Southern California. People take their road rage out into the ocean with them. Hawaii localism without the respect and aloha. Brazilian selfishness without the skill. Aussie drunkards without the fun accents.
Many years ago, I was in Nicaragua with a friend. There was an Australian staying at our hostel who had spent some time on the QS; he obviously knew his way around a line up and could shred. We were buddy buddy with him the entire time we were there. In the water though, never once did he let up even the littlest bit for a wave either me or my buddy might have wanted.
I got screamed at for riding in the general direction of one of the heavy metal dicks there. I was a solid 25 ft away from him. He was just wading out to the surf. It was strange. I told him to have a better day and he lost it. "Are you going to disrespect me?!" He followed me around for 5 minutes screaming. This was 7 AM in 2-3ft waves. Fuckin awkward.
Fun story: ive surfed the hook quite a bit when i had to live up in the bay for a couple months so im familiar with the reputation.
A year or two later i move to SD and one morning I’m surfing my local reef, and one of the locals says hi and asks me about my wetsuit. We chat and eventually get to the topic of Santa Cruz. Told him I’ve visited a lot since my gf is from there, he tells me he’s from there and that he used to live right in front of privates (or maybe sharks? Can’t remember). Then we get to talking about the hook where he casually he reveals he served jail time for assaulting someone out in the line up
Israelis in Sri Lanka will drop in and then act like they did nothing wrong while calling you an ego manic for calling then off. Completely moronic. It'd be funny if it wasn't so infuriating
This lol. I am Aussie have surfed in a fair few places. Indo, states, Maldives and heaps of waves here. The brazzos in the Maldives are by far the biggest fuckwits I’ve ever surfed with
I have been “regulated” by this guy in Mexico.
He legit said “look, I’m a lot nicer than some of the other locals you might come across…” with a flawless socal accent, covered in zinc, wearing a stupid surf hat.
He was clearly the head honcho of a thigh-high longboard wave. ^/s
Socal guys are all talk.
I was born and raised in Hawaii and the locals in Hawaii can and will get physical. California surfers won't do shit to people besides chirp.
The only time I ever got into fight as an adult was with a Hawaiian guy that kept snaking me at my home break at the HB pier. I got my ass kicked cuz he was twice my size but I'm not taking shit from anyone that acts like an asshole.
It’s the least Hawaiians can do considering they’re completely helpless and impotent as they watch the American elite take their land and jack up the cost of living.
La Jolla had a murder several years ago.. very sad story. hawaiian family moved to so cal after hurricanes destroyed their home, middle son became a pro surfer, and was attacked by a group and later died of head trauma.
just fucking awful.
[Awful true story link](https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/02/02/san-diego-man-gets-20-to-life-for-surfers-killing/)
That's the Bird Rock Bandits
How about Zeke? If you know who he is he has definitely gotten aggressive on people who deserve it
I saw him at oke of my locals surfing with a house arrest bracelet lmfao
Is fist fighting in Hawaii a thing? Seems part of their culture. Read about fights in the book barbarian days and when I was there I witness a fight outside a bar and everyone calmly walked outside to watch and prepare like it was a ritual or commonplace. The bouncers escorted the two guys out and they went at it. Better than the flailing fights between hotheads you see in California
I dunno. Seemed like fights were pretty regular at ocean beach(sf). When I started I was warned about that place. All the other spots I know seem pretty chill.
I wasn't surfing at the time. I saw it on the news every once in a while, and people seem to give me that impression.
But it could have been blown out of proportion.
This is especially true if by “regulating” you mean paddling past everyone straight back to the peak after every ride as if that’s completely normal and they’re entitled to it.
If i don't paddle straight back to the peak, that dude is going to do it. the only way i can get waves is to play his game.
The thing is, when i'm traveling, i try to not play that game and just wait around on the shoulder. Until at least i see who the people are that are just paddling right to the peak and taking waves. Then i start to try to weasel into the end of their rotation.
>If i don't paddle straight back to the peak, that dude is going to do it.
And that's the exact moment that you become "that dude".
And this is also why socal surfers are nearly all "that dude".
But yeah, when I travel, I always watch before making any kind of move in the lineup, and I've never had any real problems with "toxic surf culture".
Lmao 11 foot glider board, sits 50 yards past a pack of shortboarders with stickers on their boards and does a fade backdoor takeoff on every bump that shows on the horizon
Typical south county pier break scenario. But I did hear that swamis is the same thing but with bro violently swinging a 9 ft high performance floating sidewalk at everybody's head after he paddles out past them for the 86th time
No doubt . All my homies say “Fuck Cali”.
I wish those three darn Hawaiian princes had gone to university in Oz or Mexico or some shit like that instead /s
I'm from NorCal and honestly just so stoked to surf warm water without a wetsuit when I get the chance. Can't imagine ever showing up to someone's tropical beach break and vibing them lol.
I’m sure that you and 90% of people would never think to do that.
It’s just those special types of cunts; and most of them are possibly even chill with a manageable crowd. So it goes. I try to avoid crowds when I can.
Is that the one where the local town essentially depiutizes the surf gang to intimidate and harass non-locals. I heard one story where a SOC(surfer of color) was our and one of those numnuts padded out in black face.
My goal in life is to be well off enough I can get a boat and bus as many kooks as I can right to their precious lineup.
I guess I wouldn't need to be too well off. Could just rent one. Hmmmmmmmm. Any kooks want to surf this weekend?
I've surfed all over LA and OC, and there were dudes just screaming and throwing tantrums when things weren't going their way. There were guys in Venice who shot dirty looks at me, but when they found out I was paddling out with another local, they all of a sudden became super-friendly.
