We Chronicled All The Best(?) Surf Vlogs Of The Week - Stab Mag

Live Now — The Season Finale Of The Electric Acid Surfboard Test With Dave Rastovich

119 Views

We Chronicled All The Best(?) Surf Vlogs Of The Week

Click or Miss, Voume 1.

cinema // Dec 11, 2020
Words by Zack Raffin
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Like it or not, vlogs aren’t going anywhere.

With the meteoric rise of Youtube coupled with the micro-influencer marketing push, there has never been a higher volume of homegrown surf content than in 2020. The value of that content is up for debate, but everyone’s gotta start somewhere, right? 

The current in surf vlogs should come as no surprise. Surfers make the majority of their money from sponsor contracts, which require the athletes to promote their brands on a regular basis. With no competitions in 2020 and travel restrictions making it difficult to film traditional surf edits, team managers have had to find alternative means for athletes can earn their keep. 

Upon receiving yet another link to a surf vlog upstart from Mikey C, I finally said enough is enough. Rather than shoving these down your throat in individual posts, I figured we’d try to contextualize all the best vlogs from the past week in a single drop. That way you can let your rage build up over the work week and release it here every Friday.

Leo’s Love Of Pastry Comes In Handy

Channel Subs: 6.36K

Video Views: 63,730 (21,243 views/day)

Like/Dislike Ratio: 1,313/15 or 88.5 likes per 1 dislike 

Leo is one of surfing’s newest Vlogeprenuers. With an active posting of nine videos over the past two months, Leo has a whole continent of potential viewers to tap into, being Europe’s most prominent surfing export (sorry Jeremy, but you’re basically from Africa). Throughout his videos, you’ll find Leo munching on breakfast pastries across the European continent. We’re sure those extra lbs came in handy when Aritz Aranburu took him to surf a large and menacing Basque country right-hander. 

N.V.R Forced To Finagle Nazare Surf Ban After Historic Run Of Swell

Channel Subs: 16.2K

Video Views: 45,431 (15,143 views/day)

Like/Dislike Ratio: 709/26 or 27.2 likes for every 1 dislike 

Before Leo hit the red button on his day-to-day, it was Nic Von Rupp had the Euro vlog market cornered. With 18 episodes of ‘The Life of Von Froth” accrued over the past 7 months, NVR has developed a reputation for being on every swell from Ireland to Morocco, along with some of Europe’s lesser-known big waves. While this video’s Like:Dislike ratio is a bit shaky, we doubt NVR is losing sleep over it, as his previous video hit a channel-high of 454,000 views. People love watching Nazaré, so much so that they banned it ’cause there were 20,000 people on the beach. Pandemics suck.

Is Alana More Badass Than Jack?

Channel Subs: 105,000

Video Views: 51,465 (5,718.33 views/day)

Like/Dislike Ratio: 1,734/10 or 173.4 likes per 1 dislike

The Freestone/Blanchard coupling was a match made in vlog heaven. These pretty people (and their adorable bi-product) bring in a family audience that fiend for mom-n-pop content. In this episode, Jack and Alana find themselves childless as they pair up with One Ocean Diving for a cage-free shark dive. I guess there are two types of people: those who witness a near-fatal shark attack and never forgive the culprit, and those who face their demons head-on. Alana, clearly, is the latter.

The New* King Of Surf Youtube

Channel Subs: 654,000

Video Views: 101,181 (posted yesterday)

Like/Dislike Ratio: 4,173/32 or 173.4 likes per 1 dislike

It’s no secret that J.O.B wrote the script on this surf vlog gig. Being that he’s clearly the most successful self-promoter of the bunch, we felt it important to include him in this first edition. Here are some facts for you to ponder, just so you know how hard J.O.B is #winning.

– When I started writing this piece last night, this video roughly 50,000 views. This morning, that number has more than doubled. 

– *When we interviewed JOB last year, his YT audience was second only to the WSL in subscribers. That’s since changed with him overtaking them by roughly 9,000 subs.

