I Just thought I’d ask all the stand up surfers here. Im just curious. I know I sounded a bit harsh in my last post but Im a nice guy, Bodyboarder, sponger extruadinare. I have alot of Surfer friends I chill with in and out of the water. All of them before they knew me, saw me charge waves that alotta guys with surfboards wouldnt touch at our home breaks. At 1rst allot of them had plenty of foul lil words they’d mumble under their breathe passing by, but once they saw us ride, they left us be. Even had a few admit to me they were jealous & were too afraid to try BBing due to the fact that friends may say something to them. The Stand up community where I ride was especially shocked when they saw a local BBer rip a surfboard on a big day like he was sponsored by RipCurl. They tuanted him with the idea saying, “Hey Nut Dragger! If your such a great wave rider, why dont you show us what you can do on this.” They handed him a 6/7 & he paddled out into the line up. The entire group daring enough to be out that day watched & let him have his wave. A nice overhead wave. He dropped in & Killed it so good. Threw buckets everywhere, got a lil curtained & even attempted a 180 air toward the end of the wave. People cheered, saying Holy Shit!!!. He had only ridden a surfboard 1 time when he was a lil kid & now here he was rippin like a pro. The fellah that lent him the board dropped into a wave on a bodyboard& got beat down. He came up & gasped for a breathe & then requested his board back. When asked why “Moe” doesnt surf on a regular surf board his reply was, “I like bodyboarding better. I just prefer the option to ride Prone or drop knee or even stand up on my bodyboard.” Everyone just shrugged in the line up & said, “ok, cool.” Once we all started talking & everone realized we were in the water for the same reason, everyone became friends. Sure we joke with each other but give each other props on good rides & support on learning new things. Ive visited some beaches where thers no Spongers & I was met with harsh words & even had a group try to threaten my wife. It ended up in a scuffle. luckily no one was hurt but it was basically becuase a bodyboarder showed up. Had I been a stand up, i wouldve been treated differently. What do yall think?
there are alot of good bodyboarders out there, but same as with surfing, theres the kooks. the guys who suck and dont know it, and go around acting too cool and tuff, and they cant even stick themselves in a decent sized barrel.
Interesting debate… The argument I feel, can be narrrowed down to a singular belief that the sponging community is constantly trying to claim that it takes every bit of athleticism and skill to be a good sponger as it does to be a good surfer. I feel that if this claim were not made by the sponging community then there might be peace in the land between the stand ups and the prones. Stand up surfers feel that mechanically there is much less involved in sponging than stand up surfing. This point is hard to argue especially when looking at two alternating methods of taking off on a wave. Once on a wave, sponging can be as physical and aggresive from an athletic point as stand up surfing, but let’s be honest here, the skill and athleticism required to catch a good wave on a sponge need not be near the level as that of a stand up. Sorry. Less body parts moving in concert with one another simply mean that there is less athleticism going on. Surfing as we all know is a fairly macho sport. And athleticism is at the very core of that machismo. Stand ups get angry when there is a group of people out there claiming to be every bit as skilled and deserving of equal respect when in reality they are on a biased athleticism curve. Sadly, the saying that even a bad surfer can be a good bodyboarder is one that will always ring true in the lineups and bodyboarders throw only flames on the fire when they insist that their choice of water craft requires as mcuh skill and athleticism as those of stand up surfers. Do I personally share this argument? Not really. I bodyboarded as a kid. Wished I started surfing then, but I didn’t. Never really pushed the boundaries on a sponge after I started surfing but maybe might it one of these days. peace to all 8 days till x-mas Drew
Its like gays who are in your face about their sexual persuation. Who gives a rats ass except other gays? Did I ask to hear about your problems? That`s why surfers get so pissed. Shut the f-up and ride what you like.
Fear of a common enemy brings brotherhood… its everywhere. Skaters have Rollerbladers, Snowboarders have skiers; right now we fear the Middle East, a decade or two ago we feared the Russians. It keeps us from waring with ourselves, well, lessens it anyway. There will always be prejudice. If there were only surfers in the water the line between longboarders and shortboarders, or single fins vs. thruster, would only be that much more intense. Its part of our human nature. Go read Lord of the Flies.
Some guys feel the need to boost their own self esteem by putting down others. Same old story that never changes. That said, I surf with many folks here in Santa Cruz and the islands that couldn’t care less about what you ride as long as you show respect. p.s- I shortboard, Kneeboard, BB and occassionally matt surf and rarely hear any BS and when I do it’s coming from some individual whose wearing their stupidity on their sleeve.
Im always amused by the "less athleticism vs. more athleticism" debate. And "What is it that you hate"... well, that question is backwards to my usual way of thinking. If conventional stand-up surfing is superior (which type?) because its the most technically difficult, then what about the guys who ride standing on paipos and bodyboards? Why not try headstands on that 6 Thruster? That would be a real tough stunt... so surfings all about tricks? Seen from another perspective… for pure surfing athleticism, bodysurfers have no peer. (Photo of Greg Deets at the Wedge) 
Most kneeboarders have you guys down as “larvae”. Give respect, do your best, have fun.
