R A D I C A L
“Death. Inevitable. If death was inevitable, what was left? Style, only style... The wave’s frothing peak was far, far above him; the churning base was much too close. His legs shrieked in the agony of exhaustion. One board left ahead of him, ahead and below. Who? It didn’t matter; he saw it dip into chaos, gone. Gil risked a quick look back: nobody there. He was alone on the ultimate wave.” -Larry Niven & Jerry Pourelle
ISSUU // 1
CON//TENTS//
FEATURES ARTICLE #1 PP.12 THE FINER POINTS ARTICLE #2 PP. 13 ORIGIN: THE CALIFORNIA KING ARTICLE #3: PP. 15 DEFINING: TYPES OF SURFERS ARTICLE #4: PP. 16 TOP SHOPS FOR OUR SURFERS ARTICLE #5: PP. 17 A DAY IN THE LIFE ARTICLE #6: PP. 20 SURF WORDS, BRAH ARTICLE #7: PP. 22 GIRLS CHANGING THE GAME
ABOUT// RADICAL//
Radical is a magazine about the subcultures of surfers and who they really are. Breaking out of the common shaggy blonde, tan surfer boy, we explore into the different types of surfers there are. We also dig our heels into the sands of art and surfboards, how board art is pretty gnarly. We hope you enjoy this magazine on cultural submersion into this fascinating group of hang ten and living life from one wave to the next. “I’ve been called the best surfer in the world, but I don’t know. I think maybe the best surfer in the world right now is some little kid whose name nobody knows – maybe nobody will ever know his name who is riding out there by himself. Locked in some curl somewhere having the ride of his young life. He knows how it feels, and I know how it feels. It’s being unplugged from life for just a second. God, it’s the neatest feeling.” - Phil Edwards & Bob Ottum Pray for surf, and always keep searching for that perfect wave! Mahalo!
Movies for the Surfer’s Soul
//THE FINER POINTS// The history behind surfing is rumored to have existed since the beginning of time; however, each person has his or her own opinions on its true point of origin. We find that Africans were surfing on pieces of wood from the earliest of their historical days, and even the American revolution had inspired the new Americans to begin surfing with boards. Yet, Hawaiians claim to have inspired the sport all together, and to be the best at it. Interestingly enough, we want to focus on facts that most people don’t already know about surfing. Through research, after WWII had finished with Pearl Harbor, the military men wanted to go surfing, however, they only had their uniforms. Since the war had ended and they were waiting on going home, they decided to cut off their pants into shorts and use them to go surfing. This idea was great, but the material soaked in all the water and caused it to become to heavy to remain stable on the board. There was a small tailor shop off the beach known as M.Nii who had tailored the shorts, yet they came up with the idea of creating a short that was more water resistant. Hence, the creation of the board short. As we move into the later half of the 20th century, we see that surf culture evolved from the good boy surfer (beach boys) to the badass, rebellious surf gangs such as Dog Town Z Boys. We see territorial boundaries, locals’ only mentality, and the true world of surfers.
//ORIGIN: CALIFORNIA KING//
//DEFINING: TYPES OF SURFERS//
//TOP SHOPS FOR OUR FAVE SURFERS//
According to Complex, these are upcoming niche brands/retailers targeting the modern surfer style. Check ‘em out! 1. The Critical Slide Society 2. Battenwear 3. Cuisse de Grenouille 4. Birdwell’s Beach Britches 5. Katin 6. TwoThirds 7. Insight 8. Saturdays 9. Lightning Bolt 10. Patagonia 11. Mollusk 12. M.Nii 13. Swell 14. Captain’s Helm
//A DAY IN THE LIFE// Felicity Palmateer
Pro Surfer, Artist, Gypsy, Conservationist. Felicity creates some amazing board art that definitely inspires us to grab a sharpie and mark up our boards. From jetsetting around the world to find the best waves, and making unique artwork, we definitely love her lifestyle! Kelly Slater Elite Pro Surfer (Top Paid in Industry) A day in his life can entail hiking to the best beach around, early morning surfing, mid-day surf competition, conducting an interview, and back to surfing again. Surfing is his life and how he prefers to spend everyday in the water. “I was talking to the Prime Minister in Barbados about how some of our people out in my state prefer surfing to working.” –Ronald Reagan
//SURF WORDS BRAH//
Surfers have a terminology of their own, and while many think its filled with lots of cool brah or hang ten, there is much more to the way they speak. Read up on your terminology so you can talk like a seasoned surfer! 360: 360 Degree flip/rotation on surfboard Backside: Surfing with one’s back to the wave Benny: A non-local Caught Inside: Being caught inside a wave where it can be hard to get out Cowabunga: 1960’s term for dropping down a wave Frontside: Surfing with your front towards the wave Glassy: A wave that is so smooth it appears to look like glass Barrel: The rounded formation a wave makes when it is breaking Outback: Beyond the breaking waves Overhead: Waves that tend to be taller than the surfer standing on the board Pipeline: The perfect wave to surf – perfect form and crash Rad(ical): Taking a risk with surfing – awesome risk Shaka: Hang Loose Swell: Waves that are not choppy and have good form
“You go into oblivion. Suddenly all your life is there in this long, long, stretched out wave, you’re removed from the past, everything that has been on your mind becomes immaterial, everything goes to jelly, and you feel completely removed from the world around you. Nothing matters but you and the board and the wave and this instant in time…” -Midget Farrelly & Craig McGregor
//GIRLS CHANGING THE GAME//
Featuring: Bethany Hamilton Alana Blanchard Coco Ho
Surfing has always been the man’s sport, and women were never traditionally accepted into the surf world. Sure men didn’t mind having women watch them conquer the waves, but competing against them for waves? Not so much… The uprise in women’s surfing has been more recent and gaining acceptance and status attainment is still in progress. Thanks to the amazing game changers within the surf world including Bethany Hamilton, Alana Blanchard, and Coco Ho, women are finally attaining the respect they rightfully deserve. After Bethany Hamilton had her accident with the shark biting off her arm, women were more noticed in the surf world. It was Bethany’s courage and persistence that drove the women’s side of the sport farther. She demanded respect, and for surfing with one arm, she deserves the respect.