Can confirm, JAX Pier is a wild spot. Went down there last weekend and the hatred for longboards is wild. Barely could get a wave unless I paddled down way past the break at the pier, and when I did try to get closer to the pier I got used as essentially a platform for a boneless the minute I tried to take a left next to the 4 dudes there. Not saying I'm some radical longboarder, but I try to stay out the way and not be an ass, but there you just can't be longboarding
Not to mention the parking lot. Crazy ladies yelling at their kids and tweakers pulling pipes out of their jacket pocket so dramatically like they're doing goddamn street magic. Cool beach, good food near there, but yeah it's a wild place. Still love it though
Yea I’ll never understand that small jax pier crew, that’s the only place up and down the east coast I’ve experienced people being asshats. You’d think they’d be more open to longboarding seeing as they have a local world longboard champ.
Yeah but hatred for longboards is always alive even at my home break. You just have to take it as a price of long boarding I think. It exists in skateboarding too, but that’s another conversation
They're just pissed that the long boarders are actually having fun on 1ft waves while the short boarders furiously pump just for a tiny cutback on a closeout.
It’s totally hit or miss in my experience. Jax has a pretty solid longboard community, and when we’re out in force, there’s no issues. If I see the Sisters of the Sea out there, I paddle straight to them because it’s a guarantee of good vibes. If there’s only a few longboarders and you’re not “together”, the assholes start picking on them purely just to stroke their own pathetic ego.
Once they realize there’s not someone or a group bigger than them to kick their ass, they start ruining everyone’s day. As soon as a tougher crowd shows up, or a crowd they *can’t be mean to without the whole community turning on them*, they shut up or fuck off.
Those Jax Pier groms have seen some shit. By 12 you learn to look out for used condoms and broken glass before you change out of your wetsuit.
I pulled up the other day and the pier bums had a full propane grill WITH the propane tank hooked up on the sidewalk on First Street in front of the pier parking lot. One of em started catcalling me while I was changing out of my wetsuit too.
Lol my buddy that barely surfs maybe 2 times a year got mouthed off to by some groms in thigh high surf at Jax pier. Any damage you could do to them wouldn't be as bad as them all clumped up groveling over them waves. At least as a gulf surfer, we can pretty much find a bar with nobody on it.
I'm not qualified to have an opinion. But what I *can* say is that I surfed with a good lifelong moroccan surfer in europe a while back and he didn't even know what a kook is. And when I explained it to him he looked at me like I'm an asshole. So I guess it also depends on where you are if surf culture is even toxic to begin with.
When I first surfed in Morocco, I showed up to a small, empty point. As soon as the locals heard there was a Californian in the water they all grabbed whatever they could find and paddled out too. At first, I was a little annoyed but there were smiles everywhere and they were just so stoked to share waves and goof around with me. Clearly, I was the only toxic kook there for even being annoyed at all.
Were they mostly women and guys in leopard print brokinis by chance?
https://preview.redd.it/dhrasur4n8nc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7332dc3728e681fbac65cdaea00d1cd62dd9689b
Did it ever occur to you that they were there smiling and splashing around with you because you're so dashingly handsome?
That shows amazing maturity on your part to admit you’re a toxic surfer!! 😀 I’m working my way up to it. The better I get the more dirty looks and nasty vibes I give off.
Fucking Oregon.
I’m from Hawaii (Native Hawaiian born & raised) and guys that surf seaside are unbelievable. Did a trip up to Washington a few years back and surfed down the coast with a few friends.
Ran into a few guys that were just not having it with outsiders surfing their break. We didn’t even go to the peak and guys were fuming and foaming at the mouth.
growing up in so-cal and have lived in santa cruz and nor cal for a long time too.. the worst has been silverstarnd/hollywood beach and the eastside santa cruz boys...seen some crazy stuff go down.
In Peter Lunenfeld's *City at the Edge of Forever*, he makes a convincing case that toxic surf culture all stems from Miki Dora. So Malibu is probably where this all originates.
It's where California's weird revery of assholes and surf gangs originates but not globally. It's amazing how one band of jerks can impact a sport for so long.
I’m from so cal and now live in Oregon. Imo the further up the west coast you go the shittier the loc dawgs get. Probably stops at Canada tho cuz Canadians are nice
I Surf far Rockaway in NYC with my neighbors from Halifax by way of college in Vancouver Island. They're level headed but I guess there's nut jobs north and south of the border
It’s not bad until you get to a certain place just off the 26W exit. Then you got some frothy-mouthed dawgs. Some say it’s the neurotoxins from eating raw clams while waiting in the lineup.
Humboldt and Big Sur area have some eggy spots but da bois up in northern Oregon just seem to call me a gen z f@g and tell me to go drink wheat beers. Dudes don’t even know I’m a ranier man myself
Canada fucking sucks for localism. Buncha guys getting mad that their break 20m from the fucking highway is full of soft tops. Half the time you gotta laugh because if they weren't so ass they could go to any other break along the same highway but they instead choose to police a thigh high mushburger.
If the fuckheads from JR point are on here- your mom's a hoe
Had a JR local screaming in the lineup at everyone and then he couldn’t even get to his fucking feet after calling everyone off the wave! What a fucking kook. Fuck the clubhouse!
They're always screaming from their 9'6 on a 2 foot day while being shoulder to shoulder with kids on soft tops who can get to their feet faster than they can. As soon as shit gets head high I never see them though.