– Jamie’s gotten one of the longest barrels at Pipe so far this season…on a soft top…

Is This Modern Entertainment?

Channel Subs: 3.13k

Video Views: 11,088 (1,232 views/day)

Like/Dislike Ratio: 273/6 or 45.5 likes per 1 dislike

The Cola Bros arrival to Vlogging has been so abrupt it’s hard to imagine it’s not coming from someone signing his checks. Posting four videos in nine days, it’s clear they’re trying to garner a following (and fast).

The ice tub scene above is intriguing. I’m not a scientist I believe your muscles contract when cold, which given the kinds of airs Griffin is doing at Lowers wouldn’t be a desirable trait to carry into the lineup at Lowers (feel free to set me straight in the comments). On top of that, they promoted the below video whilst golfing Turtle Bay this week, where Seth almost gets clobbered by a ball and they dance on the roofs of their carts. As they continue to clog the content conveyor belt with videos, we hope they find a happy medium of “entertainment” and what we really want to see: surfing. 

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

The Unsavory Side Of “Surf City”, El Salvador

In a bid to grow tourism, the "world's coolest dictator" is sparing no expense —…

Nov 22, 2024

The Stab Interview: EAST-Winning Shaper Ryan Lovelace

On shaping alchemy, parabolic stringers, boat building + Rasta's clairvoyance. 

Nov 21, 2024

Surfers Oppose New Seawall At San Francisco’s Ocean Beach

"As a surfer, I'm opposed to it. As a scientist, I'm opposed to it."

Nov 19, 2024

The Winning Shaper Of Rasta’s Electric Acid Surfboard Test Is…

Hint: he lives on a boat in Santa Barbara.

Nov 19, 2024

Another Winter, Another Six Figure Prize Purse, Another Vans Pipe Masters

Vans announces some invitees and the format of their annual Hawaiian specialty event. 

Nov 18, 2024

Premium Exclusive: 18 Minutes Of Unseen John Florence Footage In ‘Here’

Playing exclusively on Stab Premium for seven days only.

Nov 18, 2024

Unlocked SEOTY: ‘Juju The Surf Musical’ ft Jaleesa Vincent + Friends

And the Academy Award for best supporting actor goes to... Occy!

Nov 17, 2024

Why Don’t Surfers Take Going Switch Seriously? 

As answered by World Champ + Olympic gold medallist Italo Ferreira, waterman Kai Lenny +…

Nov 17, 2024

PSA: Your GoPro Deserves Better

A lesson in camera work from the 'King of POV'

Nov 16, 2024

Eden Walla + Lukas Skinner Take Out Rip Curl GromSearch Final

Today, one of the world’s most exciting young male surfers is from the United Kingdom.

Nov 16, 2024

$20 Million And Seven Years In The Making, Arizona Is About To Get A New Wavepool

Just five-minutes from the nearest airport. 

Nov 15, 2024

Opinion: Cut The Men’s Tour Down To 24

Do we really need that many journeymen?

Nov 15, 2024

The Electric Acid Surfboard Test Starring Dave Rastovich, Episode 4

"The magic board is the one that dissolves, that has the tendency to disappear... both…

Nov 15, 2024

The Women’s CT Will Expand To 24 Surfers In 2026

Should the WSL shrink the men's tour to achieve total parity?

Nov 13, 2024

The Dark Arts Joyride

Mick Fanning and friends sample the DHD 'DNA' in a carbon-wrapped construction.

Nov 12, 2024

Watch Now: ‘Revival’ A Rusty Team Surf Film

5000 A-clips boiled down to 55-minutes of high-powered surf cinema.

Nov 11, 2024

What Have We Learned From 133 Minutes With Dave Rastovich?

A look into the wandering mind of surfing’s reluctant messiah. 

Nov 11, 2024

Why Can’t We Agree On Wave Heights?

Nate Fletcher, Mason Ho, and more on the subjective science of telling your friends how…

Nov 10, 2024
Advertisement