There is no stereo typical " surfer. " Those that are commonly identified as " surfers " by the magazines are mostly kiddies or those wanting to believe in Fairy tales and have the spirit of Peter Pan.
On my end, I don’t need or expect the next Steinbeck or Oscar Wilde…but something other than exotic pictures of places most will never see and the same old subject matter would be nice. Like I said. There is so much really creative variety on blogs and such, magazines are waste of money and time unless you are trying to sell something to the masses of lemmings.
The Ninth wave was also a great Kate Bush concept album and Kate Bush was fine and talented.
"Did you click on the Bruce talks about his ads link?"
No. I don't really care what Bruce has to say about his ads, his shoes, his boards, or anything else he is promoting. To me the implications on the site to which you linked were obvious enough.
I can think of any number of carefully orchestrated attempts at grooming and marketing an anti-corporate image in an attempt to establish street credibility. It sells more product in some industries such as the surf industry.
Without having read the 'Bruce talks' link, I can only assume.
I only asked because it had the one version of the needle add in the top left corner. I’m with you on the rest.
How can anyone seriously sit and be preached at by people who know far less about the sport than those of us who have been around a while. I prefer an intelligent two way conversation. Print is dead.
Hey Solo,
I hate to agree with you about Surfers' Journal. I used to love it. Very myopic lately. When you run a piece about your publisher picking out photos, you're too into yourself you know?
Anyhow, I'll keep the subscription up. I give my old copies away to friends.
To Greg,
Yeah print is dead. Long live print. There's nothing like it. A good magazine article should be like a great short story. There's way too much credence given to the idea that everyone is a journalist now. A good writer is just that.
Not that they'd be recognized by a surf magazine.
Swaylocks killed em too. The content here is so much better. Bill Barnfield on cant. Mike Daniels on contours. Thrailkill and PlusOne and JimtheGenius, etc. Magazines can't do it, even if they tried.
I say it with some sadness that magazines could compete. They have gotten into a trap of trying to maintain profits at the expense of everything else or maintaining the ego of the publisher above else. It doesn't need to be like this. I would LOVE a magazine that did scientific studies of boards and serious historical analysis. I would cancel my TSJ subscription for that. I love sitting on the pot with a good read ...
Peace, Crawford
I will enjoy sitting on the throne with my I-Pad very soon. Pretty sure that will make paper and ink obsolete. Do still enjoy TSJ though. Pez has an interesting view and has been around long enough to thoughtfully present something worth reading. The others are typically about profits first. Many articles are written by 21 year old interns who are working for free. Writing isn’t bad but the content is useless.