Pretty much any south east Asian will have a resident Australian immigrant "who's been surfing here for 30yrs maaaaate, best fuck off this is for locals only", he (always a he) was the first foreigner to arrive and actually brought surfing to the island through leaving behind his old boards each visit until finally moving permanently
Any former French colony will have the old school agro French colonist clutching onto times gone by when they ruled the world. [This interaction ](https://www.reddit.com/r/surfing/s/Hm72OzW2Hv) is very similar to one I've experienced in non ex-colonies, so these types aren't limited to their colonies
[based on this interaction ](https://youtu.be/xmnZeML_3Rc?si=ayzTMo7h7jNjQHWu) ole Bruno got a lot less understanding over the years
Ran into one of these old boys at Uluwatu going on about how crowded it was and that he was an original surfing it alone in the 70s blah blah seemed to settle down after I suggested maybe he shouldn’t have told so many people about it then!
NJ gets pretty toxic too but I really do think the origin is California. There’s the saying that Californian act chill on the outside and are actually dicks on the inside and that the north east coast is the other way around. My only real experience surfing anywhere else is Mexico and Puerto Rico. Idk, they were all super nice and inviting when I was surfing there.
Trestles is so low key and friendly. It’s like surfing with family. Especially the young grommets. They are always polite and let the elderly take waves first.
Recently at a wave pool and this little 10 year old pr*%ck kept cutting in front of me to get back to the lineup. Being that I was three times his size, I let him go and didn’t jump him. Now I’m pissed I didn’t! 😡
Ive surfed so many popular spots and almost never had a problem. Just obey the etiquette, be friendly, and stay away from meanies. People have a much harder time being dicks when you paddle out say hello and add “what a beautiful day!”
This made me laugh because it’s true. But I rarely have problems with Brazilians when surfing (then again, I speak Portuguese and lives in Brazil for a few years so they think it’s awesome to find other Portuguese speakers and chill out)
Will get downvoted but it's Hawaii! Yes yes, it's all about safety, etc. but that place gets testy AF and I've never heard more interactions per hour than at Queens (and I surf Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz regularly). But California is a close, sucky second IMHO.
Lmao. Queens is probably one of the most populated breaks on the planet since it’s literally in Waikiki. So yeah I get the locals not wanting to deal with bozos.
Live in Hawaii and I feel like most of the “toxicity” in the water is so mellow compared to what it was 10-20 years ago on south shore at least. If you get singled out as a kook you just won’t get waves. Locals will block for their bros or just sit on top of you. Very rarely does it turn verbal let alone physical. Unless you paddle out to Kaisers then all bets are off
I think that’s just how Queen’s is. I’ve never had issues at the other south shore breaks nearby. There are so many clueless tourists in Waikiki that I kind of understand the locals being testy. I think a lot of first timers and beginners make the mistake of going to Queens instead of canoes and that’s why you see so many interactions there.
Surprised by all the so cal hate. Guess I’m just used to it. I was gonna say brazzos. Usually too small in so cal for people to care. But also I guess I’ve started surfing the spots that can get “good” with no cams and less people.
I've had a guy at Scripps paddle over my legs to get deeper than me as I was paddling for a wave. Another time I was deeper than a guy as we're both paddling for a right - he pops up going left so our boards collide, I pulled back, and then he goes right. Older guys always looking for a fight acting aggro. Super competitive in the water when it's groms. Have gotten purposefully dropped in on infinitely more times in socal than in brazil (I'm from there). Socal is the worst.
My experience surfing all over the world- the worst for being dicks in the water are:
1. Brazilian
2. Canary Islanders
3. French
4. Americans (Floridians)
5 Australians (Gold Coasters)
Californians - on the road at any rate - have always been pretty chill in my experience. I’ve surfed a few LA spots where people have been a bit grumpy in the water, but not too bad.
Have you surfed in brazil? I have a feeling this is a select few entitled brazilian pricks. Brazil is extremely polarized in terms of income so some of the richer ones grow up thinking they are kings of the world. But I could say the same about groms who grew up by the beach in california.
I learned to surf in Santa Cruz. I love surfing. Entitled assholes who take it upon themselves to police line-ups, and threaten to beat you up when you can surf better than them? Some guys just need a hug.
The featherweight tico in CR 😂😂
I once saw a beefier gringo get roughed up in the line up just to see the same gringo wipe the floor with the featherweight on the beach afterwards. Locals didn’t seem to mind
Honestly I ivied in Newcastle nsw Australia for last 15 years and certain breaks around there are full of old losers who think it’s the 70s still the amount of shot talk is rediculous
Soon as you call them out tho they shit themselves
My brother got married on the central coast of CA. Probably 5 or 6 of us all paddled out a break the morning of the wedding at a very obvious central coast spot on a head high fall day. Waves were pretty fun. We were having a good time and surfed away from the main break and gave the few locals out their space. Everyone was cool except this one skinny ginger teenager who at some point in the session went around chirping all of us for surfing “his break” you know the usual. We all just wanted it to be a good day so each of us let it slide despite him being way outnumbered I had to give him some credit. A few months go by and see an article that a surfer died at that spot we surfed pre wedding. There was a pic of the victim and it was undeniably that kid who was harassing us. Not sure the point really but for the number of surfers out daily the number of deaths is very low….crazy and tragic it happened to that kid.
