by jeff mull
photo: glaser

Rob Machado is a busy man these days. Between scheduling an upcoming concert tour, showcasing his movie, and traveling the world for surf, it's a wonder he has any free time at all. Amid a crammed schedule, we managed to pencil ourselves in for an interview to get his thoughts on going back on tour, dealing with nerves, and hosting a Pro Junior contest/superhero themed golf tournament. Yes, you read that last part right.

So you've got a concert tour coming up. Can you compare the feeling of going on stage versus putting on a jersey and competing in an important heat?

Yeah, there's a lot of butterflies in both. That's where they're both similar to me. A lot of nerves. I've always thought that if you're up there in an important heat or on stage performing and you're not nervous, then something is wrong. To me, it means that you kinda quit caring. So the nerves are a good thing.

So when you see Kelly still winning events, is there ever a part of you that wants to go back on tour?

Yeah, there is a little part of me that wishes I could be back out there. But it takes so much work to get there and compete at that level. A lot of it is really mentally taxing. Like you'll show up to an event and be feeling really good and your boards are really working good and you'll lose in the first heat and be like, "what just happened?" And that can turn into a cycle where you start blaming things. Like your boards aren't working or finding other reasons why you're not surfing well. And then you have to pack your stuff and do it all over again in a few weeks. It can be really exhausting. So when I start thinking about all of that stuff, going back and competing isn't quite as appealing.

full interview here.

A predator that needs no introduction, the Great White shark has been responsible for the majority of attacks in California over the last decade. Photo: AP Images

We've all thought about sharks when surfing. Most of us have been asked by a member of the non-surfing community, "Aren't you scared of sharks out there?" or "Have you ever seen a shark?" and for the majority of us, that answer is probably "no." But thanks to Spielberg's Jaws and Discovery Channel's Shark Week, the thought of Great White sharks will occasionally creep into our heads, and maybe for good reason.

According to recent statistics released by the Shark Research Committee, the last decade saw a 73 percent increase in shark attacks compared to the 1990s. Whereas the '90s saw 35 unprovoked shark attacks along the California and Oregon coastline (60 percent of which involved surfers), from 2000 to present day there were 56 unprovoked shark attacks, 70 percent of which involved surfers. The vast majority of all shark attacks on surfers took place in 1 to 3 feet of water, with the average age of all attacked persons being 29.

full story here.

A massive storm pushed huge surf directly toward Ireland last week just in time for Europe's best big-wave chargers to gather for the first ever Irish Big-wave Invitational.

The inaugural tow-in competition took place at Mullaghmore Head, which proved to be a stellar venue. Francois Liets, Lyndon Wake, Eric Ribiere, Gabe Davies and Benjamin Sanchis were among the standouts on hand, and they were thrilled with the bounty, as massive lefts were dishing out thrilling tubes in pristine conditions.

Naturally the Irish crew came hoping to defend their turf, and Davies certainly did his part. He was weaving through colossal tubes with confidence all day, ultimately walking away with the prestigious award for Best Wave.

Meanwhile Lyndon Wake proved his waterman skills by earning the Best Pickup award, coming to the aid of a fellow surfer in trouble and using his ski to yank him out of the impact zone.

But it was Benjamin Sanchis of France who set a new standard for European big-wave surfing with his performance...

Click here or on the photo above to read full story and view the stellar Surfer Magazine gallery by McCall.

Mike Losness, Jesse Hines, and Peter Devries in New Zealand's deep South



Watch PART ONE here.

by Kimball Taylor


Your secret spot has finished loading. Photo: Gilley

I've often thought that a good sandbar is a kind of a temporary laboratory for the real kind of surf culture--the stuff that actually happens in a lineup. Just recently, however, I realized that a good sandbar is also the perfect laboratory for the idea of a secret spot as well.

Either the first couple of surfers who discover the new break simply enjoy it, and return alone, or they blab, and lineup grows, maxing out a limited resource, causing the development of a hierarchy, and creating conditions for the purging of excess and unwanted surfers. The entire evolution can occur in the short lifespan of an average, middle-of-the-beach sandbar.

In essence, either this new "spot" remains a "secret," or it doesn't. But I would argue that a lineup that quickly develops on a sandbar is simply a condensed model of what happens to all types breaks when surfers communicate over time. The surfers who establish a spot make an agreement, an unspoken contract, that decides whether a particular break is granted a "secret," or reserved, status. Either that agreement holds or it doesn't, but the process is well established. In fact, the very idea of a "secret spot" has held such an ennobled, even mythical, position within the surf culture worldwide that it's as iconic now as the idea of "the perfect wave" was 50 years ago.

full article here.