BMT

King Kelly, the hijacking of the ASP and a lot of other nonsense.

07/10/2012

Who Blew Up?

Kelly Slater. How much has been said about this guy and how much more is still to be said? Kelly grabbed the Quik Pro by the scruff of the neck and he didn’t let go. For a guy who was quoted recently in an online video saying “he didn’t care about the future of pro surfing” he sure looked like he cared last week. In the hard, close heats Slater dug deep. When the waves opened up, so did he. Potter said it best when he said “he demands the best of himself” in reference to a hands free backside tube attempt which he didn’t make but was spectacular in it’s ballsyness. The rest of the title contenders must be shitting themselves because he is dangerous at the worst of times, but when he’s on a roll he is almost unstoppable.

John Florence. This guys surfing is getting better with each event. What a pleasure it is to watch him ride tubes! He was unlucky against Dane, but his time will come. There is no question that he is the new darling of pro surfing.

Martin Potter. Pott’s commentary in the Quik Pro was exceptional. His insight and understanding of the competitive mind and his explanation of it to us everyday viewers made the webcast so much more dramatic and interesting. Without him and Barton Lynch (both former world champions) the recent webcasts would be sooo vanilla.

Who Blew it?

1. The tech gremlins in the Quik Pro webcast. There is not much more frustrating than watching John-John paddling for a BOMB, needing a score when suddenly the feed is dropped and you are left staring at a frozen screen wondering what the hell has just transpired.

2. The ASP. It seems that this pretty much toothless entity is about to be taken over by what in surfing sports management terms you’d refer to as a Great White Shark, ZoeSea Media. Slater’s brazen and somewhat contradictory snubbing of the ASP system in his recent online interview with Sal Masekela now makes so much more sense. Terry Hardy is Kelly’s manager and he is also John-John Florence’s. He was a prime instigator in the rebel tour mumblings of 2009. Terry has teamed up with Paul Speaker. Paul has held high level posts in the NFL, the entertainment industry and has sat on the board of Quiksilver. To cut a long story short these guys, with ‘King Kelly’ in the background pulling the strings, are going to determine what the future of professional surfing will look like. What will it look like? TheBOMBsurf’s prediction is that it will be bald and hail from Coco Beach Florida for a while yet.

3. The goons who stole Dane Reynold’s boards. Seriously, karmically you are going to hell for this act. You will stub your toe every time you paddle out, you will grow weird and uncomfortable things in your crotch, you will get skunked, you will get caught inside - often, you will get dropped in on and you will start to hate life as a surfer. How could you steal boards from someone as mellow and chilled as Dane? Still he ripped on his own hand shaped creation which was about his 11th choice of equipment. It says a lot about his level of talent and it will be interesting to see how Dane progresses as a shaper.

Got something to say? Then leave a comment!

Posted by Dan on the 08/10/2012 10:05

Is ZoeSea media really a bad thing? If they give us unbiased commentary, uniform webcasts and better edited highlights clips then I'm all for it.

Posted by Brian on the 08/10/2012 12:12

if they pay for some decent judges - i'll back em all the way!!

Posted by Dan on the 08/10/2012 12:12

I definitely don't see this as the ASP blowing it Prize money will be increased in 2014 to a minimum US$500,000 for men’s events (up from $425,000). But the big winners will be the women, with minimum prize-money increased from $110,00 to $250,000. ZoSea personnel will make up the majority of the new ASP board, and there will be an equal number of surfer and event reps also on the board. The new ASP will create an “Office of the Commissioner,” which is a pretty fancy title. This all-important person will oversee all technical aspects of the sport: judging, event locations, structures, schedules, etc. It sounds like a dream gig for Kelly once he retires from the tour, though I hear Westerly Windina will also be throwing her hat in the ring. The Commissioner will be voted upon by the surfers. A Special Committee, made up of the Commissioner, ASP Surfer Board Member and ASP Brand Member will be formed to handle directional issues for the sport. All qualifying events (Prime and Star) currently scheduled for 2013 will remain en tact unless altered by the Special Committee. “For the first time in the history of the sport, the ASP will provide surfers (both current and future) with a legitimate pension fund, offering financial security and bolstering career longevity to those who dedicate their lives to competing amongst the world's best and pushing the performance boundaries of the sport.” And that, my friends, is a direct quote and cast-iron guarantee from ASP media czar Dave Prodan. Current event sponsors have been given first right of refusal for their existing tour slots. Only if they drop out will events be offered up to other sponsors. “They are not trying to re-invent the wheel, just add value to it,” our beloved ASP moll tells us. The 2013 tour is unlikely to change significantly though there are a couple of new events under negotiation and a couple of potential drop-offs. The new administration will not come into full effect until 2014, when we can expect the Jackass style stunts to be incorporated into the event formats. Read it all here - http://www.surfinglife.com.au/news/asl-news/7177-the-details-of-asp-and-zoseas-future-vision-for-pro-surfing-