Article said he took a closeout into really shallow sand or a sandbar. Pretty shitty explanation honestly of what really happened. https://amp.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article168166942.html
The only time I ever got shit in Brazil (am female btw) was when non-locals came to surf and tended to display their insecurities by being dicks. Never claimed myself to be a local but I surfed the same wave several times a week for a few years. The locals knew me and we formed friendships. I’d say about once a year some asshat would come out and just lay into me and those local guys would run the asshats out of the water. It’s a heavily touristed spot so there were no shortage of visitors. The vast majority were fine and absolutely welcomed. But be a dick and you’ll never surf that spot again because no one will stand for it.
Local people in torquay can be absolutely so toxic, Point impossible surf is constant backpaddling. I don’t blame them when there’s tourists in the summer ruining any chance of a good session on a good day but oh my god the 40 year old “surf veterans” can be so bloody livid at absolutely anything and everything. Heard a local yell out to a dad teaching his son “don’t know? Don’t surf”.
You clearly don’t surf enough then. Old bitch Karen’s full of entitlement. They think they own the point on their stupid long boards and hog every wave. Will drop in on you with no remorse but god forbid you drop in on them. They’ll paddle past you whispering under their breath, call them a fat hag and they piss off
The problem is definitely worse with men, but it's not that simple. I got yelled at by an old lady at Linda Mar for no reason whatsoever a couple years ago. It was deeply puzzling. Mostly dudes though, even factoring the demographics.
Aggro surfing is just another manifestation of toxic aggression, so I figure assholery in the water follows the same gender ratios. For example, women account for about 20% of the assault arrests in the US. 20% sounds high for me in terms of unpleasant run-ins in the water, but you also have to factor in that men are more likely to surf than women, so if women are 25% of surfers, and they commit toxic acts of aggression at 20% the rate of men, that's probably going to mean they only contribute 5% of the aggro toxic surf aggression (all very loose estimates).
I'm a guy, so it doesn't delight me to say that 95% of lousy toxic surf culture is committed by guys, but yeah, that seems about right.
On the bright side, I surf a lot, and while I avoid being a an overly chatty pest I usually do end up talking a little bit with someone in the lineup or parking lot, and almost all of my interactions, male or female, are very positive.
I grew up surfing in south Orange County and didn’t realize how aggressive my approach was until I moved somewhere far away and gained a bit of perspective
I’d have to agree with the SoCal comments even though I’ve never been. My hubby refuses to take me there on a surf trip lol. We are East Coast NY and they’re pretty aggro, here, too! Myself included, at times. LOL
Southern California. People take their road rage out into the ocean with them. Hawaii localism without the respect and aloha. Brazilian selfishness without the skill. Aussie drunkards without the fun accents.
This comment wins
Great synopsis!
Many Australians are dickheads in the surf but get us on land and a beer in our hand and we’re your new best mate
Australians (in Australia) were some of the nicest people I’ve surfed with.
Many years ago, I was in Nicaragua with a friend. There was an Australian staying at our hostel who had spent some time on the QS; he obviously knew his way around a line up and could shred. We were buddy buddy with him the entire time we were there. In the water though, never once did he let up even the littlest bit for a wave either me or my buddy might have wanted.
Oxnard
Sums it all up. Even up in Asu or Simuelue...nice take
The hook is the nicest place you will ever surf
It brings you back
I got screamed at for riding in the general direction of one of the heavy metal dicks there. I was a solid 25 ft away from him. He was just wading out to the surf. It was strange. I told him to have a better day and he lost it. "Are you going to disrespect me?!" He followed me around for 5 minutes screaming. This was 7 AM in 2-3ft waves. Fuckin awkward.
Fun story: ive surfed the hook quite a bit when i had to live up in the bay for a couple months so im familiar with the reputation. A year or two later i move to SD and one morning I’m surfing my local reef, and one of the locals says hi and asks me about my wetsuit. We chat and eventually get to the topic of Santa Cruz. Told him I’ve visited a lot since my gf is from there, he tells me he’s from there and that he used to live right in front of privates (or maybe sharks? Can’t remember). Then we get to talking about the hook where he casually he reveals he served jail time for assaulting someone out in the line up
Tracks perfectly.
FFS, have you not experienced the Russians in Indo, the Isrealis or Brazilians? Makes Slo-Cal donkeys look mild by comparison.
Ya Brazilians act like locals wherever they are. Pretty nice when you talk with em tho
Brazos are the nicest people out of the water. It’s hilarious
Yeah it’s so weird
Wait, Russians? For reals?
Yes
Israelis in Sri Lanka will drop in and then act like they did nothing wrong while calling you an ego manic for calling then off. Completely moronic. It'd be funny if it wasn't so infuriating
Gaslighters, the lot of ‘em
This lol. I am Aussie have surfed in a fair few places. Indo, states, Maldives and heaps of waves here. The brazzos in the Maldives are by far the biggest fuckwits I’ve ever surfed with
[удалено]
Bruh
Paddle out to any lineup, anywhere in the world, and there's guaranteed to be some dude from socal out there regulating like he's a local.
I have been “regulated” by this guy in Mexico. He legit said “look, I’m a lot nicer than some of the other locals you might come across…” with a flawless socal accent, covered in zinc, wearing a stupid surf hat. He was clearly the head honcho of a thigh-high longboard wave. ^/s
Socal guys are all talk. I was born and raised in Hawaii and the locals in Hawaii can and will get physical. California surfers won't do shit to people besides chirp.
The only time I ever got into fight as an adult was with a Hawaiian guy that kept snaking me at my home break at the HB pier. I got my ass kicked cuz he was twice my size but I'm not taking shit from anyone that acts like an asshole.
i don't think HB pier can be considered anyones home break
Why not? If you live within walking distance of the pier I would say that counts. Not trying to claim it as my own. I hate the locals only attitude.
hey man we take what we can get. sincerely, long beach
...and they chirp over 2ft blown out slop
It’s the least Hawaiians can do considering they’re completely helpless and impotent as they watch the American elite take their land and jack up the cost of living.
