Red Bull No Contest Trots To San Francisco’s ‘Thick Skin + Big Heart’ Surf Community  - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

3245 Views
From Civil Rights, to culinary trends, film and entertainment and of course, technological innovation, the City by the Bay has long served as a bug light for many of the world’s most influential brains. While the lofty allure of success intrigues many to visit, it is the blue-collar community of caretakers, many of whom defy the stereotype of the tech-obsessed denizen, who’ve created the conditions in which that kind of thinking can thrive and survive. Photo by Morgan Silvin

Red Bull No Contest Trots To San Francisco’s ‘Thick Skin + Big Heart’ Surf Community 

49 dizzying square miles encompassing America’s most eclectic, underground surf scene and peak technological innovation.

cinema // Nov 14, 2023
Words by Ethan Davis
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Welcome back to No Contest — Stab and Red Bull’s look into the food, culture and local customs of surfing’s richest international surf communities, and some of the best waves on the planet.

In episode one, No Contest Host Ashton Goggans is joined by Red Bull athletes Jamie O’Brien, Ian Walsh, Izzi Gomez and surf writer Lewis Samuels talking with local legends and exploring San Francisco’s eclectic surf scene — stretching from its epicenter in Ocean Beach to 30 miles south at Half Moon Bay — the unassuming big wave Mecca just outside the city’s limits. 

In coming episodes (dropping weekly), we will be heading to Morocco, South Africa and Tahiti. 

With a population north of 870,000, San Francisco might seem like an odd choice for Stab and Red Bull’s surf travel series No Contest, which for more than three years has typically focused on smaller surf communities around the globe.

Yet strangely, much of SF’s history of surf culture remains underground. As Matty Lopez, a third generation local, surfer and owner of two of the Sunset District’s favorite dive bars explained, “The surf industry, sponsorship and competitive surfing are totally immersed in Southern California. That’s not even part of the deal here.”

“There’s this thing now where people rank themselves based on how long they’ve been here. I judge them based on their intention, like “do you want to stay?”, “Are you going to have your kids here?” because there’s people here that have lived here for generations that made the community here that you like. That you moved into. So do you want to preserve that or do you want to change that?” – Matty Lopez

2023 Big Wave Award winner Bianca Valenti describes how it takes a “big heart and thick skin” to surf Ocean Beach on solid days, and how the next crop of female big wave surfers such as Zoe Chait and Izzi Gomez are banding together to push each other at California’s most terrifying big wave spot, Mavericks. 

Thick skin, big heart. The winner of the 2023 Mavericks Awards Ride of the Year and Performer of the Year, Ms Bianca Valenti.

From there we meet with Mark Valenta, Creative Director at Adobe, and Marcus Sanders, Editor at Surfline discussing the symbiosis of tech and surf, and the peculiar cluster of the world’s biggest tech companies headquartered around the Bay Area.  

A study by the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale found that the average IQ score for adults living in San Francisco was 107. This is higher than the average IQ score of 100, which is generally considered to be the average IQ score for the general population. That might help explain this graphic.

Peek inside Mollusk, stroll through Sunset, grab a bite at Cantina and stay for Ocean Beach cathedrals afforded to “The Most Hated Man In Surfing”.

Check out all episodes of No Contest here.

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

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025

Britain’s First Wavepool Has Closed — What Really Happened?

Bankruptcy, social media hackings, debts unpaid — and yet, reopening looms.

Jul 1, 2025

Watch: Was Matt Meola’s Air Actually Better Than Hughie’s?

Watch the full Swatch Nines highlight reel and decide.

Jun 30, 2025
Advertisement