Most epic surfers of all time

Bill Murray

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Best surfing in 5 years will be john john florence hes done so much already at such a young age he has his entire life to improve

but now i would say slater

but old school would be eddie akaui
 
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florence isnt young anymore, dude just won the world cup in december. age wise sure, but hes not going to get better and better, its hard to keep progressing when youre one of the best in the world.
 
total triple post, but just saw this. what are you watching for from those three? theyre never going to compete asp style events, reynolds just dropped out and wont return. machados style is more influential than his scores will ever be, and assuming you mean ryan burch, hes tight but hes one of the most hipster dudes out there. riding square pieces of foam and doors and random shit just because. like thats not progressive at all, its turning the pages in the wrong direction.
 
i would defiantly not call parks one of the most epic surfers of all times..... wakeboarders yes, surfer, no.
 
love that movie.but for real Slater is the best there ever was. you cant argue with 10 world championships. Taj is pretty nasty too.
 
I am not expecting anything out of these three on the competition scene. I love watching the tour but i enjoy watching these guys surf because of their individual styles. Ryan isn't epic because of his bag of tricks, he still rips, it's because he can think of, shape, and ride anything. I know the alaia and lord board attention around Machado and Burch is overhyped, but they are both fun to ride and experiment with and aren't nessacarily movements in the wrong direction. It's disapointing that Dayne doesn't compete well but when hes surfing all out its pretty damn sick.

 
yeah, this past year. and danes my man too, but i dig that he doesnt have any desire to compete, i could care less about his performance when he does. he sums it up pretty well here:

i've been getting some pressure from various people and/or websites to write something, sorta like an official statement concerning my exit from the world tour. my dismount. my pirouette. 'an opportunity level with your fans.' that's what they tell me. people wanna know whats goin on. be up to date. i can understand that. i like knowing whats going on. i like being up to date.

one thing to remember is that i have a heart and i have bones and muscle and skin and eyes and teeth. i have emotions. sometimes i act according to emotions. sometimes i think and make a conscious decision. i usually do that. in fact i usually think too much. sorta neurotic. i make mistakes, and i deal with them. i have fears and i have anxiety and i have insecurities and i have vices which i often give in to. social situations enhance all of these qualities. i could probably use some discipline, and lots of things bum me out, but generally i'm happy, and i enjoy making other people happy. sometimes all it takes is a smile. sometimes it takes a lot more than that. i try to be honest. especially with myself. i know that i'm fortunate. i'm sitting here and i have a pulse and i can breath and i hear birds outside and the buzz of the freeway and the suns about to set and it's a friday. that's fortune. i also know that i'm fortunate in many other ways. three brands support me and enable me to surf every day and travel and eat and have a house to live in. in return i represent their company in a positive way. i feel like i do a decent job. but that's obviously up for debate. surfing is my passion in life. i always think about how lucky we are that there's even an ocean, and its not too hot or too turbulent and it's not made of acid that burns our skin off. and how lucky is it that the land tapers into the ocean in just the right way so that when lumps of energy approach from a thousand miles away they gently rise up and crash at just the perfect speed so that we can wave our little arms and match their speed and hang at the crest weightless for just a second before sliding down the face. free to ride it in any way you please. and there's not just one of them. there's tons of them. they keep coming. all different sizes shapes and speeds. everyday they're different. endless joy.

there are of course a number of things that get in the way of feeling this joy: crowds, twitter impostors, eggy locals, eggy surf bloggers, overzealous surf photographers, chris mauro and rip curl contests, just to name a few. that was sort of a joke, but not really, and besides, surfing isn't just about joy. it's also a sport. an industry. and we must not mix business with pleasure. by accepting endorsements i assume a certain responsibility. some think that responsibility is to compete. to put on a jersey and crush my opponent. despite a flimsy one dimensional criteria and an inconsistent playing field that causes the end result to rarely come down to performance alone. maybe that's the fun of it. i don't know. i do enjoy it. but do i believe in it? enough to dedicate the better part of my life to it? or is that irrelevant because it's my responsibility? i didn't have to answer this question because knee surgery in january answered for me. by the time i was healing i was already gone. three buttons to the wind. adventure over responsibility. career suicide! blowing my potential. wasting my talent. i heard the buzz.

in all reality i was being constructive in a different way, traveling to a variety of locations and pushing personal boundaries in an attempt to learn, grow, and improve. it's not as immediate as a contest webcast, and heaven forbid its enjoyable, but in the end it's equally important and i've been neglecting it for too long because i was in a comfy space where contest results alone were satisfying. in order to be successful in surf competition you need to refine your act into a nice little package presentable in a 30 minute period in a number of trying conditions. you need to kill the variables. trim the loose ends. stay on your board. know your equipment. wave selection. endlessly try to revisit motions that score the most points. there are obviously exceptions to this. kelly slaters full rotation slob air reverse in new york. that was not a motion revisited and it was epic. on the beach afterwards: 'so kelly slater, how was that slob air reverse!' 'oh, is that what that's called?' also john john florence and gabriel medina. maybe it's only a matter of time before they refine their act, but for now i'm really impressed with their competitive success despite such rawness. rawness is good. surfing with john john this year in japan was enlightening. it was like every wave he was exploring new territory. i wanna explore new territory! i wanna unwind! by the end of the trip i felt improved and rejuvenated and then crunch! i busted my ribs at the mercy of a fresh typhoon swell. nearly drowned. another month out of the water. gotta pay to play. especially when you're trying to keep up with john john in waves of consequence.