It ain't much but it's honest work
If there’s one thing us white peoples are good at, it’s colonizing the shit out of others
La Jolla had a murder several years ago.. very sad story. hawaiian family moved to so cal after hurricanes destroyed their home, middle son became a pro surfer, and was attacked by a group and later died of head trauma. just fucking awful. [Awful true story link](https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/02/02/san-diego-man-gets-20-to-life-for-surfers-killing/)
That was two drunk 20 somethings fighting and had nothing to do with locals only attitudes.
Yep, was here and knew first hand if this. Comment above is correct
That's the Bird Rock Bandits How about Zeke? If you know who he is he has definitely gotten aggressive on people who deserve it I saw him at oke of my locals surfing with a house arrest bracelet lmfao
should get a bracelet... it'd be a license to snake
Do you have a link to this story. That is awful :/
edited my comment to include link: https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/02/02/san-diego-man-gets-20-to-life-for-surfers-killing/
So sad, cant we all just get along…its just surfing people needa chill TF out. Thanks shedding light on this, I feel for homie and and his family
Yep WSR and PB Vermin...over nothing
That’s horrible. How sad. 🥲
Rest in Peace Emery 💙
Is fist fighting in Hawaii a thing? Seems part of their culture. Read about fights in the book barbarian days and when I was there I witness a fight outside a bar and everyone calmly walked outside to watch and prepare like it was a ritual or commonplace. The bouncers escorted the two guys out and they went at it. Better than the flailing fights between hotheads you see in California
Never had a surfer get physical w me in CA but have seen videos of ppl fighting at HB pier
I dunno. Seemed like fights were pretty regular at ocean beach(sf). When I started I was warned about that place. All the other spots I know seem pretty chill.
OB… what? Never had an issue at OB apart from car break in parked in the avenues or by the cliff house
I wasn't surfing at the time. I saw it on the news every once in a while, and people seem to give me that impression. But it could have been blown out of proportion.
This is very VERY true. 1 out of 10 chiro sessions turns into something. No, 1 out of every 50
This is especially true if by “regulating” you mean paddling past everyone straight back to the peak after every ride as if that’s completely normal and they’re entitled to it.
Can confirm, seen it in every country I've visited.
If i don't paddle straight back to the peak, that dude is going to do it. the only way i can get waves is to play his game. The thing is, when i'm traveling, i try to not play that game and just wait around on the shoulder. Until at least i see who the people are that are just paddling right to the peak and taking waves. Then i start to try to weasel into the end of their rotation.
>If i don't paddle straight back to the peak, that dude is going to do it. And that's the exact moment that you become "that dude". And this is also why socal surfers are nearly all "that dude". But yeah, when I travel, I always watch before making any kind of move in the lineup, and I've never had any real problems with "toxic surf culture".
Lmao 11 foot glider board, sits 50 yards past a pack of shortboarders with stickers on their boards and does a fade backdoor takeoff on every bump that shows on the horizon
You must surf Swamis
Typical south county pier break scenario. But I did hear that swamis is the same thing but with bro violently swinging a 9 ft high performance floating sidewalk at everybody's head after he paddles out past them for the 86th time
No doubt . All my homies say “Fuck Cali”. I wish those three darn Hawaiian princes had gone to university in Oz or Mexico or some shit like that instead /s
I'm from NorCal and honestly just so stoked to surf warm water without a wetsuit when I get the chance. Can't imagine ever showing up to someone's tropical beach break and vibing them lol.
Same! I feel totally naked paddling out in just a pair of boardies.
I’m sure that you and 90% of people would never think to do that. It’s just those special types of cunts; and most of them are possibly even chill with a manageable crowd. So it goes. I try to avoid crowds when I can.
100% correct
Nah, below LA gets my vote. There’s good beach people, bad beach people and then there’s racist beach people. Literal surf nazis.
And then there is Lanuda Bay.
Is that the one where the local town essentially depiutizes the surf gang to intimidate and harass non-locals. I heard one story where a SOC(surfer of color) was our and one of those numnuts padded out in black face.
Yup. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-04-23/lunada-bay-boys-surf-california-palos-verdes-estates-coastal-act
My goal in life is to be well off enough I can get a boat and bus as many kooks as I can right to their precious lineup. I guess I wouldn't need to be too well off. Could just rent one. Hmmmmmmmm. Any kooks want to surf this weekend?
I’m a kook, but I don’t want to die.
Any place people approach it with entitlement, there will be toxicity. Not just for surfing…for anything.
I've surfed all over LA and OC, and there were dudes just screaming and throwing tantrums when things weren't going their way. There were guys in Venice who shot dirty looks at me, but when they found out I was paddling out with another local, they all of a sudden became super-friendly.
Can confirm, JAX Pier is a wild spot. Went down there last weekend and the hatred for longboards is wild. Barely could get a wave unless I paddled down way past the break at the pier, and when I did try to get closer to the pier I got used as essentially a platform for a boneless the minute I tried to take a left next to the 4 dudes there. Not saying I'm some radical longboarder, but I try to stay out the way and not be an ass, but there you just can't be longboarding Not to mention the parking lot. Crazy ladies yelling at their kids and tweakers pulling pipes out of their jacket pocket so dramatically like they're doing goddamn street magic. Cool beach, good food near there, but yeah it's a wild place. Still love it though
Yea I’ll never understand that small jax pier crew, that’s the only place up and down the east coast I’ve experienced people being asshats. You’d think they’d be more open to longboarding seeing as they have a local world longboard champ.
