Surfing originated as early as people were able to swim in the ocean, there is no recorded start of surfing. Surfing has become a worldwide movement, but certain areas discovered it later than others. The two main origins were the Polynesians and the Ancient Hawaiians. The Hawaiians thought of surfing as more of an art than a leisure activity or sport. Whereas the Polynesians saw surfing as an activity, a thing to do for fun. There are many recordings of people seeing surfing as early as 1767, by Samuel Wallis and the crew members of the HMS Dolphin who were the first Europeans to visit the island in June 1767. Surfing was really the root sport for many other board riding activities such as snowboarding, wakeboarding and a very popular board riding activity, skating. Skating was created by surfers who wanted to enhance their skills when there were no waves in the ocean. It started out as a 2x4 plank of wood with roller-skate trucks and wheels bolted to it. Not the fanciest of skateboards, but it did the trick. Riders would often look for street spots where they could practice surfing manoeuvres on ground. This would often comply of carving, hang ten’s and slides. Skating was the go to activity for surfers when there was no swell. Skating nowadays has evolved from just flat-ground tricks and slides to much much more, including grinds and ramps tricks. Some of the most influential flat-ground/street skaters are Mark Gonzales, Rodney Mullen and Andrew Reynolds. These guys changed the whole skate movement, creating new ways to do things, and even their own tricks. They turned what people thought skating was upside down and shocked the world by what they were capable of doing on a skateboard. Rodney created the flat-ground ollie, kick-flip, heel-flip, impossible and 360 flip. These tricks shocked every skater in the world; they all realized how much potential there was on a skateboard. For many years skaters got their moves and tricks off surfers, but nowadays that has completely changed. Vert skating has been revolutionary for surfers. May sound a bit weird, but here’s why. Vert has been around since about the 1960’s and grew very popular very quickly. One of the main reasons it took off, was that the skaters enjoyed the thrill of sneaking into people’s backyards

Double Barrel !

and skating their empty pools. The rebellion was, and still is, a big part of skating. A few big names on the vert scene are Danny Way, Bob Burnquist and Tony Hawk. In the same way that Mark, Rodney, and Andrew changed the street scene, these dudes had the same influence on vert, bringing in new tricks such as grabs and hand-plants. Tony Hawk was the first skater ever to land a 900, a two and a half revolution of the body in mid air! From that day on Tony has been one of the biggest names in the Vert world. He got nicknamed “The Birdman” because of his high flying tricks. Tony was only 6 when he decided to start skating, his older brother bought him a skateboard, and from that day forward he hasn’t stopped. “I won't quit skating until I am physically unable.” – Tony Hawk. As the vert skaters started to progress in their moves, surfers looked at them and attempted to bring what they were doing, into the surfing world. Surfers started to attempt aerials, a manoeuvre which was when the surfer launched off the wave into the air and landing back on to it. One of the biggest names in surfing, was Christian Fletcher, who was known for is expert aerial skills. Fletcher introduced the mute air, indy air, slob air, madonna, and stalefish. He changed the whole surfing scene, as surfers started to see what they could do if they just challenged themselves that little bit more. Skaters and Surfers feed off each other. It started out as skaters learning off surfers, but now its surfers learning off skaters. It’s just a whole big cycle. Surfing and Skating really go hand in hand, a majority of surfers skate and vice versa. “My life path has been a blessing and a great learning experience. Skateboarding is my passion and I don't see that changing. When I'm not skating, I love to surf. I'm open to the new experiences and opportunities.” – Ryan Sheckler, one of the biggest names on the street skate scene. Another example of this is Curran Caples, one of the world’s best park skaters. At only 18 years of age Curran has already become pro for skating and has won a silver medal in the X-games. Curran also has a passion for surfing, and he shreds too. Probably equally good at surfing as he is skating. It’s like a win win situation; he uses the waves as a training ground for the concrete ramps. Skating and Surfing really do go hand in hand. !

Competition Guess the Skater

Win a trip to New York with our mystery pro skater!

All you have to do is guess who this skater is and write 25 words or less on what you would do on this trip. We are looking for the most creative answer so don’t be

boring! Make sure you tag #bluecultureNYCtrip.

The winner will be revealed on the 6th of June.

Get your creative juices flowing! !

Evolution of Surfboards

Do you want to win a trip to Hawaii for

6 nights with 2 friends?

Simple - just follow 3 easy steps:

1. Photoshop yourself into the picture above.

2. Upload your photo to instagram.

3. Write this as your caption: #blueculturecomp

We will be choosing our lucky winner We will be choosing our lucky winner

by the 1st of June so be quick! You don’t

want to miss out!