and so here i am. 26. officially off tour. wasted talent. blown potential. refusing responsibility. 'all he wants to do is sit at home and play with crayons and ride fucked up boards.' but wait! but wait! that's not true! don't listen to chris mauro. he's a dinosaur. doesn't get it. this may be the end as a wct contender, but its also a new beginning. i feel like a baseball. the skins been carefully pried off and there's a thread and i'm gonna pull it and i'm gonna end up a pile of string on the floor. but then maybe i'll be knit into something more useful, like a sweater. or perhaps something beautiful, like a hand embroidered masterpiece of a deer and two fawn drinking cold clear water out of a creek. but you never know. i hope to achieve some sort of balance. yeah, i do like riding fucked up boards, but i also like doing airs and taking some aggression out on a cutback. and competings rad if you can stay inspired, but rankings and trophy's mean very little to me. i wanna learn, i wanna make things, things of purpose, be productive. travel. new experiences. new sensations. and most importantly explore the outer limits of performance surfing. i'll still compete. but its not going to consume me.

finding this balance will be a challenge. but its just a step in an endless set of steps. a staircase. it's sort of a big step. too big to just hop up. i gotta climb. like, with a rope and safety gear and shit. and i might get there and be bummed out and like my old step better but that's just the mystery of life and i'm happy to experience it. and i'm endlessly in debt to the ones who make it possible. firstly surf fans who have resonated with my surfing for one reason or another, because at the bottom of everything, you're the only reason i'm able to have the sponsorship that allows me to travel and eat and pay the bills and continue surfing. secondly my sponsors: channel islands believed in me from the ripe age of 13 and continue to craft boards that allow me perform at my highest potential and also craft boards that have nothing to do with performance at all, but make you realize how much joy you can get out of a simple high line. i thank quiksilver for their unwavering support, re-signing me during a year of uncertainty and working with me on honest marketing and products. i also thank vans for picking me up. every person on the team is one of my favorite surfers and/or people and i'm honored to be apart of it. there are, of course, hundreds of people worth thanking here, but this is who comes to mind tonight: my girlfriend courtney, for giving me inspiration, giving me perspective, giving me love and giving me treats. blair, for keeping my otherwise maelstrom of a life in order. my parents, for their conflicting views. i don't think i would have done very well in an ordinary functioning family household. my father particularly for dedicating countless weekends driving me up and down the coast to compete. that was a huge sacrifice. also my mom for preaching creativity, fearlessness, and keeping everything bullshit free. and my brother brek for administering many humbling experiences from a very early age. my grandparents, for being probably my biggest fans on earth. particularly grandma bonnie and papa chuck, who come to every surf contest on the west coast. they show up at 7 am to get good parking, even if i surf at 3. and also grandpa bob for giving me his super 8 cameras when i was 18 and instilling a lifelong hobby.

-dane
 
youd like the present then too. lots of weird retro shit, and it has a few random funny sections too. i think sterling spencer is a tool, he comes off as such a nerd in person too, not much of a personality despite what his vids show. taj in crocs is pretty dope though.
 
All time, I'd say Kelly and Laird. Right now I think Jordy's airs and a bunch of the other younger guys who throw massive airs are soon to be on that list
 
I was going to post something funny, but there's no way I can post anything funnier than that. +k
 
its your opinion so its not wrong but if you ever get the chance ride a square peice of foam or a door there amazingly fun, ive got a mini simmons and its the best thing ive ever riden and everyone who has had a go on it asked to buy it off me afterwards. find one ride it then moan about it, theres pics of slater on one and hes got and ear to ear grin on his face, cant be that bad if some one of his calabar enjoys himself on somthing so backwards, rant over.
 
a mini simmons is different than a square piece of foam or a door you idiot. i have a mini simmons, theyre incredibly fun, thats not what im talking about. im talking a literal square piece of unglassed closed cell foam and a door for a room.

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Out of the big names I still like to watch Machado the most I think. He might not be doing the "wtf" stuff you see from the younger kids now but he still manages to be a really spontaneous surfer and of course legendary style.
 
yea your talking about a lordboard or something from linsey lords book of naval hyrdodynamic plaining hulls. which the theory of a mini simmions is based on as its a plaining hull. i was talking about the fact my mates knick name my simmons board the door cos its so wide and dumpy, anyway there great fun to ride and we know it just gota get other people riding them.
 
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