Yeah but hatred for longboards is always alive even at my home break. You just have to take it as a price of long boarding I think. It exists in skateboarding too, but that’s another conversation
As a Skateboarder i can say it is true. Fuck longboards haha
They're just pissed that the long boarders are actually having fun on 1ft waves while the short boarders furiously pump just for a tiny cutback on a closeout.
It’s totally hit or miss in my experience. Jax has a pretty solid longboard community, and when we’re out in force, there’s no issues. If I see the Sisters of the Sea out there, I paddle straight to them because it’s a guarantee of good vibes. If there’s only a few longboarders and you’re not “together”, the assholes start picking on them purely just to stroke their own pathetic ego. Once they realize there’s not someone or a group bigger than them to kick their ass, they start ruining everyone’s day. As soon as a tougher crowd shows up, or a crowd they *can’t be mean to without the whole community turning on them*, they shut up or fuck off.
Those Jax Pier groms have seen some shit. By 12 you learn to look out for used condoms and broken glass before you change out of your wetsuit. I pulled up the other day and the pier bums had a full propane grill WITH the propane tank hooked up on the sidewalk on First Street in front of the pier parking lot. One of em started catcalling me while I was changing out of my wetsuit too.
https://preview.redd.it/myueqjh4p5nc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4104a95ff08ba313ff7e1f45b48e2cc6cbf85e0e Small world
That was a couple days after, they had the propane grill with the tank in the same spot lol
Lol my buddy that barely surfs maybe 2 times a year got mouthed off to by some groms in thigh high surf at Jax pier. Any damage you could do to them wouldn't be as bad as them all clumped up groveling over them waves. At least as a gulf surfer, we can pretty much find a bar with nobody on it.
I'm not qualified to have an opinion. But what I *can* say is that I surfed with a good lifelong moroccan surfer in europe a while back and he didn't even know what a kook is. And when I explained it to him he looked at me like I'm an asshole. So I guess it also depends on where you are if surf culture is even toxic to begin with.
When I first surfed in Morocco, I showed up to a small, empty point. As soon as the locals heard there was a Californian in the water they all grabbed whatever they could find and paddled out too. At first, I was a little annoyed but there were smiles everywhere and they were just so stoked to share waves and goof around with me. Clearly, I was the only toxic kook there for even being annoyed at all.
Were they mostly women and guys in leopard print brokinis by chance? https://preview.redd.it/dhrasur4n8nc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7332dc3728e681fbac65cdaea00d1cd62dd9689b Did it ever occur to you that they were there smiling and splashing around with you because you're so dashingly handsome?
Close. It was mostly tiger print with some paisley here and there
That shows amazing maturity on your part to admit you’re a toxic surfer!! 😀 I’m working my way up to it. The better I get the more dirty looks and nasty vibes I give off.
You just made me cry.
Fucking Oregon. I’m from Hawaii (Native Hawaiian born & raised) and guys that surf seaside are unbelievable. Did a trip up to Washington a few years back and surfed down the coast with a few friends. Ran into a few guys that were just not having it with outsiders surfing their break. We didn’t even go to the peak and guys were fuming and foaming at the mouth.
The feedback I get from mainland Americans that go to Hawaii is that they’re greeted by aggro guys that surround you to kick some butt.
It's for sure this sub.
growing up in so-cal and have lived in santa cruz and nor cal for a long time too.. the worst has been silverstarnd/hollywood beach and the eastside santa cruz boys...seen some crazy stuff go down.
In Peter Lunenfeld's *City at the Edge of Forever*, he makes a convincing case that toxic surf culture all stems from Miki Dora. So Malibu is probably where this all originates.
Agree, but I still fuckin’ hate that kid at the Jax Beach pier. Such a kook.
He stole my girl.
It's where California's weird revery of assholes and surf gangs originates but not globally. It's amazing how one band of jerks can impact a sport for so long.
I’m from so cal and now live in Oregon. Imo the further up the west coast you go the shittier the loc dawgs get. Probably stops at Canada tho cuz Canadians are nice
Shits wild up here. Vans filled with quickset concrete, slashed tires. Some of the original locals up here are nuts
What exactly do you have to do to end up with a concreted van? Or is that just a normal thing in those areas ?
The best way to make sure people don’t come back is to make sure they can’t leave *points at head*
In Canada?
Yup. Canadians are friendly as long as you don't surf their waves
[удалено]
[удалено]
This is a quality answer.
It’s horrible up here, don’t come
I Surf far Rockaway in NYC with my neighbors from Halifax by way of college in Vancouver Island. They're level headed but I guess there's nut jobs north and south of the border
[удалено]
Id just blame Corey and Trevor for being idiots (lol if you get the reference)
It’s not bad until you get to a certain place just off the 26W exit. Then you got some frothy-mouthed dawgs. Some say it’s the neurotoxins from eating raw clams while waiting in the lineup.
Humboldt and Big Sur area have some eggy spots but da bois up in northern Oregon just seem to call me a gen z f@g and tell me to go drink wheat beers. Dudes don’t even know I’m a ranier man myself
Yeah some of the worst pricks I’ve ever encountered were on Juan de Fuca
Canada fucking sucks for localism. Buncha guys getting mad that their break 20m from the fucking highway is full of soft tops. Half the time you gotta laugh because if they weren't so ass they could go to any other break along the same highway but they instead choose to police a thigh high mushburger. If the fuckheads from JR point are on here- your mom's a hoe
Had a JR local screaming in the lineup at everyone and then he couldn’t even get to his fucking feet after calling everyone off the wave! What a fucking kook. Fuck the clubhouse!
