Should waves like the one on the left have a place in professional surfing? Some think not. Photos: Hurley/WSL
I’m so glad they called off The Pipe Masters. Hawaii is a scary place. The waves are big and dangerous. It would be horrible if any of the world’s best surfers were injured or worse, drowned.
As a mainstream sport, surfing needs to evolve past the ego-based paradigm that the world’s best surfers need to excel in big waves. What really matters is that the sport encourages young surfers to promote a healthy lifestyle based on prudent choices in all faucets of their lives. We are at a point in pro surfing that we need to look at the messages we are sending to the mainstream media and major corporate sponsors. Big waves, tattoos and mixed martial arts are not what we want brands like Sony, Exxon, P&G or WalMart to see in relation to the sport of surfing. Southern California is where the World Title needs to be decided. Preferably the final three major events should be held at Trestles, Malibu and Huntington Beach. Small to medium sized waves need to replace big waves. The clean cut image needs to replace the tattooed tough guy image. Respectable hobbies like golf and tennis need to replace the current fad of BJJ and MMA. By moving the most important events to Southern California, we place all the action closer to Hollywood, focus attention on the emerging talent from Orange County where the majority of the surf media/industry is based, remove pro surfers from the dangers of big waves while sheltering them from the harsh realities of localism and the threat of physical violence that exists on the North Shore.
These hard working, clean living pro surfers have some of the highest moral character to be found in the world of sports. It’s a shame that after a grueling year on tour, pecking orders in the line up deny the international pro surfers the ability to train properly in their free surfs for the major events. These are just some of the reasons why Hawaii should be removed from the World Tour. At this point, we need to replace many of the ASP hierarchy with leadership that can only be found in non-surfers who have grand vision and a proper understanding of corporate America–something that, with the ASP/WSL takeover by ZoSea Media Holdings seems to be slowly happening. We need to look to past and current visionaries like Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh for inspiration to pull pro surfing out of the dark ages and into the modern world. We need to pull pro surfing out of the dark ages and into the modern world. The decision to not hold the Pipe Masters on that day was the best thing that has happened to pro surfing in recent years, but clearly, it was not enough. Canceling the event and canceling the Hawaiian events all together is the only option at this point. No more Hawaii. No more Big Wave World Tour. No more XXL. Keep pro surfing safe and marketable.