Surfing VS Climate Change The art of surfing is an ocean sport that has been around for hundreds of years but how will climate changes like global warming impact surfing spots and breaks? The waves that over twenty million people worldwide surf, only occur on a thin slice of our earth where the land gives way to the sea and slight changes can have drastic effects to surfing hotspots. The largest impact that will change where and when we surf is the radical rise of sea levels. Alongside the tide, sea level is one of the key components to good surf. One surfer who is aware of surfing's future is Jacob Hechter, a cartographer. Hechter surfs his local break, Rincon, Santa Barbara, which is also known as The Queen Of The Coast. Rincon is known worldwide for its clean, well-formed waves as well as its long rides, making this break one of the top surfing spots in California. Rincon has been a classic place to surf for decades and host its own Rincon Classic every January and the beach was even referenced in the hit Surfin’ Safari by the Beach Boys in 1962. As this unique wave reaches its prime at low tide, the future of the well-formed waves isn’t looking good. Hechter knows the rising sea brings changes to current breaks. He says, “Who knows where my kids and grandkids are going to be surfing.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have released statistics predicting a drastic rise of 0.9 feet to 3.2 feet by 2100. This change could kill the break at Rincon, as it is only good at low tide. As the sea levels rise, the low tide level rises with it, and will soon leave this clean break a surf spot of the past. Another outcome of global warming that affects surfing is extreme weather events including storms. Hechter says, “Climate change means more big storms. More storms, more surf, right? Maybe we’ll get some epic swells.” This theory is common amongst surfers and the American NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) warns people that storms and hurricanes will become more common due to

climate change. There will be larger storms and there will be more surf but this theory does not cover all the aspects of climate change. Along with extreme swells, climate change is also predicted to result in weeks of flatness in between these swells, making the extremes more extreme. At the other end of climate change, the NOAA also justifies that the air temperatures will also rise, increasing a surfers risk of heart stroke. As well as the shape and size of the waves changing, the quality of the water is dropping and becoming more acidic. The NOAA explains that the ocean pH level is becoming more acidic and has been rising for over 250 years. The industrial revolution in 1760 was the point when the oceans started becoming more acidic. Since then our oceans have become 30% more acidic and most of this is linked to the absorption of carbon dioxide into the water. Every time a new climate report is released it is worse than the previous. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says, “We all think that we’re committed to a meter of sea level rise. We just don’t know exactly how quickly.” Their most recent report was published in late 2013 and predicts 28 to 98 cm of sea level rise by 2100, which is 50% more than the previous report in 2007. One surf spot that would benefit from the higher sea level, is Shark Island. Shark Island is a popular surf bombora at high tide, one hundred metres off the beach of Cronulla, Sydney. The bombora is a popular surf spot for body boarders and experienced surfers but the hollow and powerful waves can only be surfed at high tide. At low tide, the break is unsurfable because the top of the island is above the water and all the cunji and sharp rocks are exposed. As the sea level rises the height of low tide will increase, meaning the spot will be open to surfing at all times.

!

Interview with Ben Kusturin Ben Kusturin is a 15-year-old surfer who lives on the Northern Beaches. He has a style like no other. Ben only surfs for the fun of it, loves to get out with his mates and have a good time. He’s grown up in a Surfing family, and currently lives in Mona Vale. So Ben, describe the feeling you get when you surf. The feeling I get when I surf, it’s not that different, I mean like, you know when some people skate they don’t feel any different, like it sorta feels natural, that’s what surfing is like to me. How long do you reckon you have been surfing? I dunno, maybe a good 2-3 years. Yeah you been enjoying it? Yeah man, it’s been pretty good. I’ve enjoyed it quite thoroughly. What’s been your favourite board to ride? Um, my favourite board to ride was probably my Mini Simmons. Yeah it just goes real fast, and does big carving turns and I like that. Do you prefer surfing with mates or by yourself? I got this mate, Jack, who I go surfing which pretty much every time. It’s pretty cute, there’s a bit of a bromance going on there. But yeah maybe like 2 or 3 mates, cos I don’t really like surfing in crowds, I like to avoid them, don’t really enjoy competing for waves. Describe the culture out in the surf, when the swells pumping what’s happening out there. It gets really competitive out there when the surfs pumping. I don’t really like it. Why don’t you like it? I dunno it just doesn’t have a nice feel.