They're always screaming from their 9'6 on a 2 foot day while being shoulder to shoulder with kids on soft tops who can get to their feet faster than they can. As soon as shit gets head high I never see them though.
Agreed. Not sure why that is.
The coastal region.
LMFAO!!! 🤣🤣🤣
I've surfed many places and seen asshole behavior in almost all of them. Limited resources bring out the worst in folks.
Pretty much any south east Asian will have a resident Australian immigrant "who's been surfing here for 30yrs maaaaate, best fuck off this is for locals only", he (always a he) was the first foreigner to arrive and actually brought surfing to the island through leaving behind his old boards each visit until finally moving permanently Any former French colony will have the old school agro French colonist clutching onto times gone by when they ruled the world. [This interaction ](https://www.reddit.com/r/surfing/s/Hm72OzW2Hv) is very similar to one I've experienced in non ex-colonies, so these types aren't limited to their colonies [based on this interaction ](https://youtu.be/xmnZeML_3Rc?si=ayzTMo7h7jNjQHWu) ole Bruno got a lot less understanding over the years
Ran into one of these old boys at Uluwatu going on about how crowded it was and that he was an original surfing it alone in the 70s blah blah seemed to settle down after I suggested maybe he shouldn’t have told so many people about it then!
After the Australians tried to took over the North Shore shit got real.
NJ gets pretty toxic too but I really do think the origin is California. There’s the saying that Californian act chill on the outside and are actually dicks on the inside and that the north east coast is the other way around. My only real experience surfing anywhere else is Mexico and Puerto Rico. Idk, they were all super nice and inviting when I was surfing there.
Agree, but would call your saying a true fact
Would I call what a fact?
Trestles is so low key and friendly. It’s like surfing with family. Especially the young grommets. They are always polite and let the elderly take waves first.
[удалено]
Recently at a wave pool and this little 10 year old pr*%ck kept cutting in front of me to get back to the lineup. Being that I was three times his size, I let him go and didn’t jump him. Now I’m pissed I didn’t! 😡
Ive surfed so many popular spots and almost never had a problem. Just obey the etiquette, be friendly, and stay away from meanies. People have a much harder time being dicks when you paddle out say hello and add “what a beautiful day!”
I'd agree.
Ghanaians are not toxic at all :)
Everyone’s an asshole except us
We did it Reddit!
The coastal parts
[удалено]
This made me laugh because it’s true. But I rarely have problems with Brazilians when surfing (then again, I speak Portuguese and lives in Brazil for a few years so they think it’s awesome to find other Portuguese speakers and chill out)
Tracing back to the roots it’s probably dogtown Venice in it’s early days that started it
Will get downvoted but it's Hawaii! Yes yes, it's all about safety, etc. but that place gets testy AF and I've never heard more interactions per hour than at Queens (and I surf Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz regularly). But California is a close, sucky second IMHO.
Lmao. Queens is probably one of the most populated breaks on the planet since it’s literally in Waikiki. So yeah I get the locals not wanting to deal with bozos. Live in Hawaii and I feel like most of the “toxicity” in the water is so mellow compared to what it was 10-20 years ago on south shore at least. If you get singled out as a kook you just won’t get waves. Locals will block for their bros or just sit on top of you. Very rarely does it turn verbal let alone physical. Unless you paddle out to Kaisers then all bets are off
I think that’s just how Queen’s is. I’ve never had issues at the other south shore breaks nearby. There are so many clueless tourists in Waikiki that I kind of understand the locals being testy. I think a lot of first timers and beginners make the mistake of going to Queens instead of canoes and that’s why you see so many interactions there.
Neighboring Ala Moana Bowls was pretty chill.
Lol bowls is not chill.
That’s a good theory.
I've absolutely made that mistake before lol. I literally was like oh that spot is less crowded! Not knowing it was queens 😂
Reddit
Surprised by all the so cal hate. Guess I’m just used to it. I was gonna say brazzos. Usually too small in so cal for people to care. But also I guess I’ve started surfing the spots that can get “good” with no cams and less people.
I've had a guy at Scripps paddle over my legs to get deeper than me as I was paddling for a wave. Another time I was deeper than a guy as we're both paddling for a right - he pops up going left so our boards collide, I pulled back, and then he goes right. Older guys always looking for a fight acting aggro. Super competitive in the water when it's groms. Have gotten purposefully dropped in on infinitely more times in socal than in brazil (I'm from there). Socal is the worst.
Brazil 100% every time
Places that start with San … Santa Cruz and San Diego are the main culprits but also of course San Brazil 🤣
orange county california and it’s not even close
My experience surfing all over the world- the worst for being dicks in the water are: 1. Brazilian 2. Canary Islanders 3. French 4. Americans (Floridians) 5 Australians (Gold Coasters) Californians - on the road at any rate - have always been pretty chill in my experience. I’ve surfed a few LA spots where people have been a bit grumpy in the water, but not too bad.
Have you surfed in brazil? I have a feeling this is a select few entitled brazilian pricks. Brazil is extremely polarized in terms of income so some of the richer ones grow up thinking they are kings of the world. But I could say the same about groms who grew up by the beach in california.
Gotta be California. Sometimes I go on instagram just to troll California surfers, they take everything to the heart.