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Pictured to the left is an image of young Bethany Hamilton after her shark attack. Her bravery was highly established within the surf world, and she proved that girls could be just as prominent and guys. In fact, women are taking the surfing world by heart with women being the leaders in social media for the surf culture. Hamilton definitely defies the idea of inequality in surfing both gender basis as well as physical basis. Alana Blanchard is the most prominent face of women’s surfing currently. She has the largest following/fan bases on all social media platforms by a long shot compared to any other surfer, including Kelly Slater. Funny enough, Alana Blanchard is best friends with Bethany Hamilton and was present when Hamilton was attacked. It seems that these two brave souls have taken the surfing world by storm. They definitely have status and respect not only among women surfers, but men as well. On another topic, it is interesting to see how their dress
differs among their styles. We see that some of the pro women surfers (Hamilton) commonly wear boards shorts and crop tops, whereas others (Blanchard) wears thong style bottoms and string bikini tops. Some say that the true, hardcore women are the ones that dress more conservatively. While this has no basis behind it, it is interesting how men and women react differently to different types of dress within the surf world. Coco Ho is close to Blanchard within social media as being one of the top ambassadors for women’s surfing. She embraces the same dress as Blanchard, where Tyler Wright embraces Hamilton’s style of dress. Coco Ho adds her relaxed and bohemian style personality to the surf world to encompass and capture the souls of beach gypsies out there. As well as being a prominent surfer and ranking higher than Blanchard for 2014 heats, we see that Coco Ho might be the next best Blanchard due to Blanchard’s decision to leave the pro surf realm in 2015.
Women’s surfing is becoming the next big boom in the surf world, and men better keep an eye out, because we will be on the barrel right next to you!
“But with the board and the sun and the waves, it was for real. All things considered – maybe I was just a woman in love with a surfboard. It’s as simple as that.” -Fredrick Kohner
//FINAL THOUGHTS//
Thanks for reading through the first edition of Radical! We hope you enjoyed the content and photography! Look forward to our next issuu! Hang Loose, Kallie
//VOCAB USED//
Culture Sub-culture Dress Status Inequality Status Attainment
//WORKS CITED//
Stab Magazine. (2012, November 16). Stabmag.com -‐ A day in the life of Kelly Slater. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://stabmag.com/a-‐day-‐in-‐the-‐life-‐of-‐kelly-‐slater/
Even More Surfer Talk. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.surfingwaves.com/surf_talk1.htm Harris, J. (2013, March 28). The 12 Best Surf Brands Right Now - Mollusk. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.complex.com/style/2013/03/the-12-best-surf-brandsright-now/mollusk Burd, A. (2014, January 1). The Surf Bum | 15 Types of Surfer You'll Find on Beaches Around the World | Mpora. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://mpora.com/articles/15-surfers-you-are-guaranteed-to-see-on-your-local-beach/3 Surfer Magazine. (2010, July 22). THAT'S SO CLICHE Surfer Stereotypes Broken Down SURFER Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.surfermag.com/features/surfer-stereotypes/ Surfer Dad. (2012, December 4). There are 4 types of surfer. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.surferdad.co.uk/surfer-types Peterson, K. (2014, July 12). How beach shaped San Diego's history. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jul/12/surf-beach-history-centennialocean-tourism/ UCLA. (n.d.). About Surfing and Skateboarding Youth Subcultures. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/youth/surf.pdf Zehr, J. (n.d.). Surfing Subculture. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.academia.edu/3508604/Surfing_Subculture Stevens, M., & Foxhall, E. (2014, August 27). Southern California surfers compete in high surf for prime waves. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-surfers-high-surf-20140827story.html Colburn, B., & Beach, C. (2002). Surf culture: The art history of surfing. Laguna Beach, CA: Laguna Art Museum in association with Gingko Press.