www.theinertia.com/business-media/joel-tudor-and-reflections-on-the-state-of-longboarding/

What do you guys think? Is logging for hipster wan$ or is it great?

Good duct tape contest footage also.

What a great read - I really enjoyed that - thanks for posting CMC. As far as the state of long boarding I can only really comment on where I live and from what I have seen the last few yrs.......

1. There are more and more of them
2. The owners have more than one board (normally at least 3)
3. The majority of them are older and wiser and used to ride short boards for many years
4. They have too much free time at this end of their working lives and it adds to crowds
5. It creates a very healthy lineup
6. I find them entertaining and good fun to be around
7. They tell great stories

So is the state of longboarding healthy where I live - I would say absolutely without a doubt. When I go down to Manly I can see that its even more so....the numbers are an order of magnitude higher - which probably doesn't make for good health

Comp wise - I have never been interested so have never really paid much attention. The Magoo classic is on locally in a few weeks and I am looking forward to watching the finals of that as an entertainment spectacle. Last year the swell was cooking and some of the blokes on LB's dominated the place. It was great to see. The blokes on the 666's were poor in comparison. A shame as Dogman would have killed it if he had been there!

No offence but I am not really a big fan of the LB's who think they are on a short board approach - with their so-called high performance LB's attack.....it just seems such a waste - why not be on a shortboard if you are going to ride them like that - you will have a lot less restriction. I do not have an issue with the more performance orientated shape - just surf it like a longboard not a shortboard. I prefer the more stylised approach from what I would call a 'proper' longboarder - it is lovely to watch. Some of those vid's that SP loves to post have really got me going.....so much sometimes that I just head out on the LB and spend the whole session trying to do drop-knees and stuffing up almost every wave! And other times I just practise triming - trying to extract as much speed as possible then whacking on the brakes and trying to hit top speed as fast as I can. LB'ing is so much fun on the right day. When its bigger or grunty the SB still wins though if you ask me. I can not wait to take my machine away to a long long right hand point break and play for days and days on end.

So for me Logging is what LB's is all about.

I thought it was a well written piece and I really loved this bit

What do you get when you copy something that wasn't all that cool to begin with? Recycled mediocrity. “Retro” is just another word invented to sell you expired goods that you didn't need in the first place.

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CMC said...
Good duct tape contest footage also.

How much fun are they having in that comp - especially at the 7:05 mark in the final! Its probably worth getting into the comp scene just so you can surf Nossa with a few others out for once!!!

If its for hipsters or not I think its pretty damn cool. Anything to get people out in the water having a good time is awesome. I hate when surfers hate on other surfers. Who cares what you ride just go out have a laugh and a few high fives..

Yep the hipsters make it look good but I always have a chuckle when I see one they all have that prisoner of war physique, a beard, long hair and the dangly bit of old retro wetty between their legs. I have been to a couple of LB comps found them boring. To be perfectly honest I longboard because I cant shortboard I use my kneelo when its big and have twice as much fun and feel fully stoked after a biggish wave session than any LB day. You very rarely see a dad pushing their kids into waves on longboards even at Byron.
I enjoy it when I do it but would get bored really quickly if it was the only type of surfing I did

I think its great...I love to ride my longy when its a bit small or fat and go to the shorter boards when it gets bigger...not really into comps much but the one's I have been involved in all the longboard guys are super chilled...so its all good bro...let the hipsters have the warm water of Byron...down south in the cold is where its at!!

Hippie fad sh1ts me,have a look on the" in byron today" site its full of rejects.

Although I ride a longboard and would define myself as a longboarder, I enjoy a number of different aspects of them and wouldnt necessarily say that the only way to ride one is to do so in a traditional manner.

In the same session, and of course depending on the wave, I very much may attempt to ride the nose (usually not very successfully) Or I also like to crank a bottom turn and really dig a rail, riding off the back of the board. Really its just how I feel and react with the wave in front of me

I remember back in I think it was 2003, the world longboard championship was held at one mile beach near Newcastle. I drove up and watched for the day.
It was apparent even then that there was some conflict about this issue as on the day Colin McPhillips won by basically riding short board style. When the winner was announced Wayne Deane went up to the judging box and was giving them all manner of lip, critizing them on their judging criteria.

Was at the Alley last week and seen two hotties in an Old Val with two logs on the roof.

Hipster chicks, not so bad.

This morning 2 completely individual blokes. Beards, tinted logs, both with beaver tails and super short shorts. Not as cool as the chicks.

Personally, if I was to get into LB it would be on a log. I love the boards, the artwork etc.

It just makes me laugh when you see all of these guys supposedly rejecting the surf industry and fashion by all looking the same as each other... Fabulous.

Remember guys, you are completely unique; just like everybody else.....

