Stab Magazine | Why Surfing?

Live Now: Chapter 11 Mini-Documentary With Dane Reynolds

1212 Views

Why Surfing?

Sifting through paranoia, terror and our current climate through a silly niche.

news // Oct 7, 2017
Words by stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

On my way to work Monday, my heart sank as reports came in from Las Vegas. Then again, yesterday morning, listening to the new-old gun control conversation with a heightened sense of paranoia, hearing about an easily purchasable device called a “bump stock” that turns a semi-automatic firearm into the automatic weapon used by the terrorist, and which quickly sold out following the Vegas shooting. Our friends in Hawaii and Australia are being told to take preparations for North Korean nuclear attacks. All this rides on the back of multiple hurricanes, Mexico’s seismic tragedies, death tolls rising, and here in sunny, upper-middle-class Los Angeles, we enjoy a permanent low anxiety anticipating “the big one”, certain that must be coming, that surely we won’t be allowed to continue to sit here, eating our Acai bowls and sipping our bone broths and six dollar lattes.

It’s unfortunate that the only time worldly problems are covered via surf media is when those worldly problems converge with our little coastal niche. (See, the Waves for Water Caribbean’s heroic relief efforts.) Unfortunate that, as those Hurricanes brought so much death, and family-splitting devastation, surfers enjoyed the solipsistic silver lining, weeks of long-period ground swell. The lucky score; the unlucky starve.

So, while the world enjoys a state of crisis unseen in my lifetime, I wonder: Why surfing?

Isn’t there something bigger, better, a movement more beneficial to the world at large than placing a cherry picker outside of Kelly Slater’s Wonderland, or Dane Reynolds’ new film? When he couldn’t stand that feeling in his gut any longer, Hemingway fought in the Spanish Civil War. What are we fighting for?

Slapping our laptops, tapping away about Wave Pools, Kelly Slaters, title contenders, waves, lack of waves, France, Laird, a quest to find the best surfboard in the world (whatever that means), who Occy’s interviewing, what the pros do during their time off, boat trips, prize packs, hurricane-affected pets, comments, photo galleries, Heli-lifted surf huts, Julian Wilson and Mason Ho. Waking up to the incessant inbox flood of juice that, for the vast majority of the population, doesn’t provide sustenance.

But for a small percentage, it is everything. Every. Fucking. Thing.

Why surfing? Because shit happens, people die, families split. Civilizations crumble, walls are built and torn down. There are mass murders, genocide, poverty, rape, humanity. There’s good, bad, beautiful and ugly, all around.

And there’s surfing. This escape from everything. This everything. While the Twin Towers fell, New York fired and surfers discussed the current climate from the comfort of the water beneath the discomfort of a burning skyline. The ocean doesn’t stop. And, surfing won’t stop for anyone. No wave pool, SUP or Hydrofoil, WSL, country club or demigod could kill the soul.

Why surfing? Because it’s necessary.  

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Watch: João Chianca Had A Remarkable Hawaii Season Before His Injury

Plus an update on his condition.

Mar 28, 2024

Pittar’d And Feathered

Do the WSL judges deserve the internet's wrath? We asked the man of the hour.

Mar 28, 2024

Robbo, Pickles, And Tyler Wright Become The Underdogs Breakfast At Uninspiring Winkipop

The foreboding blade sharpens and inconsistent judging prevails on Day Two in Torquay.

Mar 27, 2024

“I Don’t Always Win Heats, But When I Do, I Try To Beat John John”

Slater shines and the axe begins its descent on Day 01 at Bells.

Mar 26, 2024

Back Against The Wall: The Ramzi Boukhiam Redemption

Morocco's first CT surfer on speaking six languages, having no coach, and snatching Fil Toledo's…

Mar 25, 2024

Will Kirra, Babies or JJF Stop a GOAT Winning at Bells?

Bluesky BOAG advice from a Superman specialist and former Trials winner.

Mar 25, 2024

Bells Preview: The WSL’s Victorian Sword Dancing Equinox Ritual

Will a Brazilian crack the Top 10 at Bells?

Mar 25, 2024

69 Shin Bones Later + the Anticlimactic State of Big Wave Record-Breaking

Lucas Chumbo might have surfed the biggest wave ever this year. But how will we…

Mar 23, 2024

Watch: ‘Fresh and Fried’ Ft the Quik Kids

How taxing is it to tackle the Gold Coast’s Triple Crown in a single day,…

Mar 23, 2024

The Popular Vote: The People’s Stab In The Dark With Kolohe Andino Champion

Which board looked best — to you —under Kolohe's talons?

Mar 22, 2024

Six Key Learnings From Portugal

Three CT events in, what do we know? 

Mar 21, 2024

‘Zipper’ Is Going On Tour, Here’s Where You Can Watch It  

Dates, times + locations for the Venice, Encinitas, Sydney + Byron premieres.  

Mar 20, 2024

Dane Reynolds On His Future, His Past, And Chapter 11’s Raison D’être

Our 9-minute plunge into the collective psyche of Ventura's pillar(s).

Mar 20, 2024

From ‘Blue Ribbon Cross Country Runner’ to Vogue – How Steph Again Is Back With A Rip Curl Remix

Everything we know about the she-GOATs sponsorship boomerang.

Mar 18, 2024

Stab Interview: Darren Handley Explains Why You Can’t Buy The Winning Stab In The Dark Model

And his decades-long standoff with Slater.

Mar 17, 2024

Griff Embraces Portugal’s Eternal Time Loop To Vanquish Medina + Ewing, Defay Delays The Inevitable

A redeeming closing act at Supertubos.

Mar 16, 2024

The Secret Behind Lungi Slabb’s Inconceivable Greenmount Funnel

Six broken boards, one leaking forehead, and five days of Superbank mysticism.

Mar 16, 2024

Cheat Codes: A Million Miles Worth Of Travel Advice From Coco Ho

Hard-earned wisdom from more than 2,000 hours in the troposphere.

Mar 15, 2024
Advertisement