“The great thing about surfing is, we are riding nature and nature changes.”
Competition can take some of the fun out of surfing.
The early ’60s were all about having fun. There was no sort of competition involved and surfing was a really social thing. We were competing with ourselves because we wanted to get better, but no one was saying “I’m better than you” or “I’m going to win this contest.”
True genius is rare in surfing. George Greenough is a genius.
George was the first guy I saw ride a wave how I wanted to ride a wave. I’d never seen anyone able… to place themselves inside the curl. Prior to that, it was all about passing by the curl and just waving at it.
People who can give genuinely and unconditionally are really special.
That’s what Greenough was to me. One day, he took the fin off my Magic Sam and put a new one on it with more energy and bounce, sanded it and got it ready for me. The board was spot-on and that’s the board I won the ’66 World Championships on.
People say “Everyone wants to see a winner,” but in retrospect, I don’t think that’s right.
I actually believed that for a long time, but I don’t think surfing ever qualified as a very good competitive sport.
Surfing is completely subjective.
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Surfer.
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This story is from the April 2017 edition of Surfer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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60 Years Ahead
We had a whole plan for this year. Funny, right? Surfer's 60 year anniversary volume was going to be filled with stories nodding to SURFER’s past, with cover concepts paying homage to the magazine’s most iconic imagery. Our new Page One depicts something that’s never happened in surfing before, let alone on a prior SURFER cover. And our table of contents was completely scrapped and replaced as we reacted to the fizzing, sparking, roiling world around us. In other words, 2020 happened to SURFER, just like it happened to you.
A Few Things We Got Horribly Wrong
You don’t make 60 years of magazines without dropping some balls. Here are a few
THE LGBTQ+ WAVE
Surf culture has a long history of marginalizing the LGBTQ+ community, but a new generation of queer surfers is working to change that
For Generations to Come
Rockaway’s Lou Harris is spreading the stoke to Black youth and leading surfers in paddling out for racial justice
Christina Koch, 41
Texas surfer, NASA astronaut, record holder for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman
END TIMES FOR PRO SURFING
By the time the pandemic is done reshaping the world, will the World Tour still have a place in it?
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
After decades of exclusive access to Hollister Ranch, the most coveted stretch of California coast is finally going public
What They Don't Tell You
How does becoming a mother affect your surfing life?
Four Things to Make You Feel A Little Less Shitty About Everything
Helpful reminders for the quarantine era
The Art of Being Seen
How a group of black women are finding creative ways to make diversity in surfing more visible
