thegoods life

hey,
matt walker here from surfing mag
I’m writing with two comments

1. not sure if you’ve seen this, but the public comment period on virginia’s offshore oil lease request ends monday, dec. 29:
http://www.mms.gov/offshore/220.htm

this one is certainly a doozie for all east coasters as nc, de, nj, fl and ny watch va and weigh the pros and cons of taking oil money in times of decreasing state budgets. decision makers need to understand just how much money clean beaches generate in tourism, property values, fishing industries etc. so they don’t take the quick buck. and any coastal residents who believe domestic exploration is a way to keep fuel prices down –which it isn’t  — should question if they really want to gamble those consistent industries and income generators over a drop in the global bucket. especially with gas under two bucks again.

2. i’m also asking to see if you all would be interested in providing a link to ‘surf-first.org’. the full story behind the concept is here:

http://oceanswavesbeaches.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-localism.html

but, basically the goal is to get as much demographic and socio-economic info on American surfers and surf spots so that when issues arise, we can actually provide concrete data and numbers on just how much surfing contributes to local economies and lifestyles. this is the exact same type of information that proved crucial in defending trestles from the toll road. we plan to make it available so any surfer facing the most local issue can walk into a town hall and defend their homebreaks before a fight can even begin

thanks so much

matt

Matt Walker
Senior Editor
SURFING

matt walker on the right,ppass perfection love this guy.

Interview with Lewis Samuels, Author of Surfline’s Power Rankings

charging

Never has a journalist rattled more surfers’ cages then misterrrrrr Lewis Samuels, the man behind Surfline’s Power Rankings.  You see, we have an industry where the people that run ads in the magazines are the same people that sponsor the surfers.  So it’s always been a somewhat candy coated version when these publications write about athletes. Lewis is the first to tell it how it is, so with that has come a lot of controversy and I thought I’d be the one to clear the air (or stir the pot) by asking Lewis a few questions.

Can you start by telling me what you do for a day job and anything else about yourself?

Basically I’m just another obsessed surfer who’s found a job that lets me surf everyday and travel. I’m a User Experience Researcher.  I do usability testing of major corporations’ websites (Yahoo, eBay, FedEx, Honda…) I write up reports telling them how their sites could be made more user-friendly.  It’s consulting work, so I make my own schedule, and when I don’t have any work I’ll take off on surf trips.

I’m also a writer, so over the last few years I started doing articles for Surfline to legitimize all the surf trips.  It’s a good cover that non-surfers can understand – I tell them I’m going to Indo to write an article for a surf magazine.  It makes me look like less of a bum.

How did the power rankings start?

It started in 2007 when I was watching that epic Snapper Rocks contest.  It struck me that after every event there were so many little stories going untold in the surf media.  I wanted to find a way to write about the tour that shed some light on the whole story, all the guys, not just the winner of each event.

So I came up with the Power Rankings idea and pitched it to Surfline.  They thought it was an OK idea, but that I was the wrong guy for the job ‘cause I’m not a former pro or industry insider.  But my response was “That’s just the point!  I can be honest about stuff because I’m an outsider.  And you need a writer, not a pro surfer, if you want to make it interesting.”  So I conned them into it basically.

But I’ve just tried to bring a unique, opinionated perspective to the sport, and try to bring some irony, sarcasm and depth to the coverage.

lewis is not stuck on the lawn chair here,more like stuck on the toilet

I wrote in a couple years back when I was way down on the ratings, saying that you were being way too kind to me and could you put me at # 44.  Who was the first surfer to email you and what are some of the funniest emails you have gotten from some of the surfers?

Well, the first guy to email in is probably the funniest story.  I really thought none of the pros were reading any of the bullshit I wrote.  Then I got an email from “Tomr Curren” which was obviously someone pretending to be Tom Curren – someone who couldn’t even spell Tom right…  The guy told me that he liked my observations, and pointed out that “Kelly still had one record to beat – most consecutive heat wins, currently held by Tom Curren.”

So I was 100% sure this was a fan of Curren writing me – why would Curren misspell his own name and then refer to himself in the third person?  I sent back a pretty condescending email, like “OK, ‘Tomr Curren’ what contests did you win during that streak, buddy?”  And he wrote back and told me, very politely.  So I checked with the guys at Rip Curl, and of course it was Tom Curren emailing me all along.

I know a lot of surfers come up to you and ask about your take on things. Any good stories/dialogue with certain surfers?

Well, I had a pretty good chat the first time I met Luke Stedman.  I just totally wrote him off as a Zoolander reject last year, and I heard through his sponsor that Luke was really, really pissed about it.  So in Bali I saw him having a coffee with Whits and sat down to have a chat.  They have no idea who the hell I am, but they’re just the nicest guys ever.  Finally I say, “I think I owe you an apology – I’m the jackass who writes the Power Rankings…”  And Luke just freaked.  He jumped up, started pacing around with his hands in his hair.  Whitaker is laughing his head off, I’m waiting to see if Luke’s gonna punch me, Steds is just pacing around going “No way! No way!  I’ve wanted to punch you for so long!”  But then he sat down, regained his composure, and had a totally reasonable conversation with me.

I didn’t really understand until then how personally some of the guys were taking things I wrote.  In most sports, any press is good press, but in surfing, the competitors are really unaccustomed to hearing anything negative about themselves.  And I understand how they feel – I get the gnarliest hate mail and it takes a little while to get used to it.

