Aloha, and welcome to The Inertia!
We’re not sure how you got here, but we’re glad it happened. Whether you landed on an interesting news article, a video about sharks, or googled “Best Beginner Surfboards,” you made it to the best surf and outdoor publication on the good ‘ol fashioned ‘net. Nice to meet you.
A little about us. Founded in 2010, The Inertia is the definitive voice of surf and outdoors. We approach the natural world and its devoted culture with curiosity, optimism, and respect. We take pride in bringing our passion for the oceans and mountains to life through original films, reporting, and monumental gatherings. We aim to make a positive impact on our planet through partnerships with nonprofits working hard to preserve earth’s sacred places.
The Inertia’s Founding Story
In 2010, after working as an Editor and managing SURFER Magazine’s digital properties, The Inertia Founder Zach Weisberg teamed up with friend and colleague Ross Pfahler to launch The Inertia.
Previously, Weisberg served as SURFER’s Online Editor, where he helped usher the title into the digital age, accepting the baton from mentor Scott Bass and Surfermag.com Founder Chris Dixon. Bass and Dixon were ahead of their time in championing SURFER’s digital presence, and Weisberg took the reins in a moment where readers were just beginning to embrace online reporting. While in hindsight, it seemed obvious that readers were transitioning attention online, SURFER’s parent company at the time hadn’t yet warmed up to that idea.
Between 2008 and 2010, surf culture had also stumbled into an awkward direction where publications began to casually publish bigoted language and attitudes in an attempt to be edgy. That didn’t sit right with Weisberg. While at SURFER, Weisberg published a piece entitled, “Diversity in Surfing: We Need More of It” that addressed the topic. The intention was to encourage a more inclusive and welcoming attitude from purveyors of surf culture. Despite generating praise from surfing’s most influential figures as well as thoughtful conversation on the topic, the piece was censored from SURFER’s site.
It ultimately became the launchpad for The Inertia.
Since 2010, The Inertia‘s goal has always been to celebrate a diversity of perspectives within the surf and outdoor community. Growing up surfing in the Outer Banks and Virginia, Weisberg felt that surf media had neglected a broad swath of valid, diverse, and powerful perspectives. He intended to build a media outlet that could help change that – serving as a platform for surfing’s multi-faceted community and perspectives.
The Inertia Founder Zach Weisberg takes a moment in the shade during a trip to Nicaragua. Photo: Patrick Ruddy
After launching in 2010, Weisberg received his MBA at USC Marshall and used The Inertia for every school project. He also completed an MBA internship at Nike, and received an offer to join Nike full-time at Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. He chose to decline the job at Nike to build The Inertia.
Joined by Alexander Haro, Joe Carberry, Mark Sawyer-Chu, and Juan Hernandez as the core team over a decade, (and talented contributors including Ryan Trautwein, Tetsuhiko Endo, Reid Levin, Michael Woodsmall, Toby Aimer, Alex Smolowe, Casey Acaster, Nick Greeninger, Shannon Marie Quirk, Dashel Pearson, Jeremy Searle, Jordyn Romero, Zach Boon, Taylor Pitz, Molly Lockwood, JP MacDonnell, Corey Schrimpl, Ella Boyd, and many more amazing humans) The Inertia team rapidly built a platform and community that included nearly 2,500 contributors. The list includes luminaries of the sport like Kelly Slater, Gerry Lopez, Laird Hamilton, Rob Machado, Keala Kennelly, Kassia Meador, and more. The team produced hundreds of short films, launched gatherings like EVOLVE: Celebrating the Brightest Minds in Surf and Outdoors, and Inspire Courses, an online educational platform called that serves thousands of customers.
After building the media platform for 12 years and reaching audiences that totaled nearly 20 million readers annually, Weisberg sold The Inertia to AllGear Digital in 2022. AllGear Digital also owns GearJunkie, Switchback Travel, BikeRumor, and others. The majority of the team continues on with the same mission and mantra that began the journey.
Best of The Inertia
Since you made it here, we wanted to do the courtesy of rounding up some of our favorite features since we hit the big red button to go live over a decade ago. We’re also on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube where you can follow us for more awesome content. Without further ado, here are a few of our staff’s favorite features.
Want to get in touch? Email info@theinertia.com. And don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Read
Freesurf legend Rob Machado explains what it was like when the Championship Tour didn’t want him anymore.
Essay: How Snowboarding Got Me To Stop Smoking Weed
Sometimes, our addictive tendencies are best soothed with a shred.
Selema Masekela Is Right: Action Sports Still Has a Long Way to Go
Selema Masekela has seen it all in the world of entertainment and action sports. He weighs in on race and alternative pursuits.
Did a Surfer’s Death from a Brain-Eating Amoeba Reveal a Serious Loophole in Regulating Wave Parks?
The death of Fabrizio Stabile may have drastically impacted the future and regulation of artificial waves. Our in-depth reporting was subsequently cited worldwide.
Is This the Dystopian Future of Surf
In this short fiction piece we find a future where the coast is too toxic for humans to survive and wave pools rule the surfing world.
Listen: Gerry Lopez Believes Meditation, Surfing, and Powder Can Make the World a Better Place
Gerry Lopez talks about the incredible power of positivity. Find more podcasts from The Inertia, here.
Here’s What I’m Doing to Raise a Rad Little Girl That Plays Hard
Dads, teach your daughters well. Here’s how one of our favorite dads is doing it.
Watch
Kassia Meador, Leah Dawson, and Lola Mignot are building a bright future for women’s surfing.
Big wave surfer Ian Walsh joins iconic snowboarders Danny Davis, Nick Russell, and Jeremy Jones for a strike mission in the Sierra Nevada backcountry.
Blair Conklin rides America’s best river waves finless.
Enjoy the first part of a candid interview, where, for fifteen minutes, you get to meet Kelly Slater, the person.
Holy Meola! is a punchy portrait of (arguably) the most unique and talented brother-sister duo in the surf world today: Matt and Lily Meola.
San Onofre’s Nuclear Waste Dilemma
Nearly four million pounds of nuclear waste is currently sitting at San Onofre, next to a fault line, the ocean, and a major population center.
Learn
Learn from the best and brightest in surfing and the outdoors with courses on longboarding, avalanche safety, surf photography, big wave surfing, shark safety, healthy eating, and more.
EVOLVE
We host a yearly summit focused on celebrating all that is moving forward in the worlds of surf, snow, and the outdoors. Check out these two great talks from our virtual summit in 2020, and stay tuned for the next one!
Find two quick profiles from our 2020 virtual programming, below.
Chris Burkard: Inspiring change through creativity.
Kai Lenny: How innovation is at the core of everything he’s achieved in the water.
Gear
We love gear – who doesn’t? But there’s a lot out there to choose from, so with single-item reviews and category roundups we do our best to arm you with information before you buy. Our expert team of gear reviewers are constantly on the hunt for the latest and greatest equipment to get out there and get stoked. Whether that’s surfing, skiing, snowboarding, wing-foiling, camping, or just enjoying the great outdoors, we’ve got you covered with our tried and true top picks. Below are a few of our favorite reviews. Head over to our Gear Page for more.
The Best Wetsuits for Surfing
Best Inflatable Paddle Boards
The Best Board Shorts
Best Ski Bibs
Best Snowboard Jackets
The Best Fat-Tire Electric Bikes
The Best Hiking Boots
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