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62mac said...
Hippie fad sh1ts me,have a look on the" in byron today" site its full of rejects.

maybe have a look at this Mc

petebowes.com/2013/04/06/byron-bay-the-capital-of-kooks/
enjoyable read every now and again

Ah CMC, the power of the the slant six hemi valiant,just like 12'6 single fin
perfect in a straight line......
The pain of having to use a nappy/(beaver tail) was only exceeded by the indignity of having to wear one when i was a kid

Floater on a mal!! The most unaesthetic manoeuvre ever ?

Sometimes i wish some of the populace would stick with golf.......

kookland

Yesterday I was riding my 9' 6" Sheely Old & New. A modern classic which I won the odd Amateur comp on over a decade ago. Seems like the old thing is back in style?

It was great too to see the veteran shortboarder rider and shaper Peter McCabe cross-stepping an 11' footer in faultless style today. He was saying he started surfing on similar boards in 64.

In passing, with the odd notable exception, I find a lot of the "hipsters" too arrogent for their own good. It is almost like some sort of exclusive cult for pretty young boys and girls who are trying far too hard to look cool.

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surfershaneA said...
Yesterday I was riding my 9' 6" Sheely Old & New. A modern classic which I won the odd Amateur comp on over a decade ago. Seems like the old thing is back in style?

It was great too to see the veteran shortboarder rider and shaper Peter McCabe cross-stepping an 11' footer in faultless style today. He was saying he started surfing on similar boards in 64.

In passing, I find a lot of the "hipsters" too arrogent for their own good. It is almost like some sort of exclusive cult for pretty young boys and girls who are trying far too hard to look cool.

Ummmm yep. They look gay.

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CMC said...

surfershaneA said...
Yesterday I was riding my 9' 6" Sheely Old & New. A modern classic which I won the odd Amateur comp on over a decade ago. Seems like the old thing is back in style?

It was great too to see the veteran shortboarder rider and shaper Peter McCabe cross-stepping an 11' footer in faultless style today. He was saying he started surfing on similar boards in 64.

In passing, I find a lot of the "hipsters" too arrogent for their own good. It is almost like some sort of exclusive cult for pretty young boys and girls who are trying far too hard to look cool.

Ummmm yep. They look gay.

Yeah well, typically, all those pretty imitation hipster maneuvers with ******ty body language and it's total lack of power surfing in their peacock garb and tatts does look pretty bloody gay!

Thank god they don't know real hipsters
No-one wore a jumpsuit like Freddy
You would need a material safety data sheet nowdays for those lapels......
pure gold

Chrispy is a hipstar,just saying.

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Prawnhead said...
Thank god they don't know real hipsters
No-one wore a jumpsuit like Freddy
You would need a material safety data sheet nowdays for those lapels......
pure gold

Wasn't Elvis the real "King"?

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McHenry said...
If its for hipsters or not I think its pretty damn cool. Anything to get people out in the water having a good time is awesome. I hate when surfers hate on other surfers. Who cares what you ride just go out have a laugh and a few high fives..

I'm with you Mr bc

I love longboarding and I personally have always enjoyed the longboarders that mix up there styles on a wave between old school carving, noseriding and the odd floater or air, especially Joel Tudor. My only gripe is there are too many out there now argggh!!! I enjoyed it more when I was in the minority lol. I have always enjoyed watching the surfers that ride a heap of different boards which a lot of today's longboarders are doing. Mix it up and don't care about what others think of you.

Hipsters, local so called heroes, well, no comment.

Gotta admit, some of the hipsters are really nice kids. At least they are putting style ahead of wave count? It is just a pity you get a few that perfectly match the "gay" category and/or have little respect for the fact it has been done before. Otherwise, I really enjoy the retro revival.

There are so many beautifully crafted boards getting around nowadays. It is a real change from when I was one of the few grommets interested in long boarding and had to nag people to lend me boards that were being used as garden benches or otherwise rotting. It was always like, "why in the world do you want to ride that bloody thing?".

Ten years later long board became popular and proffesionalised. A couple of glossy mags appeared and things got nasty. I am hoping things are making a turnaround.

This just hit the inbox - from Joel at Saltmotion


About a year ago we had a day similar to today, tiny but super clean surf and brilliant blue skies. A friend of mine put the following quote up on Facebook: “If you're into kick-stalling your retro single fin longboard on a two foot wave while flicking your fringe out of your eyes then today is your day” – It made me laugh, a lot, so I figured I would share it with you…
Given the tiny little waves hitting the shoreline and the number of uber-cool longboarders getting funky in the surf, I thought I would join the hipster movement, just for a day, and get funky with the camera settings for the surf shots. For the camera crazies out there, slow shutter speeds, crazy white-balance settings and a fair amount of overexposure was what I opted for.

Great shots ted^^^. Reminds me I must get that email sub at my work email...

And if you don't move on a LB then ride a SB, they are meant to be trimmed and I reckon that is the basis of good LB surfing.

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SP said...
And if you don't move on a LB then ride a SB, they are meant to be trimmed and I reckon that is the basis of good LB surfing.

Very true sp. Nice pics Ted,and yes I must get this salutation thing happening as well