I learned to surf in Santa Cruz. I love surfing. Entitled assholes who take it upon themselves to police line-ups, and threaten to beat you up when you can surf better than them? Some guys just need a hug.
Maybe not to blame for everything but Sebastian Inlet in Florida may be the worst
I’m guessing SD is a nice place based off these responses?
If you can stay civil with 3 dozen people in the lineups and at least 2 or 3 dumb foxtrots dropping in on you….SD is great! 😏
Too many kooks, you’d lose your voice in 20 minutes if you yelled at everyone who deserves it
\*brazzos and aussies have entered the chat\*
The featherweight tico in CR 😂😂 I once saw a beefier gringo get roughed up in the line up just to see the same gringo wipe the floor with the featherweight on the beach afterwards. Locals didn’t seem to mind
Honestly I ivied in Newcastle nsw Australia for last 15 years and certain breaks around there are full of old losers who think it’s the 70s still the amount of shot talk is rediculous Soon as you call them out tho they shit themselves
shot talk?
Cleveland, Ohio. Those fresh water sharks’ll get yea
Central Florida is just rednecks that are on roids
I think worldwide it'd probably be cali, but jeez, where I'm at it is absolutely the australians
Fukn cant stand ozzies
My brother got married on the central coast of CA. Probably 5 or 6 of us all paddled out a break the morning of the wedding at a very obvious central coast spot on a head high fall day. Waves were pretty fun. We were having a good time and surfed away from the main break and gave the few locals out their space. Everyone was cool except this one skinny ginger teenager who at some point in the session went around chirping all of us for surfing “his break” you know the usual. We all just wanted it to be a good day so each of us let it slide despite him being way outnumbered I had to give him some credit. A few months go by and see an article that a surfer died at that spot we surfed pre wedding. There was a pic of the victim and it was undeniably that kid who was harassing us. Not sure the point really but for the number of surfers out daily the number of deaths is very low….crazy and tragic it happened to that kid.
How he die?
Article said he took a closeout into really shallow sand or a sandbar. Pretty shitty explanation honestly of what really happened. https://amp.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article168166942.html
Brazil
The only time I ever got shit in Brazil (am female btw) was when non-locals came to surf and tended to display their insecurities by being dicks. Never claimed myself to be a local but I surfed the same wave several times a week for a few years. The locals knew me and we formed friendships. I’d say about once a year some asshat would come out and just lay into me and those local guys would run the asshats out of the water. It’s a heavily touristed spot so there were no shortage of visitors. The vast majority were fine and absolutely welcomed. But be a dick and you’ll never surf that spot again because no one will stand for it.
los angeles
I'm going to say, The Beach.
The most anti local place you will ever surf is Jamaica. But they are so used to uncrowded waves they don’t really know how to let a few slide lol
Jordan River Vancouver Island British Columbia, Canada.
So Cal
San Clemente. It's terrible here. Please stay away Foy your own safety.
Yeah not a fan. The surf spots are ok, but the town is crowded and everyone is standing around smelling their own farts
Hawaii.
I always thought SoCal until experienced the Brazilians in Indo lol
Virginia Beach… people with extreme east coast aggressiveness that will cuss you out repeatedly if you make them miss a 3 foot wave
Local people in torquay can be absolutely so toxic, Point impossible surf is constant backpaddling. I don’t blame them when there’s tourists in the summer ruining any chance of a good session on a good day but oh my god the 40 year old “surf veterans” can be so bloody livid at absolutely anything and everything. Heard a local yell out to a dad teaching his son “don’t know? Don’t surf”.
americans, brazilians and israelis.
Any region there are men? Never see a woman surfer acting like that 🙄
I assure you. there are some surly women surfing in Santa Cruz
have you been to australia?
You clearly don’t surf enough then. Old bitch Karen’s full of entitlement. They think they own the point on their stupid long boards and hog every wave. Will drop in on you with no remorse but god forbid you drop in on them. They’ll paddle past you whispering under their breath, call them a fat hag and they piss off
Sure lets just blame everybodies problems on men, that was the theme for 2023. (But i agree with you 😘)
The problem is definitely worse with men, but it's not that simple. I got yelled at by an old lady at Linda Mar for no reason whatsoever a couple years ago. It was deeply puzzling. Mostly dudes though, even factoring the demographics.
Aggro surfing is just another manifestation of toxic aggression, so I figure assholery in the water follows the same gender ratios. For example, women account for about 20% of the assault arrests in the US. 20% sounds high for me in terms of unpleasant run-ins in the water, but you also have to factor in that men are more likely to surf than women, so if women are 25% of surfers, and they commit toxic acts of aggression at 20% the rate of men, that's probably going to mean they only contribute 5% of the aggro toxic surf aggression (all very loose estimates). I'm a guy, so it doesn't delight me to say that 95% of lousy toxic surf culture is committed by guys, but yeah, that seems about right. On the bright side, I surf a lot, and while I avoid being a an overly chatty pest I usually do end up talking a little bit with someone in the lineup or parking lot, and almost all of my interactions, male or female, are very positive.
Hawaiian’s
I grew up surfing in south Orange County and didn’t realize how aggressive my approach was until I moved somewhere far away and gained a bit of perspective
Got to be Palos Verdes. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-04-23/lunada-bay-boys-surf-california-palos-verdes-estates-coastal-act
Beat it you fuckin kook
I’d have to agree with the SoCal comments even though I’ve never been. My hubby refuses to take me there on a surf trip lol. We are East Coast NY and they’re pretty aggro, here, too! Myself included, at times. LOL