Yeah fair enough, so have you ever had a bad surfing injury? Yeah probably two, I was surfing out at suck rock at Mona Vale and I was going for this wave, and I pulled out. I got sucked over by the falls and sliced my hand open on the rocks, also ripped my wetsuit. There was this other time, I was surfing out at the basin, and this sick little suck up popped up and I went to tuck in, and it was really shallow, I hit my head on the rocks, and had to get it glued, because stitches are scary. So how do you get back to surfing after injuries like that, were you scared or? Yeah I was out for about a week. Yeah but like the same sort of section came up and I was gonna do the same manoeuvre, but I bailed out I was too scared (laughs). Have you been in any fights out in the surf? Nah I haven’t been in any fights, I’m too small! So you try and avoid any fights? Yeah definitely. Who are your three favourite surfers? Um I reckon, Alex Knost, Dane Reynolds and Kelly Slater. Describe the surf lifestyle, what are surfers like, what are their interests etc.. just in a general sense. Good question Aidan, (laughs). I dunno it’s really chilled and cruisy, It kinda varies. Like you get the druggos, and the dudes who get absolutely waisted every night. And then you get the Christian guys, who have a completely different view on things, they are really nice and happy out in the surf I guess. Alright yeah cool, thanks for your time Ben, It’s been a pleasure. No problaymo dude, anytime. !

Surfing and technology - two things that one would think don’t mesh together. The common perception of surfing is twenty somethings with long golden hair dropping everything and rushing out to the beach to catch a wave after a call from their mate, who merely said, ‘Surf’s up’. The reality is rather different. Today, surfing is a fine science. Technology has developed to the point where weather and waves are monitored and broadcasted to the masses, providing information such as wind speed and direction, size of the waves and the temperature of the water. With all this data, surfers can pick which beach they would like to go to, at what time, and enjoy an almost guaranteed good surf. Compare this to the old days, where surfers would drive out to the beach and hope for some waves, and you can see the difference technology has made. The development of surfing and computer technology was a fast one. In the early 1980’s, the Internet was not yet usable by the public. Companies such as Surfline were created to provide some information to surfers using the telephone, often gathering information from the Navy or buoys. In the late 1980’s, technology jumped forward, and the fax machine was developed. This machine was used by some to send out forecasts to subscribers, and provided another source of information for surfers. Computers were slowly becoming more advanced, and towards the early 1990’s the Internet was fully available to the public. Suddenly, weather information became easy to find, and live surf reports became the new way to watch the surf. Photographs and videos of surfing were immediately available to watch, where previously they were only available in DVD’s and magazines. It became a simple task to watch videos of your favourite surfers and find inspiration to catch a wave. Opinions of the release of the Internet were mostly positive. Some companies like Surfline with online set-ups (phones, fax, etc.) experienced issues when the Internet was released, due to the jump in competition. Many had to adapt and think of new ideas to stay relevant. Surfing as a sport grew quickly, and more and more people flocked to the Internet to read the latest articles, instead of to magazines. Gradually, surf brands realised this and shifted their focus to online, further increasing the amount of information and articles relating to surfing. The Internet was in full swing, with close to 13.5 million people online.

Surfing the web ‘n’ the waves

!

Today, surfing is a sport that is the epitome of beach culture. People of all ages are addicted to the sport, catching a bus after school to catch a wave at some beach they looked up on their phone or getting in a quick set before work. Catching a wave is easier than ever, and many film their surf sesh with a GoPro or something similar, and edit it at home, uploading it on YouTube or Facebook for others to see. Along with this, many surfers buy their wetsuits and boards off websites such as Rip Curl and O’Neill, or watch tutorials on how to do a specific move on YouTube. Internet magazines are rising in popularity, and provide yet another source of entertainment for the everyday surfer. The advent of the Internet was an incredibly important time, and many people gained inspiration from the professional surfing videos they saw while browsing the web. Surfing is also becoming more popular as a professional sport, and many people enjoy following their favourite surfers in tournaments. The Internet makes this ten times easier, in that just like any other sport, people can look up their scores, watch the stream of their competition online, and find dates of their next shindig quickly and without hassle. In comparison to the early 80’s, this is heaven. As surfing grows in becoming a truly worldwide professional sport, so does the following. Back in the early 80’s, if you wanted to see professional surfing, you better haul your ass out to the beach, whether it is 100 metres or 100 miles. Who knows if you’d miss Kelly Slater carving up a wave due to traffic or a breakdown? With the Internet, every single detail is literally at your fingertips. The timing, who’s surfing when, the current results, and on top of that you can watch the event, in high definition, whenever you want. No more being held up at work, no more missing it due to being sick in bed, no more having to find out about the next event through word of mouth. The Internet had a massive impact on surfing. It reduced our time spent preparing for and discovering waves, and more time actually spent surfing. Right now, we are in surfing heaven.

(For some extra information, this article by Surfline - http://goo.gl/ARi0aF - gives you an idea of just how effective computers were at growing and developing surf culture.)

!

Tobin Smit

!

For!more!information!visit!www.facebook.com/blueculturemag!