There was a funny story that happened in Mundaka after the event was over and all the boys were enjoying some scooies (beers). Would you tell us that story?

That whole thing was pretty hilarious.  As you know, some of the guys on tour are OK with me and some are not.  You have a sense of humor about the whole thing, and I’ve hung out a bit with you, your brothers and your trainer Gally.  After you won Mundaka, Gally invited me over to have a beer.  A lot of the guys were sitting in the town square boozing.  Taj was there with his trainer and Stedman, Whits, Bede, etc.  Everyone was having a good time, but Taj’s trainer was just giving me the evil eye.  This guy is like a Spartan warrior or something – this giant Bra Boy tatted-out Jujitsu champion.  So he walks over, tells me he needs to talk to me, and pulls me aside.

Basically, he tells me that it was “disrespectful to CJ” to have beers with the boys, cause of what I’d written about you and Gally and your hackysack training.  I was trying to tell him, “Look, the only reason I’m here is cause Gally invited me over, I don’t think CJ is offended I’m here, you can ask him…”

But the trainer wouldn’t budge and kept telling me that he “doesn’t appreciate the sarcastic tone of my writing.” (I have a feeling that it had more to do with the Taj ranking in which I wrote: “Taj is training with that Bra Boy gnarly guy  — what, will that help him win a street fight like the one in Anchorman?”)

So at this point the whole thing is getting a bit heated behind the backs of all the boys.  The trainer was telling me he’d punch me if I tried to go back over, but then he admitted that “I can’t hit you cause you’re too small and hitting you would make me look like a cunt,” I agreed, and agreed to bail if it really meant that much to him.

The funniest part is, I went to bail and Bede’s car was blocking me in.  So I had to go back, and ask Bede to move his car. Bede starts arguing with Whits about who’s turn it is to move the car, and while I’m waiting the Bra Boy is turning red, about to charge me for coming back over.  I was trying not to laugh, because I’d rather have someone like Ben Bourgeois try to fight me.

At the beginning of the year I told you I thought Jihad would do better then Heitor.  (Sorry Heitor -  I was wrong, and you’ve spanked me twice this year.)  You’ve claimed your Tiago call many times over, and Heitor.  Both great calls that I now totally agree with.  Are there calls that you’ve made at the beginning of the year that you now see where way off? I bet that Jordy would win a contest this year.

There are definitely tons of calls I made that were way off.  I’ve claimed Heitor and Tiago, but I started out totally writing them off.  I’m opinionated, and therefore not always right.  But I try to be objective enough to recognize when a guy I’ve written off steps up, and give them credit for it, like I have with Tiago and Heitor.  That’s one of the best things about the Power Rankings – it gives coverage to the lower-ranked, less publicized guys who wouldn’t otherwise get coverage.

haley does more tricks then some of the dudes on tour

Let’s talk about the Surfline side of it.  Can you tell us how much of your writing is actually toned down or changed? I know I’ve given you a hard time about being particularly easy with some surfers and you’ve told me it’s more Surfline then you.

Well, I have an editor, just like everyone else who writes for a major player.  A fair bit of stuff gets cut out because it’s deemed to be too controversial or offensive.  Some of it probably should be cut, and I’m sure I’d have even more people angry at me if the uncensored versions were printed.

The thing I argue about is when stuff I write on the Hawaiians and top surfers with powerful sponsors gets cut, while I can say gnarly stuff about unsponsored Brazos without it being cut.  I think you have to be consistent, and not protect guys.  But Surfline has a right to protect their relationships with advertisers.  Especially in this economy, no one wants to lose revenue.

indo sharpening his writing skills

Let’s talk about the industry side — what companies have given you the hardest time about dissing there surfers?

Amazingly, almost none.  Insight was upset about the whole Luke Stedman thing… but the major brands have been totally hands-off.  Hell, Rip Curl sponsors the Power Rankings and I write-off their team guys all the time.  They’ve never even come close to asking to me change anything.

There have been accusations of your similarity to the reporter from the movie “ALMOST FAMOUS”. Thoughts? Do you think that you are easier on the surfers you’ve got to know over the past couple years?

Unfortunately I don’t get to have nearly as much fun as that kid had in “Almost Famous.”  When I go to an event it’s mostly work and I don’t really socialize with the top 45 outside of media obligations.  I don’t think they want to hang out with me, for the most part.  Which is probably good, because it is a bit harder to write guys off when you get to know them and they turn out to be really nice.  I try to give guys credit when they deserve it, regardless.  I don’t want to be purely negative.  But I definitely find myself having to harsh guys that have been friendly to me.  Like Kai Otton.  We surfed and chatted a bit in Indo, and Kai is a likable guy.  But it didn’t stop me from writing that his backside stance looks like a man stuck in a lawn chair.  When I saw him in Spain, he was so pissed at me, it was hilarious.  Hopefully Kai won’t take what I write too seriously – I don’t think anyone should.

I started out as a fan of surfing, and I’ve definitely had an unlikely rise to notoriety in the whole surf journalism world.  I don’t think anyone else has taken a path remotely like mine.  It’s a byproduct of the internet age and a fair bit of dumb luck.  There’s definitely been moments where I’m surfing with a handful of the best guys in the world, or getting screamed at by angry drunk pros, and I’m struck by what a bizarre turn of events this whole thing is. Who would’ve ever thought talking shit about pro surfers would get you that far?

Keep up the good work and I better not here a nice word come out of your mouth.

click pics for full story

chip beck (top) vince spadea (bottom) click photos for full story

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