This Guy Just Snagged A Bunch Of Old Surfer Mags From eBay

Surfer Magazine, pushing daisies. What can you do?

Well if you’ve snagged a cover shot over the years—whether it’s behind the lens or in front—you post that shit on Instagram. Let a truly sentimental moment and your ego share one last kiss goodbye. Let their sweet embrace unravel as your career gets buried by some grom’s highlight tape from Waco.

But what if you’re like me? A below-average surfer. Someone who’s never had a career related to surfing. A true common folk. What do you do then? 

Well, you purchase any reasonably-priced vintage Surfer copy you can find on eBay. Lock in some inventory before prices skyrocket. Ehhh, slightly increase—surfers aren’t exactly known to be big spenders. I’m aware this $100 investment won’t have any resale value anytime soon. I’ll throw them under the bed till then.

But no, I didn’t buy these dusty old rags because one day I could make a slim profit. It’s Surfer Magazine. Don’t tell grandma, but if I had to flush Surfer or the Bible, my skin would be charred in the afterlife. Surfer is the reason I got into surfing. I remember sitting at the airport kiosk thinking, “Fuck lacrosse. Fuck school. Fucking working a desk job. I wanna do this.”      

Now look at me. Never been in Surfer Magazine, writing about its death from a different publication that doesn’t even have physical copies*. Not exactly living the dream, but aimed in the right direction. That’s where these yellowing pages come in handy. I know very little about surfing’s history. I didn’t get into it until I was about 14, maybe 2012-ish. Andy Irons wasn’t a household name for me growing up. 5’5 x 19 1/4 wasn’t in my DVD collection. And Joel Tudor’s Instagram is mad confusing. 

Basically, I have no respect for surfing’s history. My favorite surf film isn’t some obscure 90s flick; it’s Fun Boys 2. I haven’t really gotten sucked down the Encyclopedia of Surfing wormhole. Ignorant by choice. Hopefully these prehistoric Surfer Mag copies can fix that. Give me more of a legitimate surf education. Clear up some of the wild arguments I’ve stumbled across on Swaylocks forums.

I’m open to learning new things. I’ve reached the point in my life where an old war story actually grabs my attention instead of putting me to sleep. If I find anything cool, I’ll scan it and share. Not sure if that’s legally allowed, but I don’t think I’ll be getting a call from Surfer Magazine anytime soon. Because their office is empty. Because nobody works there. Because it closed forever. 

*IDEA PITCH: Stab quarterly, preorders/small numbers, no excess inventory, no harm no foul. Why not eh?