Dale- great photos you have been posting!!! Plus i enjoy all your insight!I rode a cheap mat last night in front of my house .I t is difficult to ride well and is a great workout SO FAST though.After my son is born( any day!) iam going to get a mat from you.I saw Kenny last year at a perfect sand point on his, he is really good . He really inspired a few of us.Keep up the great posts! talk to you soon about mat–John Hall oxnard ,ca
maybe because it is laying down - you dont need balance to lay down. Also, there is not much style associated with a rider who is laying down - you just see a body flying down the wave without much personal body positioning to set riders apart. Think of how silly it would be to lay down to skate, snowboard, wakeboard, etc, and i know most bodyboarders do those things too. But different people like different rides, and spongers do overpower stand-ups at some breaks (like shark island, etc) - i give those guys mad respect. Typically there is much more respect given to a very good bodyboarder than a sucky standup. Maybe the main thing is that it requires much less skill to ride a wave on a boogie than on a surfboard - anyone can ride a wave on a boogie, not everyone can ride a wave standing up. Anyways, there are some amazing bodyboarders out there. But i would never want to be a full on bodyboarder. Standing up just seems right. i was trying to think about your question, then i read rook’s response. i agree with him.
also usually the negativeity only stems in a crowded lineup where the thought process is “there arent enough waves to go around, so i have to figure out who is ‘lower’ on the scale that i can burn to get a wave” if you are surfing perfect waves with 4 guys out and 5 wave sets, you could not give a flying fart what the other 3 were riding - you would be stoked on each others rides and hooting for each other no matter what was being ridden.
Think of how silly it would be to lay down to skate, snowboard, wakeboard, etc, and i know most bodyboarders do those things too.>>>Right on dude! Think of how silly it would be to stand up driving a car, a boat or flying an aeroplane! I know most surfers do those things too. Methinks your logic is fucked up.
“Kenny”? Mightest you mean the Hudester from SB? A living legend with legal access to the Ranch at its finest?
i’ve never really encountered hostility towards boogie boarders. maybe because its just a part of the lineup here on a regular basis. everybody does it or at least has done it for a good amount of time. every summer when the black ball goes up and it gets really crowded, it seems like every kid who surfs grabs a sponge and atleast screws around on it, and every body i know who surfs indulges in a good bodysurfing session regularly. Everybody gets there wave. The other day this boogieboarder was ruling the main peak, and just getting huge wide open barrels for 100 yards.
Richard, There are many different styles associated with prone riders, but its usually much more subtle than with standing surfers. Mat surfing, even moreso. Outside positioning, wave choices, take-off, bottom turns, the lines people draw, various combinations of maneuvers, the exit... head, shoulders, hands and lower legs/fins relative to the wave and vehicle... its all there in plain sight for the knowledgeable observer. While I agree that bodyboarders (those who have no other surfcraft skills) are kooks on surfboards, its equally true that conventional surfers (without previous bodyboard experience) can quickly be identified as newbies when they try to use a bodyboard. It comes down to whos watching, and if they have the ability to fully understand what they`re seeing. Surfing, as life in general, is best appreciated within the proper context.
i always tell peaple that have little knowledge of of any means of waveriding that kneeboarding or proneriding is like a tabogan or the skuling i think it is called at the olympics you know ?the guy laying down an inch off the surface going ninety miles an hour !Riding with that low center of gravity at high speed close to the surface!!! Who cares if anyone likes the way it looks!!! It 's how it feels !There is so much to be said for a low center of gravity.
Flame on, Cheeseballs. And Cheers ;-). If the thought process you muddle through says footboarders are more athletic because they standup and balance, just remember that even today December 17th 2003 the best footboarders in the world cannot do top level bodyboarding manuevers. Cannot. And with the equipment I’m aware of I doubt it will happen any time soon, nor should some decade the top footboarder happen to do an ARS or one of the newer gymnastic spins, he or she won’t be repeating it any time soon. Check out a current, hell - even a halfway recent - bodyboarding vid/dvd and see real athletic prowess in action. They may not have to balance on their own two feet, but they fly… Merry Christmas from the Family (I reserve the right to augment this spew after more drinks) (or less drinks)
just don’t spew the drinks, ok?
Only time will tell about spewing drinks, but when the Santa Anas howl my name at midnight I’ll be in the hot tub under the avocado tree in the half-moon light, enjoying the reflections of Christmas lights and stars on the water, dog climbing the steps givng me The Nose ready to go inside and sleep dog-dreaming sleep, always exciting because getting out of hot water in the middle of the night is cold, man…gotta rush inside and close things down and hop in bed…soon as you get warm you are gone gone gone dog already asleep at the foot of the bed or maybe on the dirty laundry in total dog lap of luxury at peace oddly enough a lot like paddling out